Threading my fingers through his thick locks, I pulled his face to mine. “You don’t deserve their hate. Not after all you gaveup. Sure, they were there to pick up my pieces, but who was there to pick up yours, Gabe?”
The sadness that flashed through those amber irises almost broke me because I knew he’d suffered silently. I’d had my family and Cindy, but Gabe had no one to turn to.
“Is it plane time?”
I jumped back from Gabe, seeing the hurt that slipped through his eyes. No matter what I felt about him, I wasn’t ready to expose Reid to what was happening to us until I knew for sure he wouldn’t end up hurt. With Gabe’s acceptance of my invitation to face my family, I was closer but needed to get through the weekend first.
“It is,” Gabe said, recovering quickly.
I bundled Reid up and grabbed my coat as Gabe took my bag and led us out of the suite.
“Where’s your bag?” I asked him as Reid dragged his suitcase behind him.
“In the car. I went down to make sure the car was here earlier.”
He stepped into the elevator, holding the door for us, and I couldn’t help but notice how good he looked. His beige coat cut his figure perfectly and gave him an air of sophistication he hadn’t had when we were younger. This was the version of him that had only come out on rare occasions, and I now realized it was the side he’d hidden from me because it belonged in this world.
Power, money, respect. Those were the things his presence demanded. Heads turned when he walked through a room, and I had to stop my sting of jealousy when women were among the onlookers. There was no reason for it because he’d admitted there had been no one but me even when we were apart. It had been the same for me because no one could fill his shoes. He had been the criteria I based every man on, and so the few dates I’dforced myself to go on had all ended with the reminder that I would never erase Gabe’s hold on me.
“Changing your mind?” he asked, giving me a coy grin.
“No,” I replied, waking from my none too subtle gawking. “Just thinking.”
I stepped onto the elevator, and Reid looked up at me, his eyes filled with excitement. He was clutching the car Gabe had bought him. The same one he’d been attached to since his birthday. With him standing next to Gabe, there was no question he was Gabe’s son. Every time I saw them together, it sent my stomach into somersaults.
Once we were in the car, Reid held Gabe’s attention, chatting about the movie again before moving onto candy flavors. It continued until we boarded the plane. I had been on private jets before, traveling with Carl Bradman and the other executives to a handful of meetings, but Reid had never been. His joy spilled over, and I peered up at Gabe to see his smile lighting his eyes to a rich hue.
I sat across from Gabe upon Reid’s insistence that he sit next to him. When Reid pulled out his tablet, I reached over to Gabe and took his hand. I could see the nerves, even if he was trying to hide them. He was such a powerful presence, had been my rock, my security blanket for the months we’d been together that it was hard to see him so rattled. It reminded me of the day he’d proposed to me, and a surge of emotion swept through me. We were so close to being back to that place, but the distance was still there. His guilt and my wounds causing the divide.
His eyes lifted to mine, and I gave him a slight smile. “It’ll be okay,” I said. “And even if it isn’t, I’m not going anywhere as long as you aren’t.”
Covering my hand with his, Gabe said, “Never again.” His finger brushed over the ring, the constant reminder of what could be.
Soon, I thought. The future I had once dreamed of, the one that circumstance had demolished, would resurface. We just needed to be patient while we picked our pieces up and sealed them back into place.
The front door opened just as Gabe helped me out of the car.
“Uncle Cash!” Reid called, running up to him and not reading the lethal expression in his eyes.
“Hey kiddo.” He ruffled his hair. “Go inside and find Shelby. I’ll be in soon.”
Reid ran in, slamming the door behind him, and my heart thundered. The few times I’d seen my brother this angry had all involved Gabe. He was level tempered but when it came to me, Brandi, or his daughter, he was a beast. And that beast was tearing down the sidewalk toward us. Gabe moved in front of me, his hands clenched but not drawn. The punch hit him square in his jaw, and I screamed, trying to rush around him to stop Cash. Gabe’s hand careened into my waist, holding me in place as Cash drew another punch. This one Gabe stopped.
“I think you made your point,” he said with a calm that seemed out of place until I thought of that cool, calculating side of him. The side that had torn his father’s empire apart.
“Not even close.”
“Cash.” My father’s voice held the authority I remembered from our youth. “Let him be. We promised Victoria we would hear him out.”
Cash dropped his fist, his blue eyes dark with vengeance. They flicked to me. “If I don’t like what he has to say, I won’t hesitate to throw him out.”
He turned his back on us and stalked away. Gabe rubbed his jaw, and I saw the tension when he rolled his shoulders. He glanced down at me, his irises a muted earthy tone with shades of gold. I swallowed back the gutted sensation that had me in its grip and said, “You sure you still want to do this?”
I was giving him an out and praying he wouldn’t take it even though I didn’t want to see him suffer any more. Just like I didn’t want to suffer any more.
Taking my hand, he said, “Certain.”
My father held the door open, his eyes unreadable as he gave me a kiss on the cheek. There was no greeting for Gabe, not even formalities. I squeezed Gabe’s hand, knowing this was the ultimate test. He’d reclaimed my heart. Now he needed to convince my family to forgive him. If they didn’t, I wasn’t sure how I could survive because I didn’t want to give Gabe up.
