“What about neighbors? Had you lived in the same place for a long time?”
“Since college,” she said. “It was a town house in a small development with a pool, tennis courts and a few other amenities. It’s biggest attraction for me, though, was that it was close to my office.”
Wade regarded her with disbelief. “You didn’t make friends with people there?”
She merely shrugged. “They had gatherings from time to time. I never went. I barely knew my immediate neighbors by sight, much less the other people in the community.” She studied his expression. “You’re a people person, aren’t you? You can’t imagine living like that.”
“You’re right. I mean, I’m shut up in my workshop alone for hours on end, but I’ve always made time for friends.”
“What do you do?” she asked, a note of envy in her voice.
“Go to ball games, have a few beers, play the occasional game of poker. I needed that social contact, especially after I lost Kayla. And there are always Louise and Zack and the kids to fill in the empty spaces in my life.”
“That sounds wonderful,” she said.
“If you kept people at arm’s length, how did that guy fit in?” he asked.
She gave him a wry look. “He wasn’t very demanding,” she admitted. “And he was as caught up in work as I was. We understood each other.”
“So it wasn’t really a relationship,” he said, sounding relieved. “It was a convenience.”
Gabi frowned at the characterization. “That’s not true.”
He merely lifted a brow. “How so? Did you go out on double dates? Hang out with friends? Share the intimate details of your life the way you and I are doing right now?”
Tears stung Gabi’s eyes at his probing questions. He was right. Whatever she and Paul had shared, it hadn’t been a relationship. The bond had never been as intimate as the one she was forming with Wade, even after so little time.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized before she could respond. “I shouldn’t be picking away at something that obviously worked for you.”
“No, you’re right,” she said with a sniff. “What we had was sex now and then, when it suited us. It was a convenience, a way to feel as if we each had a connection to another person. God, that’s even more pathetic than I realized. Maybe I’m incapable of having any more than that.”
“I don’t believe that for a minute,” he told her. “You and I already have a lot more. We’re talking right now, getting to know each other, becoming friends.” A smile formed as he looked into her eyes. “And all without the benefit of sex, I’m sad to say.”
She laughed. “And it has to stay that way, at least for now,” she said, a chiding note in her voice.
“I was afraid you might say that.”
She fell silent. A minute later, she dared to rest her head on his shoulder. It was the first time she’d made any sort of move in his direction on her own and it felt right. Surprisingly right.
“This is nice,” she said quietly.
“This is definitely nice,” he agreed.
For now, though, she knew it would have to be enough. She wondered if Wade would be able to live with that. Or if she would.
* * *
As she lay in bed in the morning, thinking about the night before, Gabi tried to recall a single day in her life when she’d spent so much time with a man just talking about anything and everything. Wade was right. They were becoming friends. Imagine that! She’d been in Sand Castle Bay just a couple of weeks, and she already had two budding friendships she thought she might come to count on. A third, if she put Sally in the mix.
Glancing at the clock, she realized she needed to get a move on, if she expected to pick up coffee and be on time for her first day with the artist.
An hour later, she was showered, dressed and had a box of doughnuts and two large coffees beside her as she drove to Sally’s studio.
Once again, she paused in the yard to listen to the wind chimes and was charmed by them. She was actually laughing out loud at the sheer joy of that sound as she walked into the studio.
“There you are,” Sally said, giving her a bright smile. She sniffed the air. “And if that box has doughnuts in it, you’ve just gone from part-time helper and wannabe artist to my new favorite person.”
Gabi laughed. “These doughnuts do seem to have magical powers,” she said, thinking of how Wade had bought just a sliver of her affections with them.
“Of course, if you make a habit of this, I’ll have to run an extra five miles every day. Since I consider running to be torture, you might want to stick to coffee from now on.”
“I’ve been telling myself that treats like this are for the baby, but since I know that’s a lie, I promise this won’t become a habit.” Gabi looked around the workshop, eager to get started. “Now, tell me what I can do.”
“You can sit down for a minute and enjoy a doughnut and talk to me. I know you said you were looking for some dramatic change in your life, but what exactly was this high-stress job you left?”
Gabi described the public relations work she’d been doing for more than a dozen years. “I was on a fast track for a vice presidency, or at least that’s what everyone believed.”
“Yet they forced you out? Why?” Before Gabi could answer, Sally’s eyes widened. “Not because you got pregnant?”
“That was it,” Gabi confirmed.
“Couldn’t you have sued the pants off them?”
“Probably not. I mean, technically they planned to hide me away, rather than firing me outright. I’m the one who negotiated the buyout. Even so, my dad, who’s fairly influential in those circles, went to bat for me, and they offered me my old job back, but I just wanted out. I
