Chapter 81

Chapter 81

I was missing my husband a little more than I thought I would. Having him here in Paris the last few

weeks had made me somewhat codependent but I wasn’t mad at it. Our relationship had been on the

rocks for so long that this calm in our ocean was a welcome change of pace.

“Okay and cut,” I yelled as Gabriel finished his scene.

Lucas had to rush back to Vegas for an emergency and Jenna was no longer coming on the trip

because she had this huge opportunity in New York that she couldn’t pass up. I hated that they weren’t

here. I had been counting on them to help distract me from my loneliness and not only that but to also

keep Gabriel away from me.

I had been trying my best to avoid him like the plague after his little confession that day. I don’t want to

say that it ruined things between us-but it did.

I was struggling to come to be around him without thinking about what he said and the fact that I was

still keeping it from my husband.

I had meant to tell him but then we had reconciled and then Paris happened. Why would I ruin a good

thing for us?

At the time it had been a good idea but now as time dragged on and I was around this man more, I felt

like I was being bad. I was by no means cheating on the love of my life. But Damon didn’t know about

Gabriel’s confession.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” I said to my assistant as I headed to my trailer.

I had left my phone in my trailer and if I knew my husband, which I did. I knew that he had been

blowing up my phone and wondering where I was. It was early evening here which meant that it was

morning time for him.

I was almost to my trailer when I felt a presence behind me. I whirled around, only to come face to face

with the one man I did not want to be around

“Gabriel,” I shifted my weight, waiting for him to say something.

“Can we talk?”

Immediately alarm bells rang in my head.

“Does it have to be now? I have to attend to something and L”I turned to head to my trailer but his hand

came over mine.

“I made things weird,” he said from behind me. “I said things I shouldn’t have said and I did things I

shouldn’t have done. Please, I just need an hour of your time over dinner”

I turned, pulling my hand from his grasp. “Dinner? I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Please. I won’t try anything. I just need you to hear me out, please.”

“I don’t think I should”

“Please.”

Maybe it was the look in his eyes or the sincerity in his voice but my hard resolve broke and I started

feeling sorry for the poor guy. He looked defeated.

“Okay.” I whispered. “Let me just grab my bag.*

“Of course,” he allowed a sinall smile to grace his lips. “I’ll just head to my car.”

I walked into my trailer and grabbed my stuff. Sure enough, as I had anticipated my husband had sent

me a book of text

messages.

Me. Hey baby, just got off set. I just have something I need to sort out then I’ll call you, okay?

Not even five seconds after sending the text my phone was flashing with his face.

I couldn’t help the smile that pulled onto my lips.

“Hello, I answered the phone.

“Do you even love me anymore?”

“You know that-walt, are you in the shower?”

Icould see and hear the spray from the shower head

“Yes, I needed to catch you before you left for whatever else you had to get done. I can’t start my does

beautiful wife”

blushed. “I saw you a few days ago.

“

“Now you’re doing too much husband,” I teased him but deep down I secretly loved the way he loved

me. “But I do miss you, so much you have no idea.”

His face softened. “Finish up and hurry home baby, okay?”

I nodded and blew him a kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you to the moon and back.”

We hung up the phone and then I made my way out of the trailer to the car park. I had this deep pit in

my stomach at the fact that I had not told my husband what was going on. But I didn’t want to worry

about him being so far away. It would only mess up our dynamic and besides, it wasn’t like I was doing

anything bad. I was simply going to meet my coworker.

I followed him to the restaurant in a separate car. There was no need for us to be in the same car. The

more distance I put between us the better.

When I dropped my car off at the valet, I found him at the entrance of the restaurant. He had this

nervous look on his face and it made me feel a little sad that this was how he felt around me now. We

had got on so well in the beginning and to now have everything turn out like this was just a tragedy.

“Shall we?” He stepped aside so I could walk in first.

The restaurant was nice and seemed pretty secluded which meant that it would be unlikely that we

would get photographed here. The rumors of him and I had died down and I didn’t need yet another fire

to put out.

We got put at a table near the windows where we got a great view of the Eiffel Tower as it sparkled in

the dark night. The waitress took our drink orders and made her way back to the kitchen.

“So.” I looked around the restaurant. “This is a nice place.”

The ambiance was mellow but also intimate. The lights were a little dim and it gave this seductive feel

that I was most certainly not trying to be in with hirn.

“First, I need to apologize. I’m the one who created this mess between us and L.” he looked away from

me trying to gather his thoughts. “I should have never said what I said and I should have never

overstepped our boundaries. You are a married woman, a happily married one at that. It’s just. I’ve

never met another woman like you and to be quite honest with you-you take my breath away.”

I held my tongue. I knew that he needed to get this out.

“But you aren’t mine to have,” he lifted his gaze to meet mine. “And I would never try anything with you

or disrespect you in any way, shape, or form. I won’t lie to you and say I secretly didn’t hope that you

and your husband had hit turbulent waters because I had. But you’re happy and that’s all that matters

to me.”

A thick silence covered us.

“I can’t switch off my feelings for you but I can tell you that I am trying.” He reached over the table and

grabbed my hand. 1 should have pulled away but I allowed the small gesture.

“I’m sorry, Adelaide,” he apologized.

I could hear the weight that his words were carrying. This had been a burden that had been far too

heavy for him to carry and I was sure that this was affecting both of us and the rest of the cast and

crew. People had noticed but no one had said anything.

I gave his hand a small squeeze. I tilted my head to the side and gave him a soft smile to let him know

that it was okay.

“Why don’t we start again?” I pulled my hand out of his and raised it awaiting his handshake. “Hi, I’m

Adelaide Steyn”

A slow easy smile came to his lips before he took my hand in his and smiled. “Nice to meet you,

Adelaide. I’m Gabriel but you can call me Gabe if you like, all my friends call me that.”

I pulled my hand out of his just as the champagne had arrived.

The boundaries were clear and everyone knew where they stood. I only hoped that this would put an

end to it all but little did I know that this one meeting was the start of a whole new kind of forest fire that

wouldn’t be so easily put out.