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Gideon wanted to wrap Rosie in his arms and make it all better. He wanted to snap his fingers and wipe all her pain, and her fears, away. He wanted to smash her ex down. But most of all, he wanted to keep Jorge safe forever.
“When I met him,” she said in a low voice, “I thought he was smart and charming. He was older, and I let him beguile me into thinking that he could help my art career. I believed everything he said. I thought he was something special. But he wasn’t. He didn’t care about my art. He didn’t care about me. And he sure as hell didn’t care about Jorge.” Her voice rose slightly, with frustration and anger.
His fists bunched tight with the need to crush the guy. And his heart ached with the need to pull Rosie close, to hold her, to feel her lean on him, to give her whatever she needed.
For now, however, all he could do was gather as many details as possible. “Was he some sort of art professor?”
“Archie was a gallery owner.” She laughed, but there was no humor in it. “He hated it when I called him that. He always insisted on Archibald. Archibald Findley.”
Archibald Findley. Gideon hated the man, hated the pompous name, hated anyone who could treat Rosie and Jorge the way he had, as though they were disposable.
“He owned a prestigious art gallery in San Francisco called Impressions,” she continued. “Everyone wanted their work to be shown there. If you got into his gallery, you had made it.”
As she spoke, Gideon could see how it had been for her all those years ago. A girl only months out of high school, needing affirmation from some big, important person that she could be great.
“He told me my paintings were amazing. He told me I was talented. He told me I was going to be such a huge success. And I believed him. He was going to do this big show just for me. But there was always one more little thing that needed to be tweaked on a painting.” She sighed. “Then I found out I was pregnant. And there was no more Archie, and there was no more show, and I was alone. If he had been a good man, I would have wanted him in Jorge’s life. I would never have kept my son away from his father, unless it was absolutely necessary.” Her expression hardened. “Archie made it clear to me that it was absolutely necessary that both I, and the baby, went away, lest we ruin the fancy life he’d worked so hard to build.” She swallowed hard. “He told me never to make the mistake of contacting him again. Or to try to get child support. He said the best thing I could do was—” It was obvious that she could barely say the words. “He wanted me to get rid of Jorge.”
Gideon couldn’t stop himself from laying his hand on her cheek. “I’m so sorry, Rosie.”
She covered his hand with her own, as though to take strength from him before saying, “I wasn’t alone, fortunately. Because I had Ari and Chi. They helped me through school. They helped me with Jorge. Anything I needed, they were always there. Jorge and I, we would never ha
ve made it without them.”
Her skin was warm beneath his palm—and her hand over his was sizzling. “I see now why you love my sister so much.”
She smiled with memory. “I loved her before that. Chi and Ari and me, it was like we were sisters who were separated until we were thirteen.”
He’d always thought of Ari as being alone, out there by herself against the big bad world. But she’d never truly been alone. Not when she’d had Rosie and Chi. It eased a small piece of his soul to know the three of them had been so close and supportive of each other while he was gone.
Unfortunately, none of that changed the situation with Rosie’s ex. He was still the worst kind of man, and he still needed to be shut down. “I say we take a trip up to Impressions—” He didn’t hold back the snide note in his voice at the stupid name. “—in San Francisco and put the fear of God into the guy.”
She pulled away as she shook her head. “No. No way. That would be like spraying a hose into a hornets’ nest. We should just leave this whole thing alone. As long as I keep Jorge near me, I feel so much better.”
He didn’t want to upset her any more than she already was, but he had to make her face reality. “What are you going to do when Jorge goes back to school and you return to work? Because if it really is your ex, and he really is after Jorge, then he’s probably waiting for you both to be in two different locations, leaving Jorge vulnerable.” Too much was at stake to pretend otherwise.
Her face turned pale and stricken.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t mean to scare you. But we’ve got to be prepared for anything.” Especially since Gideon knew firsthand that sometimes the worst really did happen. “Let me take care of this for you, Rosie.”
He would do anything to keep her and Jorge safe.
And this time he absolutely would not fail.
* * *
What had she done?
Gideon was a big protector, all muscle-bound, military style. She should have known he wouldn’t let this go. She trusted him and respected his opinion—of course she did. Only, if Gideon went poking around, then Archie could very well retaliate, not just against her, but against Jorge and Gideon. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to her son or the man she was coming to care for so deeply.
“Archie doesn’t live in San Francisco anymore,” she told him. “When he left, he shut down the gallery in the city. He’s somewhere out in Vegas now.”
Gideon’s eyes took on that dark, stormy cast. “Las Vegas doesn’t mean you’re safe.”
For a guy who didn’t talk much, he sure as heck was doing a lot of talking now. “Look, really, I can handle it.”
“Rosie—”
“I’m just going to get Jorge and take him home. We’ll be fine.” She sidestepped Gideon and headed to the bedroom door.
