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“Just a small chance?” he pressed. “A couple of dates?”
She looked away.
“Do you want me to beg? I will.”
“No.”
Gabe ducked down to catch her eye. “You could add me to your list. Make me a project. Number six—give a stupid boy one more shot?”
“No, Gabe!” she snapped. “This isn’t funny. I can’t... I can’t be the girl who made your dad go back to a stressful job! I’m not coming between you and your family. I would never ever do that!”
The worry fell from his face. “That’s not who you’ll be. You’ll be the girl who challenged me to be myself. My honest self. And my dad... I can’t make his decisions for him. I have to accept that.”
“So you’re just going to let him take over again? Work himself to death? I don’t believe you. You’ll never be okay with that.”
“No. That’s not how it’s going to be. We all sat down together. All five of us. My sisters felt the same way I did. And my mom cried. She wants to travel. She wants a living, healthy husband. This time, Dad didn’t blow her off. Maybe the heart attack scared him or maybe he just needed to hear the truth from all of us at once. I don’t know why, but in the end, he agreed to bring on a partner.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He doesn’t want to give up control. I get that. It’s our family name. But he agreed to look for someone to take over a minority stake. He’ll have veto power over decisions, but he won’t have to be there day to day.”
“Really?” she repeated.
“Really. He still thinks one of us will want the business one day, and that’s fine. You never know. And if that makes it easier for him to give up some control, then it’s a good thing.”
“But...”
He grinned at her, his eyebrows raised in question, and that sweet smile melted her heart.
“No!” she said. “No, I already gave you up. I already did that and I was strong and it hurt so much and I can’t do this again!”
“But you don’t have to give me up again. I’m here.”
“That’s not what I meant.” She held strong in the face of his hopeful brown eyes. She could do it. He was practically a stranger without his beard. Those dimples meant nothing to her.
“Okay,” he finally said. “I understand. But if you change your mind, if you get lonely, I’ll just be a block away,” he teased, trying a different tack. “Day or night. Text or call and I’ll be at your door in—”
“Shut up,” she said. She crossed her arms tightly and his gaze dropped to her breasts.
He stopped talking and waited.
She glared. “We both know I won’t be able to resist.”
His eyes rose to meet hers. He smiled. “Yeah?”
“You know how beautiful you are, you bastard.”
His smile spread to a grin. “Is that all you care about? My good looks?”
She raised one shoulder. “That and your cunnilingus skills. I guess I’ll give you another shot.”
He stepped closer. His hands settled on her arms. When he pulled her toward him, she let him. Then his hand was cradling her cheek as he kissed her.
“Jesus, Veronica,” he breathed. “You had me scared there for a minute.”
She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him down for a longer kiss. When he finally lifted his head, she stared up at him. “Are you really here?” she asked, and tears were suddenly falling down her cheeks.
“I’m sorry,” he said. He kicked the door shut behind him and then they didn’t say anything for a long while. She kissed him, tasted him, touched the hard, wide muscles of his shoulders. She’d missed him so much. It felt as though it had been weeks instead of days. How had she gotten so accustomed to him so quickly?
