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  Again, Sarah spoke before Kayla figured out what to say.

  “Gabe Wademan is his name, and he’s also Kayla’s new landlord,” Sarah said.

  Kayla wanted to run up and hug her sister for not divulging any more than that.

  “What?” Kayla’s mom asked.

  “Mr. Kleiner was the landlord of the building where Magical Toys is located. He passed away a few weeks ago and left everything to his grandson, Gabe Wademan. Mr. Kleiner owned the property, too. His grandson wants to build a house on it,” Kayla said, making sure to keep her tone neutral.

  “Do you know this Gabe fellow, Kayla?” her dad asked.

  Kayla swallowed. Three pairs of eyes were staring directly at her.

  “He came into the store yesterday and told me about building the house.” She didn’t have the heart to blatantly lie to her parents. What she said wasn’t the whole truth, but at least it was true.

  “He also moved his office from East Hampton to right across the street from her store,” Sarah added.

  “You’ll be running into him a lot then. Maybe he’s nice,” her dad replied.

  “Dad, I have a lot on my plate right now. I have no time to date.” She was still telling him the truth, at least that part, but he was smart and no doubt sensed there was more to the story. She could see it in his eyes. But he was wrong. Her and Gabe’s story had ended.

  “He’s super nice, Dad, and he’s gorgeous,” Sarah said.

  If Kayla didn’t feel so bad that she and Sarah were lying, she’d laugh. She could tell from the twinkle in Sarah’s eye that she was having fun playing the lying game. But Sarah shouldn’t have told their dad Gabe was gorgeous. That went a little too far.

  “He’s also your sister’s landlord, so be careful, Sarah,” her dad said.

  “Well, if he’s your new landlord and our soon-to-be neighbor, do you think it’d be appropriate for me to cook him a meal?” her mom asked, looking at Kayla.

  If it was any other man, it would be the right thing to do. And if she refused, they would be surprised. Kayla always did the right thing. Her stomach felt sick; good thing she still hadn’t eaten.

  “I think that’s a good idea. Maybe we should wait until he starts building his house, though. We don’t want to scare the poor man away yet.”

  Everyone laughed, apart from her dad.

  “Is he married, Kayla?” he asked.

  Kayla opened her mouth, but her sister answered for her.

  “Nope, and according to Alice, he doesn’t have a girlfriend, either.”

  Kayla’s heartbeat quickened. Why hadn’t Sarah told her that today? That was huge news. If they were alone, Kayla would wring her sister’s neck.

  Her father seemed to perk up. “Great, well, whenever you think it’s appropriate to have him to dinner, we will. And I’ll make sure we’re all on our best behavior.”

  Kayla sighed. Sometimes, life felt as if it was slipping through her fingers and there was no way to stop it or control it.

  She also wondered if Alice was hoping to be Gabe’s girlfriend.

  Chapter Five

  On the way to her family’s furniture factory and showroom the next morning, Kayla felt exhausted. Last night, she went to sleep without eating more than a few bites and threw away a large portion of her mom’s turkey dinner.

  The conversation she’d had with her parents about Gabe was making her sick. Kayla could have told them the whole truth. But she’d kept it from them for the last two years—four, if you counted the two years she and Gabe had been dating. How would she even begin to tell her parents the truth now?

  “Mom and Dad, your new neighbor was my almost-fiancé. We were a few months away from being engaged. He was saving up money for a ring, and I loved him more than anything in the entire world.”

  She could tell them that. But she wasn’t ready to expose her heart to them just yet. Some days, she felt as if she was the unstable one in the family.

  When she arrived at the factory, she opened the heavy door and inhaled. She loved the smell because it reminded her of her Pop. She walked toward the back, where she knew Matt would be. Sure enough, he was lying on the floor with goggles on, sanding down the wood on the bottom of a couch. Pop had taught the men in the family how to make furniture by hand. He used to say his furniture sold well because of the craftsmanship put into every piece. Not all the furniture was handmade, but many of the pieces still were.

  Matt saw her standing there but continued to sand the wood.

  “What’s up, beautiful?”

  Kayla smiled softly. “Are you mad at me?”

  He stopped sanding, looked at her, and continued. “For talking to Jessica?”

  Kayla nodded.

  “I was when I heard, but I understand why you did it.”

  “You do?” Kayla leaned against a desk he had recently made.

  Matt stopped what he was doing and sat up. He took off his goggles and ran his hands through his hair.

  “You want me to be happy.”

  “I do.”

  “She makes me happy, Kayla.”

  Kayla swallowed. “I know she does, but the family wants to get to know her, Matt. You’ve been married for over a year, and we’ve barely met her. We want to love her like you do. She’s automatically a part of us because she’s a part of you.”

  “She works hard and her family is high maintenance.”

  “I’m not asking for her to be with us constantly. Once a month would be nice. She needs to make the effort.”

  Something didn’t feel right to Kayla. She paused, then asked, “Is everything okay with your marriage, Matt?”

  He inhaled. “We can’t get pregnant.”

  Kayla sighed. That was the last thing she’d thought he’d say. “How long have you been trying?”

  “Since we got married. A little over a year.”

  “Have you gone to see a doctor?”

  “Yes. He said nothing was wrong. We even went to a fertility specialist to consider IVF, but Jessica wants to get pregnant naturally or not at all. But it’s killing her. I can see it.”

  “It’s not killing her, Matt. It’s making her sad.”

  He ran his hands through his hair again. “Yeah.”

  Neither of them said anything for a few minutes.

  “I’d like to help,” Kayla whispered.

  “I know Nana made you the matriarch, but there’s nothing you can do to fix this.”

  “I don’t consider myself the matriarch. I don’t even like that term—you know that. But Nana wanted me to help the family. Please, Matt. Let me keep my word. Let me try.”

  Matt didn’t say anything, and Kayla thought he’d decline her offer. Tell her it was none of her business.

  But finally, he nodded. “Okay.”

  Kayla stood and walked over to him. She knelt down and kissed the top of his head.

  “That still doesn’t excuse her absence from the family. If anything, we’d add to her support system. We’d be your biggest cheerleaders.”

  Tears welled up in his eyes. “I know,” he said. “Thanks, Kayla.”

  Kayla left the factory, determined to help Matt and Jessica. There had to be a solution to their fertility issues. At least it would get her mind off Gabe.

  She felt a sudden need to rush back to her store. She had allowed Sarah to open herself this morning to give her some extra confidence, but it was time Kayla went to see if everything was okay.

  She pulled into her reserved parking spot, grabbed her oversized white Coach purse, and opened the back door of her shop. She stepped inside and froze. Gabe was standing on a ladder, his blue jeans and white t-shirt spattered with paint, apparently because he’d been painting a yellow border along the top of her walls. Kayla stood there and stared.

  “Hey, beautiful.” Sarah walked out of the storage room with Lauren.

  “What’s going on?” Kayla directed the question to her sisters, as Gabe completely ignored her.

  “You told me you want
ed a yellow border around the top of the walls, so I thought it’d be a great idea to surprise you and have it done while you were gone. Then I thought I’d start training Lauren, starting with the storage room. Gabe said he’d let me know if any customers came in.”

  Kayla’s purse dropped to the floor, but she couldn’t move to pick it up. Her sisters were staring at her, smiling. Sarah meant well, so Kayla shouldn’t be angry, but she was. Unless Sarah had asked Gabe to paint for other reasons. Kayla needed to make it clear to her sisters that having her ex here made her seriously uncomfortable.

  “Why did you ask our landlord to paint for us? I was planning on doing it myself.” She took a much-needed deep breath, struggling for control as her face heated up.

  Sarah put her hands on her hips and glared at Kayla. “Calm down, Kayla. It wasn’t like that. When I dropped off the dinosaur for Gabe yesterday at his office, Alice told me that Mr. Kleiner used to paint their office every few years, which left them with a ton of extra paint. She asked if she thought we could use some. I told her I’d ask you, but then I forgot all about it until this morning. So, I called her and asked if they had yellow paint. But I couldn’t leave the store to pick it up, so Gabe said he’d drop it off. When he came here, I asked if he had a ladder since I didn’t see one. I wanted to surprise you when you got back. He said he did, but he didn’t feel comfortable with us using it. He was worried we’d fall, so he asked what we wanted to paint, and I told him. He said he’d do it for us, and then he left to get his ladder. And now here he is, painting the border you wanted.”

  Sarah whispered the entire story, thank God. Kayla wouldn’t have wanted Gabe to hear all that. But when she glanced at him, he was chuckling under his breath. She hated that Gabe was painting for her—why was he doing it, anyway?

  “It wasn’t a big deal. He’s really nice, Kayla,” Lauren chimed in, winking at her.

  Kayla wanted to scream. Having her sisters spend time alone with him made her feel edgy. Never would she have allowed that. At least, not until after Kayla had a real conversation with Gabe. To clear the air. Now she had to wonder if they’d mentioned her name and what they’d talked about while she’d been gone all morning. Dealing with Gabe as her landlord and not her boyfriend had her all screwed up. She hated it.

  Both of her sisters looked upset. Kayla sighed through a wave of guilt. It wasn’t Sarah and Lauren’s fault. This entire situation was extremely awkward.

  She smiled softly. “It’s okay. It was nice of you to think of me. I feel awkward about it because he’s our landlord…and my ex.” She mouthed the last part silently. “But if he volunteered to do it…” Kayla took a deep breath. She didn’t want to upset her sisters. But she would need to talk about Gabe again with them. Maybe they thought she was over him. She was over him, she supposed, but a part of her couldn’t stop thinking about him. And a part of her still loved him.

  To her relief, they both returned her smile. Kayla decided to change the subject—or, better yet, maybe get them out of there for a little while until she could find out what Gabe was up to…

  “Why don’t you both take a break and go get some iced coffees.” Bella Coffee Café was a few stores away. They made the best iced coffee drinks and pastries.

  “That sounds amazing! I even promise not to flirt with the cutie behind the counter.” Sarah clapped her hands.

  Kayla laughed as she reached down, picked up her purse, and rummaged through it to find some cash.

  “Only if you bring me back a large iced coffee with milk and two packages of raw sugar.” Kayla paused. “Gabe, would you like an iced or hot coffee?”

  Gabe stopped what he was doing and looked at her. The feeling of panic she’d been trying to stuff down consumed her. She briefly closed her eyes to calm herself. This had been a difficult morning, to say the least.

  Gabe nodded. “I’ll have the same as you.”

  He resumed painting, while Kayla had the strongest urge to roll her eyes at him. He’d been listening to every word they’d said. Figures. Did he realize the effect he was having on her by being here? Was that his purpose for agreeing to paint her border? He probably liked to torture her. The old Gabe wouldn’t, but this was a brand-new Gabe.

  She glanced back at her sisters, who were both watching her. Kayla hated feeling as if she was in the spotlight. Her role was to help everyone else out with their problems. She was the one who usually kept her problems to herself.

  She put her purse back down on the floor. She’d forgotten she was holding cash to give her sisters. “Do you need money?”

  “No, we’re good, but are you?” Lauren asked.

  Kayla smiled wide. Lauren and Sarah were pretty perceptive, but she wasn’t ready to talk about her feelings. Not until she sorted them out for herself. “I’m relieved that both of you are here to help me make this place more successful.”

  Lauren raised her eyebrow, but Sarah was already grabbing Lauren’s hand and pulling her out the door.

  “Bye—take your time and enjoy the beautiful day. You’ve both earned it. Let me know exactly how much it is, and I’ll pay you later,” Kayla yelled, making sure they heard her before they slammed the door behind them. Unfortunately, she now had to deal with the obvious.

  She walked toward him slowly and then cleared her throat. “Hi, Gabe.”

  He continued painting, completely ignoring her.

  “You know you didn’t have to do this.”

  Still, he didn’t say anything.

  “Gabe,” she whispered.

  Silence filled the room for what felt like an eternity. Maybe she should have left him alone.

  “I’m not doing this for you,” Gabe said, continuing to paint and not looking at her.

  Kayla sighed with relief that at least he had acknowledged her, even though his words felt like a knife slicing through her heart.

  “I understand,” she said.

  “I don’t think you do,” Gabe said. “I’m doing it for your sister.”

  He might as well have punched her in the stomach. Unable to look at him, she looked at her sandals.

  “Why? Are you attracted to her?” Her sister was beautiful.

  “Both of your sisters are gorgeous, but that’s not why I offered to paint.”

  “Then why?”

  She looked up as she felt his eyes on her. He had stopped painting and was staring at her. She felt as if he were staring into her soul with the coldest eyes she’d ever seen.

  “I wanted them to get to know me, even if we’ll never be family. And I wanted to know them because I never had a chance to do that two years ago.”

  Kayla clenched her hands into tight fists. “My sisters know about you. About us. I told them when you and I started dating. But I never told my brothers or my parents. And I lied to them last night when they saw you standing on your property.”

  Gabe gripped the side of the ladder. His knuckles turned white. “I’d like to know why, but it’s none of my damn business anymore.”

  As he looked at her with hatred, shivers ran up her spine.

  “Gabe,” she whispered. “It feels so weird with you being here like this. I’ve always envisioned you here as my boyfriend.” Kayla cleared her voice. “My fiancé.”

  He clenched his jaw. “It is what it is,” he began. “You never thought I understood why you had to leave. You never thought I understood how Nana passed on the role of rescuing your family.” He put the paintbrush down and wiped his forehead with the back of his arm.

  When he looked at her again, she saw regret and sorrow. Tears welled up in her eyes. She took a step back so she could breathe.

  “Gabe, I swear, I didn’t realize it would take so long.”

  “So, what you’re trying to tell me is that your family is still messed up.” He huffed, shaking his head. “Your sisters seem fine to me.”

  “They still have their issues, but then again, you made it clear I didn’t have anything in California to return to. You’d given me an ultimatum.�
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  Gabe chuckled, but not because anything was funny. “Because you handled it all wrong. I would have left school with you. I would have been by your side when your nana died. We were a team. We were partners. Or so I thought.”

  “I couldn’t let you do that. I’d have felt awful if I’d stopped you from getting your degree.”

  Gabe took a deep breath. “But did it even cross your mind to ask me? Because to me, it looked like you just ran.”

  Kayla’s heart was tied up in knots. She had made some terrible mistakes.

  “I couldn’t let you see my family the way they were. It was the wrong time to introduce you. You heard my mom screaming and sobbing when you called. And her constant screaming fits only scratched the surface. My family was a mess,” she admitted, even though she hated bringing up that awful time.

  “Well then, tell me, Kayla. Tell me the truth of what happened. Tell me once and for all what kept you from the man you planned to marry.”

  As Kayla was debating confessing all this to Gabe, her sisters came barging back into the store with their hands filled with coffees. The minute they saw Kayla, they stopped.

  “What’s going on?” Sarah asked, concern etched all over her face.

  She and Lauren looked at Kayla and then at Gabe.

  Kayla swiped at the tears that were clearly present in her eyes. They didn’t know how she’d ended things with Gabe. With all the chaos in the family, she’d never sat down and told them details. Now wasn’t the time, either.

  “I was telling Kayla how much my grandfather liked her and the store. Whenever he came in, Kayla made him feel right at home,” Gabe said.

  Kayla smiled softly. He’d saved her. Now that was something the old Gabe would have done. She closed her eyes briefly as beautiful memories flooded her mind.

  “When he was on his deathbed, he told me he wanted me to take over all his properties. At first, I rejected the idea. I’ve never owned properties like these, but then he told me to visit Bella Cove because I’d change my mind. So I came here for a few days. I even visited the store, but someone else was working here,” Gabe continued.