Team Stealth had gotten him away from the army when he didn’t think he needed to. He could still hear Jordan’s convincing argument about why he should sign on with Axis Management and shook his head. That guy could sell religion to the most devout atheist. Damn, he missed him, and he always would. But the other Bandit Brothers were a quick plane ride away.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes, Princess. I’m lucky you were at the hotel and not your parents’ place.”
“It’s basically one long stretch of road off the highway.”
“Yeah, I’ll have to refresh my memory.”
“I’m supposed to have dinner with them tomorrow night. You could come?”
“I would like that.” He wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned her cheek against his chest. This, right here, was all he needed. He just had to tell her that.
A knock on the door broke apart their embrace.
Ivy shook her head at him, went to the door and brought the cart in.
“Let’s move all the dishes to the table. You got me French pressed coffee?”
“I asked. They said they had it.”
“This is my favourite hotel.”
They got busy, pouring coffee and dishes and digging into the buffet of breakfast Gabe had ordered.
After he cleared the plates, he set them on the cart and wheeled it outside their room.
“Come here.” He sat on the couch, pulling Ivy on his lap. “It’s nice having breakfast with you. I’ve missed it.”
“Yeah. I know. Gabe, I know you don’t like that I took this job, but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.”
“Of course, you couldn’t,” Gabe said.
“Really?” She bit her lip. “I thought you would be mad because I didn’t tell you about it. They called me out of the blue.”
“Yes. Ivy, I’ve been an asshole. I forgot how amazing you are at your job. You should be earning the high dollars, and you would have been dumb not to take this position out here. I know the job with Julien was fun, but I doubt he matched the salary.”
“No, he laughed and told me he knew it was too good to be true.”
“Good. It’s nice to see your confidence back. I know I dented it a bit, and I hate that. I’m so sorry, Ivy.” He took her hand in his. “From now on, I’m going to support you in anything you want to do.”
Ivy shook her head, her short blond hair caressing the top of her eyebrows. “But I let my confidence get too easily shaken too. Losing Metric was a big deal for me. It felt like I had lost a person almost. But it was you not believing me. I don’t know. I started to get withdrawn. I didn’t recognize myself.”
“That’s on me. And I’m sorry.”
“I know. You said it.”
“And I’ll keep saying it. Move your feet for a sec.”
Ivy swung her feet off his lap, and Gabe grabbed his tablet. “Look at this.”
He took her coffee cup as she took the tablet.
“Are you serious?”
He grinned at the shock in her voice.
“Yes, that’s what our condo will fetch us. Quinn’s mother-in-law thinks she can sell it quickly.”
