Chapter 42: Pushy Valerie Starr(2)

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They had barely thirty minutes left to get ready for the day and head to the office, but Valerie couldn't keep her hands off her husband. Gabriel didn't know what hit him when he walked out of the bathroom, got pushed down on their bed and lost his towel without blinking once. Valerie placed her hands firmly against his chest and quickened her pace, wanting to get there faster. Gabriel grabbed onto her hips, just letting it happen. She tightened around him when she got closer and closer, her eyes widening and a sharp gasp leaving her lips when she felt his hand between her legs. His fingers rubbing her spot to get of her off faster. She lost it then, Gabriel following after. Hoisting her off him he helped her settle beside him and brushed his fingers through her hair.

"That was a waste of my shower, you know." He told her.

She opened her eyes and met his amused gaze, "We could quickly wash off together."

He chuckled, "That sounds dirty coming from you."

"There is nothing dirty about that!"

Rolling off the bed Valerie watched him grab his abandoned towel and reached for her hand, dragging her with him to grab a quick shower. He made sure not to touch her too much, not wanting to start something when they actually had to get to work. Gabriel got dressed much faster than her, did his hair in its usual perfectly styled hairdo and then disappeared from sight, probably making them both coffee to take with them to work. She took her time getting dressed, not wanting to look sloppy. Pulling her hair up in a bun she pinned it on her head and did her make-up lightly due to having less time to get ready. Leaving the closet she grabbed her bag and heels, making her way to the living room and almost bumping into a determined looking Ethan.

"Ethan?"

He met her gaze, "Took you long enough."

She frowned, "I got ready in a record of time!"

His lips curled up to a teasing smirk, "Right, let's ignore the obvious." She knew what he was referring to, her cheeks heating up in the process, "It never gets old, seeing that expression on your face." He let out a tired sigh, "Anyway, I didn't come here this early to tease you."

"So you couldn't wait to see Gabriel so you decided to come over before work?"

Ethan hesitated, it made her press her lips together to make sure she wouldn't laugh in his face. She only said those things to tease him, but apparently he took it seriously.

"That's not it!" He muttered after a while, "I came here to apologize, I've been thinking about it and came to the conclusion that you're right. This matter is something between Gabriel and you. If Gabriel is okay with you being friends with Ryan Parker, I shouldn't make an issue out of it. So I'm sorry."

It didn't quite sound like Ethan, it felt like the man had a serious conversation with her sister. Maybe Rachel even forced him to make things right as soon as possible. It made her realize that it wasn't Gabriel who got through to him, but Rachel. Things were changing between them two, she was sure the couple didn't see it coming as well.

"Apology accepted." She smiled at him, she trailed her eyes to Gabriel who walked into the room, carrying their travel mugs, "Ready to leave? You coming with, Ethan?"

"I rather not, I don't want to be put in an awkward position because of you newlyweds." He grinned at her knowingly, "I'm guessing you two are actually working on making Rachel and I godparents soon."

"Shut up." She told him, annoyed by the overly excited Ethan who dared to make those kind of jokes before she had her coffee.

Gabriel approached them and glanced down at her hand, "Put your heels on, we need to head out."

"Y-Yeah." She put her heels on and followed after the guys, leaving the apartment to head to the office.

Sitting in the backseat of Gabriel's car, he put the privacy screen up like usual. Sipping her coffee she met his gaze when she felt his hand upon her thigh.

"We're going to enjoy being together first before we take that step." Gabriel reassured her, "There is no need for you to keep worrying about it. For now we have Ella and Zoe we can indulge. When we're ready we'll know." He told her, "Until then let's focus on us."

She sipped her coffee, reaching for Gabriel's hand which rested upon her thigh and squeezed it. They weren't in a rush so she'd take his advice. For now it was fine to have Ella and Zoe over as much as possible. When the time was right they'd consider expanding their family.

Epilogue

Valerie was setting the table, humming cheerfully while she finished her task. Her husband was in the kitchen filling different bowls up with food which they prepared together. No one would ever suspect Gabriel Starr of being a man who enjoyed spending some quality time with his wife by cooking. They did it quite often now and she hated to admit it, but he was amazing in the kitchen. Ethan knew his way around the kitchen as well, but he had competition now.

When the doorbell rang she glanced at the kitchen, watching her husband walk out and sharing a smile with her. He was excited about his family coming over for dinner this weekend. His parents were staying with them while Ryan and Lauren would take the girls with them to stay at a hotel. Gabriel offered his brother to stay at the apartment as well, but Ryan insisted not being a bother to them. The apartment was big, but not big enough for the Starr family to stay over for the entire weekend. Ryan told them they'd be grateful when the girls were gone that night so they could recharge and spend time with them again the next day. Surely it couldn't be that bad, but even Lauren held her tongue. Valerie finished up her task and headed to the kitchen to grab the bowls and plates filled up with food. She set them on the table and looked up when loud footsteps came her way, a smile spreading across her face. She glanced down when she felt arms wrap around her and laughed, running her fingers through Ella's hair.

"Hello to you too." She cheerfully greeted the pushy little girl.

"Aunt Val, uncle Gabe said we could play a game after dinner." The girl informed her, releasing her from the tight hug, "I'm thinking the princess Monopoly uncle Gabe gave us when you were sick. But Zoe wants to play the treasure game. The treasure game is fun too. I don't know, I like them both. What should we play?"

She kept chatting on and on about what game to play after dinner. It was very easy to get lost in her chatter. Lauren walked up to them and gave her daughter a little pet on the head.

"Go wash up Ella, we're having dinner soon."

"I'm going!" Ella skipped to the kitchen, her sister right behind her while Ryan joined them. Making sure they washed their hands without making a mess of things.

"I'm so sorry." Lauren told her, "Ella-"

"I don't mind at all." Valerie quickly told her, "It's very entertaining to listen to her."

Lauren rolled her eyes, "You say that now, wait until you have her around for a week."

Valerie could tell that Lauren didn't actually mind her daughter being a chatterbox, "You actually won't be able to part with her for a week. The house will be too quiet."

"Damn right." Lauren whispered.

Lauren joined her little family in the kitchen, excited high pitched voices traveling into the room. Smiling she faced Alexia who without warning wrapped her up in a tight hug. The hug similar to Ella's, but unlike the little girl Valerie did not expect that to happen. Alexia cared about her children, but her words were sharp as knives most of the times which made her difficult to get along with. At least people outside their family didn't like hanging around Alexia that much. She didn't mind the sharp words at all though. Gabriel's personality was like his mother's, she was used to it and could read between the lines. Both of them were warm people who cared more about their loved ones than anyone dared to imagine.

"I'm so glad my son met you." Alexia whispered to her, causing her cheeks to heat up, "I can't remember the last time we were invited over for dinner." She pulled out of the hug and glanced accusingly at her son, "All of us that is. I'm quite sure you've never done that."

Gabriel rolled his eyes, "I never had the time nor energy to do that."

"Excuses" Alexia threw back at him, "But it's never too late to fix things." She continued on, "So I'm grateful your wife reminds you to spend time with your actual family."

"Mom!"

Gabriel would never allow anyone to talk that way about Ethan. They might have their difference at times in the end they always had each other's back no matter what.

"Gabe, I love that boy very much. But we're also worthy of your time, you know."

Gabriel tiredly sighed, "I know." He agreed, "Let's sit down and dig in, dinner is getting cold." He changed the subject, Valerie knew it was to keep the peace because her husband could get quite upset whenever he didn't like the tone people used when talking about Ethan Hunter, "Ryan, Lauren." He called, letting his brother and sister-in-law know that they were sitting down to have dinner.

They all sat around the table, it was crowded yet everyone was having a good time. The mood was light and excited chatter filled the room. Valerie absolutely loved this. She could tell the Starr family enjoyed spending time together again as well. She didn't regret pushing Gabriel to do this. It seemed he was warming up to the idea to spend as much time as possible with their families.

***

Valerie was in the kitchen together with Lauren, cleaning up after dinner while the rest of the family was playing a board game together in the living room. Eating dessert and drinking a hot beverage. Putting away the dishes Lauren was drying with a towel, Valerie glanced over her shoulder when she heard her sister's voice calling her name loudly. She nearly dropped the plate she was holding seeing Rachel standing in the doorway looking like she just ran away from a crazy axe murderer. Her mascara was running, her hair all over the place while she was out of breath. The beautiful dress Rachel was wearing was wrinkled and somewhat covered up with a man's jacket. She assumed it was Ethan's. What scared her the most was the look in Rachel's eyes. The tight feeling in her chest only getting worse. Valerie placed the plate down upon the counter and approached her sister cautiously, wrapping Rachel up in her arms.

"What happened?" She quietly asked, only for Rachel to be heard, "Thought you were having dinner with Ethan's family?"

Rachel tightly held onto her, the sniffing only getting worse. Her sister didn't answer her though. She was crying in her arms, quietly, while clinging to Valerie with all her might. Valerie glanced up, meeting the confused look of her husband.

"Why don't you talk to Rachel while I make you some tea?" Gabriel suggested.

She muttered her thanks to Gabriel and led her sister to their bedroom, closing the door behind her. Rachel sat down on the edge of their bed while Valerie sat down next to her.

"Rachel?"

Her sister met her gaze, the tears never ending as she spoke up for the first time, "It was horrible." Rachel's voice broke while fresh tears spilled from her red and puffy eyes, "I'm not going back there." She muttered between her sniffing, "I'm not going back there." She repeated.

Valerie reached for her sister's hand, squeezing it tightly, "Rachel, I'm not forcing you to go back there. If you want to stay here then that's fine. I don't need you to explain anything to me."

Her words calmed her sister down quite a bit. They both got comfortable, leaning against the headboard of her bed while curled up under the sheets. She wasn't being a good hostess to Gabriel's family, but right now she didn't care. Rachel needed her beside her, so she wouldn't leave her sister alone. She had no idea what happened while Rachel met her boyfriend's family, but she could imagine it wasn't a walk around the park. She didn't know the details, but both Ethan and Gabriel told her many times how horrible the Hunter family was. The Hunter family were people who didn't even resemble people anymore. Unattached and competitive they all were. It was why Ethan rarely spoke to them, always ignoring his family and turning down social events which involved his participation.

Valerie's eyes trailed to the door when Gabriel popped his head in, carrying two cups. He first placed a cup down on his bedside table since Rachel was laying on his side of the bed and then he walked around and placed the other cup down on her bedside table. He met her gaze, a warm smile spreading across his face.

"Take all the time you need. I'm in the living room if you need me."

Her Gabriel was such a warm person, she could understand why Tiffany went crazy because she lost him. Not that she'd ever forgive that woman for trying to murder her.

"Thank you." She told her husband.

Gabriel brushed his fingers gently over her cheek in an affectionate manner and then left the room, giving them the privacy they needed. Valerie stayed with her sister, taking the time to calm down while sipping the tea Gabriel had made. Whatever was going on between Rachel and Ethan, they'd always support them. They'd be able to figure things out together.