Read Gabriel's Rule for Free Online Page B

you’d come take a ride with me somewhere.”
    She
was quiet for a moment before finally saying, “Where?”
    “A
friend of mine owns a diner not far from here and she’s looking for a waitress.
I told her about your situation with needing to keep things under the table for
a while and she said that would be okay with her. It’s a decent place, safe
neighborhood, good food, good people. You wouldn’t have to work nights at all.
If you don’t like the place or Nell then I’ll drop you off at Mac’s myself.” He
seemed to almost be pleading with her.
    Riley’s
insides were doing a happy dance at the thought of a job where she could work
days and not have to dodge groping hands and sweaty, stale smelling bodies. But
she hesitated because she couldn’t let him think it was okay to manage her.
    He
seemed to sense her thoughts because he said, “I swear, after today we’ll just
go back to being neighbors who occasionally nod to one another politely in the
hallway. I won’t bother you again.” Part of her ached at the thought of that
being all there was to their relationship. Even after last night’s fiasco, she
still found herself wanting more with him, especially now that she knew how
much trouble he’d gone through to try and help her. But he didn’t want that and
she had to stop convincing herself that things could be different.
    “Okay,
I’ll go.”
    “Great,
my truck’s parked right over here.” He led her to an older model, navy blue
Ford pickup truck. He pulled open the passenger door for her and held out his
hand to help her up, which she appreciated since the truck was huge. It had
running boards but even with those, it would have been awkward to climb into
the cab without Gabe’s help.
    Once
she was in, Gabe shut the door and she buckled up. She was sitting on a bench
seat and when Gabe slid into the driver’s seat, she couldn’t help but imagine
how easy it would be to slide over just a bit so she could be sitting right
next to him, their bodies touching. She shook herself from the wayward thought
and watched Gabe start the truck and pull away from the curb.
    He
was a confident driver which didn’t surprise her – it was like he owned
everything he did and never second guessed himself. She envied him that – the
majority of her life was about battling the self-doubt that would creep up on
her. She was too fat, she wasn’t smart enough, she didn’t dress well enough,
didn’t have enough friends, didn’t have the right kind of friends…the list was
endless. Add to that an ex who had fed each doubt with a heap of criticism and
you had someone who sucked in praise like it was a drowning person’s last gasp
of air.
    The
silence in the cab felt awkward and unnatural, but Riley kept quiet since Gabe
had been clear about what their relationship was going to be going forward –
polite neighborly nods and an occasional “hello.” The depressing image had
tempered the excitement she was feeling about the possibility of a new job. But
as they headed further downtown she felt the anticipation building. She hadn’t
yet had a chance to explore downtown Seattle, she’d only seen the amazing skyline
view on her drive in.
    She’d
seen the waters of Puget Sound on that day too but not the mountains as she’d
hoped since it had been rainy and fog had limited most of the view. But as Gabe
got closer to the waterline she started seeing peeks of snowcapped mountains
standing tall over sparkling blue water. It was a rare sunny spring day, no
clouds in sight. Traffic slowed as they turned onto the road that ran next to
the waterfront. Tourists clogged the streets and sidewalk and she saw numerous
boats out on the water along with two huge car-filled ferries. And there in the
distance, the majestic mountains stretched as far as her eyes could see.
    Gabe
heard Riley take in a breath at the incredible view. He hadn’t planned to take
the long way, but when he’d seen her searching between the buildings to