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Whereas, Rosie was always showing Jorge how much she loved him, making him laugh as she chased him down, growling, her hands clenched close to her sides like a T-Rex, grabbing him for one more terrible “Mom kiss.” The kid was going to be a heartbreaker, so like his mother with olive skin, deep, soulful brown eyes, and thick, curly, dark hair. One day, the girls would fall all over themselves for him.
The way men must fall all over Rosie.
The way he would fall all over her if he could, if he had a prayer of ever being good enough for her. Which he didn’t. Not even close.
The activity hadn’t scared off Henri the peacock, and Noah held out a piece of bread to Rosie. Instead of rushing off to get her hair and makeup done, she knelt down beside the boys and fed Henri. Noah leaned into her, Jorge on her other side, resting his head on her shoulder.
Gideon loved Noah with every broken shard of his heart. Noah was Matt’s kid by some woman Gideon had met only once. Noah’s biological mom had been flighty and talky and flirty, and how Matt had ever hooked up with her, Gideon couldn’t figure out. But Matt had been lucky enough to end up with Noah, and they’d both found Ari, so that made it all worthwhile in the end.
Blood didn’t matter. In every way except DNA, Noah was Ari’s kid. Which meant Noah was now a part of Gideon too. He’d love Noah even if he wasn’t Ari’s, simply because he was such a great kid. Funny, interested in everything, and so kind. Where other little boys might pluck the wings off a fly, Noah would catch it in a jar to set it free outside.
Wrapping themselves around Rosie, the boys convinced her to feed the peacock one more piece of bread. Of course, she was a softy and gave in, laughing with them.
Gideon didn’t know much about Jorge’s father except that he’d run out on them, leaving Rosie to raise Jorge on her own. She’d worked hard to earn a degree in accounting from the local college, then found a good job and a nice place to live for her and her son. Not a lot of women could have made it the way Rosie had.
He’d known she was special the very first moment he’d seen her. It was Thanksgiving, and she’d been wearing a dress the color of merlot. His chest clenched as he thought about how perfect, how sweet, she’d looked. How perfect and sweet she always looked.
She was petite and curvy and gorgeous, her hair dark and curly. Luscious. He dreamed about burying his face in her beautiful locks, drinking in her scent, one of flowers—orange and lemon blossoms. He dreamed about laying her down on a big bed and exploring her generous curves. He dreamed about making her cry out his name in pleasure.
But simply saying he was attracted to her minimized the strength of his feelings for her. During every Maverick party and barbecue and holiday, he not only felt almost drunk at the sight of her, he was constantly amazed by her intelligence and the sense of peace that radiated from her.
Of course, he could never be with her. Never have her heart. Not after everything he’d done.
Yet his heart couldn’t stop longing for her. His heart seemed to have a mind of its own, wanting what it wanted, the impossibility of it all be damned. Even if he could never deserve her. He could never go back and erase his past. He could never scrub out his mistakes. He would never get a do-over to make everything right—not only with Ari, but with his team, the team he’d lost in the Middle East.
“I really need to go now,” he heard her say to the boys in a soft voice that did things to him deep inside. Made him want all those things he couldn’t have. When she’d touched him so unconsciously just moments ago, the force of his desire—and longing—had nearly dropped him to his knees. “I’ll be over in the tent with Ari and Chi getting made up,” she said to Jorge, then pointed at Gideon, their eyes meeting. Her coffee-colored eyes were rich enough to fall into. “Gideon is going to watch out for you while I’m gone. So obey everything he says, okay?”
Gideon ached with the realization that Rosie trusted him with her son. He didn’t deserve her trust, but he hugged it close as if he were holding her. And when she fluttered her fingers at him to let him know she was finally leaving, his heart fluttered with her.
But he could never let himself touch her. Not when one touch would be his undoing.
If he touched her, he would need to kiss her.
And if he kissed her, he’d never be able to stop.
He’d been to hell while in the service, but though he was back in California, he’d never left that fiery pit behind. And he would never drag someone as extraordinary and wonderful as Rosie into that brutal abyss with him.
As she headed for the bridal tent, he remembered her comment about the stylists having their work cut out for them. Yet Rosie didn’t need paint on her face, or a fuss made over her gorgeous hair. Rosie was beautiful exactly the way she was, her petite figure a sexy hourglass that made men drool. She made him drool. He couldn’t figure out why some great guy hadn’t already snapped her up.
If only he could be that guy.
But he couldn’t. Not now. Not ever.
He was still amazed that the Mavericks had taken him in. Matt had offered him a home during the weeks when Gideon had been building a new life in California. Daniel Spencer had offered him a job, responsibilities, promotions at his Top Notch chain of DIY stores. First Gideon had been responsible for supplies, then purchasing, and now Daniel had put him in charge of warehousing—all the Top Notch warehouses, including the five being built in the Bay Area. Construction of those warehouses was now his baby. He couldn’t be sure why Daniel had given him the responsibility—maybe it was because Gideon had been a team leader in the army, or because he’d worked as a contractor after he got out—but whatever the reason, he wasn’t going to let Daniel down.
; Still, there was a part of Gideon, a huge part, that couldn’t figure out why the Mavericks were helping him. Not after he’d left his sister alone for sixteen years—allowed her to be raised in foster care. As far as he could see, he hadn’t done a thing to deserve what they’d done for him. Except being Ari’s brother. Sure, he worked hard, tried to do the best possible job on everything Daniel threw his way. But he could never repay Daniel. Never repay Matt. Never repay each and every one of the Mavericks for taking in Ari the way they had.
For taking care of her when Gideon hadn’t even been able to find her.
The boys ran over to him, and Jorge grabbed his hand. “Come on, Gid. The lady’s gonna let us feed bugs to the peacock.” Gideon smiled at the awe in Jorge’s voice over the thought of eating bugs.
Noah grabbed his other hand. “Yeah. Real live bugs.” His cheeks were flushed with excitement. “The lady said peacocks like bugs even better than bread. They spend all day poking around looking for them in the dirt and plants.”
“And we get to touch ’em too!” Jorge said.
“That sounds cool. Let’s go check it out.” They led Gideon back to Henri the peacock and the soon-to-be-eaten bugs.
