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Hurt shone, vivid and painful, in her eyes. Then she blinked, and her gaze dropped, hiding from him. She sat up, pulling her bra into place and straightening her shirt, her movements jerky. “Right, no problem. I get it.”
He crouched and grabbed her shaking hands, stilling them. He waited until she raised her gaze to meet his. She was trying to keep her eyes emotionless, but he could see the hurt brimming there, right below the surface.
“No,” he said, shaking his head. “You don’t get it.”
Hope tugged her hands, but he held firm, refusing to let go until she heard him out.
“Hope, I don’t have a condom,” he admitted, not bothering to disguise his frustration and embarrassment. He’d never forgive himself for not being prepared for this moment with her, but sex hadn’t been part of his life for a while now, and condoms weren’t something he kept freshly stocked. Although he was going to change that ASAP.
Hope stared at him for a beat. She blinked several times as if trying to compute the information. After another beat, the hurt in her eyes was replaced with genuine amusement. Considering he was still painfully hard in his jeans, he could safely say she was the only one amused.
“I see,” she said, biting her lip as if to keep from laughing.
Gabe held her gaze, not even smiling. “When I get inside you, Hope Morgan, we are both going to come so hard it’s going to ruin us for anyone else.”
She gasped and her eyes widened, all humor gone.
Good, he’d shocked her. “But I’m not going to do it without protection. Not until you know me better, and—” He paused, holding eye contact so he could be sure she was hearing and understanding everything he was saying. “Not until you trust me. You deserve better than that. Ok?”
Hope bit her lip again, nodding slowly.
“Ok.” In one quick pull he got her up to her feet, then because he wanted to, he tugged her in for a long slow kiss.
When he released her, they were both breathless.
“Come with Ruby and me to a family dinner at my sister’s tomorrow,” he heard himself saying.
“What?” Hope asked, her stunned eyes widening as she switched gears from a searing hot kiss to a family dinner invite.
“I want you to come,” he said, then admitted, “And my sister might have told me to invite you. She won’t let it go until I bring you.”
Hope looked at him skeptically. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Don’t you think it would be confusing for Ruby?”
Of course, she would be thinking this through, considering feelings across the board. She was compassionate that way, nurturing, and suddenly she didn’t seem as young or immature as his sister was worried about.
“You’re Ruby’s nanny. And she loves you. She’d be thrilled to have you there. You’re important to her.” He stopped before he said anything stupid. Something like,you’re important to me. This wasn’t the time to scare her or put too much pressure on her. Instead, he ran his knuckle down her cheek, shifting a strand of her golden hair over her shoulder. “It’d make us both happy to have you join a family dinner and meet everyone. Besides, you never know when one of them might walk in here with food, so it’s probably best if you recognized them all.”
She looked unconvinced, so he added a gentle “please” and saw the shift in her eyes the instant she relented. When she nodded her assent, he couldn’t stop the giant smile that bloomed across his face or the relief that flooded his chest. He refused to delve into why her agreeing to spend time with all of his family made him so happy. He was afraid to know why.
“Ruby and I will come and get you tomorrow at 5:30.” And all of a sudden, he was more excited about a family dinner than he had been—ever.
CHAPTERFIFTEEN
At 5:30 sharp the next day, a barely audible knock on Hope’s front door made her leap from her seat on the couch like a gunshot had gone off.
Ivy, who’d been sitting beside her with her nose in a book, stared at her as if she’d finally come undone.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ivy demanded in a tone that confirmed she indeed thought Hope was losing it.
Hope pressed her hand to her pounding heart and whispered, “They’re here.” Her excitement to see Gabe and Ruby was undone by her worry about what would happen next. Her palms broke out in a cold sweat. This was stupid. She had no reason whatsoever to be nervous. This wasn’t a date. It wasn’t some official meeting of the parents. It was a casual family dinner. Nothing more.
She looked to Ivy for moral support and found her grinning.
“This isn’t funny,” she hissed, as Ivy got up and went to the door without taking her gaze off Hope, her wicked grin morphing into an evil chuckle.
It wasn’t until she opened the door that Ivy finally turned her attention from Hope to Ruby, who stood in the doorway. “Hey, cutie,” Ivy said as she bent to fist bump the little girl.
Hope’s gaze shot straight to the man behind the girl, and her heart tripped over itself when his mossy-green eyes met and held hers and all the memories of last night’s kiss, and orgasm, passed between them.
