Rush

you considered that? Shouldn’t you at least hear
     him out?”
    Mia’s lips turned down in scorn. “I told him that if he ever wanted me back he was
     going to have to crawl. He’s not crawling yet and hell will freeze over before I make
     it easy for him.”

chapter forty-three
    By the week’s end, Mia was at a complete loss as to what to do about Gabe. He was
     at La Patisserie every single day for coffee and a croissant and he never came in
     at the same time, so it was impossible for her to avoid him by working the back.
    He was a constant presence that was fraying her nerves. And her resistance.
    And if that wasn’t enough, he bombarded her constantly with flowers and gifts. At
     work. At home.
    Just yesterday a delivery person had brought in a huge arrangement of flowers to La
     Patisserie and embarrassed her in front of everyone by reading the note out loud.
    Forgive me. I can’t live without you.
    –Gabe
    Today another delivery person had brought in a box with a pair of fur-lined leather
     gloves and a note card that read:
    To keep your hands warm on the walk home.
    –Gabe
    Louisa and Greg were amused—thank God they weren’t pissed—and it had become a running
     joke with the regulars at La Patisserie as to what would be delivered next.
    The weather had cleared up, but the cold had remained. The skies were bright blue
     without a cloud in sight and the wind blew gusty, a knife through her coat. She was
     grateful for the gloves as she navigated the sidewalks back to her apartment. Dusk
     was descending, each day growing shorter and shorter.
    As she rounded the corner to walk the last block to her apartment, an electronic billboard
     atop a hotel caught her eye. How could it not?
    In big, neon letters, flashing across the screen was:
    I LOVE YOU, MIA. COME HOME.
    GABE.
    Tears pricked her eyelids. What was she supposed to do? He’d
never
said he loved her. Was it emotional manipulation for him to air his feelings to the
     world? And to put it on this billboard, by her apartment, where she couldn’t possibly
     miss the meaning? Come home. Not to her apartment. But to him.
    It was driving her crazy.
He
was driving her crazy. And yet he hadn’t attempted to confront her directly again.
     Not since the last time when she’d told him to leave her alone. But he was still there.
     In her face. Always reminding her of his presence.
    She was utterly baffled by this side of Gabe. It was a side he’d never allowed her
     to see—
anyone
to see.
    She went into her apartment, exhausted and miserable. She was convinced she was coming
     down with something, but she wasn’t sure if it was true illness or whether it was
     merely a product of too many sleepless nights and her emotional devastation.
    By the next morning, she couldn’t deny that she was truly ill.She walked to work and went through the motions mechanically. By the afternoon, Louisa
     and Greg both were eyeing her with concern, and when she dumped an entire pot of coffee
     onto the floor, Louisa called her into the back.
    She took Mia’s arm and then put her hand to her forehead.
    “Good God, Mia, you’re burning up with fever. Why didn’t you say anything? You can’t
     work like this. Go home and go to bed.”
    Mia didn’t even offer an argument. Thank God it was Friday and she wasn’t scheduled
     to work this weekend. An entire weekend in bed sounded next to heaven. And then she
     wouldn’t be subjected to whatever Gabe had delivered for the day. She could hide from
     him and the world and try to sort out this whole mess.
    She couldn’t take it anymore. It was a gigantic weight pressing down on her.
    She had every intention of taking a cab home, unable to bear the walk in her current
     state. But as she checked her watch, she groaned. Getting a cab at this hour would
     be next to impossible. They were all going off duty.
    Sighing in resignation, she began the long walk home, cold settling into her bones.
     She was shaking, her teeth chattering, and the sidewalk blurred in her vision.
    It took her twice as long as it normally did, and when she rounded the block and saw
     that damn billboard, she sighed in relief because it wasn’t far now.
    Someone bumped into her and she lost her balance. She nearly caught herself, but then
     she was bumped from the other side, and she slid to her knees, tears welling. She
     didn’t even have the strength to get up and she was so close to her apartment.
    She buried her face in her hands and let