Forgiven Read Free

Mr. Protective Pants.” I try to salvage the mood. “It’s probably just as dangerous for me to be driving and talking to you in eight lanes of traffic, though.”
    He chuckles, “Mr. Protective Pants?”
    I grin, “Yes. My Mr. Protective Pants. I don’t guess I’d take you any other way.”
    “Good, because that’s not something that will change. No amount of pouting or begging. I don’t want you on MARTA by yourself.”
    “Gotcha. So what do we do about this two car situation?” I inquire.
    “I wanted us to look at a house in Château Élan. It’s a gorgous place, and it’s on your way back into the city. Do you want to meet me there?”
    “Château Élan, huh.” I pass it every day. Granted, that means I’ve only passed it a few times now, but it’s visible from I-85. To say it’s impressive is an understatement. The only thing I can compare it to is The Biltmore Estate. Château Élan’s mansion isn’t as large as the Biltmore’s. Both have vineyards.
    “Yeah, it’s gated. I think I want us in a gated community.”
    “Why?”
    “I just do. I don’t want people showing up unannounced anymore, ever again.”
    Relief unexpectedly floods my body. “I didn’t like the thought of gated two seconds ago, but when you put it like that, I’m all for gated.” The very thought of Ian and Veronica never being able to just pop up into our lives again, at least while we’re in our home, is definitely soothing.
    “So we’re going to meet there at four pm?”
    “Yes. We’ll get dinner afterwards then come home.”
    “Sounds great. I’m almost here. I better go. Hope you have a good day.”
    “It will only be good when I get to see your face.”
    I shake my head, rolling my eyes. “Such a charmer.”
    “It’s the truth. Love you, Gabby Girl.”
    “Love you,” I reply as I end the call and toss my phone down. It’s amazing how talking to him can change my mood so quickly.

    As I sat through my history class, bored out of my mind, I tried not to daydream. Once class was over, I couldn’t wait to get in my car to meet him. Concentrating has been hard today. The anticipation of looking for our new home has been the only thing I’ve been able to really think about. It makes me sad in a way. I know I’m behind. I don’t want to need a tutor. But I can’t even pay attention in class half the time. It’s very unlike me.
    Part of me wishes I had gone ahead and withdrawn from the semester after Christmas break when I requested my transfer. I could have moved to Atlanta while I waited. If I had not been able to transfer for the spring semester, I could have used that time to plan the wedding.
    Now, just thinking about everything I have to do makes me overwhelmed. We’re officially moving me to Atlanta this weekend. It’s all bittersweet. I'll be even farther away from my sister, my only real family. I know Sam is considering transferring to Emory at the end of the semester, which makes me hopeful I won’t be sacrificing precious time with her. But the end of the semester is still a long way away. I still have hope it will all work out for the best.
    Then there’s the wedding. We’ve yet to set a date. He doesn’t believe me when I say I’d be content eloping, but I would be. I just want to be able to be with him in every way. The waiting is killing me, and I worry that his patience is running out. He says it's not, but I've been there and done that before with Ian.
    Ugh at Ian entering my thoughts again. He seems to be on my mind far too frequently. It infuriates me that he's found yet another way to hurt me. It's hard for my brain to believe that all of the things he said to me in my apartment were lies. While this weekend seems so long ago, the hurt is still so raw. I wasn't happy to see him at first. I was definitely suspicious, but I have realized that I really wanted to believe him. Worst of all, I enjoyed his company to some extent. That makes me feel so guilty.
    Shaking my head, I