The game was over when Sydney heard her phone buzzing. She looked over at Gabriel to see him looking at her phone with a huge frown on his face.
” Do you play Tennis often?” Alfred asked, making her look at him.
She replied with a smile, ” Not really. My dad made me play Tennis with old sports as a kid, but I haven’t played since I was eighteen.”
Alfred had a healthy type of obsession with the Reed family. He’d know a lot about Gavin that Sydney didn’t even know about. He knew what drove Gavin mad for success, it was because he wanted to be able to cater for his young wife and child. He also had an itch to know more about Sydney.
” Because of your marriage?”
” Partially, I wasn’t really interested in Tennis; it was my father’s request for me to master the sport; I didn’t learn it out of my own free will. I’d say marriage was an excuse to stop.” That was a half-baked truth.
Sydney loved sports, especially Tennis and Hockey, but she didn’t have time to think of doing what she loved. For the first five years of her marriage, she was too busy pleasing Gavin’s needs, and for the next six years, she was busy going against his needs.
Alfred could tell she was lying but chose not to linger on it. He looked at Gabriel who was making a phone call.
He bobbed his head towards Gabriel. ” I see you’ve befriended lumber boy?”
Sydney looked at him and back at Alfred. ” He’s a kind man and friendly too.”
Alfred grinned revealing a golden tooth. ” What makes you jump to that conclusion?”
” I’ve known him for quite some time now.”
Alfred’s eyebrow raised in surprise.
Sydney smiled wondering if she should let him know she saw his son. What if Blake didn’t want to tell him about it? It wasn’t her duty to tell, so why bother?
” Hey Patel, how about a match of eleven?” Paxton said as he got into the court.
Sydney left the old men to their game. Gabriel was sliding his phone in his pocket when she reached him.
He handed her her phone, ” Someone was calling, I didn’t want to disturb your game with Alfred.”
Sydney collected the phone and thanked him.
Her brows narrowed. Five missed calls from Logan?
Gabriel watched her like a hawk as she called Logan. Logan picked up immediately.
” Hello, Mrs. Reed.” His voice was low and urgent.
Logan hardly called her especially now he wasn’t working for Gavin anymore, so what was the occasion?
” I’ve sent your money-”
He cut her off.
” Mrs. Reed, hello, you are there, thank God-”
” Logan, calm down and talk to me. Why are you talking so fast?”
” I… Mrs. Reed, stay away from him, he’s a devil.”
Sydney could hear him crying and she panicked.
” What- Logan relax. Who are you talking about?”
” He’s with you I’m sure. He is-” The call died.
” Logan? Log-” Sydney looked at the phone and realized he had ended the call.
Gabriel’s bold voice spoke next, ” You look tense, what’s wrong?”
Sydney looked up at him; she released a breath and shook her head. Logan could be a clown sometimes; did he think it was funny to scare her? There was no one next to her that seemed devil-like.
” It’s nothing, just a prank call.”
Gabriel nods with his lips curled up. ” I’m exhausted, do you mind following me to get something to eat?”
Although she ate breakfast earlier, her stomach felt empty. She could use a good lunch.
” As long as we walk there.”
Gabriel’s smile widened as they began to walk, ” I thought you enjoyed riding on my bike?”
” I do but I need a little walk sometimes. I need to stretch my bones.”
They walked to a nearby diner; Sydney slid in a booth and looked at Gabriel as he ordered some food.
The diner wasn’t as eloquent or modernized as the restaurants she’d been to before. It was warm and homely and she loved it. Gabriel was lucky, she thought. At least he didn’t get chased around by cameras or get to put on tiering dresses to look good in the eyes of the public.
Gabriel returned with two hot plates of Grilled cheese sandwiches and Fried Chicken Tenders. When the smell enveloped Sydney’s nose, she couldn’t help but moan.
Gabriel’s eyes widened in amusement, ” I didn’t realize you were that hungry.”
Sydney flushed. ” Not that, the food smells good. I can’t believe I haven’t been to this place before.”
Gabriel grate some cheese on the sandwich and smeared some ketchup on it. Sydney looked at him with her nose raised.
” Don’t tell me you are going to eat that?” She asked grimacing.
” I won’t tell you, I’ll show you instead.” Gabriel took a huge bit out of the sandwich and chuckled when he saw the distaste on Sydney’s face.
” You are disgusting.” She joked with a straight face.
” That’s how I eat all my sandwiches. Try it, it tastes good.” He raised a piece to her mouth.
She turned her face to the side, ” I don’t like ketchup, Gabriel. Take that thing away.”
” Okay fine, have it without the ketchup.” Gabriel insisted with a smile.
Sydney looked at him and hesitated but snatched the sandwich from him. She scrutinized the sandwich before eating the
She felt like throwing up.
” You said you don’t like ketchup, so I tried mustard; I had no idea it would taste like shit to you.” Gabriel held a laugh.
Sydney glared at him. ” And what did it taste like to you?”
Gabriel shrugged, ” I have no idea, I haven’t tasted it before.”
He burst into laughter and she couldn’t stop herself from laughing since his laughter was very contagious. The sound of her laughter felt weird in her ears. She couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed so genuinely.
She wished she didn’t have to return home so early but she had to. She had loads of house chores to do since Avery was a couch potato.
It was hard pretending that Avery’s presence in her home didn’t affect her negatively. Ethan, on the other hand, didn’t hide his displeasure; he called Avery a witch to her face. When Sydney scolded him, he ran up to his room, slammed the door shut, and wouldn’t come out.
On their walk back to the Country club, Gabriel said, ” Blake wanted to go for karaoke instead of dinner.”
Sydney’s mouth curved into an O; she had almost forgotten about the invitation Blake had given. She had no clue who to bring with her.
” As long as I don’t get to sing.” Her singing voice wasn’t the best. The only time she sang well was in the shower.