Chapter one:
Gabi turned off the last light in the kitchen "see you tomorrow, Phil." She called to her friend, exiting the restaurant and letting him close off the place.
Once outside, she breathed deeply with a smile. She looked up at the clear sly and let her thoughts trail back to the memories, like she had done every night for the last three years.
Leaving sunset beach and moving house for good didn't help fill the void that Antonio left in her life. It felt as if it was yesterday that they last saw each other.
Many things happened over the years. She met people, made friends, even had a few dates but most importantly she had started over with something completely different from what she used to do back in Sunset Beach, with the hope that it would make her forget everything and everyone back there.
She had taken cooking classes, worked hard and bought her own place here in San Francisco. And a year ago at last with the help of her best friend Philippe, a professional French chef, she was able to open up a cozy nice restaurant in the city. Business was going good yet the same couldn't be said for her personal life.
She had done everything in her power to fall out of love with the two brothers, starting with Ricardo, it had been easy, easier still when she took the time to realize that she was never truly in love with him. He was a target once and with Antonio prompting her to have him, she and Ricardo ended up dating.
It was terrible to figure out after all this time that if it hadn't been for Antonio's attempts and insisting on Gabi to give Ricardo a chance, she would never have dated him in the first place.
Getting over Ricardo was a child's play compared to her fruitless obsession of getting over Antonio.
Antonio was the one since the beginning. She had wanted to make a good impression on him. She liked him as a person, a man who got her through every fear and issue from her childhood. Yet, he was and always would be out of her league. He had committed himself body and soul to the church and to God. By doing so he had made the thought of pursuing him a total dead end.
Antonio had been her best friend, her rock, her solace and most importantly the man she was deeply and wholeheartedly in love with.
She had suffered near him because of the impossibility of their relationship and she suffered now even more for the same reason.
Three years… thirty six months of agony and getting Antonio off her mind was still a long shot, practically impossible. The humble, kind, selfless most gorgeous priest never left her heart and she knew she would continue loving him forever.
With constant memories of their romantic stolen moments, Just the possibility of what could have been if had chosen her over his priesthood sent her heart into a frenzy.
Tonight was another evening to be spent aching for him, wondering what has become of his love for her. Was he missing her just as much?
She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself as she walked down the street. She signaled for a taxi and got in the cab silently.
Her routine of loneliness suffocated her. She needed him. Lying to herself was of no use anymore. It was time for her to do what she had been hesitating on for months. She had to contact him, she could no longer wait.