“Right.” He let out a long breath and pressed back into his seat when they were narrowly missed by a van sliding in front of them.
“Hungry?” Gabriela changed the subject.
“Starving.”
“Good, you’ll love this place.”
She took the next exit and took a few turns before pulling into a parking space in front of an eatery. “They make the best food.”
“Flying Biscuit?” Jeremy frowned up at the sign. “Interesting.”
It was hard to eat with her stomach tumbling over the announcement she was about to give Jeremy. Her mind was made up. She didn’t want him to waste any time visiting the police department there or whatever else he’d planned to do in order to start the process of transferring.
They walked in and were seated immediately since it was late morning and the breakfast crowd had cleared out.
“I-I.” Her stomach churned. Damn nerves. Jeremy lifted a brow.
“What’s up?”
“I’ve got to go to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.” Gabriela jumped up and rushed into the small eclectically decorated bathroom and stared at her reflection. She really needed to get a hold of herself. Yes, it was a big decision and sure each time she saw Jeremy again her hormones went haywire, but seriously, she was going to marry the man. They would spend the rest of their lives together, no need for so much drama.
“Get a hold of yourself Gabriela,” she snapped at her reflection. After washing her hands, she went back out and stopped. Frozen in place, she watched as Rafael said something to Jeremy, who was standing up now. Rafael shoved his cell phone at Jeremy who looked at the display.
She hurried over, thankful there were only a couple of tables with people at them.
“What are you doing here?” She poked her ex in the arm with her finger. “Go away.”
He had the audacity to roll his eyes. “I’m informing this man who I am.”
“A psychopath?”
“Your boyfriend.”
It took counting to ten and two deep breaths before she could form a reply. “No, you are not my boyfriend. We broke up months ago.”
This time it was Jeremy who spoke. “What is happening? Who is this?”
“Jeremy,” Gabriela held out a hand toward Jeremy and then swept toward Randolph, “Meet my stalker ex. Stalker, meet my fiancé.”
“I am not your stalker.” Rafael managed to look contrite.
“Then why do I have a restraining order against you?” She grabbed her purse and began digging in it. “It’s in here somewhere.”
Rafael chuckled. “It was a misunderstanding. We’ve seen each other since.”
“Like when you showed up at my building and I called the police?”
She’d probably left the restraining order in another purse, so Gabriela gave up looking. Jeremy motioned to the cell in Randolph’s hand. “Why does he have pictures of you sleeping?”
“Eeww.” Gabriela snatched the phone from Rafael before he could move it away. She began swiping and deleting. “See, this is what’s wrong with men today. You guys can slide right over the line from nice to creepy so easily. I don’t understand why you’re not out there dating some nice girl…or guy.” She turned to Jeremy. “These are old.”
“I’m not gay.” Rafael looked to Jeremy. “Do I come across to you as gay?”
Jeremy narrowed his eyes. “I’m not good at judging that.”
“Right,” Rafael replied with a firm nod as if Jeremy’s reply made his point. “I’ll be on my way. Best be the better person and allow you to move on with your life even if you are cheating on me.”
At the last words there was a gasp from a near-by table. “What are they talking about?” an older woman asked her tablemate.
“The guy in the blue shirt is cheating on the flamboyant one. With a woman,” the woman replied so loudly everyone heard. A server giggled and several others in the room coughed.
“I’m not flamboyant,” Rafael said to the woman. “Why would you say that?”
“You’re wearing pink and the way you stand with your hand on your hip, it’s very flamboyant.”
The other woman nodded in agreement.
“I’m not gay,” Rafael said and glared once more at Gabriela before storming from the restaurant.
They stood awkwardly, unsure what to do next. Gabriela was frozen with embarrassment and at the same time a part of her wanted to burst out laughing.
“Can I start you off with drinks?” a cute blonde asked looking Jeremy up and down.
“Got any whiskey?” Jeremy asked and sat down.
“We’ll take two sweet teas please,” Gabriela said and joined him. “Oh look here it is.” She pulled out a crumpled paper. “The restraining order,” she finished weakly when Jeremy lifted a brow.
“So is your ex gay?”
“No. Well, maybe.”
“Should I ask why you two broke up?”
This was not how she’d pictured the first day with Jeremy in town going. They had dinner plans that night with her parents, Juanito, Mila and her boyfriend. She’d already told them about her decision. It was best Jeremy knew as well.
“We broke up because he’s a weirdo who wanted us to dress matchy-matchy.” She shook her head. “How tacky can someone be?”
“Matchy what?”
“Can we forget about Rafael and talk about us?” Gabriela said, reaching for Jeremy’s hand.
“Mmm. Mmm. Mmm,” the women at the other table sounded off in disapproval and shook their heads in unison.
“Or, maybe we can pay for the drinks and leave. How about a drive through meal?” Jeremy asked standing. He tossed money on the table and took her by the elbow.
Half an hour later, they were seated at her small kitchen table with bags of take out.
Jeremy looked around the apartment. It wasn’t his first time there, but he scanned the surroundings as if it were. “You always keep your place so devoid of decorations. Why?”
“I always knew it was temporary.” She frowned considering it only took a couple hours to move out of her last place. “Sort of.”
“Do you not plan to stay in this apartment then?”
“No. I do not. As a matter of fact…”
The doorbell
