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Liz made a V with two of her fingers, pointed at her eyes and then directed them toward Gage, in the clear ‘I’m watching you’ gesture. It would be a while before she fully trusted him, she was a loyal friend and he was on her shit list.
“I’m sorry about that, she means well,” I said after she walked off. I turned my head to the side and back so that I could see him. Gage’s eyes were trained on where my hand still rested on his arm. Flexing my wrist, I lifted my fingers then gasped when he captured them in his own.
Cupping his palm around mine, he led me to his truck. I might like this even better than his hand against my lower back. He remained quiet the whole drive to my house and it was long enough that I’d let negative thoughts tick over in my brain.
I’d never been very confident with the opposite sex. My experience in this area was seriously lacking.
“Would you like to come in?” Miles was asleep inside, so a repeat of what happened on the couch wasn’t an option. Still, I did have a lock on my bedroom door. Maybe this time I could convince him to stay until the morning.
Gage reached out his hand and ever so gently lifted my ponytail, the strands sifting through his fingers. “Not tonight, angel. You’ve got company.” He tilted his head and I noticed Mrs. Gonzalez’s curious face and wide eyes pressed against my living room window, her breath fogging the glass. Noticing us staring, she backed away, shutting the curtains quickly.
“Besides,” he said, regaining my attention, “I plan to do this right. If you need me, I’ll be here.” He stepped closer and I tilted my head backward, my eyes drifting shut as he lowered his face toward mine. Warm lips pressed against my forehead and though it wasn’t the kiss I wanted, there was a tight pull in my chest from the softness.
“Goodnight, Gage.”
“Night, angel.” He didn’t move until I was inside, the door shut behind me.
I wanted to rush to the window and make sure he was still here but I had another voyeur that I had to deal with at the moment. Mrs. Gonzalez sat on my couch, a bag of knitting supplies by her slippered feet and a forgotten square of blue on the cushion next to her.
I kicked off my shoes and sighed in relief when I flexed my toes. I was shocked she waited until I was seated in the armchair before starting her interrogation. “Well, are you going to tell me who that handsome young man is or not?”
“He’s my stalker,” I said with a smile and that only led to another half hour of questions before she left through the back door to go home, muttering in Spanish about crazy girls.
14
GAGE
“Computer’s fixed,” Roe dropped a laptop in front of Gray. “Tell your mom to stop clicking links in emails that she doesn’t recognize. I’m a little worried actually, her top favorite is the obituaries page, maybe you should make sure she hasn’t taken out life insurance on your dad.”
“Maybe it’s an old people thing. Like when they complain about their illnesses or the weather in a state that’s three thousand miles away,” Kane offered as he poured himself another cup of coffee. His and Winnie’s little girl, Faye, was going through sleep regression, whatever that meant. He looked exhausted. I wondered if Mia ever had that issue with Miles.
We were seated in the conference room for our morning meeting and I’d barely gone thirty seconds without thinking about her. It had been a few days since I’d gone to Brooks’ with the intention of begging her forgiveness. Since then, I’d driven her home every night, staying on her porch while she went inside with nothing more than a kiss on her forehead.
My dick hated me. Luckily, my brain was still running the show, for now at least. I hadn’t forgotten what it was like to watch Mia come, I also hadn’t forgotten what the aftermath of my attention had looked like. Despite her protests, I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to trust myself not to hurt her again.
“Gage,” Gray called out like he’d been trying to get my attention for a while. We were the only two still in the room and I started to push from my chair when Gray held his hand up in the air, “Stay, if you have a minute.”
Settling back in the chair, I waited for him to talk. “When Kane and I started this business, there was a list of traits that we were looking for in candidates. Training, service record, et cetera. More than anything we wanted to build a team and I think we did a good job of that. I trust all of you with my life, with my family’s lives.”
I nodded along. That trust went both ways, there was no one I’d rather have at my back than the people in this building.
“I want you to remember all of that when I ask you this question, because I know it’s going to piss you off.” My muscles tensed, there was only one subject, or rather person that was off limits.
“What’s going on with Mia Delgado?”
He was right, it did piss me off. “Careful, James. You’re my brother but she’s not up for discussion.”
He sighed, looking every bit like the weary leader of a pack of assholes. “Stand down, Marine, I’m not calling you off. Her kid is in Daisy’s class and I’ve met her a few times. Nice lady, works hard to support herself and her son. This is just me checking in because I care, that’s all.”
I bristled at the inclination that he cared about Mia. Gray had his own obsession, Lily. They were married with a couple of kids. Rationally, I knew that any concern he had for Mia was purely platonic. However, it was another person reminding me that I wasn’t good for her, didn’t deserve her.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“I meant you, asshole. I’m checking in on you. Believe it or not, I worry about you idiots.”
Huh, that was new. His assurance took my anger down but not by much. “I’m fine. I’ve got it under control.”
His raised brow indicated he thought otherwise. “It may seem like I do nothing but paperwork and conference calls but I’m not completely out of touch. You watch her a lot for someone who has it under control. Word is you’re driving her home every night after work, too.”
