Breaking Down

Chapter 26

26

Tyler

Dad was looking much better than I expected, but I still had to help him with a lot of things.

“Wait up, Dad,” I said, exiting my truck. I slammed the door shut and raced to the other side. The stubborn man had the door open and was already halfway out. “Dad!” I grabbed his arm for support. “Let me help you.”

He tsked. “I still can do things, you know.” He tried to sound angry, but it was just his way of joking and it only made me grin. “Or what’s next? Are you going to be like the nurses that hold my hand while I go pee?”

I wrinkled my nose. “s**t, can we change the subject?” He laughed, but it turned into a cough. “Okay, take it easy.”

He waved me off and tried to push me away, but I wasn’t having it. I wouldn’t take him to the bathroom, unless absolutely necessary, but I wouldn’t let him walk across the parking lot with its rough concrete by himself. As far as I knew, his muscles and even his bones weren’t the same anymore—hadn’t been for a long time. He didn’t have any strength left. What if his legs seized in the middle of a step and he fell face-first on the sidewalk? With his immune system affected by the chemotherapy and radiotherapy, he bruised easily and healed at a snail’s pace. If it depended on me, he wouldn’t get hurt on my watch.

Against his protest that he wasn’t that old or that invalid, I hooked my arm on his and helped him as we entered the building and waited for the elevators.

“This place looks nice, but …” He looked around at the lobby. “I thought our financial situation wasn’t good. In fact, I thought it was terrible. How can you afford to pay rent at a place like this?”

“Our financial situation is much better than you think it is, and let me assure you, I can afford rent at a place like this.” Especially because Gabi had paid the rent for a year in advance and didn’t let me pay one cent for it. A fact that I still hated and tried to rectify, but Gabi plain refused any kind of help in that department.

At first, I felt guilty about that, but then I realized something. She never made me feel guilty. She never looked at me with pity, disgust, or mistrust. I felt guilty for liking that she was helping me.

So, I let that go. Now that she knew the real reason I was buried in debt and could barely pay for decent groceries the last couple of months, it filled me with relief.

I shook my head at my reflection in the elevator’s mirrored wall. What did I care about what she thought? She was my business partner. I shouldn’t give a damn about what she thought or didn’t think.

That was the theory anyway.

At the apartment’s door, I fished the keys from my pocket and paused. “Hm, there’s something I didn’t tell you.”

My father turned to me. “What?”

“I’ve … I’ve met someone. Her name is Gabriela, but she prefers Gabi. She’s in here, preparing dinner for us.”

His eyes widened. “You have a girlfriend?”

I tried not to wince. “Yes, I do. And … one of the reasons I moved to another apartment is because we’re living together now.”

A big smile spread through his mouth, reaching his eyes. “That’s wonderful. Open this door. I want to meet her.”

I took a deep breath, unlocked the door, and pushed it open.

My breath caught.

The place was clean and organized. A couple of scented candles were on the corner table and the kitchen’s high counter. There were small orange flower bouquets on the coffee table and the dinner table. The table was set with a red and orange tablecloth, elegant white plates, silver cutlery, and pretty goblets.

Beside the table, Gabi stood with a big smile, holding a tray of pão de queijo—I knew these because I had seen them at her brother’s house before. Gabi looked beautiful in a dark blue dress with a wide, white belt, and white cowboy boots. Her hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and, even though I liked her hair down, this way I could see her pretty face. And she was ridiculously pretty.

“Wow,” my father whispered beside me. “Are you sure she’s your girlfriend? She’s too pretty for you.”

“Dad,” I mock snarled.

We stepped into the apartment and Gabi met us halfway.

“Mr. Reid, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Please, call me Charlie.” He stared at her, visibly enchanted. “Oh my, oh my, you’re such a precious thing, my dear. Beautiful and from the looks of it, gifted.” He looked around. “This place looks and smells amazing.”

“Thank you.” Her cheeks gained a faint red tint, which made me smile.

“Let’s sit down, Dad.” I gently pushed him to the couch. He resisted me at first, but then Gabi dropped the tray on the coffee table and took my father’s arm. He practically melted into her and let her guide him to the couch.

She sat right beside him and pulled the tray to her lap. “I heard you like bread and cheese, so I made these. Brazilian cheese bread. I hope you like it.”

With a wide smile, my father grabbed one of the cheese breads and took a big bite. “Hm,” he moaned. “These are amazing.” He finished eating the first and reached for a second one. Then, he turned to me, smiling wide, like I hadn’t seen in months. “Ty, I say she’s a keeper.”

Without meaning to, I glanced to Gabi and she glanced to me. She had a small smile on her lips and the red tint spread over her cheeks again. I smiled at her, feeling too happy for words. “I think she is, Dad.”

Dinner was f*****g incredible. Dad would have eaten way more, but Gabi had warned us the white sauce on the potatoes could be heavy, so I had to take his plate away from him. Then, Gabi brought dessert to the table.

“This is called brigadeirão.” She set a big, round plate over the table, with a chocolate pudding-looking dessert topped with granulated chocolate and sliced strawberry. “We usually make little balls of this and serve it at birthday parties. You know, bite size for kids. But someone had the great idea of make a big pudding out of it so we can have big slices instead.” She cut out fat slices of the brigadeirão, placed them on small plates, and handed them to us.

My father took a big spoonful and moaned. “I always heard some women grab their men by the belly. Son, you better marry her.”

Gabi coughed and I lost my smile.

Thankfully, Dad was so into the dessert, he didn’t notice anything.

Gabi excused herself and went back to the kitchen. I watched her fumble with the coffee machine for a moment.

“This is the best dinner I’ve ever had,” my father said. His voice was low, as if he couldn’t bother speaking too loudly because he was too focused on eating more and more. “I mean it. From the appetizers to the dessert. I bet even the coffee will be spectacular.” He shoved the last bit of brigadeirão in his mouth and moaned as he swallowed it. I rolled my eyes and he chuckled. “I’m serious, son. Look at this food. Look at her. Where in heaven did you find her?”

I looked at her, as if I needed to be told. It was impossible not to look at her when she was around. I knew she was gorgeous from the first moment I saw her and I knew she could cook; I just didn’t know she could come up with a delicious banquet in the matter of three, maybe four hours—it had taken longer than I expected at the hospital. What still rendered me speechless was the way she made me speechless. She had this smile, this spirit, this presence that I couldn’t explain other than it just felt like a magnet, pulling at me, forcing me to look at her, to pay attention to her.

Never in my life did I think I could look at a girl this way. That I could feel this disarmed and foolish around a girl. Now, seeing how she had prepared the entire apartment and made such an incredible feast just to receive my father … what was I supposed to make of that? This girl was getting under my skin and I didn’t like it. Still, I found myself standing up, picking up the plates, and taking them to the sink. Then, I leaned into the counter and crossed my arms.

“Is there something wrong?” she asked, pouring coffee into three small cups.

“Nope. In fact, everything is perfect.”

She stopped and looked up at me. “Then, why do you sound so upset?”

“Because nobody does something nice for a stranger like that if they don’t want something in return.”

Her mouth fell open, but she quickly shut it. “Your father isn’t a stranger. He’s your father. You care about him and I’ll not degrade that. We might not be involved, but right now, I care about your father too. But the thing that I really want you to learn is this: I am a nice person. A very nice one, actually. If you see me pissed or angry or being rude to someone, then know something is really wrong.”

She placed the three cups and the coffee pot on another tray and took it to the table, leaving me alone in the kitchen.

That was the entire problem. She was too f*****g nice, too f*****g caring. If she was only a pretty airhead Barbie, I could deal with it. But pretty and smart and nice? How was I supposed to keep my distance from her?

With a sigh, I pushed away from the counter and joined them at the table.

I took the third coffee cup and sipped from it. My father was right. Even her coffee was better than the ones I always had. How was this possible? How was this girl so perfect?

My father took a sip of his coffee. “Now that I’m not busy savoring your delicious food, I can finally ask. How did you two meet?”

Gabi glanced at me with big eyes.

“Through Garrett,” I said quickly. “You remember Garrett? From vet school?”

“Oh, yes,” he answered with a frown.

“His girlfriend, Bia, is Gabi’s cousin.”

“That’s good.” He smiled to Gabi. “And what do you do, Gabi?”

Gabi offered him a tentative smile. “Bom, to be honest, nothing right now.” She cleared her throat, obviously embarrassed about the topic. “I’m a polo player without a team, and right now, I’m looking for a sponsor to help me get a team together.”

My father’s eyebrows shot up. “Horse polo?”

“He loves horses,” I told Gabi.

Her smile widened. “Yes, horse polo. My entire family is up to their necks in horse business.”

“Gabi’s brother and cousins are famous polo players,” I explained to my father. “And her family has a big horse ranch in Brazil.”

“That’s really great,” my father said. “Tyler also loves horses.” He smiled. “It seems you two have a lot in common. I can see why you two get along so well.”

He could? But Gabi and I had barely talked to each other since my father arrived, and we certainly hadn’t touched or showed anything more intimate. My father was seeing things that weren’t there.

The old man yawned.

“That’s it.” I stood and reached for him. “Time to go to bed.”

I helped my father up, but instead of coming with me, he stepped toward Gabi. She was already up and getting all the cups and saucers back into the tray.

“Thank you for the amazing dinner, my dear.” He pulled her into his arms and embraced her tight. From over his shoulder, Gabi looked at me. Her blue eyes glistened as she squeezed him back. My father kissed her cheek and pulled back. “I’m glad my son found you.”

“Me too,” she said with a firm voice, even though I could see her hands shaking slightly.

“All right, stop bothering her, old man.” I grabbed his arm and veered him toward the guest bedroom. “Let’s get you ready for bed.”

“Good night, Gabi,” my father called.

“Good night,” she whispered back.