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“I haven’t lied to you.”
At least, not really. When she told him things wouldn’t work between them, she hadn’t lied. She didn’t things would work between them—unless they fought hard to make them work.
And he didn’t fight. He walked out instead. So, she didn’t fight either. She didn’t want to be the cause of even more tension between him and his father and brother. She made the best decision for both of them.
A slow grin emerged. “I didn’t think you did. You promised you wouldn’t.”
“You should go.”
Please stay.
“Okay. I’ll go.”
He still wasn’t going to fight. Damn her for putting all the fighting onto his shoulders. It was selfish, and she knew it. She should scream out that she loved him. That she missed him. That she wanted—needed—him in her life. For always.
Dane started to turn around, then stopped.
“Before I go, I thought I’d share that I quit.”
She frowned. “Quit…your job?”
An enigmatic smile popped up. Not just on his lips, but in his whiskey-colored eyes. “About an hour ago. Via email. I thought my dad would get a kick out of that. No notice, either. It felt liberating. He never cares how he treats me, so…” Dane shrugged. “I know I should take the higher ground and act like an adult, but I couldn’t help myself. Ms. Wallace is coming with me. The only employee on my payroll right now.”
“With you?”
He nodded, the excitement suddenly gleaming in his eyes. “I’m starting my own company. This beautiful woman once told me I would do amazing with my own company. I’ve decided to take a leap of faith and see if she’s right.”
A tentative smile slowly appeared. She couldn’t have stopped it if she tried. “She sounds super smart. I’m glad you took her advice.”
He took a step toward her. This time she didn’t take a step back.
“Yeah, she also told me—a lot of times,” he chuckled, “that I needed to not work so much. To have some fun.”
“Everyone needs downtime.” Her heart started to pound.
Another step forward.
“She made me see how much I was missing out on things.”
Another step.
“She showed me what love was.”
One more step. He stood so close, all he had to do was bend slightly to kiss her.
“And that I can’t live without that love.”
Whoa. Not at all what she was expecting.
Then he grabbed her hand that didn’t hold the key and interlocked his fingers with her. His lips touched hers. Softly, and oh so tenderly, she wanted to burst into tears.
She was so sick of crying, but she couldn’t help the intense emotion filling her up. Like a bathtub filling until the water hit the rim and well, where was the water supposed to go but over the side. That’s how she felt with her tears building.
“I love you, Gabriella. I love every fierce, strong, exciting thing about you.” His mouth stayed close to hers as he whispered with a yearning that had her heart beating even harder. “You said you don’t think things will work between us. Well, I call bullshit. The last two weeks have been two long weeks of hell. If things weren’t going to work, then it wouldn’t feel like my heart was ripped out of its chest and stomped on repeatedly.”
“But your father—”
“Can go to hell.”
