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Rosie took Will’s proffered arm when it was her turn to descend the steps. As they passed Gideon and her darling kid, she heard Jorge whisper, “Isn’t she the prettiest mom ever, Gid?”
Though she didn’t turn to see his reaction, she felt Gideon’s eyes on her like a physical touch. “Yeah, kiddo,” he said in that low voice that sent thrill bumps running up her spine. “She sure is.”
Chapter Six
“I swear,” Chi said with a happy sigh as she clinked her champagne glass with Rosie’s an hour later, “that was the most beautiful wedding in the world. Especially when Noah gave Matt away. Did you know he was going to do that?”
Rosie shook her head. “I asked Jorge if Noah said anything to him about it, but he just zipped his lips like it was a big secret.”
“Adorable,” Chi said.
Rosie agreed, looking over at the boys, who were once again fascinated by Henri the peacock. The bird had wandered onto the dance floor, his tail feathers swishing behind him, and the docent was helping Jorge, Noah, and Jeremy place a trail of breadcrumbs to tempt Henri back to the grass. By now, Noah had taken off the robot helmet, the paint on his face, and the black ducting on his arms and legs.
They’d finished the wedding-party photos—with and then without the robot costumes—and now Ari and Matt were posing for the bride-and-groom shots while the rest of the guests enjoyed refreshments and appetizers. The drinks were prepared with antenna-shaped swizzle sticks, which Jorge and Noah ran to collect whenever a glass was emptied, and the appetizers were served on gear-tipped toothpicks.
Though Gideon stood at the opposite end of the bar nursing a beer, he didn’t join Rosie and Chi. Instead, he remained alone, all of his thick walls back in place in the wake of the emotions that had obviously been roiling through him during the ceremony.
Rosie’s chest ached with longing to reach for him, to make him smile with gentle teasing. Not simply because she wanted to help heal him…but because she liked him. Liked him enough to want him to be happy. Truly happy.
Just as Matt and Ari had said to each other during their vows, sometimes the dark shadows from your past could be so thick that you got lost inside them. Chi and Ari had helped pull Rosie from that darkness.
But would Gideon ever allow anyone to help him?
Now that his photographs were done, he’d loosened his bow tie. To Rosie, he had never looked sexier. The man was positively mouthwatering.
Chi homed in on Rosie’s gaze. “He’s so sweet to have paid for the whole wedding, even splurging for the pianist from the San Jose Symphony.” Chi spoke in a voice low enough that Gideon couldn’t hear.
Gideon wouldn’t let the Mavericks pay for a thing, even though they were all as rich as Croesus. Gideon had lived on the cheap for years, moving from place to place so he could follow construction work, and he’d arrived in the Bay Area with nothing more than a duffel bag. And still, he had granted Ari’s every wish as though he were a genie.
“Ari said the guys finally stopped trying to give him money to help out when he refused to take even a penny.” Rosie tugged on a strap of her dress that had started to fall off her shoulder. She thought she saw Gideon’s gaze land on her bare skin, before skittering away as Daniel and the other Mavericks came up beside him.
Daniel clapped Gideon on the back. “You did a great job up there.” His voice was loud enough to carry to Rosie and Chi.
“Ari’s happy. That’s the only thing that matters.” Yet again, Gideon refused to take any credit.
Daniel had loosened his tie along with removing the black ducting from his arms and legs, as had all the Mavericks. His white tux jacket was undone, revealing his cummerbund. “I predict that in no time, you’re going to have your own construction empire.” He turned to Evan, Sebastian, and Will. “Another billionaire, I guarantee it.”
Gideon was a master of the impassive expression, likely something he’d learned in the military. But Rosie thought she could see something flicker through him as Daniel heaped him with praise—a combination of surprised pride, swiftly followed by disbelief that the praise was anything more than Daniel blowing smoke.
“Ready to break ground on the first warehouse?” Daniel asked.
Gideon nodded, a spark finally coming into his eyes, his excitement over the warehousing project getting the better of his natural reticence—especially when the other guys started asking technical questions.
Chi moved to block Rosie’s view of Gideon. “You’ve got it bad, girl.” Again, she spoke in a low voice no one else would overhear.
Rosie blinked in surprise at her friend. For all that they usually shared everything with each other, she had never admitted to either Chi or Ari just how much Gideon affected her. Not only how attractive she found him, but also how deeply he tugged at her heart. “Is it that obvious?”
“Only to anyone within singeing distance,” Chi replied with a playful smile. “The sparks the two of you have been shooting off today with all your secret glances have been totally hot.”
Hope lit in Rosie’s heart. “I wasn’t sure if I’d imagined the way he looked at me.”
“You aren’t imagining a thing,” Chi confirmed. “However much he might be trying to fight it, Ari’s brother has it just as bad for you as you have for him. The question is, what are you going to do about it?”
The billion-dollar question. “Gideon is a tough nut to crack.”
“Maybe I should buy you a huge nutcracker?” Chi suggested. She had a flair for the dramatic.
Though Rosie smiled at Chi’s teasing suggestion, she knew that was just the problem—Gideon was already cracked. Her heart ached with how badly she wanted to help mend his fractured soul by showing him that he was amazing, loving, caring, strong, and wonderful.
