Chapter Sixty-Three Reckoning

I slid the phone down my cheek, feeling a rush of different emotions as Gabriel greeted me. "Hi, Regina," he breathed, his hands resting on my shoulders. "How do you feel?" "What are you doing here, Gabriel? This is the last place you should be right now." "The last place? Well, at least it's on the list of places I should be; I should be beside you, and that's why I'm here." "You need to leave," I said abruptly, brushing his hands off. "Why? I'm just trying to be a comfort to you because I know how hard things are for you right now," he murmured. I couldn't take it anymore. "Could you leave me alone? Gabriel, I don't need you here. I already have a lot of things on my mind, and no, I don't have time to continue a fling I left off in Paris!" I saw something flash in his eyes as he watched me silently. Doubts crept in regarding my choice of words when he didn't say anything in response to my outburst. "So that's all it was to you? A fling?" "Wasn't that what it was to you?" "No!" He sai