Gloria avoided him for a week.
Not dramatically.
She still answered group texts.
Still attended family dinners.
Still laughed at Phil's terrible jokes.
But every interaction beca carefully managed.
Shorter eye contact.
Less lingering conversations.
No monts alone.
And because the shift was subtle, nobody noticed.
Except Gael.
The distance affected him more than expected.
Not emotionally overwhelming.
Just… present.
A tension suddenly missing from the rhythm he'd unconsciously gotten used to.
anwhile, life around the neighborhood kept moving normally.
Haley's internship expanded into longer hours and real responsibilities.
Alex entered full application panic mode after Stanford requested additional materials.
Phil accidentally shut off electricity to half the Dunphy kitchen attempting "preventative maintenance."
Chaos continued.
But underneath it all, Gloria stayed careful.
Until Friday night.
Jay hosted a small dinner for business friends at their house, and halfway through the evening Mitchell pulled Claire and Cam into an argunt about venue planning for so charity event.
Which eventually scattered everyone naturally across different parts of the house.
Gael stepped outside onto the patio for air.
Warm night.
Pool lights glowing softly.
Distant city noise beyond the hills.
A few seconds later, the sliding glass door opened behind him.
Gloria.
Of course.
She stopped when she saw him already outside.
For a brief second, sothing uncertain crossed her face.
Then she closed the door quietly behind her.
"I was looking for silence," she said.
"You picked the wrong family for that."
A small laugh escaped her despite herself.
But unlike before, she didn't drift closer imdiately.
She stayed near the patio door.
Careful.
And sohow the restraint itself felt more intimate than flirting had.
Gael leaned lightly against the railing watching her.
"You've been avoiding ."
Direct statent.
No teasing around it.
Gloria looked down briefly before answering.
"Yes."
Honest again.
That honesty was becoming dangerous too.
"You think that fixes the problem?" he asked.
"No." She gave a quiet smile without humor. "I think it delays it."
The pool water moved softly behind them while muted voices carried faintly from inside the house.
Then Gloria finally walked farther onto the patio.
Slowly.
asured.
"I almost went with you that night."
There it was.
The thing both of them already knew but hadn't said aloud yet.
Not hypothetical anymore.
Real.
Gael stayed silent.
Because the admission mattered.
Gloria stopped beside the railing a few feet away from him, arms folded loosely against herself now.
"I sat in the car for ten minutes after you left." Her voice lowered slightly. "Trying to convince myself I was being ridiculous."
"And?"
A faint smile touched her mouth.
"I'm still trying."
The honesty in that answer pulled the atmosphere tighter between them.
No gas left now.
No pretending the attraction was casual.
Then Gloria looked toward the lit windows of the house behind them.
Jay's silhouette crossed briefly through the dining room.
That hit her visibly.
Because guilt existed now too.
Fully.
"I hate that this is becoming real," she admitted quietly.
Not dramatic.
Not romanticized.
Just true.
Gael watched her carefully for a mont before answering.
"Then stop before it gets worse."
Gloria laughed softly once.
Frustrated this ti.
"You always say the correct thing at the worst possible mont."
Because part of her wanted permission instead.
That realization hung heavily between them.
Then the patio door slid open again before either could speak further.
Claire stepped outside holding a wine glass.
She stopped instantly when she saw them together.
Not suspicious.
But perceptive enough to catch the atmosphere imdiately:
the quiet,
the tension,
the abrupt silence.
Gloria recovered first.
And just like that, the mont fractured apart.
But not before Claire glanced once between them—
and noticed sothing had changed.
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