“Not going to happen. Mainly because nothing anyone can say will ever change how I feel about you. I’m happy to have my brother and sister, but you’re the person who brings me ultimate joy. These past months with you have meant everything. My life is on track now, and I feel like I can accomplish whatever I want because you’re by my side to share it. Remember the conversation with Amelia you had? She said in all the years she’s known me, she’s never heard me so happy. That’s because of you.”
“I liked her. I’m glad to hear she’s moving on from the divorce.”
Gabriel brushed the hair out of my face. “We’ll have dinner with her when we get home. I can’t wait for her to meet you.”
“Me too.” Anyone important to Gabriel was important to me. “And you’re fine not going on assignments anymore? You’re okay working in the office?” I knew Gabriel giving up personal security was huge.
He rubbed his foot over my leg. “I spent almost fifteen years guarding strangers’ bodies. I’m ready to only be responsible for yours. I like learning the business side of it, and with Ivan making noises about wanting to sell, I feel confident I can take over the company and run it. I’ve been approached by guys I used to work with, former cops who’ve retired but still want to work.”
“As long as you have no regrets.”
“My only regret would be not having you to share this with.” He closed the space between us and kissed me.
In the distance I heard one of the little boys yell out, “Oooooh, Uncle Gabriel and Uncle Ronan are kissing.” I held on to Gabriel with one hand and gave a thumbs-up with the other.
This was my guy, and I was never going to let him go.
***
“They were so worked up from the whole day at the pool, and having you and Ronan here, plus the sleepover with Jeremy and Alexander, it took forever to get them to go to sleep.”
Amanda took a seat next to David and accepted a glass of wine. “Thanks, Gabriel, for helping with the boys. They loved hearing your stories of being a policeman in New York City.”
Lisa tucked her long legs under her and rested her head on Marshall’s shoulder. “What do you do, Ronan? Tell us a bit about yourself, and how the two of you met.”
I tensed, and Gabriel’s fingers, which had been playing with my hair, curved around my nape and massaged my neck. His presence steadied me, and I wondered why the hell I was so worried. If they chose to snub me because of what happened, I’d be no different than I was without them. As long as I had Gabriel, I’d be fine.
“Right now, I spend my time with the foundations I created to help sick children and their families. But before that, I hired Gabriel to be my bodyguard.”
“And you fell in love! That’s so romantic,” Lisa said, eyes shining, which was very sweet, but I braced myself for questions from Marshall; given his puzzled expression, I knew what was coming.
“Why did you need a bodyguard?”
“It’s a complicated story, but the gist of it is, when I was twenty, I received a huge sum of money following an accident that killed my parents. And you were right about the tattoos, Amanda—I was left with terrible scars on my arms, which I’d tried to cover up so I wouldn’t have to see them every day.”
“Oh, Ronan, I’m so sorry. That’s horrible, but thank God you made it out alive.”
“Yeah. Although there were times I wasn’t so sure it was the best thing.”
Gabriel shifted closer to me. “I’m grateful every day you’re here.”
I was too nervous for anything other than a quick smile. “Anyway, my sister was eighteen, but I felt responsible for her and basically made the mistake of spoiling her with money. Eventually she met her husband, who started an investment company, and she worked there as the office manager. I joined the business as well, and not long after, I discovered that Marty—my brother-in-law—had concocted a scheme to defraud their clients, but when I confronted them, I also found out she was pregnant and that it was extremely high-risk. She’d had trouble conceiving her first child and had several miscarriages before she was able to conceive again.”
I swallowed, feeling the weight of their stares. Marshall’s face was grim, and I had a feeling he knew what was coming.
“So…Marty suggested maybe I could take the hit for them, go to prison. Cassie couldn’t because she already had my little nephew at home and was pregnant. And he couldn’t because who would be there to take care of her while she was on bed rest, plus the strain of him being away for all those years would crush her. So I agreed.”
“Wait, what?” Lisa’s and Amanda’s mouths fell open, while Marshall’s eyes blazed with anger. “You agreed to go to prison for something your sister and her husband did? You had nothing to do with it?”
I shook my head. “Well, Cassie said she didn’t know about it at first. I had no way of figuring out if that was the truth, so I believed her. And yes, I know it was stupid. Trust me, the consequences of the decision have had much more of an impact than I could’ve ever imagined, but at the time, all I could think about was Cassie losing another baby or being alone to raise two little children without her husband. I was single, and it didn’t seem like it would be a big deal.”
“That wasincrediblystupid.” Marshall frowned. “So you went to federal prison, I’m assuming. No picnic despite what people think.”
Damn. He didn’t mince words, but he was right.
“Yeah. It wasn’t until I was released early—I ended up serving six years of a ten-year sentence—that I discovered I had tons of lawsuits to deal with, plus the aftermath. I knew I’d get some backlash, but I wasn’t prepared for all the hate that came my way.”
David’s gaze shifted to Gabriel, then again to me. “So that’s why you hired Gabriel. Because you needed protection?”
