Troy rubbed his wrist as he looked over at Gabriella in wonder, "Seriously?"
"Seriously," she said reaching across the table as she took some more chicken strips and placed them on her plate. "I've never done that before."
"You could have fooled me," he said reaching for a piece of chicken and lifting it into his mouth. "Makes me wonder what else you're holding back on."
"Well that's just something for me to know and you to find out isn't it?" Gabriella said in sing song as she lifted some chicken to her lips with her fingers.
Troy raised his brow as he watched her smile in the candle light, the image of her casted in a glow of their sexual activities made him stir. "Are you flirting with me?" He asked playfully.
Gabriella chewed slowly as she thought about her actions before nodding shyly with a smirk. "I think I am."
Troy let out a raspy chuckle, when his laughter died he looked back at the food they'd been picking on. "This meal is very sensual, the chicken is so soft and full of flavor. I going to miss the home cooked meals once the restaurant is back up and running."
"Well you could come to the restaurant to eat; I'd cook something for you."
"I'd like that a lot actually," Troy said before he was distracted by the buzzing of his phone, reaching into his pocket he took out his cell phone and looked down at the screen briefly before Gabriella shifted forward and took it from him, "What are you doing?"
"You're off the clock," She said turning the phone over and taking out the battery.
He watched her with amusement as she slid the battery off into the distance and handed him back the empty shell of his cell phone. "You can be very bossy when you want to be?" Troy said taking the phone and carelessly tossing it onto the couch behind them.
Gabriella reached for her glass of wine, "I want to talk more about you're fathers company," she said switching gears.
Troy rolled his eyes, "Here we go," he mumbled as he leaned back against the couch crossing his arms. "What do you want to know?"
"Why aren't you fighting for it?" Gabriella asked holding her glass in her hands as she placed her plate down on the floor.
"I did fight for it, I failed, or do you not remember our prior conversation." Troy reached for his own glass of wine.
"What were you going to do with it?" Gabriella asked as she watched his arms flex. "You don't like your job and I get the vibe that you don't like your father. So what exactly, were you expecting to happen?"
"I despise that company," Troy said with a frown. "I'd give anything to destroy It," he said lifting the glass up and taking a long sip. Putting his glass down he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "My father steals from the poor and gives to the rich, it makes me sick."
"So, there is more to this than just revenge."
"Yes," Troy said "I firmly believe in the concept of restoring old business to not only make new business but also improve the sounding area. I want to spread wealth not take it away. "
"So then why not quit and start your own company?" Gabriella asked with a sigh and trucking some hair behind her ear. "Honestly, I think you're great at what you do."
"Because I feel like I have something to prove," Troy said simply as he shifted so he was facing her.
Gabriella was quite as she watched him carefully, "Like what?"
"My father thinks what I do is meaningless," Troy said pausing for a moment allowing his frown to pull a little as if he had a miniature pout. At this moment she couldn't help but smile, he looked so not-Troy like. He was shirtless laid back Troy, the one who had a sense of humor and liked gummy worms on his ice cream. There was a kindness an unsureness, a cautiousness she didn't see before. When he spoke again the small pout was gone, "I just thought that if I could join his company and make a difference for the better he's see me and not that runner up son he got stuck with."
Her heart broke, her features softened and in that moment this man sitting in front of her made a lot more sense to her than he had during their last 5 months of marriage. "Troy," she said in soft voice.
"Don't try to tell me that's not how he feels," Troy said holding up a hand to stop her protest. "When my mother died everyone said he was devastated, he wouldn't look at me, he would leave me for days with staff or whatever sectary was around. Once he left for 7 months and when he came back, he had two new children and a new wife."
"Troy, no one is perfect, we all show we care in different ways," Gabriella said placing a hand on his arm, "Your father wouldn't push you if he didn't care. He wouldn't have thrown us that wedding if he didn't care. Troy you are your father's son. You are his legacy and you are not some runner up," she said the last part in a harsh whisper.
When he didn't say anything she spoke again. "Why do you really want me to stay?"
Troy adjusted himself so he could lean against the couch as he looked at all the items on the table, "For the record," he said raising a brow in her direction. "I've been interested in settling down for some time. But contrary to what the evidence might suggest, marriage isn't something I take lightly or would jump into without serious consideration."
When she opened her mouth to call him on that last bit he lifted a staying hand and went on.
"Marriage is the foundation of a family, and I want mine to be rock solid. I want the security for myself and security for my children as well. I want that knowing feeling that it won't crumble under some needy, emotional pique or the whims of a fickle heart. So I've been waiting for a woman with a specific sense of priorities."
His brow pulled down as he stared at the table and then looked back at her with a knowing expression. "And before you start thinking I was just some man out on the wire looking for a wife when I stumbled on to you. I wasn't. I wasn't looking for anything but a good time that I knew we would have. Somewhere during the planning and the scheming it just hit me. You were the one."
"The one." There was a whole lot of weight in that statement. He spoken casually, seeming at ease, and yet there was an intensity about him as he relayed this bit of perspective.
"This thing between us, Gabriella. It's not about love."
"If it's not about love," confusion rushed through her, "then what?"
Troy gave her a satisfied grin. "All the vital components that make a relationship successful, without any of the emotional messiness to drag it down. It's about respect, caring and commitment. Shared goals and compatible priorities. It's about treating a marriage like a partnership instead of some romantic fantasy. It about two people liking each other."
Liking each other. The words seemed to echo. "So you're saying it's about expectations. If we limit them, no one's disappointed."
"Embrace them," he corrected, "because they work for us."
She nodded, saying the words slowly. "A partnership." Of course a man like Troy wouldn't want anything more from her.
"I'm talking about improving on a friendship. Without turning it into something neither of us is cable of delivering on."
"If what you're looking for is a friend, surely Troy, you must have hundreds to choose from. Women who know you better, Trust more. Women who want this." Women who wanted this empty shell he was offering because as the time went on and she got to know the man sitting beside her she wasn't so sure she could offer him what he was asking for. She wasn't so sure if she should settle for what he was willing to give.
"But I want you. The truth is, there isn't another woman I know better. At least, not as it applies to core beliefs and priorities. I know what your cards are, I know what your motives were when we met. You didn't know who I was or what I had or what you thought I wanted. In fact from the start between us the most consistent thing about you has been your honesty even when it didn't suit your needs. I got to know the you who didn't want a relationship." There was a silence that hung in the air. "I like what I've learned about you, Gabriella. The independence, the sharp wit, the easy laugh and intelligent conversation just the authenticity of who you are."
Gabriella took a sip of her wine as she looked around the living room. Like. A word she was beginning to seriously dislike. "So even if I am the kind of woman you're looking for-"
"The woman."
She nodded feeling a little uncertain. "What makes you the man for me?"
"I can take care of you."
"I can take care of myself."
"I know," he said cautiously. "It's one of the many things I appreciate about you. Your happiness won't be contingent on the amount of attention I can give you any given week. But as fully capable as you are, my support would allow you to go even further. You could have anything you ever wanted, you could have your own restaurant, your own time, you could be a stay at home mom, a personal chef, you could be anything and you wouldn't have to be a slave to the workforce."
"Wow," she said taking another much needed sip of wine.
"Gabriella you could have whatever you want, I have housekeepers, so any time you would want to yourself won't be spent scrubbing toilets or kitchen tile. My work requires travel. You and our children would be encouraged to accompany me. You could see the world. Meet new people. There would be little if anything tying you down beyond the few expectations I have."
The muscles along her shoulders pulled tight as she zeroed on what he said, "What expectations?"
"I told you about the social element in my business, you know a great deal from what we've been through already of what my expectations are," he said with a small sigh, "I just have one more. I expect you to respect me and our marriage vows."
"Fidelity."
He nodded but remained quiet. He didn't need to say anything further as she sat there in the silence of the room watching the flickering glows of the candle's shadows along the wall. Children. She let the word vibrate off the walls of her mind. As many as she wanted. She'd always dreamed of a houseful of kids. Troy was offering her more than she'd believed she could ever wish for.
"What are you so afraid of?" she asked placing her hand on his arm again, feeling the comforting buzz that ran through her whenever they touched. Almost like a direct current.
Troy shrugged his shoulders, "Being alone," he said looking back at Gabriella with an intense look of seriousness. "I've spent a lot of time alone, I'm not a nice man or one of morality. What I did to you was horrible. You're right to hate me and if it reflects in your decision I can't blame you."
"That maybe so," she said a little hesitant as she pulled her hand from his arm serving the current, "But I don't." He might not have been her prince charming, or the man she envisioned herself with but he was quickly becoming a man she didn't think she could see herself without.
"You should," Troy said quietly with a small frown. "I took advantage of you."
"I don't understand what you see in me or even why you picked me out so many other women you could have, but I'm happy that you did," she said gently. "You're right, you did take advantage of me and my family, you took a certain joy out of making sure I was beneath you. But the more I get to know you, the more I see and the more you let that wall around you crumble I'm beginning to think it's possible that I might even love you," the words were out there drifting between them as he started down at his plate as it rested on the floor in-between them. When he didn't answer Gabriella sat up a little straighter the red burning into her cheeks as she felt the anxiety lacing through her.
"You shouldn't say things like that," Troy said finally pushing himself up so he would sit up straighter.
"Say things like what?"
"All of it," he pushed himself up to stand on his own two feet. "We need to turn the power back on."
"No," she said getting up to stand as well, "We don't need to do anything, Troy do you ever just relax?"
"I have a job," Troy's blue eyes looked at her and in that moment she felt pinned in place as the Troy she came to know over the past five months reared his head.
"Troy don't,"
Troy stopped as he reached for the shell of his phone and then held out his hand to her, "Gabriella, please."
Gabriella lips pressed into a firm line as she looked at him with confusion and with a stubborn anger growing inside her she stood up straight. "I love you and having half of you isn't going to be enough for me. You can explain this thing between us however many times you want to but I know you feel that connection when we touch. You don't just feel that way about a partner, you feel that way about a lover."
"Gabriella,"
"I love you, even if you can't say it right now I will."
Troy eyes softened and he looked down at his phone then the leftover food on the table, when his eyes came back up she was braced for his dismissal, braced for his mood swing, brace for anything he might do or say. He took a step closer to her his right hand reaching out slowly to tuck her hair back behind her ear. "You are the most precious woman I've ever had the pleasure of wrapping my arms around and I'm terrified that I'm going to break you."
"I rougher than I look," she murmured as she watched him cautiously.
"I'm beginning to see that," Troy lips pulled into a small smile and he looped an arm around her pulling her to him so they were chest to chest. "I can't get enough of you."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"I'm not the kind of man you want to be in love with," Troy whispered as he bent down to press his lips on her collar bone.
"I beg to differ," she said breathlessly.
Troy's lips brushed the skin on her neck as he came up her neck, her own breathing was almost rapid as she anticipated his next touch.
"If I don't get back to work soon I'm going to end up taking you up to my bedroom," his words were soft as he used both his hands now on her lower back.
"Please," she said in loan moan as she bit her bottom lip. "If you don't-" Troy's lips silenced her plea and instantly she melted against him. This was right. This was meant to be, she couldn't image not being able to touch him, couldn't bring herself to remember to forget his touch the way she had for David. Troy was a long lasting impression that would forever be pressed onto her heart.
The next morning Gabriella opened her eyes to see the light coming in from his bedroom window. Shifting slightly she smiled to herself as she felt his arms securely wrapped around her. The warmth of his body heat made her insides tingle. For a moment she just laid there thinking about the possibility that she was happy. She meant what she said, she loved him, and she wasn't going anywhere.
Somehow through the hate and fear that had been keeping them apart she'd found the warmth and safety of his touch. Laying there with him sweetly asleep and unaware she turned around in his arms. Quietly she watched him sleep soundly. In a world so full of rage and lies she never been more at peace than this moment lost in the simplicity of just being happy. If she never knew him she'd still be safe but she'd only be half as real. She'd been so lost in the restaurant and in missing David that she never realized how empty she'd been or even have a clue to how much she could love someone.
Suddenly there was the sound of the doorbell and she jerked. Sitting up a little she looked at the clock, it was only half past 7 in the morning. Shifting carefully from the bed as to not wake him up she smiled sweetly one last time as he shifted comfortably into the sheets. The bell rang again and she spun around to quickly grab his robe from the chair in corner. Wrapping herself in it she took a deep breath as she tied it shut, admiring the fresh scent of aspen that enveloped her. Soothing her hair back she made her way down the stairs speeding up as the bell rang again. "I'm coming."
Troy eyes opened as he listened to the sound of her feet as she raced down the stairs. Leaning slowly into her pillow he inhaled the soft scent of mangos that lingered. She loved him. The words echoed inside him as he rolled onto his back to look up at the ceiling. He wanted to love her, he wanted to say it back, and a sigh escaped him as he thought about the emptiness that filled him now that she was gone from his bed. It felt like his arms had lost their purpose in life the moment she left them. How could he feel so terrified and grateful all at once?
If he hadn't felt it for himself he never would have known how precious life could be. He couldn't be sure if he'd ever felt like this before, like somehow he was missing a part of himself and when he was with her he felt complete. Surely that was love. Feeling so helpless and unsteady, almost as if free falling. What would happen when and if she ever left? Would he go back to feeling empty, feeling lost or would it be worse because know he knew what it felt like to be found and fulfilled.
Sitting up he looked at the mirrors across the way at his reflection, in a world where he'd learned to trust no one and to always keep his wits about him, she was driving him crazy. She was making him do things he never did, say things he otherwise wouldn't and in this world that he'd come to accept, he was finding it hard to believe that when he looked into her eyes he could see the truth so clearly. That he could just know, just trust and feel everything he never felt before just by looking into those brown eyes.
Gabriella opened the door coming face to face with Sharpay, "Good Morning?" Gabriella said as Sharpay walked past her and into the house.
"Where is he?"
"He's asleep," Gabriella said quietly, "What's wrong?"
Sharpay looked around the house then at Gabriella, "What happened yesterday?"
"Nothing, we stood home," Gabriella said motioning to the small mess of food still sitting on coffee table, "I texted you-"
"Yeah I know, look I don't mean to be rude it's just that it's really important for me to see Troy," Sharpay said making a tighter grip on her magazine. "I'm going to go wake him up," she said moving towards the stairs.
"Alright," Gabriella said watching as she ascended the stairs.
Troy was buckling his pants when Sharpay charged in, "What the fuck did you do?" she said once the door was closed behind her and she was pressed firmly against it.
"Good Morning to you too," Troy said walking over to his closet and reaching in for shirt.
"Is it that hard for you to keep it in your pants?" Sharpay said with a spiteful lick of sarcasm. "There are articles online about you having other women in this house Troy."
"Lies and rumors, or possibly before Gabriella."
"Bullshit," Sharpay crossed her arms, "What about her sister, is that a happy little mistake you're proud of?"
"What are you talking about?" he snapped as he shrugged his other arm into his shirt.
Sharpay lowered her voice, "I saw you with the sister at the doctor's office, I know she's pregnant."
"Are you spying on me?"
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?"
"It's none of your business."
"It's the family's business Troy," Sharpay crossed her arms, "Tonight is the charity event for my mother health club, she sent me here to invite you both personally. But I'm warning you Bolton if you're going to bring your bullshit to this thing I'd prefer you save us the embarrassment."
Troy rolled his eyes as he walked past her to the door to open and check for any signs of Gabriella close by listening in. With a sigh he closed the door and turned around to face Sharpay. "We'll be there."
"What about the baby Troy, are you going to tell her or should I?"
Troy came up close to Sharpay her perfume over powering in that sharp channel number 5 she normally over indulged in. "This is none of your businesses, invitation received, now please leave my home."
"You're such an asshole Troy, did you even fall in love with her?" The words snapped past her lips with a sort of biting accusation he never would have expected. "No I'm guessing not, just another handy assembly of qualifications falling into your lap."
"Hey," Troy said motioning for her to keep her voice down.
"I knew you were cold Troy. But even for you… does she have any idea? Probably not, considering how fast you married her. I'm guessing it won't be too long, though, before she sees through the smile and charm, your attention, and affection. Until she sees how you can turn it on and off at the flick of a switch. Walk away without a backwards glance. Or maybe she just doesn't care? Maybe it's the pretty packaging and size of your checkbook that matters. Wouldn't that be poetic justice for the female race?"
Troy felt the burn of anger and guilt mingling within, "That's enough,"
"That girl is the best thing to happen to you, since I don't know when Troy. I'd advise you man up and try harder to not fuck this up if you haven't already."
With that she turned to leave, leaving the door open behind her. Sharpay hit the final step coming into the living room to find Gabriella cleaning up the small mess from the coffee table. "Hey,"
"Hey," Gabriella said coming to a stop with a tray full of dishes in her hands, "Is everything alright?"
"There's a charity event tonight, it's formal."
Gabriella nodded unsure about what was going on and looking up in the direction she came. "We'll be there."
"Good," Sharpay let out a sigh as she removed the magazine from under her arm. "Please tell your family their invited as well; maybe you can work things out with your sister?"
"Sure," Gabriella said with a small smile, "Thank you,"
Sharpay smile faltered a little as she watched Gabriella holding the tray of dishes, "No problem."
After Sharpay had seen herself out and Gabriella placed the last of the dishes in the drying rack and reached for a paper towel to dry her hands. Her mind thinking back to last night, thinking about his hands soothing her hair as they laid in bed together talking about nothing and yet what seemed like everything all at once. In the mist of drying her hand she felt her wedding ring slipped from her finger and fall to the floor in a tiny cling that made her jerk back surprise. A sigh escaped her as she bent down to pick it up bringing it closer to examine the diamonds in it.
Troy's arm snaked in from behind her surprising her as he nestled his chin into the nook of her neck. He pulled her close feeling their bodies melt into one. "You smell like sex and dish soap."
"And you smell like you're showered and ready for a day at the office," Gabriella said as she looked down at the ring with a small smile.
"What happened here?" Troy said reaching a hand up to take the ring from her fingers gently.
"It must have come off with all the soap," Gabriella smirked as her brow shot up, "Two weeks ago I thought I was going to have to saw it off my finger." Shifting in his arms she turned so she was facing him, watching him as he examined the ring.
"Do you want me to resize it?" Troy asked with a raised brow.
"No," Gabriella said plucking it from his fingers. "I happen to like it that way." Gabriella pouted playfully as she slipped the ring back on her finger. It was a perfect fit, snug but not tight.
"Like it enough to make it permanent?" Troy asked curiously as he rocked her slowly in his arms.
"I don't know?" shrugging she looked up with a lost expression, "What's your best offer?" she teased playfully. For a moment she wasn't sure if he took her seriously or not? She couldn't tell what he was thinking or what that sudden distant look meant. "Is everything alright?" her tone more serious.
All at once Troy came flooding back, "Everything is fine," he said reassuringly. "Are you ready for today?"
"I just have to shower," she said fighting the feeling he was hiding something from her.
Troy loosened his hold on her and he nodded as he looked back at the dishes drying on the rack, "I'll dry the dishes and put them away."
"Do you even know where they go?" Gabriella teased as she felt a pinch from the lost of his touch. She wasn't ready for the morning to be over, wasn't ready for him to flip some kind of invisible switch. She wanted him to stay; she wanted him to keep being the funny, caring, and the playful Troy she kept getting fleeting glimpses of.
"Not really," he said tucking his hands in his pockets with that sheepish grin.
Gabriella giggled her laugh bubbling up from inside, "I'll do it later."
"Or you could show me?" he said tilting his head a little as he looked back at all the cabinets.
Gabriella laughter died down, "I have a better idea," she said in lower voice as she untied the strings to her robe. Without a second thought the robe fell to the floor leaving her naked as she stood there in front of him with naughty grin on her face.
His mouth went dry and he took a step forward coming to a stop when she took two steps back. Cocking his head to the right he bit his own bottom lips as he watched her breathing quicken. "Are we playing a game?"
"Only if you catch me first," she murmured in a sound above whispered in that instant she turned to run to her bathroom leaving the robe behind.
After a moment of hesitation he took off after her down the hall the sounds of their laughter echoing through the house. He had a nine o'clock meeting this morning, and by the looks of it he wasn't going to make it because nothing would have kept him from chasing after her.