Chapter 6 - The Second Time She Walked Into His Life
Three weeks later, Camille found Gabriel sitting at the same restaurant table she had stolen three years earlier.
There were two coffees.
And one dessert.
She stopped beside him.
“You’re taking a risk.”
Gabriel looked up.
“How?”
“One dessert?”
“I ordered another one.”
“Smart.”
She sat.
Boston rain streaked the windows.
For several seconds, neither spoke.
Then Camille said, “Dad testified yesterday.”
“I heard.”
“Voss too.”
Gabriel nodded.
“And Salvatore?”
“His attorneys are negotiating.”
Camille studied him.
“Does it bother you?”
“What?”
“Helping expose someone from your own family.”
Gabriel considered the question.
“My father taught me that blood explains where you come from. It doesn’t excuse what you become.”
Camille nodded slowly.
“I would’ve liked him.”
“He would’ve liked you.”
“How do you know?”
“You stole my dessert.”
“That makes no sense.”
“He would have enjoyed watching someone annoy me.”
Camille smiled.
Gabriel slid something across the table.
Her pendant.
Repaired.
The two halves had been separated again.
She took hers.
“You kept your half.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Same reason I kept it for fifteen years.”
“The promise?”
Gabriel looked at her.
“At first.”
“And now?”
He didn’t answer.
Camille leaned back.
“Gabriel Moretti without an answer. Historic.”
“I have an answer.”
“Then say it.”
“You walked into my life twice.”
“Technically, three times.”
“The restaurant.”
“The gala.”
“And when we were children.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Three times.”
“And?”
“The first time, I promised I’d find you.”
He leaned slightly closer.
“The second time, I was too stupid to realize I had.”
“And the third?”
“The third time, someone shot through a ballroom window.”
Camille laughed.
“Romantic.”
“I’m working with difficult material.”
“Clearly.”
Gabriel’s expression softened.
“The third time, I realized I didn’t want you disappearing again.”
Camille’s smile faded.
“Gabriel.”
“I’m not asking you to stay because you owe me anything.”
“Good.”
“And I’m not going to tell you what to do.”
“Very good.”
“That part may be difficult.”
“Extremely.”
He almost smiled.
“I want dinner.”
“This is dinner.”
“Tomorrow.”
“With you?”
“Yes.”
“Are you asking me on a date?”
“Yes.”
“The feared Gabriel Moretti knows how to ask?”
“Apparently.”
Camille pretended to consider it.
“No.”
His eyebrows rose.
“No?”
“Friday.”
“What’s wrong with tomorrow?”
“I’m busy.”
“With what?”
She pointed at him.
“There. That’s the controlling thing.”
“I asked a question.”
“You interrogated.”
“I used five words.”
“Tone matters.”
Gabriel stared at her.
Then laughed.
It was the first time Camille had heard him laugh without restraint.
She smiled.
“Friday.”
“Seven?”
“Eight.”
“Seven-thirty.”
“Fine.”
He pushed the dessert toward her.
Camille immediately took a bite.
Gabriel watched.
“You still steal my food.”
“You still order things you’re too slow to eat.”
His phone rang.
He ignored it.
Camille noticed.
“Aren’t you going to answer?”
“No.”
“Could be important.”
“It isn’t.”
“How do you know?”
Gabriel’s eyes remained on her.
“Because I already know what’s important.”
Camille paused.
“That was dangerously smooth.”
“I’ve had three years to prepare.”
She laughed.
Outside, Boston disappeared beneath autumn rain.
May you like
Inside, two pieces of silver rested against two different hearts.
And neither of them needed the pieces joined anymore to understand why they had survived.
