Unexpected

Chapter 33

JOANNA

The video Gabriel posted went viral. People are buzzing with excitement as they try to guess the identity of the mysterious woman he's fallen in love with. I've been refreshing his social media accounts, but he's been quiet since then.

And I still haven't replied to his text.

Everything in me wants to reach out, though, I swear.

The thing is that I've never been so scared in my life. Even though I asked Maria to keep Gabe's or the Band's updates to herself, one night months ago, she called me to say that Nora was really sick. She wasn't faking it.

Preeclampsia, she had explained. Something I had never heard about, but that scared the heck out of me when I googled it. The baby's and Nora's lives were really at risk. It still made little sense why she refused to take the test, but it raised her chances of manipulating Gabe to feel sorry for her.

Which he really is, according to Maria.

He's scared that if he pushes her to do the DNA test and something bad happens to any of them, he won't be able to live with himself. He couldn't help but entertain the thought that maybe, just maybe, this baby is his.

In my mind, they already feel like a family, tied together by a strong bond. I can feel the sparks of love igniting between them as they laugh and connect during their time together. I can see him kissing her and loving her with no second thoughts about me. After all, I have seen firsthand with my father and then Jaxon how quickly men can move on and break a woman's heart.

But then, Gabe surprised me with that song and made me question everything I thought I knew.

It's Friday evening, and Maria will be at my place any time now. My book signing is tomorrow, but instead of feeling excited, I'm a ball of stress thinking about Gabe. Hence, her coming here so I don't go crazy by myself.

The sound of the bell ringing makes me jump off the couch, my feet hitting the cold floor as I hurry to the door. "Have you talked to him?" I say the moment I swing the door open.

"As far as I know, you have his number." She rolls her eyes, heading to the kitchen.

"What... What are you doing?" I frown when I see her getting a bottle of wine from the cabinet and two glasses.

"Sit." She motions for the chair in front of her, the clink of the glasses ringing against the table as she fills them almost to the top with some deep red wine.

"I have the book signing tomorrow." I shake my head. "The last thing I need is to wake up with a hangover."

"Trust me." She hands me a glass. "You're going to need it."

"What do you mean?"

"Josh showed up at my place last night." She gulps her wine.

"What?" My eyes widen. "What did he want?"

"To talk." She rolls her eyes, but I notice she's a little flushed. And not because of the wine.

"Oh, my God! You guys had sex again!" I gasp, a little grin playing on my lips.

"Well, there's also that..." She shakes her head. "But that's not the point."

"I don't get it."

She takes a sit by my side. "Josh said that Nora laced Gabe's drink at some point during their last tour."

"What?" I gasp, clutching my hand to my chest.

"I know." She takes a long sip of her wine. "He said that she's their late stage manager's sister and that she has been following them around for years."