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She tipped her head up, blinking tears away. “But—”
“I’ll look after Noah as if he’s my own. I’ve got his back. I’ve got your back. Nothing bad will ever happen to Noah when he’s with me, I promise.” He’d once made similar promises to Ari when she was eight years old, that he’d take care of her no matter what. And he’d failed. But he’d never fail her—or Noah—ever again. “I will protect Noah with my life.”
Ari put her hand to his cheek. “I know you will. Thank you for loving him as much as I do.”
“How could I not?”
Finally, she gave him a real smile. The smile of a very happy bride—and the best sister a guy could ever ask for. One who hadn’t given up on him…even after he’d given up on himself. “I love you, Gideon.”
“I love you too, Ari. More than you’ll ever know.”
“I’ve always known,” she said softly.
After they hugged again, and she used his handkerchief to dry her eyes, he wrapped his arm around her and walked her outside the tent to where Matt stood by the limo with Noah in his arms.
“Have a great time.” Gideon shook hands with his new brother-in-law—whoa, it was a helluva thing to realize his little sister was married now—then there was a tearful hug between Dad, Mom, and child.
Finally, Matt put Noah down, and Gideon took his nephew’s hand. “I’ll take good care of him.” He repeated the promise to Matt.
“I know you will.”
“And I’ll take good care of Uncle Gideon,” Noah said with equal solemnity.
“That’s right, kiddo. You’ve got my back.” He held Noah’s hand tight while they all hid their smiles.
After everyone else got in their good-byes and hugs—Susan, Bob, the Mavericks, Jeremy, which took nearly as long as the wedding ceremony had—Gideon stepped back, picking up Noah and hugging him close for the final good-bye waves as the limo pulled away.
Once Ari and Matt were out of sight, Noah slid to the ground and said to Jeremy, “You’ll take good care of my puppy, won’t you?” Gideon’s apartment couldn’t take dogs, so Jeremy, Harper, and Will were going to keep the puppy for the two weeks.
Jeremy nodded so fast and hard that his hair flopped up and down on his forehead. “I sure will. Harper’s going to help me do training and everything. Our puppies are going to be so happy together.” Tasha had given puppies to both Jeremy and Noah from the litter she and Daniel had found abandoned in the mountains.
“Come on, Jeremy.” Harper waved, her other hand held firmly in Will’s. “Time to go.”
“See ya later, alligator,” Jeremy called over his shoulder as he raced off.
“In a while, crocodile,” Noah shouted back. Then he turned to Gideon. “I was thinking, you and me are gonna have so much fun together while I’m staying with you, but I don’t want Jorge to feel left out.”
The kid was good. He knew exactly how to yank Gideon’s heartstrings. “I wouldn’t want that either.” He had no idea how he’d get through seeing Rosie again so soon—especially when all he wanted to do was hold her in his arms and kiss her breathless. “Should we set up some playdates?”
“Yes!” Noah raced to Jorge. “Uncle Gideon says we get to play together while I’m staying with him.”
“I hope that’s okay,” Gideon said to Rosie. She’d mentioned playdates earlier, but they hadn’t actually agreed on anything.
“Of course it is,” she replied. “In fact, Jorge already told me they want to spend every single day together. I didn’t make any promises, but I figure we can play it by ear and see what works for everyone.”
Jorge cut in to ask, “Mom, can we go say good-bye to Henri the peacock? He’s right over there.”
“Okay, but stay where I can see you.”
Gideon was still rolling with shockwaves as Noah and Jorge ran off to see the peacock. He’d thought they’d set up a couple of playdates and he’d be done with it. But seeing Rosie every single day for the next two weeks? He’d go completely mad.
Or worse, he’d kiss her.
But he couldn’t ignore the sad look that had been on Noah’s face as he’d watched Matt and Ari drive away. The image was burned on Gideon’s retinas. So how could he say no when nothing would make Noah happier than to spend the next two weeks with his best friend?
Two weeks in which Gideon would have to chain down his base urges. Yeah, right, that would take a gargantuan effort, considering how close he was to the edge while doing nothing more than standing beside Rosie. She was in his head, mesmerizing him with the scent of her skin, the feel of her body, the softness of her curves.
“I was thinking we could take them some fun places,” she said cheerily, without a clue about all the feelings raging inside him. “Maybe the San Francisco Zoo or some of the museums. What do you think?”
