Take Me On

Ross Siblings - 4

by

Cherrie Lynn

For my very dear friend Amanda. Thanks so much for all of your support, your inspiration, and for not being afraid to tell me when it sucks. I love ya!

Chapter One

March

It was the day every little girl dreamed of, but Gabriella Ross suspected her dreams had been more elaborate than most. She’d always imagined herself in a ridiculously puffy confection of a wedding dress, walking up an aisle sprinkled with rose petals to meet the handsomest man on the face of the earth at the altar in front of hundreds of adoring guests. Her groom would only have eyes for her, and the two of them would become united for the rest of their lives, and doves would fly, and a choir would sing, and they’d live happily ever after. Piece of cake.

Well, she had still imagined most of that until recently. There were no doves poised for release here today, no choir, no rose petals—but there were a couple hundred guests out there. Hopefully, most of them were adoring. And the church was gorgeous. She couldn’t have dreamed of a more perfect setting.

Looking at her own reflection in the full-length mirror of her dressing room, Gabby saw a woman splotchy with anxiety instead of flushed with excitement. The dress was fabulous, but sleek and elegant instead of something appropriate for a princess in a fairy tale. And even her matron of honor/sister-in-law’s expertise with the foundation she was dabbing on Gabby’s throat and chest did little to camouflage the evidence of her out-of-control nerves. Minutes ago, she’d begun to look like she’d been slapped on both cheeks.

“All right,” Kelsey said soothingly as Gabby took yet another shuddering breath. “Do you need some fresh air or something? Don’t pass out on me.”

“We should’ve done what you and Evan did. Small, intimate…far, far away.”

“It’s the way to go,” Kelsey agreed, intent upon her task. “I did the whole big-wedding thing for my first marriage. Once was definitely enough.”

“You could’ve advised me of that before we started planning this three-ring circus.”

“You wouldn’t have listened.”

“True.”

“Keep breathing.”

Gabby nodded, exhaling slowly and fanning herself with her hand, for all the good it did. Her heart knocked erratically in her chest. She hadn’t eaten all day, despite Kelsey’s prodding. This was it, her special day, the day she’d dreamed of…and she was going to have a hypoglycemic episode and faint at the altar. She just knew it.

Of course, the thought of Mark in a tux could snap her out of any funk. God, she couldn’t believe how lucky she was that he’d come along. Once upon a time, she’d cracked a joke at her brother’s birthday party about how she needed to marry a doctor before starting med school, and here she was, about to do just that—because she loved him, though, not because he was a doctor. She stifled a chuckle at the thought. Her brother Evan ribbed her about that little comment constantly. He had a memory like a steel trap.

Besides, she was in med school now, almost to the end of M1. It would’ve been more sensible to put this whole thing off until the summer, but she’d always wanted to have a spring wedding. It meant delaying any kind of long, lazy, sultry honeymoon for a couple of months, but that was okay. They would get there.

Kelsey’s gaze flickered up to hers as she stepped back and eyed her with concern. “You all right?”

“Better now,” Gabby said, and it was true. She didn’t sway on her feet at the idea of walking up the aisle. The image of her future husband and the knowledge she was about to become Mrs. Mark Easton—and in a few years, Dr. Gabriella Easton—had instilled her with confidence. She just needed to keep him at the front of her mind and look at this wedding not as the culmination of a lifetime of girlish fantasies, but as a silly little thing she needed to get through to have everything she’d always wanted. It was all good. Life was wonderful.

She gave Kelsey a big smile. Her sister-in-law looked ravishing in her black dress, almost the antithesis to Gabriella’s. Her dark hair was piled atop her head in intricate curls, and soft tendrils spiraled down around her face.

“There’s that megawatt Ross grin,” Kelsey said warmly, returning the smile. “The deer-in-the-headlights look had to go, girl. I couldn’t let you go down the aisle like that.”

Thank God for Kelsey. Gabby would be ever thankful that Evan had brought this woman into their family. She was more than a sister-in-law; ever since marrying Evan, Kelsey had become like the sister Gabby had always wanted but never had. Nope, just two annoying little brothers for her, even though Evan was an attorney now, and the baby of the family, Brian, was a successful business owner.

“I hope Mark and I can be half as happy as you and Evan,” Gabby said, leaning in to give Kelsey a quick hug.

Kelsey laughed. “That’s no thought to have on your wedding day. You should know you’ll be happy, happier than any other couple in the entire world.”

“Well, of course. I know. We will be.” Right? Gabriella straightened and looked at herself in the mirror again. She only wanted to do this once in her life. But then, Kelsey had only wanted to do it once too. It had taken twice for her to get it right.

“It’s work, I’m not going to lie,” Kelsey said. “As long as you have the right partner, though, that’s all that matters. I see that now. It makes all the difference.”

Mark would be a great partner. He was…well, he was amazing. Brilliant. Caring. There had been moments when she’d questioned where she ranked on the list of things he cared about, but it had been selfish of her. He was one of the top cardiologists in Dallas, for God’s sake; he had other priorities too. She accepted that. And he had asked her to marry him, to spend the rest of her life at his side.

Kelsey seemed to be opening her mouth to say more, but a gentle knock on the door interrupted her. “Come in!” Gabby called and smiled as Candace Andrews slipped into the room. Her little sister-in-law-to-be, since Brian had finally popped the question at Christmas. She wasn’t as close to Candace as she was to Kelsey, but she hoped to change that. The girl had been a miracle worker on Brian, and though Brian constantly threatened that they were going to elope, Gabby really hoped they wouldn’t. Seeing her tattooed, pierced baby brother in front of a large congregation vowing to love Candace for the rest of his life was something she would pay a substantial amount of money to see.

“I was starting to worry,” Gabby teased. “Since you skipped out on the last wedding you were supposed to be in and all.”

Candace halted in her tracks, putting a hand to her head. “Oh God! Don’t remind me. I still feel bad about that. I still hear about it too.”

“I bet.” Kelsey laughed. Candace’s family was overbearing, to say the least. That Brian hadn’t run screaming from them yet was testament to how much he loved this girl.

“What were you doing? Sneaking off to make out with my brother?”

Candace smirked. “My hair is still fixed, isn’t it?”

“Ah, young love.” Kelsey sighed.

Gabby rolled her eyes. “Like Evan wouldn’t mess up your hair if he got you alone right now.”

Now it was Kelsey’s turn to blush. “He totally would, yeah.” Hmm. Gabby had attended a number of events with Mark where an updo had been appropriate, but never once could she recall him messing it up for her afterward. Not that he wasn’t good in bed. She had no complaints whatsoever…except maybe that he’d never been so consumed with desire for her that he’d, oh…demolished her updo before they could make it to the bedroom.

Honestly, she would’ve relegated that fantasy to teenager-ish fairy tales too…except that proof of its reality was right in front of her.

Well, good for them. For her, there were more important things in life.

“You know, it’s not like you’re…old love or anything,” said the twenty-four-year-old Candace to the two thirtysomethings in front of her.

“Oh, thank you so much.”

As the laughter and chitchat went on, Gabby forced herself to participate, but her mind was with Mark. It was almost time. What was he doing? Was he nervous? It seemed improbable that a man who could perform lifesaving surgery without so much as breaking a sweat would get clammy palms over repeating a few words in front of a crowd, but she liked to think he would. Because he would be saying those words to her, and those words meant forever.

She had a flock of hummingbirds in her stomach. And she wanted her mother, who was out wandering among the guests at the moment, ever the social butterfly.

“Are you going to cry?” Kelsey suddenly demanded.

“No!”

“I probably am. Fair warning.”

Another knock sounded. God, it was getting so close. Gabby glanced at the clock—ten minutes until showtime. Ten minutes. She glanced down at her chest, fully expecting to see her heartbeat through her dress. Hopefully, Mark wouldn’t have to resuscitate her at the altar, but at least she’d be in good hands.

Since her mouth had gone so dry she couldn’t muster the voice to answer, Kelsey got the door. Gabby chugged from her water bottle like a parched desert traveler. Her good friend Tina—third and final bridesmaid—slipped inside. She had Gabriella’s bouquet, a gorgeous spray of lilies and roses. The only snafu of the day was that it hadn’t been delivered with the other flowers. “Got it!”

Gabby gave a thumbs-up, still drinking.

“She’s freaking out,” Kelsey explained softly, taking the flowers. But before she could close the door behind Tina, Evan appeared in the doorway, and Gabby slowly lowered the water bottle from her lips.

She didn’t know why her heart gave a few more thrashes and plummeted to her stomach. Maybe it was seeing him at all—he was a groomsman; he should be in Mark’s camp. Maybe it was the line that always appeared between Evan’s dark brows when he was troubled, which wasn’t often. It was there right now in full force.

“Hey,” Kelsey said on a rising note of confusion at seeing him. “Wasn’t expecting you over here. Everything okay?”

Alex, Evan and Kelsey’s two-year-old son, toddled past his parents into the room and headed straight for Gabby, arms outstretched. She tore her gaze away from her brother and scooped Alex up, burying her face in his thick black hair and clinging to him like a lifeline while it seemed everyone was shifting uneasily now. Even Candace had moved over to Gabby’s side.

Evan’s gaze flickered past his wife to Gabby. Something was wrong. Oh God, something was terribly wrong. “I need to talk to her for a minute. Alone, if that’s okay.”

As everyone filed out, they cast nervous glances back at her. She did her best to return a carefree smile, but most likely it came out weak and desperate.

Evan shut the door. He turned to look at her. Gabby’s pulse throbbed in her neck; she could feel it. “Evan, what is it?”

Something in his green eyes broke for her. He didn’t have to say anything.

It began to occur to Gabriella Ross that she wasn’t getting married today.

Or probably any other fucking day.

Chapter Two

June

“Dude, she’s spiraling.”

Ian Rhodes glanced over at his boss, who was staring out the front windows of Dermamania. Following Brian’s gaze, Ian watched the lithe brunette stalk across the street toward their establishment. He didn’t see any spiraling there. He just saw a tall, beautiful woman with a purposeful scowl on her face, whose stride was so forceful that her hair lifted in quick bursts of wind with each step. Big, dark sunglasses shielded her eyes in the late-afternoon glare.

“Who is that?” he asked.

Brian had been drying his hands after finishing his last piercing job. He threw the towel in the bin behind him now with a sigh. “My sister.”

“The one you said got jilted at the altar a few months ago?”

“Do not fucking mention it.”

“Or she’ll scratch your eyes out,” Ghost supplied from the computer at the counter.

Okay, that might be cause for spiraling. “Understood,” he said, unable to look away. The closer Gabriella came—he knew her name because Brian had mentioned it before—the more apparent it became that whoever the bastard was who subjected someone so gorgeous to such abject humiliation was a damn fool. Unless there were some severe character flaws there—but then they shouldn’t have gotten as far as the altar in the first place if that were the case.

“And it’s apparent she’s spiraling at this moment because…?” Ian asked as she drew closer. There didn’t seem to be anything too outwardly alarming about her appearance.

“Because she’s here. Hey, Gab!” Brian called brightly as the door flew open and she rushed in.

Damn. Damn.

Brian had never mentioned his sister was a knockout. But then, that might’ve been a little weird. Her hair was a warm chestnut brown, long, thick and silky enough to catch the overhead lights. She had a dancer’s body, and it was shown to its full effect in a skintight tank and cutoffs.

He didn’t dare glance at her legs. If he did, he knew his gaze would get trapped there and she’d catch him looking, and that wouldn’t be good. Especially in front of her brother. His boss. What he really wanted to see, though, were her eyes.

As if reading his mind, she pushed her shades to the top of her head. Dark green stunners swept over Ian then, assessing and dismissing in one smooth motion. His breath nearly choked him in that split second.

“This makes, what, exactly once that you’ve graced us with your presence?” Brian grinned and boosted himself up onto his counter.

“You’re the one always bugging me and Evan about getting some ink,” she said. Now that Ian could see her face in its entirety, he knew the only thing marring that gorgeous skin was the dark circles under her big eyes. She held out her slender, inkless arms. “Here I am.”

“Are you shitting me right now?” Brian asked. Ghost watched the exchange with amused interest.

“No. I’m not shitting you.”

“What brought this on?”

“Does it matter?”

“Yeah.”

Gabriella rolled her eyes. “After all these years, and all your smart-alecky bullshit, you’re actually going to balk when I finally give in?”

“Well…” Brian seemed to be choosing his words carefully, and when he began saying them, they sounded rather pointed. “It’s kinda like a one-night stand. It might seem like a good idea in the heat of the moment, but the consequences are yours to deal with for the rest of your life.”

She stared at him for a couple of seconds and burst out laughing. Her even, white teeth were a striking contrast to her dark-cherry lips. “Jesus, Brian.”

“Seriously. I don’t want you to do it now while you’re…” He trailed off, at a loss.

“While I’m what?” she demanded.

“Obviously pissed off about something,” Ian interjected, unable to hold his tongue any longer. Brian cast him a warning glance, and Gabriella turned the full force of her piercing eyes on him. A lesser man might have wilted under that stare. It only made his blood pump hotter.

She gave him more regard this time, not even attempting to hide it as her gaze danced down over the ink on his arms, then back up to his face. “It’s that obvious?” she asked.

Ian shrugged, trying to seem uninterested. “You were stomping pavement out there like it was someone’s face. Someone you really don’t like.”

Yeah, he was inching ever closer to the edge, and Brian and Ghost looked like they were preparing for a nuclear explosion, but she only took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Looked back at her brother. “I’ll have to work on that, then.”

“And you seriously want ink.”

“I do. I’ve always thought about it, you know. I haven’t been as dead-set against it as Evan. Now seems as good a time as any.”

“And you aren’t going to hate me later for letting you do it?”

“I’ll only hate you if you tattoo ‘Kick Me’ across my back or something.”

“Oh, I’m not going to do it,” Brian said. All heads snapped toward him, and his sister’s expression fell.

“Why not?” she asked.

“You must be out your damn mind if you think I’m gonna be any part of this.”

“But you’ve always—!”

“I’ve always teased that you should get ink. I’ve never said you should let me give you ink. Hell, I probably would write ‘Kick Me’ across your back.”

She stepped forward to smack him on the arm. “You would not.”

“Nah, but still. You can get it here if you want it, but I’m going to recuse myself. Sorry.”

“Then who would do it?”

“There are two more than capable candidates right here—”

“No way, dude,” Ghost cut in. He shook his head at Gabriella. “No offense, but from what he’s told me, you scare the shit out of me. And you’re the boss’s sister. That’s pressure I don’t need.”

“—or Tay or Starla or Janelle would be more than happy,” Brian finished.

“They’ll probably say the same thing,” she fretted.

Ian had been enjoying the back-and-forth without giving much thought to the matter, focusing mostly on her mouth as she spoke. But it slowly began to sink in that he was likely the only candidate to do this for her. The new guy. He really liked his coworkers, but there’d been no small amount of hazing since he started three months ago. And it was apparent now that he would probably get tossed the jobs everyone else would rather not do…and no one else who worked here and vaguely knew Gabriella Ross would want anything to do with this project, it seemed.

Was she really that scary?

“I’ll do it,” he said.

“There you go,” Brian said to his sister. He leaned over far enough to slap his hand against Ian’s back a couple of times. “He’s your guy. Go hash it out.” The dude looked thoroughly relieved.

“Brian, I really wanted you to do this.” Gabriella’s voice sounded tight, and she glanced at Ian. “No offense.”

“None taken.”

“I only work with the best, Gab.” Brian hopped off the counter, turning his backwards ball cap forward, usually the sign he was declaring himself off for the evening. “I leave you in good hands.”

“Then I’m not doing it.”

“That’s up to you. But stop being a baby about it, whatever you decide.”

“I’m being a baby?”

Before a real sibling spat could erupt, Ian straightened and stepped forward. “Hey, now. Gabriella, right? I’m Ian. If you want, I can take you over to the display and show you some of the work I’ve done. If you like it, I’ll be happy to do yours. Anything you want. And it’ll turn out great. I promise.”

“I look forward to seeing what you come up with, man.” Brian slapped Ian’s back again as he headed for the back, leaving Ghost snickering and Gabriella glaring. Bastard.

“Fine,” she sighed after her brother had gone. Then she mustered a smile for Ian and followed him to the poster displays, standing without comment while he flipped through some of his flash. After a few minutes, though, she stopped him.

“These are great, but they’re all really small,” she said.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “You’re wanting to go big?”

“Very big. And actually…I already know what I want.”

“Lay it on me.”

“A phoenix,” she said. “I want it on my back. Just big and flowing and”—she made some downward wavelike motions with her hands—“beautiful. Shades of blue and green. Turquoise and teal.”

Hmm. Most people wanted the mythical bird rising from the flames after going through some sort of hardship. Brian had mentioned her spiraling…so this must really be what it was about. Already, he was picturing the phoenix in his mind as she imagined, flowing in aqua magnificence down what would no doubt be a gorgeous expanse of smooth olive skin. There couldn’t be anything stark or hard about the design. Fluid. Soft and feminine.

“I can pull in some violet to give it depth,” he mused, almost to himself now. “No black outlines,” he said.

“Oh?”

“Don’t you think?” He shooed Ghost away from the computer and brought up their most recent photos, clicking to the one he wanted—a cluster of pink, no-outline roses he’d done just last week.

She gave a gasp of happiness at his side. “I love that! Yes. It makes it look…soft. Almost painted on.”

He found himself smiling at her, finding her enthusiasm infectious.

“He’s good at those,” Ghost said as he moved back over to his station. “I don’t like them. You might have to get it touched up a lot.” He aimed the remote at the TV until he found the History Channel and an episode of Counting Cars.

“I cater to my client, dude,” Ian said. “Whatever she wants.”

“I don’t care, I want that. Definitely,” she said.

“Cool.” He lowered his voice. “Just between you and me, Brian doesn’t like them either. So you’re getting the better deal sticking with me.”

“I heard that,” Ghost called, “and I’m telling him. Holy shit! Look at that Chevelle. Daaaamn, man.”

Gabriella laughed, a clear, lovely sound that couldn’t have been tarnished in any way by her emotional suffering, or else it would’ve been positively angelic before. “Don’t worry about my brother,” she said conspiratorially to Ian. “I can handle him.”

Ian figured he could handle Brian too, if it came to that, but he let her go on thinking she was the authority on the matter.

“So when do we do this?” she asked. “Do you go draw it up, or…?”

“I’ll freehand it.”

“You draw it on me?”

“With markers. Yep. I do both freehand and stencils, but I think freehand would be best for yours. It can follow your natural contours”— it was all he could do not to sweep his gaze down her body when he said that—“and plus it saves a shit-ton of time. I’ll draw you a rough draft to give you an idea of what it’ll look like before we start, though.”

“We can start this today, then.”

“Yeah,” he said cautiously. “Is that a problem?”

She chuckled, crossing her arms. “I guess I figured it would take a while to get it drawn up, and then we would start. Or that you guys would be busy and I could set up an appointment. Some time to mentally prepare, you know, before I get the actual needle in my back. I’m a little nervous.”

“Nothing to be nervous about. We’ll go in your own time—and we don’t have to start today, if you don’t want.”

“Now that I really think about it, if I have time to back out…I just might. So maybe we should start.”

He laughed. “That happens. Let me work something up. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Her smile dazzled him. “Okay. Thank you.”

As he headed down the hallway toward the room they used to draw their designs, that smile was imprinted on the front of his brain. Damn. Ian was no stranger to beautiful women, but it had been an exceptionally long time since he’d been so affected by physical appearance alone. He tried to chalk it up to feeling bad for her, but in the few minutes they’d spoken, she didn’t seem to be someone who would either court or tolerate pity.

Brian noticed Ian pass by his office door and called to him. Ian stopped and stuck his head in. Candace, Brian’s fiancée, sat at his desk, and he stood behind her to see whatever she was showing him on the computer. “Thanks, man,” he said to Ian. “Sorry to put that off on you.”

“You are so mean.” Candace turned and smacked Brian on the side of his leg. “Not that you won’t do a great job, Ian, but I can’t believe he wasn’t nicer to Gabby.”

“It’s no problem, really,” Ian assured them.

“She’s a handful,” Brian said.

“She’s really nice,” Candace said at the same time.

“Nice to you,” Brian told her, “but you didn’t have to grow up with her.”

“Ha. Don’t forget, she had to grow up with you. If she’s ever mean to you, I figure you deserve it. No telling how you tortured her.”

Brian scoffed, stroking a hand down his dark goatee. “I was an angel.”

“Whatever. I’m going to go say hi to her.”

“Don’t hang out with her too much. She’ll taint you.”

Ian took the opportunity to slip away and get to work—they could keep up the playful banter for a very long time. In a way, he’d been relieved to leave Kara and Marco’s parlor in Dallas, because the two of them were flirting with each other all the time, and it was rather nausea-inducing—but damn if it hadn’t been a case of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire. Brian and Candace could give those two a run for their money. At least they usually kept it out of view of the others.

When he took his seat to get started, Gabriella’s design came pouring out of him and onto the page. He thought about her past heartbreak—her smile had been bright, dazzling, but her pain still lurked behind it. He thought about his own, of a different sort but no less a part of who he was. The phoenix came to life in the passionate, flowing lines she’d asked for, the tail and feathers flamelike. In the colors she’d chosen, the effect would be breathtaking on her.

It took him only five or so minutes to do a rough sketch. It was enough for her to get an idea of how it would look, so, satisfied, he headed back up front to find Gabriella and Candace in deep conversation. Candace saw him first and took Gabby’s arm excitedly. “Oh, here he is. Let’s see!”

He offered the page to Gabby, and both girls pored over it, Candace exclaiming appreciatively. Gabriella, whose skin it would be on permanently, eyed it for a long time. He watched as her gaze took in every line. “Beautiful,” she finally said, the huskiness of her voice like a physical caress. “You could’ve looked into my mind.”

“Of course, the finished product will be ten times better. Are there any changes at all you’d like to see?”

“I really can’t think of a single thing. Honestly, Ian, it’s perfect. Oh my God.”

“Once I draw it on, I’ll let you look in the mirror to make sure it’s the way you wanted.”

“Okay.” She gave a little laugh. “Now I can’t wait to get started.”

Candace ushered her toward the back with a sweep of her arm. “Right back there. I doubt you want to be up front for it.”

“Oh, good call. Thanks.” Her green eyes sought out Ian’s, and she gave him a giddy smile, lightly bouncing on her toes. “I’m ready when you are.”

Chapter Three

Something about the way Gabriella’s eyes followed him stirred longings best not dwelled upon. Boss’s sister, dude, boss’s sister, he kept telling himself, but it seemed the more he hammered the thought into his mind, the more his body rebelled.

She listened raptly to his sanitation-procedures spiel. Then he stepped out to let her get ready and positioned on the table before going back in with his markers.

Ian had hoped having those astute eyes off him would squelch the unwanted thoughts creeping into his head. No such luck. Because having her eyes off him meant the unmarred expanse of her back was completely bared to him, waiting for his art. He swallowed against the dryness of his throat at the sight of her stretched out on the table, her dark swath of silky hair pulled over to one side.

And she’d missed a lone tendril. “You missed some hair. I’m going to move it for you,” he said.

“Oops. Okay.” Gently, he brushed the wayward strands over to the side with the rest, and she gave a little shiver and laughed. “Sorry.”

That faintest contact with her skin almost caused him to groan—and he was about to have to sit here for an hour or two touching her. Jesus, how would he survive?

He had to suffer through more of her shivers and laughs as he drew on her with markers. Her skin was so soft and sensitive. He hoped the sting of the needle wouldn’t be too much for her, but he didn’t think it would be. She was tough.

He snapped on his black gloves and made sure she saw him open the needle package in front of her. With a deep breath to steel herself, she put her head back down and said, “Let’s do this.”

Fortunately, the answer of how he would survive came easily enough. He often zoned out when he was working. Life constricted to the end of his needle, and he liked it that way. Once they got through a few minor adjustments in his drawing and she accepted the first pass like a champ, Gabriella lay quiet, her breathing slow and easy. Since he followed his client’s cues, he didn’t disturb her except to ask occasionally how she was doing. As expected, she was fine.

Still, it was her first tattoo, and after some time had passed, curiosity got the better of him. Besides that, he was beginning to need a distraction again from the delight of her skin.

“Is it everything you thought it’d be?” he asked, wiping away excess ink.

She chuckled. “How do you mean?”

“The total experience. Is the pain about what you expected?”

“Pretty much.”

“You’re handling it well.”

She didn’t reply. Which might mean she wanted him to shut the fuck up. So he did, at least for a little while. But damn, she had him interested. He tried to recount in his head all the things he’d heard Brian say about her in the past few months.

She was the older sister. If she was older than Brian, then she was older than Ian. Like, several years older. She didn’t look it at all. He thought he could recall something about her living in Dallas, going to medical school. Marrying a doctor. Left at the altar.

Jesus, what a fucking idiot that guy was.

And that was the extent of Ian’s knowledge, but he wanted so much more.

“So you live around here?” he asked, coming to a decision. He’d play dumb and try to get her talking. But if she shut him down again, he’d let her.

“I live in Dallas. I’m only here for the summer. I’m, um…staying with my parents for a while.” She grumbled the second sentence as if it wasn’t something she was proud of, but he played it off.

“Hey, that’s cool. My mom lives in Dallas. I used to, until I moved here to help Brian out. He and I have some mutual friends up there. What do you do?”

“I was a nurse. I plan on being a pediatrician. Just finished my first year.”

“That’s…wow.” He’d known it, of course, but somehow hearing her say it made it sound ten times more impressive. “A pediatrician with a kickass back piece,” he finished lamely.

She gave a light laugh, careful not to jostle him. “I figure that’s a good place to hide it when I need to.”

“Yep. Excellent.” His machine buzzed on for a moment as silence settled again. He fought it hard. “A doctor. I could never shoulder that much responsibility. I fuck up enough that I don’t need someone’s life to depend on me.”

“I hope you don’t mean you fuck up your tattoos,” she said, the little note of teasing humor in her voice stirring things that didn’t need to stir right now.

“Oh, hell no. That’s not what I meant.”

“Well, see? You shoulder plenty of responsibility. People wear your art for the rest of their lives. That’s pretty major, I’d say.”

He grinned, not liking how her approval made pride swell in his chest. He knew it was major, no matter what his fucking stepdad said. And it was an honor that people put that much trust in him. He loved what he did; he couldn’t do it otherwise.

Gabriella gave a long, shaky exhale, and he quickly withdrew. “Need a break?”

“No, I’m good.”

“A drink of water? Anything. Don’t be afraid to speak up.”

She shook her head. “I’m fine.”

Brian took that moment to stick his head in the door. “How’s it going back here?”

“She’s a champ,” Ian said.

“Go away,” Gabriella said at the same time.

“Go away? You wanted me to do it! Now I can’t even come in? Aw, hell no.”

Ian chuckled and lifted his needle as Brian walked in and peeked over his shoulder. “Looking awesome, dude. ‘Dunce’ doesn’t have an ‘s’ in it, though.”

He bit down on laughter as Brian turned and ran out, thinking Gabriella wouldn’t appreciate his approval of the joke. “Oh my God!” she yelled after Brian. “I’m so glad now that you’re not doing this, you little shit!”

“You big shit!” came Brian’s gleeful voice from the front. Ian got the distinct impression it was a common insult between the two of them.

And this woman would make the coolest doctor he’d ever met. But then, he hadn’t met many, at least not outside of their offices…or his stint in the hospital several years back. He didn’t want to think about it.

“Now do you need a break?” he asked. “Got your blood pressure up?”

“It’s always like that with us,” she said, but there was no small amount of affection in her words. “I swear, sometimes he’s no different than when he was a freaking teenager.”

“Ah, well, where would be the fun in growing up?”

That induced her to silence again, and he got back to work. It lingered for a while this time, filling the air thickly, and he didn’t know why it bothered him so much now. Usually he was pretty content to keep the chatter to a minimum, but with her…

“Are you okay?” he blurted, and though he wasn’t talking about the pain of the needle, she would probably take it that way.

“Fine.”

“I guess what I mean is…why the phoenix?”

“I’m rising from the ashes.”

“Right.” He couldn’t muster the courage to be nosy enough to ask what ashes she was rising from. It was obviously about her failed relationship, but that was her story to tell.

And then she surprised him. “I was supposed to get married in March.”

“Yeah?”

“It didn’t happen.”

“Sorry about that.” Sorry that it hurt her. Not sorry that she wasn’t with some prick who didn’t deserve her. “That sucks.”

“Better that I should find out he wasn’t into it before the wedding rather than after, I suppose.”

“Good way of looking at it.”

Bitterness twisted in her words. “I just wish I hadn’t found out at the wedding.”

On that note, he had to stop for a second and shake his head. “Son of a bitch.”

“I mean, why? Why let it get that far? Obviously, this wasn’t something he realized ten minutes before he was supposed to meet me at the altar. He had to know this well in advance.”

“What was his excuse?”

“It wasn’t what he wanted. That’s all I got. He denied there being anyone else. He actually said if we could keep going on as we were without getting married, he’d be happy. Well, to hell with that.”

“Yeah, fuck that. I hear you.”

“Sure, let’s go on living the way you want to live, doing what you want to do. Never mind what I want,” she all but snarled, as if she were talking to her ex-fiancé right now.

Oh man, he probably should have heeded Brian’s warning and not opened this can of worms. Or even encouraged its opening. “Like you said, at least you found out beforehand.”

“It’s hard to focus on that sometimes. I just want to know why I had to find out at all. Why this had to happen. It was so humiliating.” She fell silent for a long, pain-filled moment, and when she spoke again, he could barely hear her. “So humiliating.”

He wanted to touch her somewhere, to comfort her. But he couldn’t, not without being highly inappropriate. Glancing toward the open door, he rolled his chair around to her head. She raised it slightly to look at him, her eyes wet and, goddamn, so bright, sparkling like precious emeralds.

“I think you’re doing a good thing,” he told her. “This is therapeutic for a lot of people, you know. The pain is cathartic. So I’ll shut the door if you want, and you can cry, or cuss him or scream, do whatever. I’m cool with any of it. And we’ll get this done, and it’ll be this beautiful testament to some very harsh shit you went through only to come out stronger on the other side.” He gave her a small smile. “I’ll even shut the fuck up from here on out.”

She shook her head. “No. Keep talking to me.”

“I can do that too. Take a deep breath.”

Smiling, she did as he instructed, inhaling deeply and letting some of the tension ease out with her breath. “Okay,” she said. “Let’s keep going.”

“All right.” He wheeled back into place, rolling his head on his shoulders in an attempt to ease some of his own tension. A woman near tears had that effect on him, but this one was even stronger than most. He eyed his work critically, thinking the soft blue lines on her skin just invited fingers to trail along them. But not his. Before he got started again, he shut the door as he’d promised, hoping the move wouldn’t bring Brian sniffing around again. Brian and Gabriella might give each other shit, but Ian had the distinct impression Brian might throttle anyone within reach who upset his sister. He’d mentioned how Evan, his brother, had physically hauled him away from the guy who jilted her. For that, Ian wanted to buy Brian a beer, and really it was unfortunate Evan had intervened so soon. Surely he would’ve liked to see at least a few punches get thrown. Ian certainly would have.

They chatted on as he worked. Nothing too deep, nothing too emotional. She didn’t cry or cuss or scream, but she’d loosened up, and he liked her that way. He really liked her a fucking lot, more than he should.

Once they were done, he explained aftercare and walked her back up front where they set up her next appointment. She gave him a hell of a tip, even though he wanted to tell her to keep it. He’d nearly caused her to have an emotional breakdown with his prying, and he felt bad about it. Maybe she’d needed it, though.

After she’d walked out the door, he watched her through the windows as she crossed the street to her car. No barely leashed anger in her steps anymore. No, she almost seemed to float along now. She’d even had pleasant words for Brian before she’d left.

“You’re a brave man,” Brian said from beside him. Ian turned, not having realized he’d walked up. “Thanks for taking one for the team.”

He chuckled. “What are you talking about? She’s not that bad.”

“No, no, it’s not that she’s bad, necessarily.”

“Well, then, what?”

“High strung. Perfectionist.”

Oh yeah. That he could see. He could also see that she seemed much more relaxed now, after getting her ink, having her emotional moment. Maybe after talking with him?

Nah. No way. He wouldn’t even let his mind go there.

Brian shrugged. “And now, after having that guy dump her like that? She’s kind of going through this…thing. I think it’s an early midlife crisis. She used to hardly ever drink, but now she’ll hit a bar in a heartbeat. Mom said there were a couple of nights that she didn’t come home, so who knows what went on there.”

That disturbed him. He got that she was in pain, and everyone needed to blow off steam, but she had such a bright future. He hoped she wasn’t spiraling so much that she ended up throwing that away.

“And now the clincher,” Brian said, sighing as he turned to go. “She came here.”

Ian wasn’t one to argue with his boss, especially when said boss knew Gabriella infinitely better than he did. But after talking with her, he had a much different viewpoint. He didn’t think her showing up here was about spiraling at all. He thought, just maybe, it was about finally healing.

For the way Gabby’s back burned, she could’ve been dragged shirtless down a gravel-covered road. Wincing with almost every move, she steered into her parents’ winding driveway and hoped she could get past her mother and to her room without being spotted. As she neared the house and saw the silver Lexus parked in the circular drive, she groaned out loud. Not only was she not going to get past her mother, apparently, but she wasn’t going to get past Sylvia Andrews either.

Candace’s mother wasn’t as much of a ray of sunshine as her daughter, and truth be known, Gabriella’s mother didn’t like the woman. But since it appeared their kids were getting married whether Sylvia liked it or not, they were making efforts to get along.

“Ah, that must be her now. Gabriella!” Her mother’s voice called from the living room off the foyer as Gabby let herself in the front door. She wished she could keep going straight ahead and mount the stairs, but dammit, she was caught, so she’d try to get through this as painlessly as possible.

When she entered the room where the two women sat, it didn’t escape her notice that Sylvia slightly lifted a meticulously shaped eyebrow at her appearance. For about the thousandth time, Gabby had just one thought: Poor Candace. She had to grow up with this woman.

“Hi!” Gabby said brightly. Maybe she should perch on the couch across from them in her shorts and—gasp—not cross her legs or something. That would probably give the woman a coronary, though.

“We were just speaking about you,” her mother said. If one were merely judging by appearances, Gianna Ross was the more imposing figure of the two. Intimidatingly beautiful with a rich Italian accent almost forty years in the States had done little to diminish, she commanded attention in any room she occupied. Next to her, Sylvia was almost nondescript, but between the two of them, Sylvia was definitely the shark.

Not that Gianna couldn’t bring down the thunder when she needed to. Brian, more than any of them, could attest to that; she’d actually shipped him off to her relatives in Florence once. Of course, after only a few months, they’d kicked him right back.

“All good, I hope,” Gabby said, emitting a light laugh as fake as any desire to be here that she tried to put forth. She didn’t need to be privy to any “poor, pitiful Gabriella” conversations. She might start screaming.

“Well, of course,” her mother said. Then she and Sylvia looked at each other and seemed to share a moment of silent amusement.

Gabby felt a prickling at the back of her neck. What the hell were they up to? She should have known, though, before her mother even bothered to open her mouth.

“We were just talking,” Gianna began a bit hesitantly, “and…oh, there’s no way to ease into this, I don’t suppose. Sylvia is organizing a retirement party for Phillip, and while we were discussing that, she mentioned that her nephew is coming in from Dallas to attend and—”

Ah-ha. That was where Gabby tuned her out. Jesus, really? She’d just been horrifically dumped three months ago. Like, in the worst way possible. The last thing she needed was to jump back on the relationship train—not that her mother was suggesting that, but even a date would be too much right now.

“—with the two of you living in the same city and everything,” Sylvia finished, having picked up Gianna’s pitch at some point.

“That’s thoughtful, really, but I am not in the market right now,” Gabby said as lightly as she could manage. Before they could launch in on her again, she turned to go…and totally forgot about the partially finished tattoo on her back, where the gauze Ian had placed over it was surely visible around the edges of her tank top.

The twin gasps from the women halted her in her tracks, and she sighed and turned to face them again.

“Gabby, what is that?” her mother all but wailed as Sylvia quickly looked down at her hands, her mouth set in a thin slash. Her tone told her she knew exactly what it was.

“I went to see Brian,” she said with a shrug, trying to suppress the cringe as her skin pulled tight. “Don’t get mad at him, though, because he wouldn’t do it himself.”

Gianna sighed and shook her head sadly. “Your skin is so beautiful, and Brian’s too. Why you want to mar it in such a way—”

“It isn’t marred,” she all but snapped, offended on Ian’s behalf. He’d been so damn nice to her, and his work was breathtaking. She couldn’t wait to have the finished product. It was going to be the most beautiful thing about her skin, in no way a flaw. “Don’t worry, Mom, you won’t have to see it if you don’t want to. I’ll be like Brian. I’ll keep it covered.” For probably the first time, she felt a bit offended on her little brother’s behalf too. He always covered his ink and took out his piercings when he had to be around either of the families—his or Candace’s—just to make them happy. And he never complained.

“You’re an adult, Gabby. Do what you want to do,” her mother said, though she could plainly hear the subtle tone of disapproval that Brian no doubt had been putting up with since his teenage years.

Thanks for that, she thought. Don’t mind if I do. Thirty-six years old, on her way to being a doctor, and still being lectured. But Sylvia would never conceive of fixing up her nephew with a tattooed freak if she could help it, so Gabriella had managed to escape that debacle at least. One small success.

“It was nice seeing you,” she said to Sylvia, who returned a weak smile. She had almost reached the door when her mother spoke again.

“Will you be home for dinner?”

“No, sorry.”

And finally the stairs were under her feet, and she could escape into the privacy of her room.

Damn Mark Easton for doing this to her.

She’d had it all, her entire life mapped out with her usual meticulous precision. Successful husband. House in Highland Park. Successful career. Kids as soon as it was feasible. It was her life, and she was supposed to be living it right now. But fate, the fickle bitch, had dropped her into some fucking alternate universe.

A universe where she lived with her parents because she was essentially homeless. Where she’d suffered the worst humiliation imaginable for any bride. Where she’d lost the man of her dreams. Where having a child before the age of forty was now a remote possibility, since she wasn’t inclined to ever put herself back into that situation again. If ever.

She’d waited too long. Focused on career for too long. Now all the things she’d put off, all those things she wanted someday, were well out of her reach, and it might be too late to ever have them. Someday had come and gone.

Her room was more of a sanctuary now than it had been in her youth. It wasn’t much different than it had been back then. Her parents had kept many of her things when she’d moved out. One of those items, a delicate ballerina music box, still sat on her dresser because she’d been afraid of damaging it more than it already was.

Her gaze landed on it now. She wandered over and picked it up, inspecting the hairline cracks that created a web through the porcelain. It had been a gift from her great-grandmother in Italy before she’d passed away…and Brian had broken it when he was eleven. He’d been in her room, bugging her, being his usual little-shit self, and he’d accidentally knocked it off her dresser. She could still hear the sound of the porcelain shattering, could still feel the way her heart had dropped as heavily as the box had. Ignoring his apologies, she’d grabbed him and shoved him out of her room through a haze of tears, screaming how much she hated him as she slammed the door.

The next morning, she’d found it right here, just like this, all glued back together. Evan had told her that Brian snuck back into her room to get the pieces and stayed up all night trying to fix it, not even letting Evan help him. It wasn’t perfect, but he’d done a good job. Somehow, now it was almost more precious to her with the cracks he’d put in it. She could look at it and remember that he loved her…no matter how many times he’d said otherwise in the years that followed, in the midst of his wild streak.

She’d been joking when she’d told Ian he was no different now than when he was a teenager. He was worlds different.

And what was she? She wasn’t sure anymore. She was supposed to be a wife; she knew that. She’d been ready to be a wife. Now she was just…in limbo.

After the debacle that was supposed to be her wedding, she stayed with Tina until the school year was over. It had been horrible feeling so useless and helpless, crashing on her friend’s couch and depriving Tina of her cherished privacy. Gabby’s parents had been more than willing to help her out financially—they always had—and get her a place of her own, but she’d been so busy, there was little time to look. Once the year ended, she’d driven home with everything she owned piled in the back of her car. And here she’d been ever since. Still feeling useless and helpless.

The only thing that had gotten her through was Kelsey. Their nightly phone calls had been a lifesaver. Kelsey had been through it, even down to living on her best friend’s couch after she caught her first husband in the act of cheating with Evan’s former fiancée. Kelsey’s daily promises that hitting bottom could only mean something better was right around the corner—they were a little bright spot of hope she kept firmly embedded in the front of her mind.

Because more than once since The Wedding That Wasn’t, she’d considered giving it all up. Staying here, abandoning her dreams, going back to nursing, if only to stop being such a freaking burden on everyone. Hell, Gianna had probably invited Candace’s mother over only to discuss any prospects she knew of, some nice guy upon whom the Rosses could unload their spinster daughter before she got in trouble and brought shame on all their heads.

But quitting it all? What a waste of time and money. She couldn’t do that…but the thought of heading back to Dallas alone this fall was… Well, she didn’t know if she could do that either. She didn’t want to think about it.

She didn’t want to think about much, come to that. Living in the moment had become her thing. Fuck the future.

Gabby flopped back on her bed and squelched a yelp and a stream of curses as pain seared through the flesh of her back. Immediate memories of her artist flashed in front of her eyes, and she rolled over on her stomach and sighed. Now there was a cool drink of water she’d desperately needed. Ian. When he’d moved his chair around in front of her and she’d looked up at him, something had clicked inside her. Some piece that had been horribly out of whack had snapped back into place. His hazel eyes had been kind, but she’d no doubt they could smolder like molten amber just as easily. His short but somehow still messy brown hair had begged for her fingers to tame the strands. He’d told her to scream and cry if she needed to, but damn, all she’d thought about was screaming for an entirely different reason.

But that was crazy, wasn’t it? She didn’t have to ask how old he was. “Younger than You” was stamped all over him. Even so, the raw confidence and quiet strength he exuded promised a ride she would never forget.

She’d never had a younger man, had never been inclined to do so, but she’d decided at that moment it might be something to add to her bucket list. And what better time to also check it off than now, when she was free and unfettered?

Yeah, a moment ago, she’d evaded her mom’s matchmaking, but she wasn’t against making a temporary match of her own devising.

Key word: temporary.

Chapter Four

Ian swigged his beer, eyes on the Texas Rangers game playing on a majority of the screens in the sports bar. He didn’t notice he had company until a hand slid over his shoulder, and he turned to see a familiar pair of direct, amused green eyes.

Gabriella Ross smiled at him, and he almost fell off his fucking stool. “Long time no see,” she teased, lifting the longneck in her hand to her full cherry-red lips.

For a split second, he was mesmerized watching those lips encircle the mouth of her bottle, imagining them encircling something on him…and then he snapped out of it. “Hey, there. Yeah, it’s been all of, what, five hours?” He checked his watch out of some mindless reflex, not because he gave two shits what time it was.

“Come here often?” she asked, lifting a wing-shaped brow in what he took as sardonic acknowledgment of the ages-old pickup line.

“Not really. Got off a little early, thought I’d unwind for a bit. What about you?”

She indicated the beer in her hand. “I thought I would try to dull the flames raging on my back.”

“Oh.” He winced on her behalf. “Yeah, that’s all part of it. Sorry.”

“It’s all right. It’ll be worth it.”

“It will be, but in the meantime… You might need something a little stronger than that.”

“Is that your way of saying you want to buy me a drink?” She tossed her hair behind her shoulder, that magnificently shiny hair, and her come-hither look damn near drowned him where he sat.

Gone was the woman of five hours ago. In her place was…Satan. He stared at her a moment, uncomprehending, fighting his way back from whatever haze of blind lust she was dragging him to. What the fuck was this?

Brian’s earlier words rang through his head. He took another long pull on his beer and set it down hard, getting off his stool. “No, it’s not.”

“Oh, really?”

“Really.” He avoided her eyes as he pulled his wallet from his back pocket and threw some bills on the bar.

“What did I say wrong?” Still with that damn amusement. Like he and everything around her was here for her enjoyment, for her to toy with. As if she didn’t give a shit if he shot her down, because there was any number of other poor bastards in here for her to prey on.

“Come on, now,” he said tightly, though he strove for a light tone. “Let’s not mix business with pleasure.”

“Wow. Getting ahead of ourselves, aren’t we? Okay, I can buy my own drinks. I just thought it was nice to see a friendly face.” She turned away from him to face the bar then, and he caught of glimpse of the long length of her slender legs, shown to their best advantage on the barstool.

Yeah, and if he left her here, any one of these other poor bastards was going to take his seat. For reasons he didn’t care to evaluate, that made his blood simmer.

Sighing and cursing himself for a damn fool, he reclaimed his spot next to her. “Look, I’m sorry. It’s just… Forget it. I don’t mean to be rude. I’ll buy you whatever you want.” He waved for the bartender.

“Oh, hell no. Not if I have to practically beg for it.” She intercepted the girl behind the bar before he could open his mouth. “Double Stoli and tonic.” Then she did a fair job of ignoring him while the bartender made it for her.

“Are you just fucking with me, or are you really pissed?” he asked, watching the TV screen in front of them as Kinsler grounded out to a chorus of groans from the other patrons.

“I’m not pissed. You’d know if I were pissed.”

Somehow he didn’t doubt that. “So this is…what for you? Vaguely annoyed?”

She cut him a look. “This is…‘whatever’.”

Ian raked a hand through his hair and began to wonder if he was starting to see what the guys at Dermamania had been talking about. Even Ghost had been wary of this woman, and not much rattled that guy. Hell, his girlfriend was a little scary in her own right.

“Look, I didn’t mean to offend you. It would be my pleasure to buy you a drink, but…I work for your brother and—”

“Please. Do not worry about my little brother.”

“Your little brother is my boss. You’re my client. And—”

“You never mix business with pleasure,” she supplied. “Got it.”

The way she purred that sentence in between sips of her drink, focusing on the “pleasure”… Oh goddamn, he wanted to mix it. He wanted to mix it hard. “It’s not…a hard-and-fast rule or anything.”

“Not hard and fast?”

Shit. He felt like a fucking mouse being batted back and forth between the paws of a very svelte, very cunning feline, and given that he’d spent all damn day thinking about her, he wasn’t sure he liked it. There was a certain perverse curiosity in wondering when she was going to stick her claws in, though, and maybe it was best to hurry her plan along. Whatever it was.

“What the hell are you doing?”

That got her attention, and her musical laughter surfaced again. “I’m not doing anything, Ian. Hey, look, I appreciate what you did for me today. Stepping up the way you did, and then calming me down when…things got weird. Seriously. Thank you. I should buy you a drink.”

“Nah…I’m good,” he muttered, still off balance from the delicate floral notes of her perfume and her sheer allure. “It’s my job. Nothing more.”

“Oh?”

“Well…” It had been more than that. He was a damn liar if he said otherwise. But he didn’t want her to know that. He needed to stay clear of this one. At all costs.

But this was a woman who knew her own power. She knew it so well that she could call bullshit on any pitiful excuse he tried to make up as to why he didn’t want her. Every man in this building wanted her, and she wore that knowledge. It shrouded her as surely as her dark curtain of lustrous hair. Whatever humiliation had befallen her a few months ago damn sure hadn’t affected her self-esteem.

“Yeah, it’s my job,” he finished lamely.

“You’re very good at your job, then. I see why Brian has such faith in you.”

“I appreciate that.”

Onscreen, Beltre took that moment to slam one out of the park, giving the Rangers the edge over the Blue Jays, and the room erupted in boisterous approval. Gabriella even joined in. “So you like baseball?” Ian asked once the shouts died down.

“I love it. Me and Mar—um, yeah, I used to go to Rangers games whenever I had a chance. Not often, but I loved it.”

“Me too. Kinda wish I were there right now.”

“Right? So if you wish you were there, why are you here?”

“Needed a fresh start. I knew Brian from some mutual friends we have in Dallas. Kara and Marco?”

“Sorry, I don’t know anything about many of Brian’s friends.”

“Oh. Well, they taught him—and me—everything we know. I worked in their studio, but they were saying he needed help here, so I came.”

“Just like that?”

“Like I said, I needed a new start.”

“Why?”

He sucked a breath in through his teeth. “I have my reasons.”

“Ooh, mystery.” She gave him a nudge with her elbow. “I like a mystery.”

She wouldn’t like this one. He damn sure didn’t. “What about you?” he asked. “You’re here, wishing you were there too.”

Gabriella sighed, twirling her glass on the polished bar. “Don’t be too sure about that. At the ballgame, sure. Otherwise…not so much.”

He began to relax a bit, though it occurred to him that maybe it was a huge mistake to go off his guard around her. She was far more disarming like this. “I’ll be honest,” he said. “I knew a little about what happened to you before you came in. Brian didn’t tell me much, so don’t get mad at him. But I started working for him around the time it all went down, so yeah. He was so pissed about it.”

“It’s okay. The entire town and all of the Dallas medical community know, so why should you have been any different?”

What the hell did he say to that? How did someone go through something like that and come out on the other side as this fierce creature? He could see now, though, beneath the veneer of the seductress who had slithered up to him tonight, real pain. The same pain he’d glimpsed earlier today. “I can see how it would be hard to go back home and face everyone after something like that.”

“I’ll be going back. I just figured I’d wait out the summer, let a few more scandals erupt, and by the time I head back in the fall, no one will really care about my stupid wedding.” She chuckled without much humor.

“Non-wedding,” he reminded her.

This time, her laugh had humor, and he couldn’t help joining in. “I call it The Wedding That Wasn’t.”

“Fuck weddings. Be anti-wedding.”

“Oh my God, right? Be damned before I go through that stupid shit again. My other brother and his wife got married on the beach in Hawaii. I could do that. But the whole big-church, hundreds-of-guests, fairy-tale thing…yeah. Fuck that.” She held up her glass, and he clinked his bottle against it.

“In fact…we’ll go picket against all weddings now,” he said.

“It just makes me want to go speak out at every one, and not hold my peace.”

“Right on. They’re all making a terrible mistake anyway.”

She seemed to consider a moment and finally shrugged. “I don’t know so much about that. I mean, I can look to my own parents—they made it. Both my little brothers seem to be madly in love. I’m surrounded by so much freaking happiness, while being deprived of my own, and it’s sickening.”

“Hmm.”

She killed her drink and turned to face him fully. “So how about you? Was I making a play for a taken man or something?”

A prickle of warning crept up his spine. He drank his beer, not meeting her eyes. Because then he would be doomed. “Making a play, huh?”

“Wouldn’t be much use in denying it.”

Yep, just keep staring at the bar. Don’t look at her. Eyes down. “No, not taken. No wife, no girlfriend.”

She nodded, then pulled her purse around and dug inside for her wallet. He looked at her only when he was certain he wouldn’t meet the magnetic pull of her eyes.

“Hey, I’ll get your drink. Really, let me. I want to,” he said.

Ignoring him even when he reached back for his own wallet, she tossed some money on the bar and stood. What the hell had he said?

“Are you leaving?”

From his vantage point, he had to look up at her as she spoke. “Well, Ian, it’s pretty obvious to me that you’ve been ready to jump out of your skin ever since I approached you. I began to take it as I was intruding on someone else’s property, something I would never dream of doing. But now you tell me that’s not the case at all, so I can only speculate that you’re that fucking scared of my brother, or you just don’t like me. In either case…I’ll see you at our next appointment.”

“I’m not scared of your brother,” he said, standing from his stool and towering over her. Her gaze didn’t leave his during his entire ascent.

“So you don’t like me?”

“I’m not finished. I’m not scared of your brother, but I respect your brother. And…goddamn, are you always this direct?” How did a woman like this not realize her fiancé wasn’t keen on meeting her at the altar, like, months ahead of time? Seemed she would’ve grilled it out of him.

“Listen, man, you go through what I’ve been through, you don’t have time for anything less.”

“Well, then, allow me to reciprocate.” He moved his mouth to her ear and spoke directly into it, allowing his lips to brush against the soft shell. Close enough to smell her hair, close enough to feel its softness against his nose. “I’d love to take you home and fuck you senseless, if that’s what you’re after.”

A full-body shudder went through her. He stepped back, seeing the desire clearly in her heavy-lidded eyes. She definitely wanted him to. “But I’m not going to,” he finished, watching it crash and burn. “For reasons I’ve already explained. So you can go on telling yourself I don’t like you if you want. Whatever makes you feel better about this.”

Collecting his beer from the bar, he cast her one last look over his shoulder as he moved off toward the pool tables.

He’d had the earlier thought that Satan had slid up on the barstool next to him. Oh no. Now she was Satan, and if looks could kill…he’d have her pitchfork buried in his chest. Or elsewhere on his anatomy where she could do maximum damage.

He couldn’t claim total victory, though, because those particular parts of his anatomy throbbed in time with the beat of his heart. Uttering those words to her and her visceral reaction to them had flooded his dick with heat, and the last thing he needed was to be sporting wood right under her nose.

Leaving was his best option, but a few guys he vaguely knew motioned him over to start up a game of pool, so he headed in their direction.

Aware all the while of Gabriella’s eyes on him. They were like fucking laser beams. Aimed right at his crotch. Jesus.

He tried to concentrate on the game, but damn if she didn’t move over to one of the neighboring tables and start up a game of her own. While he pretended to be aiming his cue stick, he was really scoping out her black-skirt-clad ass as she bent over to do the same.

He shot. And missed. She made it, as evidenced by her whoop and her male partner’s high-five.

“Fuck!” Ian bellowed, straightening and getting too much attention from the crowd over there—namely Gabriella’s.

“Dude, it’s all right.” His partner laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. Ian rubbed the back of his neck, eyeballing the way that one drunk asshole kept trying to put his hands on her. And the way she was allowing it, until she was ready for her next shot. Then she shoved him away and took up a position that had her facing Ian, bending over so her cleavage was shown off to its best advantage.

Ian felt a sudden sharp nudge in his side. “It’s your turn, man.”

Already? He snapped out of his funk, looking down at his own table. Naturally, the best shot he could take had him still facing her. He set up, trying not to glance up at her—don’t fucking look at her, you ignorant asshole—but yet again he found his gaze tangled up in hers. She moved that fucking cue stick back and forth through her fingers in an almost obscene rhythm. Just as he was about to moan aloud and embarrass himself, she smiled. Her eyes flickered down at her shot, and she took it.

A chorus of good-natured groans went up from her flock of admirers, and she gave an adorable pout as she straightened.

“What the hell are you waiting for, man?” one of Ian’s spectators asked.

“I think he’s too busy watching the show over there,” another said.

“Hell, for that matter, so am I.”

He wanted to jump up and break his stick over someone’s head. Instead, he channeled all his agitation into nailing the cue ball and easily pocketing his target. Thank Christ. He moved around to take his next shot, and his next, always with her in the corner of his eye. That group over there was getting rowdier by the minute, or maybe it was his imagination. She handled herself just fine without his intervention, but he was on high alert to give it at any moment.

He and his partner won their game. She and hers lost, judging by all the condolences she got from her new friends. Could they be any more obvious about wanting to get under her skirt? He wanted to get under her skirt too, but he wasn’t about to make a fucking idiot of himself over it.

Yeah, who was he kidding.

Someone offered a new game; he turned them down. For some reason, he wasn’t in the mood—could have something to do with that earlier thought about cracking a few skulls with the cue stick. But Gabriella Ross was certainly enjoying the hell out of herself and her admirers, having shaken off Ian’s rejection as if it had never happened.

Then again, maybe it hadn’t, which was what this was all about.

The conversation around him turned back to the ball game, where the Rangers were in danger of losing their lead as the Blue Jays had managed to load the bases. Tension in the bar reached a peak as the 0-3 pitch was delivered.

Strike. A collective sigh of relief went up.

Ian felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Gabby standing behind him, a cocky grin on her face. “Play me?”

Feeling all eyes on him, he shook his head. “Nah. I’m all played out.”

“I’ll make it interesting.”

“Oh yeah? How?”

She leaned close to his ear, mirroring the move he’d made on her earlier. Her whisper sent waves of chills up his spine. “If I win, you have to fuck me senseless.”

Chapter Five

Cool rain pelted against Gabby’s skin as she and Ian left the noise of the bar behind them. Feeling Ian’s fingers slide between hers, she tilted her face up and let the rainwater wash over it just before he unexpectedly crushed his mouth to hers. She wound her arms around his neck, welcoming the plunder of his tongue and the quick flare of desire it brought.

He’d played. She’d won.

And God, he felt good against her. Hard and strong and, well, wetter by the minute. She could sympathize—so was she, and it had nothing to do with the rain.

His skin was hot beneath the cool slick of rainwater, and she explored it with greedy hands, needing the foreign feel of a complete stranger—or almost a stranger. His hands pressed against the small of her back, drawing her closer, and excitement tingled along her every nerve.

He was minding her tattoo, not touching her there. She smiled against his sweet lips, and he drew back to catch his breath.

“I didn’t expect you to play,” she said, their gently panting breaths mingling in the minute space between their lips.

“I didn’t expect you to win.”

“Maybe you let me.”

“I’m pretty sure I didn’t.”

“Maybe you…subconsciously let me.”

He chuckled, gazed at her a moment, then pushed her drenched hair back from her forehead with both hands. She cupped his strong jaw with her palms and studied his face.

Slightly aquiline nose, full mouth framed with five o’clock shadow. She’d been right about those eyes. They burned right down to her core. Her heart gave a little shudder as she thought again about how she didn’t know anything about him. A thin scar split his right eyebrow, and she wondered how he’d gotten it. Bar brawl, maybe? No way would this guy ever back down from a physical challenge. He stood nearly a full head taller than she, and Gabby didn’t consider herself short by any means. Built but not bulky, he exuded a raw power that could be attributed to the hard muscles she’d discovered beneath her wandering hands, but more likely to his take-no-shit attitude. Since he seemed like such a nice guy, she found the dichotomy fascinating.

It didn’t matter what she knew about him. He could give her what she needed, and Brian knew and trusted him. Several years ago, that wouldn’t have been a comfort whatsoever, considering the people Brian knew, but things were different now. And the mystique… Damn, it was such a turn-on.

“Come on,” he said, tugging her along not toward the parking lot, but the end of the sidewalk, where nothing sat but a lone motorcycle in the pouring rain.

“I take it we’re going to your place, because remember, I’m staying with my parents.”

“Right. I have to ask, though, do you want to take mine or yours?” He stopped at the bike and lifted a brow at her.

Gabby felt her own eyebrows creep into her hairline. “This is your ride?”

“At the moment. I wasn’t expecting rain.”

“Holy shit.” She laughed, wrapping her arms around herself as she imagined the wind cooling the chilly rain on her skin even further. It was so muggy, though, it would probably feel magnificent. Not to mention the power between her legs, where she was already achy and needy… “Well, I’m in a skirt. But I’m already drenched. Wonderful. Why the hell not?”

He made a damn fine sight as he got on and brought the Harley to roaring life, revving the engine as she came tentatively closer. Damn. His sitting on the bike only accentuated his long legs and the way his fantastic thighs strained the denim of his distressed jeans. She couldn’t wait to get those thighs between her own. And those big black boots… She hoped the feet/genitalia-size link held true in this case. He reached out to hold her arm steady while she climbed on behind him, and as she settled, a laugh bubbled out of her. She’d never been on a motorcycle. Never thought she would be.

“Can’t believe I’m doing this,” she said, and he glanced back to grin at her over his shoulder.

The muscles of his abdomen tensed when she slid her hands over them. He was hard there, but she had expected no less. She only wanted to see if he was as hard elsewhere.

The rain slacked off as he eased the bike out to the street. At this hour, there was little traffic. The motorcycle roared in her ears; the wind whipped at her cheeks as they zoomed up Main. She laid her head against Ian’s back and watched the damp downtown lights slip by, tightening her grip on him and feeling strangely peaceful for the first time in…well, a very long time.

Funny, that. Because she could remember Brian mentioning before that the bar down the street from the parlor was a popular after-work hangout for his employees, she’d taken a chance that Ian might be there tonight. She hadn’t expected much, but here she was now. Feeling calm and content on the back of a motorcycle, of all things, with him. Almost every inch of both her legs completely bare. Not that it mattered—in fact it was the sexiest she’d felt in a long time. It was nice, it was needed, and so she went with it.

But she wasn’t any less hot for him or any less curious about what he was packing. Letting her hand slip lower on his belly, she felt him tense again. Farther, farther…until her questing fingers left the fabric of his T-shirt and found the denim encasing his very impressive erection. Apparently having her pressed up against him was having much the same effect on him as his nearness was having on her.

Oh my. Thoroughly satisfied with what she’d found, she chuckled and nibbled his shoulder, letting the vibrations of the engine stoke the heat building between her legs. He shook his head, and the quick movement of his shoulders suggested he laughed in return.

The journey wasn’t a long one. He turned into the parking lot of the very apartment complex Brian and Candace lived in. “Good thing we didn’t bring my car,” she said as he braked to a stop in an empty parking space. “Brian would’ve recognized it.”

“Yeah,” was his only comment.

While she’d joked about how he didn’t need to worry about her little brother, she respected the fact that he did. Just not enough to let him use that as an excuse to get away from her tonight.

She got off the Harley first and watched appreciatively as he did the same. By now, his white T-shirt clung damply to his skin and defined all those dips and planes and bulges she couldn’t wait to explore. With her tongue.

Mark hadn’t been out of shape by any means, but with his schedule, he had little time for anything other than an occasional jog. He took care of himself and his body had been good, but not the object of wonder standing before her now.

“Like what you see?” Ian asked, and her gaze jerked to his face. Yeah, so she’d been standing here ogling him for a good twenty seconds.

“Do you?” she returned.

“Do you really need to ask?”

Grinning to herself, she followed him as he went to unlock his door, and a moment later, she stood in his pitch-dark living room, waiting for him to flip on a light.

The light never came. She couldn’t see her hand before her face—he must have some heavy-duty drapes to keep the security lights out—and dead silence surrounded her. What the hell was he doing?

“Does anyone pay the electric bill around here?” she asked.

“Of course,” he said, startling her with how near to her he stood. Then…warm breath fanned her cheek. A gentle hand found and stroked down her bare arm, raising gooseflesh from her still-damp skin. Lips skated along her jawline. Her breath escaped in a rush.

Kiss me, she thought but refused to turn her face toward his. He liked control. She knew, somehow, somewhere, in the depths of her soul—maybe from the way he wouldn’t let her see him right now. Or simply the way his presence loomed even in the absolute darkness.

She knew all about needing control. All her life, she’d tried to control everything around her. Dear God, she wanted to give it up for a while… Sometimes it was exhausting.

Against her wet clothes, her skin flamed. Her nipples hardened, and it was all she could do to stay in her spot and not flatten herself against him. Assuage the ache building in all the places that cried out to be touched.

“So,” he said, and she shivered as his breath grazed her ear. “Why me?”

Did conversation really have to be a part of this? She slid her hands over his chest, up over his shoulders, delighting in the firmness of his body. How hard and raw he was. “Why not?” was the only thing that slipped from her lips.

“You had a bar full of guys who would’ve killed to be in my spot right now.”

You were nice to me sounded way too freaking lame, and that wasn’t it, at least not entirely. Plenty of men had been nice to her. She hadn’t wanted to fuck them all. “Maybe if any one of them had done my tattoo, and looked like you, and talked like you, and made me feel better…he’d be in your spot right now.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“So I was in the right place at the right time?” he murmured, moving closer. His hard chest—oh God, yes!—pressed against her, and she rubbed against him, getting the friction her aching breasts had been craving.

“Isn’t that how so many things in life work out? I saw you. I wanted you.”

“Do you always get what you want?”

She paused, the pain of a thousand memories swamping her. “You know I don’t.”

The breath and the touch she had been so enjoying against her skin stilled for a moment. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to dredge anything up there.”

Gabby wound her arms around his neck, pulling him close. Now that her eyes had adjusted, she could just make out his features. “Ian, stop talking and fuck me. All will be forgiven.”

And that was the only command, the only control, she wanted for the rest of the night. She wanted to give herself over. She didn’t want to think about anything except him and what he was doing to her.

His kiss pulled the breath from her lungs. His tongue quested for entrance, and she gave it. Just beneath the seductive flavor that was uniquely his, she tasted alcohol, and it intoxicated her as much as if she’d drunk it herself. But that was him, she knew, making her body feel light, making her feel as if she floated in the darkness.

And then she was floating in the darkness, because he picked her up with his hands under her ass as easily as if she weighed nothing. Instinctively, her legs went around his hips. She ground against his erection in a slow, primal drag that ripped a groan from his throat.

Then they were moving, and she only hoped he knew the layout of his apartment well enough that she wasn’t about to slam into anything. A moment later, she lurched dizzily forward, giving a little shriek into his mouth. They landed on what was obviously his bed, and he chuckled. His strong fingers kneaded her ass as she lay atop him, and…oh damn, that felt good. Especially when those fingers crept down under her skirt, into the crease of her body, feathering over her swollen clit separated from his touch by only her panties.

All the while, he feasted at her lips, asserting his dominance even in a submissive position. His hand tangled in her long hair, pulling it tight at her scalp, and she loved it. Loved it. Needed it. Needed him rough in a way she’d never known from anyone else. His kiss drove her from her senses, but she was no longer content with it. Sitting up, she found the hem of his T-shirt and slid her hands under it, finding all that smooth, rock-hard muscle. He groaned, driving his hips upward and lifting her higher. Jesus Christ, but this was gonna be a ride. He made her feel tiny.

Grasping his shirt, she wrenched it upward. He sat up to help her strip it off, both of them sharing a chuckle when it became momentarily tangled up in his arms. Then his lips found hers again, softer, sweeter, but fleeting. He took the hem of her dress and lifted it gently, careful not to scrape her back as he drew it upward and over her head.

That, maybe more than anything else tonight, made her heart squeeze up in her chest. But she didn’t have long to fawn over it, because his big hands slid up her waist and found her breasts, easily encasing them. She’d never thought herself inadequate in that department, but again, he made her feel almost insubstantial. And the tightness of her nipples against his palms…

…had nothing on the feel of his mouth on them, which came next with a swiftness that shocked the breath from her.

He went from one to the other, making her dizzy, making her crazy. She raked her fingernails up his back, and in return he drew her right nipple deep into his mouth and sucked. In the depths of her body where he had yet to touch her, she throbbed. Her pussy clenched. She undulated against him, trying to make him feel how much she needed him, needed him now. He didn’t care. He was content to suck her and drive her insane. Just when she thought she couldn’t take any more, he moved to the other nipple and started all over again.

“Ian!” she cried, shoving both hands into his hair. To push him away, to draw him closer… She didn’t fucking know, didn’t fucking care. She did both in equal measure, mussing his thick hair just the way she’d imagined, and it was in every way as delicious as she’d hoped it would be.

His mouth released her with an audible pop. Gabby nearly collapsed, relief and disappointment swooping through her. Relief because she didn’t think she could take any more, disappointment because she probably would have come if she had.

He pulled her down beside him so that she lay facing him, wearing nothing now but her panties.

Ian still wore his jeans and his boots. Imagining him leaving them on while she freed his cock and rode him spiked her heart rate even further. There was little time for imagining anything, though, because his hand slipped between them, his knuckle tracing a light path down her belly until it reached the lace of her panties. Her hips surged instinctively toward that touch.

He cupped her through her underwear, drawing a long sigh from her and an answering groan from him. Gabby spread her legs as much as she could in her position.

“So wet,” he murmured, the first words he’d uttered since she’d told him to stop talking. And it was okay. She didn’t mind if he talked like that. And the way he rubbed her…yeah, she didn’t mind if he kept doing that either. Especially when he moved the panel aside and…

Ohhhh. She said it as she thought it. His blunt fingers trailed through her wetness with excruciating gentleness, caressing, circling, avoiding all the places she needed him most but building that need with an evasive precision that had her writhing. “Ian.”

“Gabriella,” he returned, and he almost sounded amused. “I think your name is beautiful.”

“It’s too long,” she breathed, the last word broken as one of his fingers penetrated her. The sensation was so acute she reached down and grabbed his wrist. Her muscles constricted around him, trying to draw him deeper even when he had nothing more to give. She moved her hand from his wrist to his bulging cock, rubbing through his jeans. That would give her every inch she needed. And then some.

Trying not to disrupt the wonderful things he was doing between her legs, she set about releasing him from the confines of his jeans. He shuddered as she worked, and once his heavy length was in her hand—good God!—he blew out a breath as she gave him one long stroke after another. He began moving his finger in her rhythm, adding another and stretching her wider when she hooked her leg over his hips.

“Oh God,” she gasped, giving him a squeeze that drew a similar comment from him. Gently, he withdrew his fingers from her and pulled her over him again, positioning her so that her clit was nestled against his thick cock through the damp cotton panel of her underwear. She rubbed against him, leaning down to kiss him. Showing him the rhythm she would want when he was inside her. Wonderfully, gloriously inside her.

Until his hands caught her hips and showed her a thing or two about rhythm. Short bursts of energetic thrusting, then long, slow drags she could already practically feel igniting all the right spots inside her. “Yes,” she whispered, and nibbled his bottom lip. It would be so easy, so easy, to just pull her panties to the side and slide over him. “Ian, I’m so ready. Please.”

His hands slid to her ass and pulled her up the length of his body so fast she almost toppled over him. What was he…? Oh. Oh. Even through her underwear, his hot breath branded her, and she grabbed on to the headboard to keep her balance. His lips closed over her clit, keeping the fabric between them. From behind where he held her, his fingers dipped in to rub at her entrance, and she really didn’t think she could get any wetter for him. He pushed shallowly inside her again as his teeth closed over her panties and pulled at them.

God, but she was about to erupt. Her knuckles had to be whitening with the force of hanging on. When the wet warmth of his tongue hit her right where all the sensations centered, she jerked back. “I don’t want to come yet,” she groaned.

“Then don’t,” he said, pulling her back to him. “Don’t come, Gabriella. Don’t.”

How could she not? His tongue found her again. Slow, wet, circling licks. She sobbed with pleasure, her arousal hitting peaks she didn’t think she’d ever known. He growled his unknowing victory at getting her there. One of his hands left her hips to cradle her breast, thumbing the aching nipple as she licked her lips and tried to stave off an orgasm she wanted more than anything in the world.

Her muscles jellied. “I can’t…” she rasped, and he stopped, pulling her down his body to kiss her. Letting her taste herself on his lips. From head to toe, she shook with weakness, putty in his hands. Those hands went down the back of panties and shoved them lower—and somehow he divested her of them. She was too frenzied with lust to care how. For all she knew, he might have ripped them. Gabby only had the sense about her to mutter, “Condom,” and after a few agonizing moments, he was dragging her back in place on top of him, keeping her off the bed so the friction of the mattress wouldn’t murder her raw skin.

He reached down, and she felt him positioning himself at her entrance. “Yes,” she said, distantly hearing her own voice and the excitement in it. Her body reacted on its own, pushing down on him, but he caught her and held her and made her take his brutally slow ascent. “Ian, oh God, Ian…”

His harsh breath in her ear was the only response he gave her. Was he as carried away by this as she was? He had to be. Had to be. His cock stretched her so perfectly, so, so flawlessly, almost as if he had been made for her. Her body was alive in a way she’d never known.

Again, she felt small in the face of this, in the sheer power of their fusion, in the pleasure threatening to swamp her at any moment and carry her out like a riptide. Just when she thought he couldn’t go any deeper, he did. Just when she thought he wouldn’t make her wait any longer for the full power of his thrusts, he would. She was draped over him and at his mercy, the exact way she’d wanted to be. She tried to move, tried to show him how much she needed him to move, but her attempts were futile and pathetic.

All it took was her final, defeated utterance of his name.

His hands tightened on her; his hips drew back. She groaned into his neck as his cock nearly slid from her wasted body. When she had but an inch or so left of him, he gave it all back. All of it. And she awakened. She rose up on her arms, staring down at him, full of him, consumed by him. There was pleasure to be had in his glorious body, and by God, she was going to take it and make it hers.

Dropping her mouth to his in a furious kiss, she lifted and dropped, lifted and dropped, taking him in, pushing him out. Tightening her muscles and stealing his breath. He joined in her rhythm, this time not fighting it, not showing her his own. His hands fisted in her hair, his body jerked and shuddered as she rode him.

“So good,” she whispered against his lips. “You feel so good, baby.”

“Fuck,” he groaned. “You’re gonna make me come.”

She didn’t care; watching him find his release would be almost as satisfying as finding her own. Almost. She rubbed her entire body against him, and even with him thick and pumping hard inside her, she couldn’t seem to get close enough.

Still, in the throes of mindless passion, he was careful about where his hands ventured. Never to her back. Only her hips and her breasts and shoulders. Down her arms. She lowered herself to him and reached for his hands, twining her fingers with his and pinning him down. A fine sheen of sweat slicked her skin, and she tasted the salt of his when she kissed his jaw.

Close, she was so close… Angling her hips so that her clit could grind into him, she tossed her head back and gasped as two separate sensations fused and pitched her higher. Before she could gasp his name, that riptide swept her out. Every muscle locked down on him, and the intensity of her climax nearly rent her in two. Her body carried on an erratic rhythm of its own volition, demanding more of this from him and getting it, milking it, taking all he had to give.

Whatever words tumbled from her mouth, she wouldn’t remember them later, but she would remember his face as he joined her. The way his brow furrowed, the way his mouth opened—it was all shown to her through a dim shaft of light from the single window, and he was gorgeous.

Silent, though. As he shook and pulled her closer, he scarcely uttered a sound. She only knew he came from the throb of him deep inside, the pleasure drawn on his shadowed face.

Damn, what she wouldn’t give to make this man roar. But there wouldn’t be any more opportunities for that, would there? He certainly wouldn’t be up for it. She might, though. Oh, holy hell, after that? He might have to beat her away with a stick.

As passion’s grip released them both, she eased down over his body and struggled to catch her breath. His arms—still minding her sensitive skin—wound around her shoulders and the small of her back. At least he gave her that much. She snuggled her face into the crook between his neck and shoulder and breathed deeply, feeling her heart rate slow. His still beat strong against her.

He smelled so good. Hell, they smelled good together…his spice and her musk and their sex blending into an intoxicating perfume. No wonder she’d felt so drunk, so drugged.

She chuckled lazily at the sappy, romantic direction her thoughts were taking. God knew she was aware of what this was all about. She’d needed to get laid; she’d needed to be desired. He’d seemed like a good candidate—and damn, had he ever lived up to her expectations.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, and despite the grounding nature of her feelings now, she could appreciate the huskiness of his voice and how satiated he sounded. She’d done that for him, and it was a kick.

“Just thinking about how we smell.”

Now it was his turn to laugh. “How we smell? Are you trying to tell me something?”

“No, idiot. You smell magnificent. And so do I, if I do say so myself. But together we smell…amazing.” Exasperated, she gave him a little pinch. “Don’t you agree?”

He sniffed the air, then sniffed at her while she laughed. “You smell like…hmm…I don’t know. You’d smell better, though, if you smelled like bacon.”

“What?”

“Come on, now. Bacon is the greatest smell in the world.”

When her stomach took that moment to protest its emptiness, she was kind of inclined to agree with him. But still. Really? “I’m going to take that as a personal affront. That I don’t smell as good as bacon.”

“You shouldn’t feel that way. It’s just, you know…fact. It’s not like you can help it.”

“Are we really talking about this?”

“Well, you brought it up.”

“I didn’t bring up bacon.” This had to be the dorkiest conversation she’d ever been a party to, and that was saying a lot. “Tell you what. If you say you have some on hand, and one of us can fry it up, I’ll forgive you for letting me know I’m inadequate according to your olfactory system.”

He touched her hair, tracing one long strand with the tip of his finger. “Sure. We can do that. How about a BLT?”

“Sounds heavenly.”

As Ian crawled from the bed, Gabby propped her head up and allowed herself to thoroughly appreciate the view. While they’d been tangled up in each other, he’d never completely lost his jeans, but he’d lost them enough that she had a full view of his ass. What she wouldn’t give for her back to be healed so maybe he could throw her down and really put those tight, wonderful muscles to work on her. Even now she wanted to sink her fingernails into his firm curves, and fantasized about doing so while he bent her knees to her ears and pounded into her.

Whew, damn. If she wasn’t careful, she’d get herself all worked up again and burn even more calories she was desperate to replace.

Hell, she was already worked up. If he wanted to go again, she’d be all for it. But he disappeared into the bathroom, and a second later, light flooded in from the doorway. With a contented sigh, Gabby collapsed back on the bed and stared at the ceiling…and wondered what Mark was doing right now.

If that wasn’t a freaking unwelcome intrusion. It wasn’t that she cared. Or, more accurately, it wasn’t that she wanted to care—because, damn him, she did. Every now and then he trespassed on her thoughts when he should be the furthest thing from her mind. Like after she’d just had great sex with someone who wasn’t him. Her first great sex since he dumped her. Her only sex.

So yeah, she still thought about him, and she dreaded—dear God, she dreaded—going back to Dallas, where he might be inclined to seek her out.

Not that she really thought he would. But he’d made a comment about their timing being wrong, about how someday maybe it would be right. He could go on waiting for that moment, she’d told him, because she damn sure wasn’t. To be so brilliant, he’d proven himself a fool to think she’d go for that. “Oh, sure, Mark, I’ll just hang around and wait for ‘someday’ and the next wedding you decide to skip out on. Sounds like a plan.”

And why was she dwelling on it? She had a hot man who’d just fucked her senseless, emerging from the bathroom at this very moment in his low-slung ripped jeans, giving her an electric smile before heading toward what she assumed was the kitchen. She’d be the fool, she decided, if she didn’t get up and follow that. So she put on his T-shirt and did.

Chapter Six

Ian straightened from retrieving the bacon, lettuce and tomato from the fridge as Gabby sauntered in, wearing his shirt. If she’d looked incredible earlier in the parlor and later in the bar—and dear God, naked in his arms—she looked insanely gorgeous right now, her long hair tousled up on one side and her dewy olive skin glowing against the contrast of the shirt. It fell just above mid-thigh on her, and the thought that she might still be bare and wet from their sex underneath it set off all kinds of lustful thoughts in his head. He set the stuff on the counter and wiped his palms on his jeans, mind going blank. What the hell was he doing? Bacon. Right.

“I’ll cook if you chop,” she said, her voice an octave lower than he remembered it.

Full lips even fuller than he remembered them. All from his kisses. He directed her to the skillet and utensils and tried to get his fucking thoughts together.

He’d been an idiot to take her up on her bet, but he’d have been a bigger idiot not to. At least, it had been easy to look at it that way at the time. Now, he had to think about going to work tomorrow and looking his boss in the eye. Shit.

What did it matter? It wasn’t as if anything would come of this. No one ever had to know. From what Brian had told him earlier today, she was a woman looking for a good time to get over a shitty ordeal. And he really had no problem being used, at least not in that capacity. They were a match made in a very brief heaven.

“So,” he said, positioning his knife over a tomato and mentally scrabbling for conversation, “a doctor, huh?”

“Looks that way.” She put the skillet on the stove and turned on the burner. He tried to imagine it, but he just couldn’t see her in scrubs. “After nursing for several years, I started to feel like I knew as much as any of the pediatricians I’ve ever worked for, so why not? And I love kids so much.”

“Well, that’s great. Good on you for following your dreams.”

One of her shoulders lifted nonchalantly. “I should have followed it fifteen years ago.”

Fifteen years ago, he was still in middle school. He chuckled at the thought.

“What’s so funny?”

“You just kinda…brought home our age difference.”

“Oh.” She laid a strip of bacon in the skillet, where it sizzled angrily. “I hate to even ask how old you are.”

“So don’t. I’ll tell you. I’m twenty-eight.”

She laughed out the word “Jesus,” giving it several more syllables than it contained. “Well, Ian, I hope you don’t mind being with an older woman.”

“As long as you don’t mind being with a younger man.”

“After tonight, I might rob the cradle from now on.”

He could damn sure say, for his part, he didn’t mind being robbed from the cradle. Not if she was the one doing the robbing. “I know I’m not supposed to ask…” he began, dangling the invitation for her to fess up.

She gave him a sultry glance over her shoulder. “So don’t. Only, I won’t tell you.”

“I’ll just find out from your brother,” he teased.

“He’ll want to know why you’re interested.”

“Maybe I’ll tell him.”

“Right. As hard as I had to work to get you here because you’re so scared of him? I don’t think so.”

“I’m not scared of him, dammit, and I’ll let you in on a little secret. You really didn’t have to work that hard to get me here.”

“Well. It felt like I did.” He could hear the smile in her voice, and it was impossible not to answer it with one of his own.

“Sorry about that.”

“So then, why did you play so hard to get?” Gabby continued her task, laying a couple more pieces in the skillet. He finished the tomato and started on the lettuce in the time it took him to formulate an answer.

It was complicated. He’d only ten seconds ago had the thought that he didn’t care about being used…at least not for sex. On a deeper level, though, something inside him ached. He recalled sitting in the bar and feeling like he was the prey and she the predator. He’d spent too much of his life that way. He’d worked too hard to escape it all. Any little reminder could send him spinning back mentally, and that was the one thing he tried to avoid at all costs. The less he thought about his past, the better.

But a beautiful woman coming on strong wasn’t enough to make that happen. There was more to it than that.

“You seem like a go-getter. I guess I wanted to see how hard you’d work to get me.” It wasn’t the truth, but it sounded like a good substitute. It might placate her.

“You like throwing down a challenge, then?”

“Maybe.”

“I guess I like a challenge.”

“Given your chosen profession, I’m not surprised.”

They created idle chitchat while they finished food prep and eventually sat down on the barstools at the counter to eat. He marveled that Gabriella Ross could look sexy as hell just eating a BLT. There was simply something about a woman who enjoyed her food, and she obviously did.

“I was starving,” she said finally, wiping her mouth with one of the napkins he’d put out. “And I haven’t had one of those in ages. Thanks for bringing up bacon.”

He chuckled and started on his second. “You’re welcome.”

“Tell me about yourself.”

Caught with a mouthful, he struggled to swallow quickly and shrugged. “What do you want to know?”

“Let’s start basic. Full name?”

“Bastian Anderson Rhodes.”

“Oh!” She laughed. “That’s…thorough. I guess I have to give up my middle name now too.”

“If you want. I don’t require it or anything.”

She smiled. “I don’t mind. It’s—” She said something that sounded foreign and beautiful and that he could never hope to pronounce. “But that’s Irene to you. It’s Italian. From my grandmother.”

“Can you speak it?”

“I get by when I visit over there. Mom made sure of it.”

“Wow. Awesome. So…Brian can speak Italian?”

“I think he knows mostly cuss words. But he can get by too. He just gets laughed at more than I do. Evan, he’s fluent. He was always the star pupil.”

“He’s a lawyer, right?”

“Yep.”

He shook his head. “Too much school for me.”

“That’s us. Family of overachievers. Although it took Brian a while to get there.” She sipped the beer he’d gotten her from the fridge when they’d sat down. He’d taken one too. “What about your family? They’re in Dallas, you said?”

He shifted on his barstool. God, don’t let her dig too deep. “My mom is.”

“Are you close?”

“Not particularly. I mean, we speak. We’re cool. But not real close.”

“Well…that’s unfortunate. Not my business, of course, so I’ll shut up now.”

“It’s all right.” He’d tell her a little, then maybe she wouldn’t feel as if she’d pried. “My stepdad was a real dickhead, and that’s putting it mildly. From the time they got together when I was twelve, she and I had a major difference of opinion about how she should handle that situation.” He paused, the sight of the half-eaten sandwich in front of him suddenly making him nauseated. “He died a few years ago. So it’s not a problem anymore. But the damage was done.”

Even though it had been over ten years, he could swear the scar over his eye ached.

“Wow,” she said softly. “I’m sorry about that. It’s a disgrace when people choose a partner over their kids. Not that that’s what she was doing—”

“She was.”

“Your kids should come first. No matter what. And I’ll really shut up now.”

“Before you shut up, know that I agree with you. A hundred percent. Now, on to happier things.” He held up his beer bottle to toast. “To the Rangers.”

She laughed and clinked her bottle against his. “May they be ever victorious. Not going to happen, but we can dream.”

“Absolutely.” He took a deep breath. It felt like the first inhalation he’d accomplished since she brought up the subject of family. Appetite gone, he pushed his plate forward. “Want this?”

Gabby waved her hand. “Oh, no thanks.”

He stood and took their plates to the sink, dumping the rest of his sandwich in the trash along the way.

“How long have you lived here?” she asked.

“Three months.”

“And you like it?”

Shrugging, he leaned against the counter to face her, liking the way her eyes flickered over his shirtless body. Liking the way the white of his shirt lit up her skin. “I don’t hate it.”

“People usually move away from here, not to here. It’s pretty dead-end.”

“Like I said, Brian needed the help, I needed the change. So far, so good.”

“So you plan on staying awhile?”

“I don’t have plans at the moment.”

“That sounds…kind of nice.” She killed the rest of her beer. “To take life as it comes at you.”

“Haven’t you been doing that? Doesn’t everyone, whether they have plans or not?”

“Good point.”

“So how long were you with Mr. Wonderful?”

Her dark brows knit together; the corners of her mouth turned downward. He didn’t mean to cause her distress, but he was so fucking curious about the guy who let her go. Her fingers toyed with the bottle in front of her. “Almost a year.”

“And he was a doctor?”

“A cardiologist. Who doesn’t know jack shit about the heart, apparently. Nor does he seem to have one of his own.”

“Do you still talk to him?”

“I haven’t since I moved here. He tried to call me a few times before I left, but I wouldn’t talk to him. I guess he stopped caring once I was gone. He’s probably glad.”

“I don’t get it. You were planning a life together. I don’t see why he would bail at the last possible minute.”

“You and I both remain in the dark. I’d be lying if I said I never had a single doubt the entire time we were together, but I chalked it up to his schedule or his being tired. I figured he’d have the maturity to come to me if he had a problem.”

“Sure.”

“And to let my parents spend all that money… They wanted to pay for everything, you know, traditional. Everything was in place. And it all went to waste.” She raked her long hair back with one hand, and he thought he saw that hand shake a little. “Pathetic. So fucking pathetic.”

“You’ve seemed to handle it so well, though.” When she laughed humorlessly, he rushed on. “I mean it. I don’t know you well, but I could imagine an experience like that crushing a lesser woman. Making her not want to show her face. But you? Holy shit. You’re on fire.”

The unexpected breaking of a smile over her face was akin to sunshine breaking through storm clouds, as corny and clichéd as that sounded. “I’m on fire?”

“You’re the phoenix rising from the ashes. I’m honored I could be the one to let you express that.” He grinned. “In more ways than one.”

“With the way you’re looking at me right now, you’re making me want to express it again.”

“Yeah?”

He couldn’t take his eyes from her as he approached and turned her barstool all the way toward him. The intensity in her eyes as she watched him, the hitch of her breath as he stepped between her legs—it ignited his blood again in a way he wouldn’t have expected after she’d made him blow his top earlier.

But why not? She was without a doubt the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen, and the more he looked at her, the more certain he became of that fact. She ran her hands over his bare chest and up over his shoulders. Long, lithe fingers he wanted to feel all over him again. He tugged the hem of the T-shirt from under her ass and lifted it over her head. She raised her arms so he could slip it off.

And now, breasts bared, long hair drifting down around them, she was even more beautiful. Her skin… It shimmered. He wanted to eat her alive. There could be no doubt she knew her own beauty, but he couldn’t stop himself from telling her. He could never tell her enough. “So fucking beautiful, Gabriella.”

“Thank you,” she replied softly. She snaked her hands behind his neck again and pulled him in for a kiss. The second her full lips touched his, opened for his, he was lost. That she welcomed him into her glorious body in any way whatsoever was nothing less than a gift, and a miraculous one.

He slid her hips closer until she was snugged tight against his already hardening dick. As he’d suspected earlier, she hadn’t been wearing her panties. Still wet, swollen, flushed and fragrant from their earlier sex. Ian growled deep in his throat as he wrenched his jeans open to get closer to her. She let her head fall back and arched her body, presenting those perfect cinnamon-colored nipples. He leaned in to flick the very tip of one with his tongue, and she sucked in a breath. “Ian…”

Once his cock protruded from his fly, straining to get inside her tight body again, she undulated against it, leaving a trail of wetness on the underside. Her clit was so plump and needy against him, he wanted to hit his knees and suck it for her all night. Make her come over and over and over again, until she couldn’t anymore. “Fuck, baby. You should’ve told me if you didn’t get enough.”

“I don’t know if I ever could.” The corner of her mouth kicked up in a mischievous smirk. “You walking around here all hot and hard.” Her hands skimmed over his shoulders as she spoke, traveling down the contours of his biceps. They came back up and joined over the center of his chest, where his heart thudded strong.

He rubbed the crown of his cock back and forth, savoring her delicious movements as she circled against him. The need to dip in and feel her slick and soft and tight around his throbbing dick almost overpowered everything else. He moved down enough to tease her entrance with his tip, and she gasped and clung to him but shook her head.

“I know,” he whispered. “You feel so good.”

“God, you’re making me wet.”

“So wet.” He dipped in and kissed her, giving her mouth one deep sweep with his tongue. She tried to keep him in, but he evaded her. “I want to taste it again.”

Gabby jerked against him, and he had to lock his fucking knees to keep from thrusting forward into her. He’d never seen anything so hot in his life as the sight of her bare, glistening pussy lips separating on either side of the head of his dick. Never felt anything as sweet, either. “Yes, yes,” she whispered in a rush. “Oh yes, please.”

“I’m having fun right here, though.”

A dirty chuckle came from deep in her throat. “Make up your mind.” She pulled him down to say her next words into his ear, her breath a warm, sexy gust that raised the hairs at his nape. “I want to come into your mouth this time. Then I want to come again with you sunk as deep inside me as you can get.”

Sounded like a damn good plan to him. He might’ve gone down to his knees in obedience, or it might’ve been that her words knocked him off his feet. Either way, he had her here, spread open, bare, in full light.

And he’d thought she was hot only a moment ago. Maybe it was his imagination, maybe it was his own thundering pulse fucking with his vision, but he thought he could see her throbbing, see her clenching for him to fill her up. Flushed and wanton and gorgeous. “Please,” she said, voice ragged with her breathing. He glanced up to see her gazing at him with hooded emerald eyes that seemed twice as bright as they had earlier today.

The taste of her sent his eyes rolling back in his head. Even sweeter, somehow, than she’d been an hour ago. He rolled his tongue over her clit, around it, savoring that little bud. Gabby’s fingers clenched the back of his head, and he could tell she was holding herself back, trying not to grind into him. He was going to take that control away from her before it was over. He vowed it to himself.

He licked slowly until she whimpered. He tapped, and she gasped and jerked. “Ohhh my God, Ian. Oh God.”

That was what he liked. To give her pleasure. That was what any man in the world ought to feel honored to do for the rest of his fucking life. He was so hard that he hurt, and he clutched his dick in his fist to try to assuage the ache, but he’d gladly suffer that to make her feel good. He sucked her into his mouth, and she lost her hard-fought restraint, circling her hips on his mouth as he used the index and middle finger of his free hand to pull her lips apart. She cried out, thrashing her head. As her thighs begin to clamp on his ears, he released her, resuming slow, leisurely sweeps of his tongue.

“No!” she cried, then groaned pitifully. “Ian, make me come, pleeeease make me come.”

“I will,” he said simply. He planted kisses all around her naked, intimate flesh, then slipped his tongue into her needy little entrance, where her flavor intensified by a thousand. Warm and sharp and salty-sweet.

Her arm slapped down hard on the counter top, and she struggled to spread her legs even wider. Oh fuck, she couldn’t get enough, and he couldn’t either. He had to release her to let his hand roam over her breasts as they heaved with her harsh breathing, and he shoved his tongue deep, desperate for more of her essence.

Her hand drifted down toward her clit, and he had to abandon his exploration to grab her wrist and hold it away. She fought his grip to no avail, writhing desperately. She’d come when he was damn well ready for her to. Held captive to him mostly by the bonds of her own pleasure. He loved that. She couldn’t fight him but wouldn’t go anywhere even if she could.

Her movements subsided as she lapsed into helpless abandon, moaning, giving herself fully over to him.

“Baby,” he crooned into her damp recesses. “You’re so sweet.” He lifted his mouth and put it where she needed it. Somehow their hands became joined, and she squeezed the life out of his as he gave her one long sweep of his tongue. Then another.

“Please don’t stop,” she breathed. “Please. Don’t. Stop.”

It was amazing, he thought as he sucked her to a wild, bucking climax, that such a tiny part of the body could have such a devastating effect. As she came apart beautifully in his mouth, her fingers digging into the back of his skull, he didn’t let her go, fulfilling her first fantasy. He groaned against her and squeezed his dick, imagining being wrapped in that clenching channel that begged for him even now. When she finally descended from whatever heights she’d reached, she went boneless, and he had to catch her before she slid off onto the floor.

Chanting “Oh God,” repeatedly, she wrapped her arms around him and allowed him to lift her and carry her to the bedroom. He sat on the bed with her straddling him, draped over him, and waited for her to fully come back. It took some time, but he was no less hard and ready for her when she finally lifted her pretty, rosy face to his.

“That was…”

“I know.” Her juices were all over him. He knew. She kissed him, surely tasting herself. He flicked his tongue against hers, retreating when she chased it. Making her work.

“Tease,” she scolded. Her hand came between them, resting on his dick. “Mmm. Maybe it’s my turn.” As her fingers curled around him, she groaned, “Jesus, so big,” and dipped her head to bite his neck. Careful to avoid her tattoo, he caressed her arms and looked over her shoulder to the opposite wall, only a few feet from them. Yep, perfect.

“Look,” he whispered, tilting his chin in that direction. She turned, chuckled, then gazed back at him. “Well, that’s not fair,” she said of the full-length mirror casting their reflection at him. “You can see, but I can’t.”

He gave her a kiss on the tip of her nose. “Then turn around.”

Grinning excitedly, she swung her leg off and stood. Before she could reclaim her spot, though, he grabbed another condom and rolled it on. Gabby spread her legs over him and presented him with her perfect, bitable ass, and he took it in both hands, positioning it while his heart lurched in his throat at the thought of taking her again.

“Fuck me, Ian,” she whispered. With his thumbs, he spread her lips apart. She settled over the head of his cock and slowly, slowly, so fucking slowly, dropped over him.

As the breath was ripped from his lungs, he looked up and saw her raptly watching them come together in the mirror, and he thought he might not ever be able to inhale again. He stretched her soft, tight tissues, shuddering as she enveloped him, firm as a fist but somehow still pliable. Still so slick and ready. If this was what a woman in her sexual prime was like, he might never go back to girls his own age again. She uttered a helpless, agonized “Mmmm” as he went deeper and deeper. He loved that sound. Finally, she sat flush with his groin, gloving him from tip to base. Heaven. He sank his teeth into her shoulder and palmed her breasts in his hands, then rolled her pert nipples between his fingers.

“Look at us,” she breathed, tilting her hips outward a bit. God, he didn’t know if he could. If he saw what they looked like right now, this might be over before it started. “Look,” she said again.

He looked. And a full-body shudder went through him.

She could be…a wanton fucking fertility goddess. Long, lean legs spread over his thighs. The thick base of his cock stretching her pussy wide where it disappeared into her body. Both of them wet and glistening. Her hair falling around her shoulders and breasts, embracing her in its warm silk. Ian couldn’t resist letting one hand slip down her belly so he could touch where they met so intimately. He watched himself do it, then felt the reaction in the body connected with his.

“Pretty,” he murmured into her ear, circling her clit with the barest brush of his middle fingertip. It was still swollen, protruding, craving his touch. He wanted her so fucking satisfied when she left here that she didn’t even want to think about sex for, like, a year. As on fire as she was, though, it might take all night. She began to roll her hips against him, causing a slide that lit up his entire nervous system.

“Oh, Ian,” she groaned, and leaned to the right so she could tuck her left leg under, then to the left to do the same with the right. He supported her weight as she did so, but even that movement caused him to bite down on the inside of his cheek. Now she had more control, and he knew she wasn’t afraid to use it. However, her new position left her a little more unstable, so he held her fast against him.

He loved the feel of her naked ass pressed against the taut muscles of his belly. But hell, he loved everything about the feel of her. She lifted. He pulled downward. Both of them sighed. The mirror showed every inch of his thick shaft emerging, dusky and wet and engorged with need for her. She left him completely, her breathing fast, watching him bob upright in the empty air. “God, that’s hot,” she said huskily. “Seeing it. Wanting it. Knowing I can have it.” To demonstrate, she pushed down on him again.

“I know what you mean,” he grunted through gritted teeth. “Take it, Gabriella. You can have it. You can have it whenever and however you want it. Fuck it, baby. Fuck it good. Make it yours.”

His words seemed to ignite something in her. She tossed all her hair to one side and put both hands on his knees. Immediately, Ian put his mouth on her neck, sucking at a delectable patch of skin. He supported her weight as she began to move, riding him, rocking him, and he even managed to slip his hand back down to finger her clit. He couldn’t see much in the mirror except her body thrusting against his now, but even that sight was wildly erotic when he felt the effects of her grinding on him, felt her body drawing greedily on him. Release built at the base of his spine, fire pooled in his balls, but he shook it off as best he could. No, no, hell no. She was getting hers first. Always.

All that beautiful hair was all over him. Caught between their bodies, sticking to his chest. Even puffing into his mouth as he breathed harshly against her neck. She sobbed and cried out, one hand following his forearm down to his wrist where he touched her. “Faster,” she pleaded. “I’m gonna come so hard, baby, so hard…”

Instead of giving her what she wanted, he created a V with his fingers around her clit, gently pinching and manipulating it but avoiding touching it directly. “Shit! Why do you do the opposite of what I say?” He almost had to laugh at the desperation in her tone, and he might have if he weren’t so far gone himself.

“Because I want to build you up, make you come even harder than you think yourself capable,” he rasped.

She gasped out an “Oh!” but he didn’t know if it was a response or a cry of denied passion. Maybe both. Poor baby. She’d suffered enough. He moved his finger back over her bud and stroked it quickly. “Ah! There. There, there, there…” And she threw herself back against him, her body milking him in great, heaving spasms, the intensity of which left even him amazed. There was nothing to do but let go and join her. His release punched through, pulsing deep and hot inside her, filling the trusted barrier between them.

When the maelstrom receded, he collapsed back on the bed, pulling her with him, snuggling her close. She trembled at his side, restlessly rubbing her legs together. Neither of them spoke for a long time…long enough that when he looked at her at last to say something, she was sound asleep.

Chapter Seven

Ian drove her back to her car in the muggy, gray early morning light, because Gabriella hoped to slip into the house before her parents stirred, and she certainly wanted to be gone from his apartment complex before there was any chance whatsoever of running into Brian. She probably could’ve waited until noon for that, though.

She’d hoped to avoid the awkward good-bye, but as she got off Ian’s rumbling Harley next to her car, there seemed no way around it. It had been a great night. It had rocked her world. Waking up this morning and realizing he’d taken care of her, moving her onto a pillow and covering her up, had perhaps been the sweetest moment of all—not the hottest, but certainly the sweetest. Holy shit, a guy who was hot and caring. She’d known they were out there somewhere. And while she certainly wouldn’t have anything against a repeat, it didn’t seem feasible for either one of them. And after all that, she might not have to think about sex for a year.

“Thanks for the greatest night I can remember having in…a long, long time,” she said at last, dismayed that she felt rather shy this morning after that wild, torrid display. After all, she’d been the one who enticed him back to his place. He’d taken her on, so he’d wanted it as much as she had, but still. She didn’t mind being the instigator. It had simply been a while since she’d done so.

“Thank you,” he said, a little smile curving his full lips. His stubble was much rougher this morning, his hair sticking up crazily, giving him an even more rugged look than he’d sported yesterday. Throw in the hard biceps and the ink flowing down both arms and the motorcycle, and he looked exactly like what any parent did not want to see pulling into their driveway. And exactly what she’d needed.

A guy like him, though… He needed a nice, little-bit-wild girl his own age. Not someone older who was all drive and ambition and rarely had time for anything but studying. No, the ideal girl for him would be someone kind of like Candace, who was sweet as pie but still fun and had no problem keeping Brian’s ass in check.

God, whoever that girl turned out to be, Ian would certainly know how to please her. Gabriella couldn’t help but feel a little bit jealous of the poor girl she didn’t even know. Hell, she might already hate her guts.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked, still wearing that mysterious smile, and she realized she’d been staring for the past few seconds.

“Sorry.” He probably wouldn’t appreciate the woman he’d fucked all night telling him what he needed in a girlfriend. “You just gave me a lot to think about.” Was it her imagination, or was heat creeping up into her cheeks? Good God. It was; she was blushing. She might actually be a little bit smitten with him.

“Oh yeah? Well, I’m glad.”

“I guess…I’ll see you at our next appointment?” Hopefully it wouldn’t be too awkward, and they would be able to get through it without anyone catching on.

He nodded. “I think one more should finish it up.”

“Good.”

Silence stretched out for a moment. She wanted to leave; she didn’t want to leave. She wanted to escape…and she wanted to go back to his place and lie in his arms all day.

“Well,” he said at last, holding his hand out. “I’ll be seeing you.” Without hesitation, she took it, feeling a little thrill when he brought her hand to his lips and kissed the back. Her skin tingled where his mouth touched her. It tingled in lots of other places where it had touched her last night. As if the reminder of the way he kissed awakened her body and made it cry out for him.

Oh God. He was amazing. He made her feel like a teenager again. She had to get out of here before she fell into his arms and begged for a repeat.

Gabby mustered all her willpower and smiled, stepping back. She had the profound and disturbing feeling she was leaving behind something very important. “See you.”

He hung around until she started her car and pulled out. Then, in her review mirror, she watched him leave the parking lot on his motorcycle and speed off in the opposite direction. A red light caught her, so she was able to watch until his distant figure turned a corner and disappeared from sight.

Rain began to patter against her windshield. She stared straight ahead and tried to remember how to breathe.

She wasn’t early enough. As she drove up her parents’ driveway, she met her dad’s car as he was leaving for the office. Sighing when he began to slow, she braked and rolled her window down as he did the same.

“Looks like you missed curfew,” he said, which made her burst out laughing. Her dad could be pretty cool sometimes. And a hard-ass at other times. Like any one of his children, and certainly his wife. Gabby supposed she could lie and say she’d run an early errand…but then she’d have to make something up when he inevitably asked what it was, and she honestly didn’t have the brain power right now.

“I guess I did. I hope you didn’t wait up.”

“Your mom did. She’s still watching the front door.” He grinned, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Just kidding. She was still upstairs when I left. If you hurry, you might miss her.”

“Oh. Thanks.”

“I think we need to have a talk later, Gabby.” Uh-oh. He might be in his most dangerous mood right now, actually—the disarming jovial façade to hide the hard-ass within. Those words had never boded well for any of his three kids whenever he uttered them.

“Sure. Okay.”

“See you tonight.” He rolled up his window and moved on. She continued up the driveway, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.

The “talk” he wanted to have was no doubt about her behavior of late—tattoos and staying out all night. She could understand. If one of her children began behaving in a way that was totally opposite from the way they’d behaved before, she’d be worried too, no matter how old they were. She only wished she had more of an explanation for them than wanting to try new things. With new people. Her love life had been nothing but one failed relationship after another—the last one spectacularly failed. If nothing she’d ever done had worked for her, then why keep doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results? That was the comical definition of insanity, wasn’t it? There was nothing wrong with changing it up a bit.

It had damn sure worked for her last night.

She would just reassure her parents tonight that she was okay, not to worry, and if they couldn’t be placated, then maybe she would open a discussion about going back to Dallas early. Finding an apartment and settling in before M2 began. A summer of hiding out in her hometown had seemed like a good idea when her world came tumbling down, but now…she wasn’t so sure. She’d woken up this morning with Ian’s arm over her, feeling so much better than she had in the weeks since her failed wedding. She felt as if she could take on anything, defeat any obstacle, that she had no reason to hide her face in shame.

She just didn’t like that it had taken a man to make her feel this way. Even worse? It was a man she couldn’t have.

Her dad had been right, and she managed to make it to her room without catching sight of her mother. Despite her exertions last night, she was restless and full of energy, going for a late-morning jog, grabbing lunch and doing some idle solo shopping. When she did finally try to settle and do some reading that evening, her mind kept drifting, and she tossed her book aside on her bed with a huff.

Maybe she could go out. Maybe he’d be at the bar again. Maybe—

No. Holy shit, what was she doing?

Her body remembered his touch almost as if his hands were still on her. Mmm, the way he’d looked when he’d fucked her in front of the mirror…

A knock at her door jerked her out of her fantasies. “Come in!” she called, sitting up and hoping she wasn’t flushed. The door eased open, and her dad peeked in.

“You busy?”

“No. I was reading, but…can’t keep my mind on it.” She fidgeted uncomfortably. Her mom was usually the one to lecture her. For her dad to come up here, it was a little scary. He usually handled the boys.

He shut the door behind him, crossed his arms over his broad chest and leaned back against her desk across the room from her, the stance reassuring her that he didn’t mean to stay long. “Are you okay, Gabby?”

Sighing, she nodded. “I’m fine, Dad.”

“Last night was the third time I know of that you didn’t come home since you’ve been back.”

Yeah, he was on the money. She preferred for him to think she was out doing what she did last night than to know the truth: sometimes she just had to run away. He probably wouldn’t believe her if she told him.

She wasn’t happy in Dallas. She wasn’t happy in her childhood bedroom. Whenever she was feeling emotionally raw, a hotel was preferable to this. If her parents saw her break down, they were going to worry even more. So she would rather escape and do it in private, away from their prying eyes. Get the tears out and dealt with.

“Please don’t worry. I’m really not behaving any differently than I do back home. I’m just under your nose for you to see it. I still go out with friends and have a good time.”

“Did you get tattoos back home?”

Of course her mother had told him. “Why is that a big deal? Millions of people have them. It’s weirder to not have one these days. I thought it was good timing.”

“I’ll admit your mother is more riled up about that than I am. I just thought I’d check in with you and make sure everything is okay.”

“Not snorting coke or shooting up or engaging in felonious activities. You don’t have to worry.” She grinned at him, and he chuckled.

“We love having you back, you know,” he said. “By no means do we want to make you feel like you can’t go do your own thing.”

“You’re just typical nosy parents,” she teased.

“Got that right.” He straightened and eyed the row of medical books on her shelves. “Everything still good for you going back in August?”

“Oh yeah. In fact, I was thinking I’d go ahead and look for my apartment. Maybe go up there and crash with Tina for a couple days. I can get out of your hair sooner.”

He walked over and dropped a kiss on her head. “You’re not in our hair, Gabby. Promise you’ll let us know if you need anything, okay, kiddo?”

“Sure, Daddy. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

As he went out and shut her door, she raked her hair back with both hands and took a deep breath. Okay. Things were in motion. She’d started what was going to be a gorgeous tattoo, and she’d had her world rocked by a bona fide hottie. The parental units were uneasy but dealing. She only had to ease her way back to Dallas, get back to work and rebuild her life again. It would be hard. It would take some time to scrape together all those scattered pieces. But she had hope for the first time in a while, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had Ian to thank for most of it.

Maybe she’d talk to Brian about giving him a raise. After all, the man was so freaking hot, sex with him was therapeutic.

Chapter Eight

July

The Fourth passed in a haze of sweltering heat, barbecues and family get-togethers. Evan and Kelsey came in with Alex for a brief visit, and if anyone could stay mopey around Gabby’s energetic little nephew, there wasn’t any hope for them. So when Gabby strolled into Dermamania a couple of days later for the second and hopefully last session on her tattoo, she was feeling rather good about life.

And good about seeing Ian again. Although she was going to keep her cool, not blush like a giddy sixteen-year-old, and definitely not tip off her little brother that anything had gone on.

Yeah, it was a good plan. If only she could stick to it.

The second her gaze found him standing across the room, the air-conditioning might as well have been off for all the good it did her, or maybe the July heat was clinging to her skin, or…hell, it was him. It was the hotter-than-hell memories. He wore jeans and a black AC/DC shirt, and was laughing at something the bald guy—Ghost?—had said. Damn, he had a sexy laugh. Not that she’d seen a single thing about him that wasn’t sexy.

The chime of the door hadn’t gotten his attention, so she waited until Ghost noticed her and called out, “Oh shit, run!” and made a show of trying to dive behind his table.

Ian met her gaze and grinned. She tried not to end up a puddle of the floor. Thankfully, there was no sign of Brian or Candace, and the rest of the artists were all but strangers to her. Gabby laughed along good-naturedly with Ghost’s joke, grateful when Ian quickly ushered her on back to their little room.

“I think we’ll knock this out today,” he said, sounding so normal and even professional.

“Good, I can’t wait.” She tried to return the favor, but she sounded too bright and false. Or maybe it was her imagination. Dammit.

Only the way his hazel eyes lingered on hers a moment longer than they should gave any indication there had been something between them.

That body had been naked and thrusting beneath hers.

Jesus! She almost smacked herself for having that thought. She should’ve known, however. The more she tried to keep those images away, the stronger they rushed in. And once that one was in, she was swamped with them.

Ian closed the door. “Gabby.”

She put her hands to her flaming cheeks. “Oh God, I’m sorry. It shows, doesn’t it? I was trying to be so normal.”

He smiled, sweetness tinged with devilish charm. “I think you’re trying too hard to be normal, and it shows. But it’s okay in here. Just you and me.”

“Maybe it only shows because you’re looking for it,” she teased.

“No. Your face is red. Unless you can blame the heat for that.”

How freaking embarrassing. She was a thirty-six-year-old woman, not a kid with a crush. “It’s not like I jogged here or anything, so no, I guess I can’t do that.”

“Like I said, it’s nothing. I’ll step out and let you get ready, then we’ll get started.”

No point in him stepping out. He’d seen her naked…a lot. Except that it would look weird to the others if they happened to notice that he didn’t. She smirked at the thought as he left the room, then stripped off her shirt and bra. How the hell was she supposed to lie under those skillful hands for an hour or so when she now had the remembrance of just how skillful those hands were on other parts of her body?

It was her own damn fault for pursuing him. She should’ve waited until the tattoo was done, at least.

She settled on the table. A moment later, he knocked and reentered with her permission.

He’d done most of the lines that he needed to during her first session. Today would be mainly fill-in to really make this bird fly. She couldn’t wait.

“How have you been?” he asked, and Gabby turned her face toward the direction of his voice. She still couldn’t see him; he was closer to her ankles. Was he avoiding her? “You look great,” he went on before she could answer. “Like you’re in a much better place than the first time you came in here.”

Thanks to you. “Oh yeah, I’ve been awesome. How about you?” Do you think about me? Dream about me? Was it as good for you as it was for me?

“Can’t complain.”

There was no way he could not think about it. Why did she care? She’d already decided it was a one-time thing and that she wouldn’t let herself be affected by him. She supposed she hadn’t really prepared herself for the possibility that he wasn’t affected by her.

“I want to touch you so fucking bad.”

She nearly came off the table. Had she heard him correctly? His voice had been so low and husky, it might’ve been a remnant from one of her feverish dreams about him, come back to cruelly haunt her.

She lifted her head and looked back at him. His gaze roamed over her ass, her back where his art waited to be completed, and finally to her face. She sucked in a breath when the full force of those heated eyes hit her. “Ian…”

“I know.” He chuckled, snapping on his black gloves. “We’ll get through this. I’ll even keep my hands to myself, though it’s gonna be fucking torture.”

Somehow, knowing that it was torture for him made her feel better. At least she wasn’t the only one pathetically turned on. She could know that he was right there with her. Smiling to herself, she put her head back down and listened to his movements as he prepared to start.

“It’ll be the same for me,” she murmured.

“Yeah?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Well, I’m gonna shut up before either one of us gets something started that we shouldn’t.”

Aww, no fun. But smart. Very smart.

“Ready? Relax, sweetie.”

Oh God, how could she? That voice slid over her like a warm caress. His warm caress. The tips of his gloved fingers touched her. She closed her eyes and suppressed a groan.

“This healed up really well,” he said. “Beautiful.”

She couldn’t reply. All her thoughts were focused on the ache pooling between her legs and the panic of knowing she had to lie here and take it without moving. The sting of the needle hit her, and she flinched, so awash in pleasure that the introduction of pain was almost more than she could stand.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes,” she whispered. She had to be strong and get through this, get it over with and done today. Another session with him might kill her. And hearing his voice through all of this might kill her too, but she needed it to take her mind off the pain. “Talk to me,” she pleaded.

He paused to wipe her excess ink. “Hmm. What do you want me to say?”

Are you hard right now? She giggled. “I don’t know. It’s always easy to talk until someone asks you to, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, you’re right about that.”

“How long have you been doing this?”

“About eight years.”

“Wow. What made you want to?”

“At first to piss off my stepdad. I came home with my first tattoo at eighteen, and he told me how trashy it was. I’d always loved to draw, but I’d never considered it as an option until that moment.”

“Ah, rebellion. No wonder you and Brian get along so well.”

He gave a short laugh, but it didn’t contain one iota of humor. “I guess it sounds that way, doesn’t it?”

It seemed like a sore spot, so she let it drop. “Well, whatever your reasons are, I’m glad you could be the one to do this for me. You’ve made a lot of people happy, I’m sure.”

“The honor’s been all mine, Gabriella.”

Unf. Why was it she hated her stupid long name until he let it roll off his tongue in its entirety? Because that tongue of his could make anything better, that’s why.

“Pardon me for saying so, Ian, but you are the hottest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on. It just seems unfair and cruel of me to not let you know that.”

He barked with laughter. “Well, it seems unfair and cruel of me to not let you know that I think you ruined me for all others.”

Oh shit. If she could’ve snuggled him right then, she would have. And most likely, she wouldn’t have let him go for a long, long time.

What the hell were they going to do about this? She was all-systems-go for a repeat. But she would only want another. And another. And another. At some point, it all had to end. She was leaving very soon. In fact, she’d worked it out with Tina next week to stay with her while she looked at apartments. Her old building where she’d lived before moving in with Mark was full, but she’d made some phone calls and found a couple of others with vacancies.

“Thank you,” she said, and meant it so much, more than he could possibly ever know. “Not that I wanted to ruin you for all others, but…okay, yeah I did.”

“Yeah, thanks for that.”

“You’re welcome.”

It was a good thing he couldn’t see her, because she was grinning like a fool.

“All done,” he announced over an hour later.

Gabby exhaled and went absolutely limp, just soaking up the bliss of knowing it was over. She’d done it.

“Damn,” he said slowly. “If I do say so myself, it looks fuckin’ sick.”

She’d been around Brian enough to know that was a good thing. “I can’t wait to see it,” she told him, “but I think I need to lie here for…an hour or two.”

“Take your time. Do you need anything? More water?” He’d given her all the breaks she’d needed…more and more as time went on.

“I think I’m good.” Stiffly, she pushed herself up on her hands, not even minding that she was topless. He snatched his gaze away from her as she sat up straight.

“You really might want to cover those.”

“Why?” she asked innocently.

“Because I can’t be trusted around them.”

Laughing, she grabbed her shirt, which she’d been lying on, and tucked it under both arms so her breasts were covered. “Fine, fine. Men. Faced with a pair of tits and they lose their shit.”

Blowing out a breath, he grabbed a handheld mirror and held it toward her so she could see her back reflected in the large mirror on the wall behind her. And…she absolutely lost her breath.

“Oh God,” she whispered, unable to take her eyes away from the beauty of his work. The colors were so vivid, so strong…blues and greens and purples all fading so effortlessly into each other it was almost impossible to think it had been created with human hands and not born on her. The design as a whole wasn’t huge and overpowering, but soft and feminine, the mythical bird surging into the heavens with a strength she could somehow feel. The movement was incredible. She almost expected to see it soar off her skin and rise up with beating wings.

“Tell me that’s a good ‘oh God,’” he said, leaning in so he could see it exactly as she did.

“That’s a good one. Almost as good as the kind of ‘oh God’ you give me,” she said.

Gave me, she should’ve said. Past tense. But with him hovering near her, his scent teasing her nostrils, his work gracing her skin…

She turned her face to his and caught those lips with hers. His breath shuddered out, and he surrendered, sinking into her kiss.

“Oh God,” he murmured, and despite being so caught up in the taste of him, she had to laugh. Memories flooded her, some she hadn’t even accessed until this moment with his tongue questing for entrance into her mouth. Gabby wanted to tease, wanted not to grant it, but she couldn’t do that to him. She didn’t have the ability, it seemed, to deny him.

“Baby,” he groaned at last, pulling back so that their gently panting breaths mingled. “This is the last place we should be doing this.”

The last place, and the last thing she should be doing. She licked her own lips to collect all she could of his deliciousness and let him go.

Coldness rushed in. Almost as icy, as all-consuming, as that empty numbness she’d felt back in March when everything had been snatched away from her. What was she thinking of doing? The impossibility of them couldn’t be more apparent, despite their raging chemistry. She had a scientific brain. She had to be more in control than this, chalk this up to what it was. Lust. Nothing more. She’d never been in lust before, but if this was what it was, then it sucked as much as unrequited love when the object of your lust was about to be out of your reach.

She still held the mirror handle clenched in a death grip. Turning her head away from him, though it pained her to do so, she lifted it so she could see her ink again.

And fought tears. One last beautiful thing, aside from her memories, to always keep him close to her no matter where she went or what she did or who she was with.

She was the phoenix, but he was the one who’d brought her back from the ashes.

Chapter Nine

Gabriella opened her eyes to blinding sunlight and the instant, undeniable knowledge that she was about to throw up.

Flinging back her covers, she bolted for her attached bathroom and barely made it.

Then, trembling and groaning, she splashed cold water on her face and lifted her head to be confronted with her ghastly reflection. “Jesus, what is this?” She was rarely sick, and the last time she’d had any kind of stomach virus… She actually couldn’t remember the last time she’d had a stomach virus.

As she dried her face and tried to decide if she even wanted to risk leaving the bathroom yet—her stomach still wasn’t happy—a disturbing thought occurred to her, but she slapped it away.

“No. Couldn’t be.”

Could she?

Her periods were usually all over the place, and she really couldn’t do the pill because it made her crazy. Mark hadn’t minded condoms while she tried to determine her best option for their marriage, but when that all fell apart, she hadn’t worried about it much anymore.

That she hadn’t had a period in—Jesus, since early June?—was weird, but it wasn’t really a stretch.

Her being pregnant, though, that was a stretch. They’d been careful. The odds of her being late and inexplicably sick for one morning were greater than the odds of condom failure. Certainly. So she wouldn’t worry. She went back to bed.

Except the same thing happened the next morning. And the next it almost happened—only she lay around and felt miserable all morning instead of actually throwing up.

She couldn’t be pregnant, she thought as she stared at the ceiling above her bed. She could not. Last week she’d gone to Dallas and found her place. At the end of the month—a couple of weeks away now—she planned to be living there, and there were a million things to do. A week into August, her second year of medical school would begin.

Holy. Shit.

“Can’t be,” she moaned, turning over and staring at her clock without seeing it. Her right breast pressed into her arm, and the pressure made her wince.

Aching boobs.

Gabriella Ross wasn’t one to panic in any situation. But she’d never been in this one before.

She fucking panicked.

She’d also never been very religious.

She fucking prayed.

What the hell was she going to do?

First off, she decided, she was going to allow herself ten minutes—okay, twenty—to panic, cry, pray, whatever she needed to do, and then she was going to force herself to get up and, like any sensible person, drive to a drug store and buy a pregnancy test. Or four. Because there was no use worrying until there was something to worry about. Until the test(s) came back positive and she saw the proof with her own eyes, there was nothing to worry about.

Gabby repeated those words like a mantra as she got dressed in a cami and shorts and tied her hair up, not bothering with looking too presentable. As she grabbed the doorknob to leave her room, she contemplated throwing up before she left, but didn’t want to break the day’s no-vomit streak. Taking deep breaths until the nausea took its hooked talons out of her stomach, she eased down the stairs, praying yet again. This time to avoid her mother.

Mission accomplished, five minutes later she was driving into town, chewing her left thumbnail to the quick.

Nothing to worry about my ass.

Oh God, she was so screwed. That test was going to be positive. Her boobs hurt so bad. Her abdomen cramped a little. She swept through the family-planning aisle at the nearest drug store and grabbed the top brands of tests she’d heard of and headed for the checkout counter, daring the girl working there to even look at her funny. She didn’t, of course. It wasn’t like that girl fucking cared that Gabby’s life was about to be turned upside down, all her plans laid to waste.

Okay, she told herself as she huffed it back to her car in this infernal damn mid-July heat, which was doing nothing good for her nausea. Nothing was laid to waste here. People had kids in medical school. It could be done. One couple she’d known from her classes was actively trying—and she’d thought they were insane, but whatever. Their reasoning was their schedules weren’t going to get any better from here on, so they might as well go for it.

If they could do it, so could she. Some adjustments and making sure she wasn’t around any X-ray procedures, and she’d be fine.

She felt insane herself right now, with the way her emotions were wildly swinging back and forth. Hormones? Oh God! Another symptom. She was going to hyperventilate.

A cop pulled her over for speeding on her way home. She wanted to scream at him that she was with child and what the hell did he expect? But she doubted he’d be moved. He let her go with a warning, though, so it was good that she’d kept her cool. If Alexander Ross had to bail his daughter out of jail, he’d damn sure know something was going on with her.

Oh, fucking hell, her parents!

It was enough to almost make her stay on the side of the road and sob into her steering wheel, but then the cop expected her to move along. She put her car in gear and eased onto the road. Once he’d disappeared in the opposite direction, she sped off again.

Thankfully, her mother’s car was gone when Gabby pulled into the garage. She didn’t have to hide her purchases from anyone as she climbed the stairs, and she didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing her dash the rest of the way, because all this movement had gotten to her and she was truly about to break her no-vomit streak.

That accomplished, she sat on the toilet and opened one of the tests.

It recommended using morning pee. “To hell with that,” she muttered. No way could she put this off another eighteen hours. Good or bad, she had to know. If it was good, then she could relax…though the odds of that seemed to decrease with each passing second. If it was bad… Well, she’d know what she was dealing with.

Tossing the box and directions on the floor, she took the test. And then sat and stared at the little window that would seal her fate one way or the other. It would either give her one line for negative, or a plus sign for positive.

Maybe she couldn’t watch after all. Lifting her gaze, she stared blindly at the peach-colored wall across from her, and the pretty matching towel with white scallops hanging on the rack. Above it was a picture that had been there since she was a little girl—a watercolor of a little dark-haired girl in dress and hat and flowing ribbons, holding a basket of flowers. Her mother had always told her she looked like that little girl.

This wasn’t supposed to be happening here.

Closing her eyes, she tilted her head down, and opened them again.

A blue plus sign, standing ten feet tall on that white test strip, stared her in the face.

“Fuck,” she breathed. “Oh, fuck me.”

But that was what had gotten her into this mess.

The blonde girl was definitely putting out signals, and Ian was picking up on them. She’d come in for a little infinity symbol on her wrist, which only took him a few minutes, but she was hanging around now looking through flash, trying to decide what she wanted to get next time, or so she said.

And, well, she was hot. Blue-eyed and petite and wearing a bright, airy, summer-yellow top that hugged her hips just above jeans that accentuated her ass. The single guys were openly staring, while the taken guy—only Ghost at the moment—kept his eyes resolutely elsewhere. It was pretty funny.

But Ian had given in to one too many clients in the past couple of months. Yeah, only one, but that one was more than enough. Cute as this girl was, she wouldn’t hold a candle to the woman still haunting his memories.

He had never hoped for anything more with Gabby. Well, that was a lie. He’d hoped, but he was a realist too. When she had left the studio after he’d finished her ink a couple of weeks ago, there had been no plans made. No numbers exchanged. She’d looked a little sad, and he’d known it was good-bye. Maybe for good.

Brian would probably mention her every now and then. That would be the extent of Ian’s updates on her life. He’d probably tell them if she found a new guy (because Brian would undoubtedly not like him) and if she decided to give the whole marriage thing a shot again. She wasn’t even gone yet, as far as he knew, and he already dreaded that day down to the very core of his being.

The blonde gave him a glance over her shoulder. He’d been looking without meaning to, and her face lit up as she smiled at him. Shit.

“I think I’ve found one,” she said to him. Her voice was too…girlish. He preferred the darker purr of Gabby’s. The blonde was obviously younger than him. “Can I set up an appointment? I want to make sure I can get in.”

“Sure, if you want.”

He plucked a card from the holder on the counter and looked around for the appointment book, finding it at last over at Starla’s station. She jokingly hissed at him like a cat when he took it. “All right,” he said, strolling back up to his new client. She could throw out all the signals she wanted. He was probably being a dumbass, but he wasn’t in the mood to have someone totally opposite from the woman he couldn’t get out of his head. “When were you thinking?”

“A couple of weeks?”

He flopped the book open and spun it around on the counter so she could see it. “I don’t work Monday or Tuesday, but I’ll be here every other day. It’s wide open.”

She picked her day and time, and he wrote it on her appointment card. As he handed it to her, the door chimed, and when he saw who was coming in, he almost dropped it before it reached the girl’s fingers.

Gabby spotted him and made a beeline. The blonde girl took the card from him, and before he could do anything else, she slipped something into his hand.

“Just in case something…comes up,” she said. First he looked uncomprehendingly at her, then at what was in his hand.

Her fucking phone number.

“Hey…” he began, but she only gave him a grin loaded with suggestion and slithered away from the counter, walking right by Gabriella on her way out. Gabby looked at her as if she wanted to snatch her down to the floor by the roots of her hair.

“Gabby!” Ghost exclaimed. “What’s up, bella?”

“I need to talk to him about, um…a touch-up,” she said, and something about the way her gaze held his made him feel like an insect pinned to a fucking board.

Ian hadn’t noticed it, but Brian had come out of the hallway behind him. “Everything all right?” he asked at the same time Ghost said, “I told you.”

“No, he did a great job. I just need him for a second.”

And now everyone was looking at him, so he shrugged and moved toward her, doing his damnedest to maintain an air of indifference. Because whatever this was about, he had the sinking feeling it wasn’t her ink.

But the door chimed as it swung open with a blast of Texas heat, and he was left waiting as Candace and Ghost’s girlfriend, Macy, swept inside. Gabriella and the girls exchanged hugs, but even her smile and chatter seemed strained. Candace didn’t keep her long, though, because she was bubbling over about something else.

“Give this girl ink,” she said, shoving Macy toward her boyfriend. “Right now. I just got her to admit she’s thinking about letting you do it.”

“Candace!” Macy laughed as Ghost’s face broke into a grin and he hugged her to him, playfully dragging her toward the back with an arm around her neck.

“Come on,” he said, unmoved as Macy shrieked and struggled against him. “I’ve been waiting for this. I’m gonna ink you, baby. I’m gonna ink you so hard.”

The girl must be pretty strong, because Ghost didn’t keep a grip on her for long, and Ian got the impression it wasn’t for lack of trying. Laughing, Macy twirled out from under his arm and ran to the waiting area. “Someday, I said! Someday.” She held a finger up to Ghost’s chest as he advanced on her again, but he only wrapped her in his arms and kissed her cheek.

“I’ll wait on you forever, killjoy.”

Ugh. Ian turned to see Brian and Candace in a similar position, liplocked, and Gabby smiling at them. Then her gaze flickered past them to meet his, and her smile faltered. Well. Whatever the hell he’d done, he guessed he was about to hear about it. She nodded her head toward the back, and for the second time, he moved to follow her as she walked past him. For the second time, they didn’t quite make it.

“Candace? Candace.”

Ian and Gabby turned in unison to see Brian easing his utterly limp girlfriend down to the floor, his voice panicked as he repeated her name.

And, for perhaps the first time, he could imagine Gabriella Ross as a doctor.

While the rest of them stood gaping in shell-shocked confusion, Gabby was at Brian’s side in a heartbeat, helping him lower Candace’s head gently to the floor. “What happened?” she asked, none of Brian’s panic in her voice.

“She just…collapsed. What the fuck…? Candace.”

“Brian,” she said evenly, “calm down. She’s breathing, she’s okay. I want you to raise her legs off the floor, about a foot…right there. That’s good.”

Ian couldn’t see much of what was going on now. Macy was crowding in with Ghost behind her, trying to peek over her shoulder, and in this close-knit bunch, Ian was the outsider. “Should I call an ambulance?” he asked, darting toward the phone. Doing something, anything, instead of being a damn lump in the background.

“No, she’s coming around,” Gabby said, still with that smooth tone. He didn’t fucking like it. It was so fucking fake. Fucking fake crooning doctors and nurses hovering over him while the overhead lights blinded him and blurred red through the blood pooling in his eye…

“There she is,” Brian said. “Easy, baby. Talk to me.” His voice snapped Ian out of his waking nightmare. He staggered back a step, rubbing his hand across his chest. Inside flesh and bone, his heart pounded out of control.

Through the rushing in his ears, he heard Candace murmur in confusion. She was okay. That was good. Now he needed to get the fuck out of here before anyone noticed he might just suffer the same fate.

“Must’ve been some kiss, Brian,” Gabby said, and nervous laughter met her stab at humor. “You’ve got the girl literally swooning over here.” Candace apparently tried to sit up, but Gabby wasn’t having it. “Not yet, sweetie. Take it slow. Someone get her some water.” Ghost left to do that while Macy went down on her knees beside her best friend.

Ian heard Gabby ask Candace if this had ever happened before as he found a chair and parked his ass in it. Despite his overwhelming urge to flee, everyone would wonder what the hell was wrong with him if he abandoned the scene.

“No,” the other girl said, her voice small. “Never.”

“Pulse is good. I’d check your blood pressure, but I’m assuming there’s no monitor on the premises.”

“No,” Brian said.

“You should take her to get checked out.”

“I’m fine,” Candace protested, sounding a little stronger than a moment ago. “Must’ve been the heat or something. And I haven’t felt that great today, so I haven’t eaten.” When Ghost came back with a bottle of water, the group as a whole helped her slowly sit up and take a few sips.

“You’re not pregnant, are you?” Macy demanded, and the question silenced the ongoing conversation as if a switch had been thrown.

Oh shit. Ian almost chuckled as he imagined the look on Brian’s face. Most of the group was hidden from him by the counter. He could only see Gabby in profile.

“Well…not that I know of,” Candace said.

“That occurred to me too,” Gabby said coolly. “I just didn’t want to say anything.”

“Yeah, leave that to me,” Macy said with wry humor. The door opened, and a trio of clients strolled in, stopping to exclaim when they saw the little group huddled around Candace. Ghost ran interference there while Brian lifted Candace off the floor, cradling her close as he headed toward the back with her. Indeed, he looked pretty damn pale. She clung to him, her face buried in his shoulder.

“Are you okay?” Gabby asked, and Ian jerked his gaze to her face. He hadn’t noticed her approach. He also didn’t like the assessing nature of her expression.

“I’m fine,” he grumbled, getting to his feet. Apparently the latest diversion hadn’t made her forget her reason for coming here. As they headed toward the back, he heard her deep breathing behind him. Had Candace rattled her that much?

“Do you think she’s okay?” he asked as he led her into the room where he’d given her her tattoo and closed the door.

She frowned at him. “Candace? I think she’s fine. I think she’s probably pregnant, yeah.”

“Damn. Brian’s gonna freak.”

“I know. Considering her family…that would not be a good thing.”

Yeah, he’d gotten that impression. “So, what did you need to talk about?”

“We.”

“All right, what do we need to talk about?”

She fidgeted, crossing her arms, then dropping them at her sides, and finally, surprisingly, she burst out laughing. He might have been amused too, if her green eyes hadn’t misted up, if she hadn’t started looking as if she might now dissolve into tears. With both hands, she pushed her hair back from her forehead. “I can’t even believe this is happening.”

He’d been apprehensive about what she wanted. Now, full-fledged dread settled deep in his gut. He stepped to her, gently taking her arms in his hands. “Gabby. Tell me.”

“Ian…it seems I’m pregnant.”

With that, her gaze lifted to his, hitting him like a lightning strike.

And…he went…numb. To everything but her. The uncertainty in her eyes, the quivering of her bottom lip. Not knowing what else to do with the beautiful creature standing there, looking at him, waiting for…something, anything, he took one more step to her on jellied legs and drew her into his arms in mute astonishment. She went, burying her face in his shirt. Dampness promptly spread against his skin, her silent tears leaking through the fabric of his T-shirt.

It was most single guys’ worst nightmare, he supposed…but to him…

The numbness shattered, and he wanted to kick his own ass for smirking at Brian earlier. Karma had certainly bit him back fast over that one. Christ.

How the fuck had this happened? They’d taken precautions. Unless that one moment of fooling around in the kitchen had sealed their fate.

“Are you sure?” he asked dumbly. She wouldn’t be here telling him if she wasn’t. But his mind wouldn’t settle on anything even remotely intelligent to say.

“After three positive tests, I’m pretty sure. I have every symptom in the book.” Pulling away from him, she wiped her eyes with a finality that said she was done with tears. “It’s okay. I’ll deal with it.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means don’t panic, because you don’t have to worry about anything. I’m going to have this baby, and no one ever has to know it’s your baby if you don’t want them to. And I know you don’t,” she finished with a tinge of bitterness that cut him.

The words your baby caught and rattled around the inside of his brain. A baby. His baby. He didn’t know shit about babies. He had no brothers or sisters, so no nieces or nephews. No very young cousins. Walking by while a mother pushed a stroller down the sidewalk or in a store was about the extent of his contact with babies. “I don’t mean to be a dick, Gabby, but…you’re a hundred percent positive it’s mine?”

He steeled himself for an outburst, but it didn’t come. “I’m going to give you that one, because I understand that’s a legitimate concern, Ian, but it’s yours. I haven’t been with anyone else. Not since my ex-fiancé.”

He wanted to believe her. But Brian had stood in this very building and talked about how Gabby had gone a little wild, about how his mother had said there had been nights she didn’t come home. Granted, it didn’t mean she’d been out screwing other men…but she’d damn sure come on strong to him. He didn’t think he was out of line by voicing those concerns.

“You don’t believe me.”

He looked her in the eyes. Now he could practically see the impending outburst gathering steam. “If you say it’s mine,” he said at last, “then it’s mine.” And he meant it. Surely, if she had been with anyone else, if she had any doubts whatsoever about the paternity of this child, that other guy was where she would be right now. Not here, trying to pin it on someone who didn’t have shit to offer her.

She went off alert. He turned away and bumped his thigh lightly with his fist, trying to get a grip, trying to think.

“What are you thinking?” she asked, and he almost laughed at the timing of the question.

“I don’t know. I really don’t.”

“Yeah. I know the feeling.”

“Have you told anyone else?”

“No. I thought you deserved to know first.”

“Jesus. You have so many plans, Gabby. This is…I just can’t fucking believe this.”

That was all it boiled down to. She was standing here telling him everything about their lives was going to change in a handful of months, and for the most part, she was being so cool about it. He just couldn’t wrap his head around it yet.

“Don’t worry about me. I have a strong support system. And those plans did include a baby someday…just not anytime soon.” She cleared her throat. “Anyway. I should go check on Candace.”

“Wait. We should get together later and talk about this.”

“What’s to talk about?”

“You just walked in here and told me I’m going to be a father. Did you think I’m not going to take that shit seriously?”

“We were together for one night. I wasn’t expecting a proposal, and I don’t want one.”

“I wasn’t offering one. But I’m not gonna turn my back on the situation either. I’m not gonna shrug it off.”

“Why not?”

Was she kidding him right now? “Goddammit, Gabby.” He crossed the room to her in only a couple of strides. “You think just because we were only together one night that I don’t give a shit about you, or about this? You got under my skin. Ever since that night, I haven’t been able to fucking stop thinking about you. I haven’t been able to sleep for imagining you beside me. Now you tell me that against all odds, we created a life. I still can’t believe it, but if you’re thinking I’m content with just being the fucking sperm donor, you’re wrong.”

All at once, his own words informed him how he felt; he’d just needed his brain to catch up with his mouth. Despite the shock, despite the dismay and the worry and the “Oh, shit, what have I done?” running on an endless loop in his head—this was a chance to set all the wrong things right in his life. All the hurt, all the emotions he’d kept buried so deep were boiling to the surface. Not in anger. In eagerness to be dealt with once and for all.

He’d hoped for a softening of her expression as he spoke, hoped that his lame words could convey what he’d been feeling about her for the past few weeks, but he must’ve failed. Her gaze remained steady on his, riveted, but in the end, she was unmoved. “What do you think is going to happen? I’m not changing any of my plans until I absolutely have to. I’m still leaving in a couple of weeks. There’s nothing for me here.”

“How can you leave? That support system you were talking about? They’re all here. Even if you don’t need me, you need them.”

She pushed his hands away. “See, this is what I don’t want—you trying to make decisions for me. It’s still my life. I have plenty of support there too.”

He stepped back, seething, feeling his heart wrench in his chest. “If you don’t want my input or my help, then what the fuck did you tell me for? One last kick to the nuts before you blow out of town with my baby?”

“Because I figured it would get back to you anyway, since you work with my brother. I didn’t want you finding out that way.”

“So it’s like, ‘Hey, by the way, I’m knocked up. Have a nice life’?”

“No. I don’t want to shut you out, Ian, I just don’t want…” She trailed off, and he noticed the way her hand strayed to her still-flat belly. “We didn’t expect this, obviously. I don’t want it to disrupt your life any more than it has to. It might not be right, it might not make sense, but I feel a little bit of guilt about it.”

“What about your life? It’s gonna get pretty damn disrupted. It’s only fair mine does too. You didn’t do this by yourself.”

“I know that. But what do you want? To move back to Dallas with me? To throw away that fresh start you wanted?” She paused for a moment to take a couple of breaths. “The morning we parted ways, I thought about what I hoped you would find in life. It wasn’t me. More like that cute blonde out there who was apparently slipping you her number.”

As far as his moving back to Dallas, she was right. He liked it here; he liked the quiet; he loved the people he worked with. But the news she’d dropped on him a couple of minutes ago…it changed everything.

Everything. The girl out front was a non-issue.

“You’ve got me all figured out, huh?”

“No! I really don’t. I really don’t know anything about you.” She gave a crooked smile. “Except how you are in bed, which is what got us into trouble.”

“I’ll clue you in a little.” He drew a deep breath that burned his lungs. “I had a shitty childhood. I never knew my real dad much, and my stepdad once cracked a beer bottle on my head.” Her eyes widened as he traced the scar through his eyebrow. “I always vowed any kid of mine would never grow up in a situation like that. I can know with you as a mom, he or she won’t. My mom…she loved me, but she was as scared of him as I was. You…I know as much about you as you do about me, but I can already tell you’re fearless. You wouldn’t stand for something like that. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be involved. It doesn’t mean I can walk away, wash my hands of the situation. I want to be around.”

“You can,” she said. “You can be around. God, Ian. I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t tell you that so you could pity me. I told you so you could understand.” He didn’t know why it happened at that particular moment, but her beauty stole his breath. Her skin seemed lit from within; the harsh overhead lights cast a halo on her silky hair. Imagining her in a few months, her belly round with his baby… His heart gave an aching leap. He wanted more than to be around. He wanted to be there. Always there, at her side, taking this journey with her. If he told her that, though, she would run.

She held his gaze for a seemingly endless moment while neither of them spoke. At last, she looked down.

“Give me your phone number, and we’ll talk more about it later,” he said, his voice tight. She recited it as he entered it into his contacts. “I’ll call you.”

“Okay. Now I’m really going to check on Candace.”

As she left without another word, he stayed and shoved his thumb and forefinger into his closed eyes until he saw multicolored starbursts. His head pounded in rhythm with his heart, where disbelief still warred with outright panic.

He’d gotten his boss’s sister pregnant.

Jesus. What a fucking day.

Chapter Ten

Gabby’s hands were shaking. She felt like she was going to throw up. Walking in Brian’s office, though, she saw two more people who looked as if they felt the same way.

Candace sat at his desk, her head in both hands and her hair sticking crazily through her fingers. Her damp eyes stared straight ahead, not acknowledging Gabby’s presence. Brian stood against the wall, inked arms crossed, looking as if he were gnawing the inside of his cheek.

“How are we doing in here?” Gabby asked, trying to sound as if she hadn’t just gone through an emotional trauma of her own.

“We’re okay,” Candace said dully.

“Dizziness? Nausea? Pain?”

“Nausea. That’s about it.” Join the club, honey. “Macy left to go get me a pregnancy test. She said she couldn’t stand it. She has to know.”

Gabby had an extra they could’ve used, but she figured that might raise some eyebrows. “I take it you don’t want to?” She chuckled. “Hey, at least you might rule it out.”

“You don’t think I will, though, do you?”

She wanted to laugh and say something like we Rosses are extremely fertile and potent creatures, but that might make them wonder.

“I don’t know, hon. Anything’s possible.”

“I keep telling her she should be happy about this,” Brian said, speaking up for the first time. “Whatever happens, it’s gonna be okay.”

That was surprising, coming from him. Especially now when he looked a little green. “He’s right, you know,” she said to Candace.

“I know. It’s just not ideal timing.”

“Well, they say if you wait for the ideal time, you’ll never do it.” It was the same thing she’d been telling herself since seeing that plus sign. Sure, she’d dreamed about it, but realistically, when would she ever have planned to have kids? After med school? Then she’d be a doctor with a crazy schedule. Married to another doctor with a crazy schedule, if she and Mark had worked out.

Plans. There was no place for them in her life anymore, it seemed. They never panned out, and the best things happened to her when she allowed herself to deviate from them. She hadn’t planned to spend a night of ecstasy with Ian when she first met him. Now he’d made her a mother.

Holy shit, a mother. There had been times when she treated sweet little babies in the nursery and positively ached to have one of her own to hold and smell and cuddle. Maybe she was hormonal, but she wanted to burst into tears with knowing that was soon to come for her, and maybe even for Candace. She’d have someone to go through this craziness with her.

Ian wanted to go through it with her too. That was…unexpected. But nice. She wondered what he would think if he knew the main thing that had been running through her mind while she faced him was that she wanted to maul him where he stood. Despite the high emotions, despite his story—or maybe because of it—she’d wanted him again with an intensity that shocked her. She wanted to take that pain he’d tried so valiantly to hide and eradicate it completely. Shower him with…love.

Jesus, she couldn’t go there. Not yet. But she wondered what he was doing right now, what he was thinking—

Macy rushed into the room with her boyfriend at her heels, rattling a white plastic drug store bag. “Got it! Or them. I got several.”

“The staff at Walgreens is thinking I’m the stud of the world,” Ghost said.

“Yeah, tell them about your winking and flirting with the girl at the counter while I’m paying for a bunch of pregnancy tests,” Macy said, rolling her eyes. “Can’t take you anywhere.”

“It was a joke! I couldn’t resist. Damn, she looked at me like I was a cretin. Y’all should have seen it.”

“Oh, I know. It was freaking hilarious. Just wait until it’s our turn. We’ll see how funny you are then.” She smacked Ghost on the arm and looked at her friend. “Ready to pee on a stick?”

“No.”

“Am I going to have to make you?”

“This I’d like to see,” Ghost said. “Wait, no…not that. I don’t wanna see that.”

“Candace,” Gabby scolded gently. “Go get it over with.”

Candace stood and rounded the desk, taking the bag from Macy on her way to the door.

“Do it and come back out,” Macy said, following her while practically bouncing on her toes. “We’ll wait on the results with you.”

Brian shot forward then, putting himself between Candace and her friend. “I’ll wait with her. You guys go back up front.”

Macy planted her hands on her hips. “Excuse me—”

“Come on, babe,” Ghost said, putting his arm around Macy’s shoulders and steering her toward the door. “This is between them.”

“But—”

“Sorry, Macy,” Candace said. “I just want to be with him. I’ll let you know in a few minutes.”

Macy looked crestfallen but allowed Ghost to guide her out without comment. Gabby followed them, glancing back to see Brian kiss Candace’s forehead before she went into the bathroom and shut the door. Once Brian was alone, though, leaning against the wall in pretty much the same position he’d taken in his office, she went back to him. He glanced up at her as she approached.

“This is scary as hell,” he said.

Didn’t she know it. “You said it, though, little brother. It’s going to be okay.”

“What happened to ‘little shit’?”

“It’s on hold temporarily.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I know it’s gonna be okay.”

“Imagine how happy Mom will be.”

“Oh, she’ll be over the fuckin’ moon.”

She’ll be over Pluto. Little do you know she’ll have two babies to snuggle at roughly the same time.

“Imagine how unhappy Candace’s mom will be,” he said.

Gabby waved her hand dismissively. “Come on. This is almost worth it for that alone.”

That got a laugh out of him. “Right? Do you know how many lectures I’ve sat through about not knocking her up?”

“Tell her you can’t help it, you’re just that potent. That’ll shut her up.”

“Yeah. I’d love to see the look on her face.”

“Did you even take precautions?”

He shrugged. “She was on the pill. But she came down with strep throat a few weeks back and took antibiotics. I remember her saying something about us needing to be more careful, but I guess we weren’t. Looks like it may have caught up with us.”

“Yeah. That probably did it.”

The bathroom door opened, and Candace emerged, holding the little white stick in her hand. She stopped short when she saw Gabby. “I’ll go back up front,” Gabby said quickly, taking a step away.

“No, you can stay,” Candace said. The corner of her mouth lifted in a crooked smile. “The directions said we should wait five minutes, but I don’t think we need them. Unless this second pink line might go away in five minutes.” She held the little display up to Brian. “We’re pregnant.”

“Oh baby,” he breathed, encircling her with his arms and lifting her feet off the floor. She buried her face in his neck and sniffled.

And that was what Gabriella had wanted. Someone she loved, someone who loved her back, someone she trusted. Someone to take her in his arms and comfort her. Let her know with hardly any words it was all going to be okay.

But Ian had done that, hadn’t he? He’d tried. “Okay, I’m getting misty,” she said, giving Brian’s arm a pat. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

“I’m taking her home,” he said over Candace’s shoulder. “Tell Macy she’ll call her later.”

Probably a good idea. The second Gabby emerged from the hallway, Macy practically mobbed her. “Do you know? Did she tell you?”

“They’re going home. She’ll call you later.”

Macy huffed. “Well, it’s obviously positive, then.”

“Maybe, maybe not.” She looked past Macy to Ian, who lounged over by his station, not a single thing about his demeanor giving her an indication he suffered any emotional turmoil himself. “I’m going,” Gabby said, mostly to him, though Macy stood directly in front of her. “See you guys later.”

She left to absentminded farewells and hit a wall of humidity outside. At least her and Candace’s spring due dates would spare them being gigantic in the Texas summer heat, but it would be hell on the nausea. Before she’d even reached her car, her cell phone dinged in her purse.

Ian.

My place tonight? I’ll cut out early.

He’d said they would talk later but never specified when. Tonight… She wasn’t sure it was “later” enough, but she should probably take what she could get. Sure, she sent back. Eightish?

See you then.

Chapter Eleven

The door opened to her knock at 7:58—she’d stared at the digital time display on her car’s console for three minutes and then glanced at her watch twice before knocking—and Gabby pasted on a smile she hoped was bright.

If the one Ian gave her in return was any indication, she succeeded. He’d changed since leaving work, now wearing black jeans and an emerald T-shirt. Both hugged him in all the right places, and the latter deepened the color of his eyes until they almost matched the jewel-tone of his shirt. Momentarily, she lost her breath. That smile of his, so unaffected—it gave her hope that they could sort this out. It warmed her from within.

“Hi,” she said as he stepped aside to let her enter and closed the door behind her.

“Are you hungry?”

Was he kidding? She was ravenous. But her nerves were as jumpy as a teenager’s on her first date. She wanted to eat her weight in Chinese food, but she also worried that she might throw up at any minute. “Um…yes and no. And if you were pregnant and hormonal, maybe that would make total sense to you.”

He chuckled. “I’ll take your word for it.”

His apartment was a total bachelor pad, functional but not much else. She hadn’t expected anything more, really, but it was a jumping-off point for her mind to go crazy. Was the motorcycle his only means of transportation? Not that she expected the guy to go buy a minivan, but…ah, God. This would never, ever work, would it?

“Well, I’m not much for cooking, so I thought we could go out if you wanted, or I could get some take-out. I didn’t know what you like.”

“Um…I’m easy to please.”

“Or we could sit here and talk,” he said, watching her face and apparently reading her mind.

“I think that’s best. I’m not going to be able to eat until…I don’t know. I was going to say ‘until we figure this out’, but I don’t know if there’s a solution to be found, really.”

“How about this?” He took both her hands in his bigger, warmer ones. She looked up at him, getting lost in those complicated eyes. While his shirt brought out the striations of green, the amber still smoldered, making her think of sunlight on a hot spring day. “We take it day by day. You don’t change any of your major plans, and I won’t change any of mine. Because I think you’re right—there aren’t any answers to be found right now. We’re both in the dark about each other.”

Okay, yes. He was definitely right about that. “I’m so used to having control. All this uncertainty is…hard for me.”

“I’m used to having control too,” he said. “But I rarely have a plan. It’s possible, if it’s what works for you.”

She could see how that was so. She could also see how that quiet strength of his could be a rock for her on chaotic days. Brian had once told her something she’d never forget—that Candace was the eye to his hurricane. Candace was his calm, serene center; she kept him grounded. Gabby had identified a lot with Brian and his rebellious nature since her upheaval a few months ago, and now she wondered if she might need that grounding influence herself. Her ex-fiancé had only been another hurricane right beside her, each of them swirling along their own separate paths. How could that have worked?

Maybe the balm for her fiery blood was right in front of her. All she knew was she didn’t really want to talk. She wanted to be in his arms.

He read her mind again. Before she could make a move, she was pulled gently against that hard chest. Burying her face in his neck, she breathed in his clean scent. God, she loved the way he smelled. And the way his short hair felt under her stroking fingers, soft and pliant and damp from an obvious recent shower. She could get all the comfort she needed from his body alone. She wanted to take all she could get.

“Are you happy?” he asked, his voice rumbling in his chest beneath her ear. “Underneath all the uncertainty and the loss of control, are you in any way happy about this?”

“I am,” she whispered, letting her hands stroke down his back and pulling him closer. “I do want you to know that. When I saw that first positive test, I was so terrified, I just…panicked. And I don’t panic. But after it sank in for a while… I don’t know. I began to realize I don’t think I would change it. It’s something I thought I’d never have the chance for again. Now it’s happening.”

“I’m glad,” he said. “And I want you to know I’m sorry about asking you why you even bothered to tell me. Thank you for telling me. You didn’t have to. You could have gone back to Dallas, and I’d have been none the wiser. I know that.”

“It’s okay. I’m sorry too. We got pretty heated.” She felt a little ridiculous having this conversation crushed against him like this, but she could get used to having every conversation like this. He felt too good and smelled too good to let go, and he made her feel so warm and protected.

It was too premature for thoughts like that, she knew, but her heart and her hormones didn’t give a damn.

She loved the way his hands slid through her hair, the way he combed through it with his fingers as if he couldn’t get enough of the feel of it. “Want this wrapped around me,” he murmured, tugging just enough so that her face tilted up to his. Her eyes closed and her breath caught, waiting for his kiss to sweep her away. “Guess we’re already in enough trouble, though, huh?”

Impatience tightened her muscles. “The damage is already done. I do hope you’re clean, though? Because obviously something got through and—”

“I’ll get myself tested for you, but no, there’s no reason whatsoever to think I wouldn’t be. I’m always safe.”

“Okay. Me too.” She shifted her weight to her toes, lifting her mouth to his and sliding her lips across his.

“Mmm. Thought tonight was for talking?”

“Didn’t we just have a breakthrough?”

He gave her bottom lip the tiniest, faintest lick with the tip of his tongue. “Did we?”

“Day by day, remember?”

“Oh yeah. But what about getting to know each other?”

“Isn’t this getting to know each other? Kiss me,” she whispered.

His lips curved, separated from hers by only a breath. “I already know how you kiss.”

Oh, she was going to kill him. After he kissed her, though. And fucked her. She hadn’t really thought about it much before coming here, but yeah, she wasn’t leaving without an orgasm or three. The first-trimester horniness wasn’t a myth, at least not for her. Starving, nauseated, emotional, horny—she could check each off her list. She lifted her mouth to his ear to whisper into it, “There are some things you don’t know how I do.” And she drew his earlobe between her lips and sucked on it, giving it a nip with her teeth at the end.

“Jesus.” His hands clenched on her ass and ground her against his growing erection. “Gabby.”

“Please, Ian?” She slid one hand down his chest and rubbed him through his jeans. He groaned, leaning into her. “Let me suck it,” she whispered, giving the outside of his ear a lick. “Talk later. I promise.”

“You’re a fuckin’ siren, woman. I knew it from the second I saw you in the bar. I knew you’d lure me to my demise.”

“Your demise?” She chuckled. “Don’t think I’ve ever lured a man to his demise before. I’ve been lured to mine, though. More than once, it seems.” Letting her knees buckle—mainly because she didn’t want to talk about it anymore—she slid down the length of his body and went to work on his belt. His hands remained on the top of her head, stroking, still combing through her hair.

She released his cock from his jeans, and her mouth watered. He was so gorgeous. Long and broad. Made for pleasure, with such a thick coronal ridge that her pussy clenched in anticipation of the feel of it stroking through. Looking up at him through a few strands of hair that streaked her vision, she placed her tongue flat on the bottom of his head and licked over the tip, collecting the drop of precome and letting him watch her savor it.

His fingers clenched in her hair, and his other hand moved to the base of his shaft, holding it rigid for her. His eyes burned into her. He didn’t speak, but his breath became rapid.

She enclosed his head in her mouth, swirling her tongue around it, sucking it until he gasped and shuddered. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he chanted. He began to move, pushing his hips forward. She pulled back, releasing him when he sought more and then giving him long, wet strokes up his shaft until her cheek met his hand. Then she dipped under and gave his balls a lick, prompting him to release his cock to give her better access.

And she reveled in it, exploring the spice of his scent and the texture of his skin. Warmth spread from her lower belly…where his tiny offspring lay nestled in her womb. God. At any other moment, she might’ve thought the idea would be a buzz kill, but no…it enflamed her. He was already inside her. They shared a connection some people who’d been together for years hadn’t achieved. It was a blessing.

His head rolled back on his shoulders. She pulled his jeans down his hips and dug her nails into the firm muscles of his ass.

“Gabriella,” he groaned, and her too-long name was another blessing when it came from his lips. “Yes.”

Once she’d dampened him to her satisfaction, she sucked him back into her mouth, shocking the breath from him as she took him all the way to the back of her throat. “God! Gonna make me shoot, baby.”

Oh no, he wasn’t. He had a long way to go yet. Letting go of his delectable ass, she drew her nails around to the front and scratched lightly down his thighs. They didn’t disappoint either—a pair of muscular thighs was one of her favorite places on the male body. A place to dig her fingers in.

He let her go while she did so, lacing his hands behind his head. She watched him as she drew back, unwilling to lose sight of him any longer than she had to. There was so much of him she wanted to feel and see all at once…ass and thighs, those hard abs, those pecs with their pierced nipples. Gabby allowed her hands to roam as she swallowed his thick cock down over and over, delighting in the way he filled her mouth to perfection, the way he held back and let her play as she wanted.

But damn, she wanted him. Her pussy craved him in the same rhythm she sucked him. Slow. Deep, then shallow, back and forth. She wanted him to keep her guessing, wanted to give it all up to him.

Just not every aspect of her life.

“Fuckin’ hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said, his voice a sexy purr. She glanced up to see him looking down at her, watching her work him with her mouth. For all she knew, he might say that to all the girls. But she didn’t want to think so.

As she’d already told him once, he was definitely the hottest thing she’d ever seen.

Suddenly, he pulled back, reaching down to grab her and haul her up to him. His chest heaved, and she pushed herself against him, needing every inch of his body next to every inch of hers. She caught his cock in her hand and gripped him tight at the base, seeking to stem any impending eruption. He throbbed in her hand, and, glancing down, she saw he was flushed dark red with the rush of his blood. Damn, she wanted that inside her. He was as hot in her hand as he had been in her mouth. As he would be in her aching pussy. She wanted to feel his pulse against hers in that most intimate of places.

“Don’t want to mess up this pretty face,” he murmured, planting little kisses along her lips and stroking her cheek with his thumb.

“I’d have swallowed you, baby,” she whispered. “Every drop.”

“Fuck,” he breathed.

She stepped back, letting go of him and turning, giving him a playful eye over her shoulder as she moved toward his couch. “Too bad. Missed your chance. I want something else now.”

He never let her put much distance between them, dogging her steps until she stopped near his couch, turned and slipped her hands under his T-shirt. “I’d ask again if it’s always about what you want, but you’d tell me it’s not,” he said.

“What’s so bad about that, anyway? What I want is very important to me.”

“As it should be. I’m just wondering how the hell you were ever refused, Gabriella.” His lips grazed hers, and she smiled against them.

“I think I like the sound of that.”

“That I’d give you any fucking thing you wanted, if it was in my power?”

“Everything I want right now is well within your power, Ian.” She let her hand drift down to his cock again and stroked it base to tip. “Right here.”

“There’s nothing else you want?”

“Of course. But contrary to popular belief, I usually know when what I want isn’t within my reach. Usually.” She gave him a crooked smile. “I have my lapses.”

“Don’t we all.”

He didn’t press further. She was glad, because right now she didn’t want to delve too deeply into the disturbing things she wanted. Slowly, so slowly it agonized her, he began to undress her, kissing every area of intimate skin he exposed. From the gentle, nipping kisses he placed on her sore, swollen breasts, to the thrilling little lick on her clit as he pulled her jeans and panties down. Before he was done removing them from her feet, she was nearly lying over on top of him. She had to straighten when he stood again.

“Goddamn,” he murmured, tracing his fingers around her nipples. She shivered.

“I’ve already gone up a freaking cup size,” she muttered.

“You’re gorgeous.” As tenderly as he’d kissed her, he took her breasts in both hands, and she wanted to roll her eyes into the back of her head at the pleasure of having that achy weight supported in his warm hands. She fit him as if she were made for him. “I could spend all night doing this.”

“I could let you. Mmm.”

“I have to warn you, I have no idea about this pregnancy stuff. If I’m doing something wrong, you have to tell me.”

“Oh, I will. Don’t worry. Right now, the pregnancy stuff is just making me horny as hell.”

“Is that what it is?”

“That and you.”

He dropped his hands, and she wanted to chase after them and put them right back where they’d been. But when he grabbed her ass and pulled her tight against him…yeah, okay, that was good too. Because she was pretty achy in other places as well. “Just so you know, I think you’re only trying to avoid the matter at hand here,” he growled against her neck. “But I’m gonna keep giving you what you want, Gabriella Ross, because I don’t know what else to do. And I’ll lose my fucking sanity if I don’t get back inside you soon.”

All that stuff he’d said to her at Dermamania flashed through her head. He thought about her all the time. He couldn’t sleep. She couldn’t sleep either. What if he really was falling for her? Even worse yet, what if she was falling for him? And soon there would be a baby between them. They could be setting themselves up for a lifetime of misery if they didn’t stop—if she didn’t stop—until they figured this whole thing out, until they saw how it was going to go.

He might be on to something... This was somehow safer than facing their problems. As long as he was touching her, wanting her, everything was okay. And she couldn’t stop. This man was too scrumptious, too hard and hot and dirty, and she’d never experienced anything like it. She wasn’t ready to let it go yet, dammit.

“Do it,” she said. “I need you. I promised we’d talk. I meant it. You haven’t been absent from my mind all this time, Ian. I think about you too. I want to know you in more ways than this.”

“What if you don’t like what you find out?”

A chill went through her. “Then I’ll deal with that when I have to.”

His mouth crushed down on hers, and he toppled them back on the couch. Her heart leaped into her throat, nearly choking her with the force of its pounding. For the first time, a little fear coursed through her. She was pregnant with the child of someone she didn’t know. Someone who might have a few skeletons in his closet. Already, he’d told her about his troubled childhood, and her heart had broken for him. What else could he be hiding, though? She’d trusted him because she trusted Brian not to have anyone shady working at his establishment.

Now she was here spreading her legs for him again, spending most of her waking hours consumed with thoughts of him.

No. It might be naïve of her, but she refused to believe he was anything but honorable, no matter the darkness he hinted at. He could be testing her, seeing what she was made of. She’d show him now.

His kiss was nothing less than savage, but his hands were gentle, and he was careful to keep his weight off her. Pushing her thigh up the back cushion, he dove between her legs, and she writhed as his tongue zeroed in on the one little needy place that craved his attentions. He kissed her there like he’d kissed her mouth. Deep. Tugging lips, swirling tongue. She arched into his mouth. Oh, Jesus Christ, she was going to come already… Her belly tightened, the sensation strange and different than it ever had been, more focused. His fingers slipped deep inside her, adding to the maelstrom threatening to sweep her away. Slow, deliberate thrusts, too slow. He even moved his tongue higher than her clit, too high to throw her over but not so far away she couldn’t feel the distant sensations stoking her flames.

“Oh my God, let me come, Ian,” she cried, grasping frantically at his head with both hands.

“You’ll come on my cock or you won’t come at all,” he growled against her.

“Then give it to me!”

“I’m having too much fun like this.” He gave her one more thrust with his long fingers, held them deep, then pulled them out and let her watch as he put them in his mouth and tasted her.

Her hips churned with the emptiness at her core. “Please,” she whispered, almost at the end of her strength, reaching in vain for that pleasure that just wouldn’t come. “Please.”

“I’ll wear a condom,” he told her conversationally, “for all the good it’ll do us.”

Gabby found it within herself to laugh, but the sound quickly turned into a moan when he stood and leisurely began to strip the rest of his clothes off…as if he were getting ready to go to bed, not fuck her raw. Then he took his sweet time rolling on the condom, to the point that she almost sat up and did it herself. If she hadn’t gotten such gratification from watching him touch himself, she might’ve done it.

“I’m going to finish myself off and be done with it before you ever get here,” she warned.

“No, you won’t. Because you know you can’t do it like I can. You want this filling you up when you come.”

Oh God, wasn’t that the damn truth. He came back to her at last, nestling close and kissing her beneath her jaw as she spread wider to accommodate him. Again, he teased her, slipping that broad head through her wet folds as he caught his breath and watched her face. She struggled to breathe, her pussy clenching for him. So close. Right there. Right there and…

“Push, dammit,” she all but yelled at him.

He burst out laughing. “Isn’t that what I’m supposed to say, like, months from now?”

“Yeah, you’ll get your turn. Right now, it’s mine. Give it to me.”

He gave it to her. He gave her about an inch of it. She strained toward him, but their position hindered her. “Oh, you motherfucker,” she growled, sounding like a woman possessed.

“You’re correct on that one, I guess. I’ve never fucked a mother before you.”

“Good to know. But this one is begging you to fuck her.”

“Begging? Oh, you haven’t begun to beg yet, Gabriella. Maybe I’ll give it to you like you want it”—he surged into her, ripping the breath from her lungs, and a chorus of angels sang—“and then take it away.” He pulled out and left her empty and panting and without the powers of speech. She wanted to sob. Maybe tears would move him.

“God, you felt good,” he groaned, seeming as affected as she was by that one taste of absolute nirvana. “So good, baby, I don’t know how long I’ll last.”

It was his own fault for holding back so long. “Try it out and see?” she suggested weakly.

“Aww, you sound so sweet now,” he said. He slid back and forth through her folds again, that teasing, torturous movement. Gabby licked her lips and tried not to beg, since it was precisely what he wanted. Then she bit both lips between her teeth. Then she feared she might draw blood.

“Ian!” she burst out. “Fuck me now, or I swear to God I’ll get up, put my clothes on, go home and give my vibrator a workout.”

He shoved into her. She wanted to weep from relief but was so damn wet and ready, she suspected tears might dehydrate her. The stretch of him burned her deep, sizzling along nerve endings that sang with pure bliss. She saw it now. The fuss. The hair-mussing sex. The kind that left marks. The craving for it. She’d had it good before. Very good, she could admit. But she’d never had it like this.

He pounded into her, so thick, so hot. Sweat slicked his skin and she licked at the salt of it at the base of his neck. “Yes, baby, yes,” she crooned into his ear. For that moment, in the all-consuming pleasure of his body above hers, in hers, all her problems were forgotten. There was only this. Only him.

“Are you okay?” he asked around panted breaths.

“Oh yes,” she whispered, drawing the ‘s’ out when he swirled his hips and sent shivers of sweetness up her spine. It wasn’t a screaming orgasm that was about to take her under. It was one that would rob her of breath, voice, everything. She wanted it, she needed it. When he slowed his movements again just as her muscles were tightening in anticipation of the explosion, she whimpered.

“You still haven’t begged to my satisfaction,” he reminded her evilly.

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.” He pulled out. Her wasted body nearly went limp without him inside. She felt as if she were made of hot liquid. It was no damn wonder he’d gotten her pregnant. Jesus, could anything stop him?

“Here, baby, get on top,” he said, sliding off her.

“I can’t.”

“You can. Come on. I feel like I’m crushing you.”

“But you’re not.” She so did not want to move. He’d been giving it to her just like she’d wanted. So began the male pregnancy paranoia? She hoped not. “Get back down here right now.”

Chuckling, he obeyed, surprising her. She wrapped him in her arms and welcomed him back into her body. His nose lingered inches from hers as he moved back and forth, his eyes gazing directly into hers. What was behind them? Maybe she’d find out tonight. She’d try, anyway. If she could stop enticing him to plunder her nether regions long enough.

Ian braced himself on his arms, and she couldn’t resist letting her hands run over the taut muscles of his biceps as he moved down to kiss her breast and gently suck her nipple. Little zings traveled from that precise point to between her legs and back again. Through with begging, she just wanted to lie here and let him love her. Because that was what it felt like now…making love. When he had to leave her again so he could move down and kiss her belly, it was okay this time. Some emotion she couldn’t possibly name engulfed her as he flattened his palm over her belly.

“Amazing,” was all he said, and she stroked his hair, imagining this scene four months from now. Six. Feeling kicks and wiggles and hiccups while he laid his head on her stomach. Would he still be around for that? Would she want him to be? Strange to share this intimacy with someone who was practically a stranger. She’d always imagined sharing it with a husband. With Mark.

But it wasn’t Mark who moved back up her body, kissing his way along until he reached her mouth. She met Ian’s tongue with hers. Met his body with hers, took him back inside. The flames that had abated somewhat roared back to searing life. With strong, steady thrusts, he took her to the edge and pitched her over at last.

The fall was long and intense, Gabby’s every sense focusing on him. The smooth hardness of him, the beauty of his expression collapsing in his own long-awaited climax, the rasp of his breath. That scent they created, the one that was uniquely them. Oh God. She fell and fell, and she landed hard…and she didn’t know where the hell she was anymore.

Chapter Twelve

She kept saying she needed to go home tonight, but Ian couldn’t seem to let her. Every time she tried to move from the bed with its tangled sheets, he grumbled and pulled her close again. She was so warm and smooth.

“I mean it, baby. I know I’m thirty-six freaking years old, but my family—”

“Ah-ha!” he exclaimed. “So it comes out.”

“Shit.” Gabby covered her face. “Okay. Fine. I’m eight damn years older than you.”

His nipped at her neck with his teeth. “You’re the most gorgeous, sexy, fucking amazing thirty-six-year-old woman I’ve ever met.”

“Hmm. I guess it wouldn’t do for you to never know the age of the mother of your child, huh?”

His hand crept down to her naked belly, and he stroked circles around her navel. “How’ve you been feeling? Besides beautifully horny?”

A chuckle met his words. “Beautifully horny, I like that. Well, let’s see. I’m starving but I don’t really want to eat, because I’m always a little sick to my stomach. I’m really sick in the mornings, but usually by noon it’s better. My boobs are killing me.” She sighed. “As soon as I get back to Dallas, I’m going to set up an appointment with my doctor there.”

He wanted to go with her to those appointments, but she’d be a good three hours away. Shit, this was gonna be miserable. “I’d like to go with you,” he said, cautiously putting it out there.

“Really? I’m sure we could work that out if you wanted,” she said lightly. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“This is just me being curious. How is it a great guy like you hasn’t met someone yet? Why hasn’t anyone snatched you up?”

“I guess you’d have to ask all the silly little girls who passed me up,” he said with a laugh, tracing the soft line of her jaw with his fingertip.

“Have you ever been serious with anyone?”

“A couple of times. Did the cohabitation thing for a while with both. Didn’t work out.”

“Were you in love?”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far. I was content.”

She was silent for a while, and he couldn’t get a good read on her. “I don’t want to be that way,” she said at last. “I think about my ex now and, you know, I think that’s all I ever would’ve been with him. Why the hell couldn’t I see that? If I’d known then what I know now, I’d have backed out of my own wedding.”

“What is it exactly that you know now?”

She traced her fingers up his forearm, her touch feather-light. “I know what you feel like. I know how you make me feel. At the same time, though… Ian, I can’t put myself in a position to get hurt like that again. I mean, I lost everything. And it wasn’t even mine. I never saw it coming even though I should have. I’ve thought ever since then I shouldn’t seriously offer myself to someone until I’m on my feet permanently. That’s going to be a while. Even longer than I’d originally thought, now that I’m pregnant.”

“Sounds smart, Gabby. Sucks for me, of course. But good for you.” It hurt to say those words. But not as much as her words had hurt him. She’d pretty much shut the door on a relationship with him or anyone else. “Do you need any help? I’ll do anything I can for you when you move.”

“I’m pretty much only taking me and my clothes. Furniture and everything I’ll get up there. Besides, what would you tell Brian?”

He hadn’t the vaguest notion what he was going to tell Brian. For all he knew, he might have to go crawling back to Marco and Kara once his boss caught wind of this.

Sighing, he buried his face in her hair. The warm, silky strands made him think of the lyrics to “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” his favorite song. He’d never thought to find that place with anyone. Now that he’d found it…he couldn’t have it.

Kelsey answered Gabby’s call with a laughed “Hello,” obviously amused by something Evan or Alex had done before she picked up. Such a sickeningly happy little family. But that was okay, because she loved them intensely. After everything they’d been through with past relationships, no one deserved happiness more than Evan and Kelsey.

“I have something to tell you,” Gabby blurted.

“Okay,” her beloved sister-in-law said, cautiously drawing out the word.

“First, if you’re in the room with my brother, I need you to leave it. He can’t know about any of this yet.”

Kelsey caught on fast that something major was up. “Sure,” she said brightly. “Hey, Alex’s cartoons are blaring. Let me go upstairs.”

She waited while Kelsey put distance between herself and Evan, listening to the phone bump along until finally a door closed. “Okay. I’m alone,” Kelsey said at last. “What’s going on?”

“Now I need you to sit down. And do not shriek.”

“Gabby! You’re scaring me.”

Freaking hormones. Somehow, the concern in Kelsey’s voice made Gabby’s eyes well. She couldn’t wait any longer to prepare her for this confession. “I’m pregnant.”

Dead silence met the announcement. So dead that she thought for a moment the call had been dropped. She checked her phone’s display. Yep, still connected. “Hello? Are you breathing? Do I need to hang up and call Evan to run up and start CPR?”

“Gabby,” Kelsey breathed, her voice barely audible. “How are you pregnant?”

It was too good to pass up. “Well, see, the man inserts his erect penis into the woman’s vagina, and—”

“I know how, you freaking idiot. I mean how, how did this… Oh my God! What man?”

“Shh! I haven’t told anyone but the man and you. I want to keep it that way for now, all right? I’m not ready for it to be out there. First I’m the dumped bride, and now I’m knocked up out of wedlock. I almost wish I could get out of here in a couple of weeks without anyone knowing.”

“You cannot do that. I’ll tell everyone before I let you do that.”

“You evil bitch.”

“Who is the father?”

“You wouldn’t know him.” Gabby pressed the heel of her free hand to her forehead. “Really. You wouldn’t.”

“Doesn’t matter. I want to know about him. You said he knows?”

“He knows. He’s, um…he’s one of Brian’s employees.”

“Gabby!”

“I know, okay?”

“Your mom told me you came home with a tattoo a while back.”

“I came home the next morning with way more than that, it seems.”

“So it was your artist? Does Brian not have…I don’t know, rules against that?”

Gabby scoffed. “Oh, please, he hooked up with Candace the first time because he gave her a tattoo. I’ll remind him of that little fact if I need to. But Ian’s worried what Brian will think about…all this. Yeah. That’s a problem.”

“I don’t even know what to say. What are you going to do?”

“What is there to do? I’m having a baby. I’ve thought of all my options. This is the only one I can live with.”

“What will you do about school?”

“I’ll just…I’ll deal with it. I’ll take a leave of absence when the time comes.” She remembered her and Ian’s conversation the night they conceived. “Take life as it comes at me.”

“Did you say the father’s name is Ian? What does he think about it?”

“I think he’s in shock. We’ve talked about it. He wants to be involved, but…I don’t know. We were only supposed to be together for one night. Now he’s someone I’ll have to deal with for the next eighteen years.”

“Oh, at least,” Kelsey said, not being helpful at all. “Do you like the guy?”

“Luckily, yes. I like him a lot. He’s…he really seems like a great person, from what I know.” She chuckled. “Damn, he’s hot. He’s literally wanna-have-his-baby hot. I think back, and it’s like, no wonder I got pregnant.”

Kelsey’s laughter rang out. “Well, it’s good you feel that way, I guess, considering you are having his baby.” There was a long silence after their humor died away. “God. I don’t know what to say. You have to tell your mom.”

She didn’t want to think about it. “I realize that.”

“You shouldn’t worry too much about it, you know. It doesn’t matter if you’re not married. She might freak at first, but the woman thirsts for grandchildren, and she’ll take them any way she can get them. She’s going to be overjoyed.”

“I hope so.”

“And you have to tell Evan.”

“No.”

“Then let me.”

“Kelsey, no. Not yet, please. He’ll tell Mom. He won’t be able to resist.”

“The longer you wait, the harder it’s going to be.”

“But I don’t have many answers right now, and I’m only going to be met with a million questions.” Even worse than the thought of telling her mom was telling her dad. She’d have to let her mother do it. “I’m not ready for that.”

“So you’re going to burden me with being the only other person who knows.”

“Please understand. I had to tell someone. Except for Ian, I kinda feel all alone.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way. We’d all be there for you.”

“For now, it does have to be that way.”

“I’m so worried about you.”

She wanted to seethe over that. She wasn’t sixteen. Problem was, at this very moment, she was as helpless and dependent as a sixteen-year-old. She had money that was her own, but certainly not enough to sustain herself and a kid for very long. Being reliant on her parents while she went to school was one thing; they were fine with it because they were so proud of her following her dreams. Being reliant on them for raising her extramarital child, though? They might not be so thrilled about that.

She could fix it, though the option wasn’t one she liked to consider. What if it they refused to support her now? What if the dream of medical school had to trade places with the dream of having children? One of them attainable, one of them all but gone. She could always go back to nursing, they might say. Pay for her mistakes. Nursing would support her and her baby, but she would have to kiss med school good-bye.

“I’m sorry you’re worried. But I’m trying to remain focused on the joy of the situation,” Gabby said a tad more icily than she intended. “Because if I don’t, I might go off the deep end.”

“I understand,” Kelsey said. “I don’t mean to make you upset. But please promise me you’ll tell your parents soon. You need emotional support. You hate me saying I’m worried about you, but I can’t help it. I’m a worrier. Have you been to a doctor yet?”

“No. I got three positive tests three days ago, and that’s where we are.”

Kelsey chuckled. “I think it was three for me too. I was in total shock.”

At least Evan had already proposed and their wedding plans had already been underway. Gabby managed to refrain from sharing Brian and Candace’s little secret. Apparently, they didn’t want to spread the word yet either, or Kelsey would be crowing about it. Gabby made a mental note to call Brian and check on them.

“Are you okay? Like, right this minute? You’re good?”

Gabby had to laugh. “Am I standing on a stool with a noose around my neck? No. I’m good. Promise.”

“I hate being so far away! Dammit. We need to get together. You and I, we’ll figure this whole thing out.”

“Can you come up for a few days?”

“Possibly. Though I might have a better idea. Girls’ weekend in Destin before you go back.”

If she went back, given the darker turn her thoughts had taken. But ohhh, the beach sounded heavenly. The Rosses owned a condo in Destin, Florida, right on the white sands of the Emerald Coast. Though her parents used it frequently, she hadn’t been in a few years. She could so do with some sunshine and waves. An abundance of salty Gulf air to clear her head. “I would love that.”

“Let me see what I can get worked out, okay?”

“Sounds good.”

“I love ya, girl. Talk to you soon.”

Gabby ended the call and sat staring at her phone without seeing it. It was probably true this would get harder the longer she waited. Hell, she could march downstairs right now and blurt out her news to her mother and get it over with. While her mom might be overjoyed to have another grandchild, Gabby didn’t think for a second she wouldn’t be disappointed in her eldest.

She’d always been the good child. Brian had been the rebellious one, often getting in serious trouble. Evan had been the player, leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake. Gabby had often scolded them both for their choices right alongside her mother. Now? Ugh. She could imagine all of them lining up to shake their fingers at her—her younger brothers no doubt with malicious glee in payback for all those times she’d done it to them.

It was okay. She wasn’t ashamed. They might be ashamed of her, but none of that would matter five years from now—her standard approach to dealing with stress. The uncertainty, though, was terrible. The thought of meeting all their many questions with I don’t know or I guess we’ll see. She’d never lived that way. She didn’t know how.

For a terrible moment, she longed so hard for her old life that her chest ached. Her home with Mark. Her friends. School. Mark himself. Steady, level-headed Mark, who’d apparently put on such a façade of contentment that he deserved an Academy Award. Again she thought about everything she was supposed to be enjoying right now, everything that had been snatched so cruelly away from her at the last possible moment.

She’d told Ian she didn’t want contentment and that she should’ve run out on her own wedding. She wanted much more than that in her life. Joy, happiness, excitement, love. But stability was also high on her list. Way high. Right now, she felt so unstable she might topple over. That surely didn’t mean she had to trade in everything else to have it, though, right?

Weakness engulfed her, and for yet another even more terrible moment, she toyed with the idea of calling Mark. What would she say? What was the point? If there had been even the slightest, tiniest, most miniscule chance of going back, it was gone now. She was pregnant with another man’s child. For all she knew, Mark had moved on too. Maybe to a fake-chested trophy-wife type who was sleeping in the very bed the two of them had shared.

She picked up her phone again. Instead of dialing her ex-fiancé, though, she dialed Brian’s cell. He answered just as she thought it might go to voice mail.

“Are you guys okay?” she asked.

“We’re good.” There was no mistaking the weariness in his voice.

“How is Candace feeling?”

“She was really sick this morning. Laid around with a cold rag on her head until almost noon. I think she’s better now.”

“Poor thing. Tell her to keep some crackers and a Coke by the bed. She needs to eat and drink first thing when she wakes up.” That was what she’d begun to do as of yesterday morning, and it seemed to help stave off the nausea.

“Oh yeah? I’ll tell her. Thanks for the tip.” He probably accepted it as medical advice and not something she had experience with.

“Have you told anyone yet?”

“No. She wants to wait.” There was a lot of that going around. “You haven’t said anything to Mom, have you?”

“Of course not. I wouldn’t do that to ya.”

“Thanks.”

She’d taken some time to assess his mood and determined that he was more than tired; he seemed rather down. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m worried about her.”

“Is she still not taking it well?”

“It’s not that. She seems happier about it. I’m the one freaking out now, you know? Just…a lot to take on.”

“You’ll be a really cool dad, Brian.”

“I keep thinking I’ll be a total fuck-up.”

“Nope. Your fuck-up days are behind you. You might not want to say ‘fuck’ in front of the kid so much, though.”

He laughed at that. “I’ll keep that in mind. Wouldn’t want it to be his first word.”

“His?” she teased.

“Well, yeah. I can’t have a girl.”

“I think that’s just what you need, a sweet little girl to put you through the same hell you put Candace’s parents through one day. The only thing I think would be better for you than a girl is twin girls.”

“Shut your mouth! Fuck!”

Oh yeah, she’d pay for that one, but she hadn’t been able to resist. Once she had him thoroughly panicked, she let him go, glad that she wasn’t the only one in turmoil. Hearing about his had made her feel more in control of her own, which had sort of been the goal. Poor Brian.

Like he’d said, though, everything was going to be okay.

Wasn’t it?

Ian was going to end up losing his beloved new job if he kept blowing it off. He’d promised everything but his firstborn to Ghost to get him to cover for him, and now he was heading toward Dallas with nothing but his motorcycle and the clothes on his back. He didn’t plan on staying long.

The wind in his face and the roar of the motor didn’t cleanse his thoughts as they normally did. No, Gabriella Ross had taken up permanent residence there, and she was a stubborn tenant. He’d wanted to call her and ask her to come with him but hadn’t been able to bring himself to do it. She probably would’ve said no.

The ride was a long and lonely one. But no lonelier than the little brick house waiting at the end of his journey. Lonely not because it sat by itself—it was surrounded on both sides by identical little brick houses—but because the worst and loneliest years of his life had been spent within its walls.

He hadn’t told his mom he was coming. Whether she’d be surprised, delighted, disgusted…he honestly had no fucking clue. It felt a little strange to knock on the door of the house he’d grown up in, but it wasn’t home anymore. So he did. And waited.

The door opened. Whether it was surprise, delight or disgust he saw on his mother’s lined face, he couldn’t say, because her expression didn’t change at all.

She looked old. She looked bad. He forced a smile for her regardless of his less than warm reception. “Hi, Mom.”

“It’s a mess around here,” she said by way of greeting, backing away from the door so he could enter. She shuffled along slowly, as if she were in pain. “If I’d known you were coming, I’d have picked up a bit.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, stepping inside and getting swamped with a thousand memories from the smell alone. Not an unpleasant smell to the senses, just one he equated with misery. The house wasn’t a mess at all, actually—it was as tidy as that old bastard had always insisted it must be. But since Earl had never been pleased with it, and she’d listened to him bitch about it for years, of course she would think it was too messy. Nothing was ever good enough.

“Coffee?” she asked, ambling toward the kitchen.

He followed, his boots clomping against the linoleum. “Sure.”

She put on a pot, and he struggled for something to say as he watched her birdlike hands work. A lot of people told him he was a quiet guy. Well, she was the genetic culprit. Her voice was soft and slow, and he didn’t think he’d ever heard it raised in his life. Yeah, that had been a major source of contention for them. There had been times as a kid he’d needed it raised in his defense. He’d had to learn to raise his own.

“What brings you out?” she asked, and when he saw she was having trouble reaching up to the cabinet, he went to her side and helped her.

“I had some news I wanted to tell you,” he said, pulling down a couple of chipped mugs. One of them he actually remembered from his childhood. Yeah. Its mate had shattered against the wall by the refrigerator. At least it hadn’t been over his head.

“Oh? Good news, I hope.” For the first time, a ghost of a smile flitted across her face. A gray tendril escaped from behind her ear, and she tucked it back.

“I suppose it is. I think so, anyway. It seems I’m gonna be a dad.”

The cup she’d been holding clattered to the counter, but he wasn’t sure if it was due to his words or her clumsy, arthritic fingers. He reached for it, but she quickly righted it. “Well, imagine that,” she said, and again he couldn’t get a clear read on her feelings.

“Unexpected, I know. I sure didn’t plan on it, anyway.”

She took the carafe from the coffeemaker and began to pour.

He’d thought he might get more of a reaction. She was all alone. He was her only child; her husband was dead. Wouldn’t a grandchild make her happy? Frustration burned in his chest, and when he took the steaming cup from her, he couldn’t drink the contents for the tightness in his jaw. “Anyway. Thought you’d like to know,” he said at last, hearing that same tightness in his voice. “Thought at least a congratulations might be in order.”

“Congratulations,” she said, and that only pissed him off more.

“Mom, are you gonna blame me forever?”

“For what?”

“You know damn well what.” He tried to block out the images, but they rushed in anyway. He and Earl yelling at each other, as usual. “You lay one hand on my mother, you sonofabitch, and I’ll put you through the goddamned wall.” Nothing he hadn’t said a dozen times before, once he’d gotten big enough to actually back up his words with actions if he wanted. But that time had been different. In the middle of Earl’s screamed reply, he’d gurgled, clutched his chest and keeled over.

Dead almost instantly, right at Ian’s feet. His mother even then had been terrifyingly quiet as she’d looked at Ian with huge eyes…and accused him of killing him before bolting for the phone.

“What do you want me to say, Ian?”

He took a huge breath to try to clear the ugliness from his mind. But there was no getting it out. That ugliness oozed from the shadows in this house. It was in the smell—even the scent of the brewing coffee. Earl had drunk it constantly when he wasn’t hitting something harder. Ian couldn’t grab hold of one pleasant memory from all the days he’d lived here. Surely there had been a few, but they were so far outweighed by the bad as to be inconsequential. “I thought you’d be happy.”

“Why? You come here and tell me about a grandchild I’ll never get to see, probably never get to hold. How is that supposed to make me happy?”

For all he knew, he might not get to see and hold him or her either, at least not as often as he’d like to. It all depended on what Gabby decided. “It doesn’t have to be that way with us.”

“You’ll make it that way.”

“I’ve told you. I don’t have anything against you. You shouldn’t have anything against me. All that…is in the past.”

“But you left. When I needed you most, you left.”

“You never acted like you needed me at all. You were relieved when I moved out in the first place. I wasn’t around to get you in trouble with Earl anymore.” He walked an agitated circle around the small kitchen while she stood and sipped her coffee. “I can guarantee you this: no child of mine would have ever stepped in this house while he lived here.”

“That’s a horrible thing for you to say.”

“He was a horrible person, in case you’ve forgotten this.” He indicated his scar with a flick of his hand.

“I’ll never forget that. I’ll remember that the rest of my days and probably beyond.”

“So will I.” He sighed and took his former place near her at the counter. “Like I said, though. I don’t want it to be that way with us. I’m excited about this baby, really. I don’t know what’s going to happen with the mother, but she’s great. I’d love to have a future with her. I can’t help but feel like it’s an opportunity to set things right in my life, you know? It’s like there’s this tiny clean slate on the way to me. Like I get to vicariously start all over.”

She nodded. “Good, good. You deserve that.”

“And I do want you to be a part of it. I hope you understand why I had to leave. I spent so much of my life worried about you here with him. Once he was gone, I had to make my own life. There’s no reason you can’t do that too.” She didn’t even act as if she could hear him. He resisted the urge to shout, the old frustration reaching deep inside to choke his pounding heart. “Why don’t you leave this hellhole? Come with me. I’ll help you any way I can.”

“I’ve waited too late to make a life,” she said, a bitter twist to her lips. Her faded blue eyes were cold as her gaze lifted to his. “But I wish you the best of luck with yours.”

Chapter Thirteen

Gabriella stared down at her toes embedded in the sand, then looked out over the blue-green waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The surf tumbled in and rushed back out, pulling the sand from under her feet…and wasn’t that a perfect analogy for how she felt right now.

The never-ceasing wind whipped her long hair behind her. She probably should have put it up, because it would be hell to deal with later, but she didn’t care.

Miles out over the water, the clouds were bruised and towering, and she could see the sheets of rain falling. Before long, they would probably have to escape into the condo.

She turned and headed back to where Kelsey lay sunbathing, big dark sunglass covering her eyes. They’d arrived yesterday after an almost ten-hour drive. “Looks like a storm’s coming in.”

“Oh yeah?” Kelsey sat up and adjusted her pink bikini top. Looking at her, Gabby had hope for retaining her figure after the ravages of pregnancy. Kelsey had bounced back in no time. And today, she’d been smart enough to pull her long hair back in a smooth bun.

“Maybe not for a while.” Gabby sat on the towel laid out next to her sister-in-law. They hadn’t said much about her situation since arriving. That really was fine with her. There wasn’t much to say anymore. She just wanted to relax and forget her problems for a couple of days.

No one knew she was here except her parents and Evan, who would naturally know his wife’s whereabouts. She hadn’t told Ian she was leaving. Maybe she should have. It was strange to have to think about including someone else in all of her decisions, but she was carrying around something precious to him too.

“Do you think I should’ve told Ian I was leaving?”

So much for not talking about it.

“Well,” Kelsey said thoughtfully, “you have autonomy, you know. Just because you’re pregnant with his kid doesn’t mean you’re his property.”

“Oh, I know that. Just out of common courtesy.”

Kelsey shrugged. “If you’re worried about it, then let him know.” She scoffed, tilting her chin minutely toward the water. “We’re being scoped out.”

Gabby glanced over to see a trio of guys walking past, giving them appreciative glances. Actually, appreciative was a nice way of putting it. Lecherous was more like it.

“Ugh,” Kelsey went on. “I always want to laugh at pathetic stuff like that. Like anyone could even think of being hotter than my husband.”

“Please, he’s my brother. Do not talk about his hotness to me.” She eyed the guys as they walked on past. Yeah, not a single one of them could dare to compete with Ian either. Suddenly, she missed him terribly. With his big, hard body next to her, she doubted any other man would dare risk his neck by checking her out.

Sighing, Gabby drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. Before long, she wouldn’t be able to sit in this position. The unrelenting wind continued to whip her hair into a humidity-frizzed mess. “I miss him,” she confessed.

“If you’re in love with the guy, just go for it.”

“I don’t know about love. I think it’s even scarier to go for it knowing I’m pregnant. There’s a child involved now. If we can’t make it work, then I’m not the only one who’ll get hurt this time.”

“Yeah, but you can’t think negatively either. If you do make it work, that’ll be great for my little niece.”

“Oh, it’s a girl?”

Kelsey grinned. “I’m hoping. A little girl would be so sweet. Evan and I talk about trying again, but I don’t know yet.”

“It seems none of us in this family really have to try. It just happens to us.” As soon as it was out, she regretted saying it, since it also alluded to Brian. She hoped Kelsey would miss it, but with her budding lawyer’s mind, no such luck.

“Candace had better not drink the water,” she said. “She’s the only one left.”

Gabby bit her bottom lip and let a moment tick by. “Where are we going to eat tonight?”

“Fudpucker’s? Or the Back Porch?”

Crisis averted…for now. “Either. I so wish I could drink.” She wished she could swim too, but her new tattoo wouldn’t allow for it. What had she been thinking, coming here without the ability to drink or swim or eat her weight in shrimp?

“Sorry, girl. When I was at my biggest and most miserable, I told Evan all I could think about was being on the beach with a margarita in my hand. He told me he’d make it happen. As soon as Alex was old enough to leave with your mom for a few days, he brought me here. But you know, as much as I wanted to enjoy it, I missed Alex so much that I really couldn’t. All I could think about was getting back and holding him. Not that I’m not enjoying your company, but I feel that way now too. I don’t mean to scare you, but your life will truly never, ever be the same.”

“I know. I mean, I don’t really, but I believe you.”

“Enjoy this time. Hard as it seems, these next couple of months will be the last semi-normal ones of your life. Before you have to have help tying your own shoes and getting out of the bathtub. Before you sneeze and pee down both legs. And just wait until it feels like the baby punches you right in the cervix. And you wear shoes to work in the morning that you can’t wear home that evening because your feet are so swollen. There will also come the inevitable day when you lose sight of your nether regions.”

“Kelsey? Shut up.”

“Then the baby gets here, and the chaos really begins. It’s all worth it, though.”

“Funny how moms usually tack that on to the end of the list of miserable things they have to endure.”

“You’ll see.”

The storm moved closer, so they gathered their beach gear and headed indoors as the sun was finally obscured by the incoming clouds. The rain and lightning probably wouldn’t last long, but they went ahead and changed for dinner. Gabby stared out the patio doors as the foamy surf below pounded the graying sand while Kelsey finished getting ready.

She hadn’t spoken at length to Ian since the night they’d spent together. It wasn’t anything he’d said or done; it was simply her confusion, her terrible, terrible confusion.

When had she ever been one to let fear hold her back from doing anything? Why was she doing it now? So much was at stake. She’d felt responsible for human lives before, but not like this. Never like this.

“Are you okay?” Kelsey asked as she entered the room at Gabby’s back.

“Yeah. Just thinking.”

“You can think yourself silly.”

“As I’m finding out.”

“While I was in the shower just now, I came up with a question for you.”

“It’s weird that you think of me while you’re naked.”

“Right? Anyway. If everything could work out exactly like you wanted, what would happen?”

“Hmm. I’d be married to the father of my child, first off.”

Kelsey’s already big gray eyes rounded even farther. “You want to marry him?”

“I only meant the father of my child was always someone I envisioned being married to. Not someone I sleep with occasionally who will soon live three hours away.”

“You need to feel him out. If you want to commit and really give this thing a go, but he’s not willing to move back there—you’ll have your answer, won’t you? It’ll mean you and this baby aren’t important enough for him to make a few sacrifices.”

It made sense, didn’t it? If only she didn’t feel it was way too soon to expect that from him. In a few months, maybe. But now, when they were still getting to know each other?

“You already know you miss him,” Kelsey continued, falling onto the couch and putting her bare feet up. “So there’s that. Yet, you know you can see him in a couple of days. What if you knew you weren’t going to see him for, like, a month? How would you feel?”

Gabby chuckled. “I might be making an unplanned road trip in the middle of the night after about a week. If that long.”

She looked gravely at Kelsey, who blew out a low whistle. “Whew. I think you’ve got it bad, girl.”

“We decided to take things day by day. I guess that’s what I need to keep doing right now. I’m not putting pressure on him, and he isn’t putting any on me.”

“Hmm.” Kelsey began twirling a dark curl around her index finger, staring off into space. Gabby turned and contemplated the raging Gulf of Mexico again.

“Do you think you ever really know someone?” she asked.

“Sure. I know Evan.”

“I thought I knew Mark, though.”

“You knew him for a year or so. I knew Evan from the time I was twenty years old. I can guarantee I know him better than you or his family.”

“Really?” Gabby turned again. “Did you know when he was in high school, Mr. Prosecutor took eighty dollars out of Mom’s wallet and let Brian take the fall for it?”

Kelsey grinned. “Did you know that Brian offered to take the fall for it if Evan wrote a paper for him?”

Okay. Score one for knowing someone. Gabby shook her head. “Scoundrels. Mom fumed about that for weeks. What did he do with the money?”

“Bought a necklace for his girlfriend.”

“Trying to get laid. Of course.”

“Evan never had to try really hard,” Kelsey said wryly. “I remember the long line of his girlfriends I had to suffer through to end up with him.”

“You should’ve grabbed him by the collar and told him how it was gonna be from the start.”

“Oh yeah? Well, put your money where your mouth is,” Kelsey fired back good-naturedly.

Touché. “This trip wasn’t about me starting to hate you, you know.”

“If you drag this out, torture yourself and make yourself miserable over him, you’ll regret it for a long, long time, Gabby. Take it from me. But if you just give it a chance, you’ll know. If he turns out to be the love of your life, then you win. If not, then you’ll move on. I know you’re smart enough and a good enough judge of character not to make any stupid mistakes or stay somewhere that isn’t a good environment for you or my niece.”

Gabby digested Kelsey’s words silently and, sighing, dropped onto the opposite end of the couch from her. “You’re right. You’re totally right. It’s excellent advice. I just don’t know if I can take it.”

“Well, I know how that feels too. Keep doing what you’re doing, I guess.”

Unfortunately, that was even more unthinkable.

Kelsey laughed merrily when Gabby announced at eight o’clock that she was going to bed. “Your energy will come back in the second trimester,” she called as Gabby shuffled out of the living room and into her bedroom.

That was it. Kelsey was paying her back for all the unwanted medical advice she’d doled out over the past two years. Admittedly, she was bad about doing that. But then Gabby was the one Kelsey had called in a panic when little Alex spiked a fever in the middle of the night last winter, so it wasn’t as if she didn’t appreciate her.

Two months pregnant and already she couldn’t wait for this to be over. It was going to be a very long thirty-two weeks.

Crawling into bed after slipping into an oversized T-shirt, she expected to be snoring as soon as her head hit the pillow. No such luck. Instead, she tossed and turned and worried. She thought about that cute little blonde she’d seen sniffing around Dermamania, slipping Ian what was obviously her phone number. Was that his game? The whole cool, hard-to-get thing to hook them into the chase before he moved in for the kill?

She snatched her phone from her nightstand and sent him a text. What are you up to?

I’m at the bar, was the almost instant reply.

The bar? Really? Huh. Be careful you don’t take some other girl home and knock her up too.

WTF?

She was in the middle of typing a reply when her phone rang. It was him, of course. She accepted the call without any kind of greeting. Given the silence in the background, he must’ve stepped outside.

“Are you there?” he asked after a few seconds. Gabby couldn’t contain her visceral reaction to his deep voice in her ear. Her entire body went boneless, and her heart skipped a beat.

“Yeah.”

“What the hell are you pissed at me for? I came by to grab a beer. Nothing more.”

She knew she was being a bitch. She simply could not get that picture out of her head. Was this what she’d be reduced to? Watching the baby at home every night while he went out to grab a beer and collect phone numbers and come-ons? “You don’t make a habit of fucking your clients, do you? Or strange girls you take home from the bar?”

“What the— No, Gabby, I do not. I’m no saint, but I haven’t been with anyone since I moved here except you. Where is this coming from?”

She sighed. “I don’t know. Apparently, insanity is another pregnancy symptom. I kept thinking about that girl making a pass at you when I came in to tell you about the baby, and… I’m sorry.”

“I don’t give a shit about any other girls.”

“Glad to hear it.” She chuckled sadly.

“Are you okay? Where are you?”

“I’m in Florida, actually.”

There was a long silence during which she heard some raucous conversation going on in the background—probably some bar patrons leaving for the night. “What in the hell are you doing in Florida?”

“Parents’ condo. A girls’ weekend thing. I’ll be back in a couple of days.”

“Gabby…you’re fuckin’ worrying me, you know?”

For some reason, hearing that from him of all people, made something inside her snap. “Well, stop fucking worrying! I’m pregnant. Millions of women have gotten pregnant without losing their minds. I’m sure I’ll be one of them. The odds are in my favor.”

“You know, I’m starting to get the feeling you texted me just to start shit with me.”

“I texted you, Ian, because I miss you.” And with that admission, she almost wanted to slap her hand over her mouth. She would have if the action could possibly cram those foolish words back in.

“Then what did you run off to Florida for?”

“To see if I missed you. Maybe. That wasn’t really the reason, but it’s been a good experiment.”

“Who are you with?”

“My sister-in-law.”

“Does she know?”

“Yes. She’s the only person I’ve told.”

“I miss you too, baby.”

Her breath left her in a rush. Sweetness rushed through her veins, and all that mushy crap she’d never thought she would ever care about feeling. Clinical. That was how she liked her life to be. She liked everything neat and tidy and in a nice little box. Ian Rhodes had come into her life, torn open the box and strewn the contents around the room. She couldn’t even begin to pick them up and put them back where they belonged. They would no longer fit. She’d outgrown the box. “You haven’t exactly been beating down my door,” she said, her voice small.

“You haven’t exactly acted like you wanted me to.”

She wanted to tell him to beat it down. Beat it with all his might, beat it down until she broke and confessed everything she was trying to keep locked away from him. “I don’t know what to do,” she said at last.

“Day by day,” he reminded her.

“What if days turn into weeks and then into months, and I still don’t know?”

“Then maybe I will.”

Shit, she couldn’t do this anymore. Couldn’t lie here in the dark with the distant sound of the waves and listen to his voice. The yearning for him was like a physical ache. “I’ll see you when I get back.”

“All right,” he said, a note of dejection in his tone. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Gabby…” She waited for his next words, her entire being on hold during that torturous pause that seemed to be filled with more than words could say right now. Finally, he sighed. “Good night.”

And he was gone. Loneliness crept in. She rolled over and let her hand trail down to her belly as her eyes leaked silent tears onto her pillow. “No matter what, I’ll always have you, huh?” Her little peanut.

Boy or girl? What would she name him or her? Would he have her eyes? Or would she have Ian’s smile? If it was a boy and he looked too much like his father, that would be the worst form of torment…unless she could see his father every day of her life.

Gabby had gone to bed early enough that surely Kelsey would still be awake, but she didn’t want to bother her with more of her emotional, hormonal bullshit. Bad enough that she’d bothered Ian and proven what a psycho she was becoming.

She would lie low for a while. Most likely, even though Kelsey had vowed to tell on her, she’d head back to Dallas before she told her parents or anyone else about her pregnancy. Then she could deal with them from afar. That wasn’t so difficult. Maybe dealing with Ian from afar was the best answer too. After time, the ache would fade. The memory of him wouldn’t be so acute that she sucked in a breath when she recalled his touch.

“Keep doing what you’re doing.”

It was unthinkable, but maybe it was the only answer.

Chapter Fourteen

She didn’t know if coming to that decision could actually be considered progress, but it felt like it. Somewhat. Gabby slept much of the way home as Kelsey drove, compensating for the little sleep she’d gotten the entire time they were at the condo. She’d wanted to offer her own driving services, but she probably would’ve gotten them in an accident.

Many long hours later, Kelsey steered into the Rosses’ driveway, and Gabby sighed at the sight of the ostentatious house coming into view. Kelsey apparently found meaning in that sound as she braked in the circular drive and killed the engine. “You have to tell them. Soon.”

“I will.” After I’m gone. “Sorry to be such a downer on this trip. We’ll have to go back again once the craziness settles down.”

“You weren’t a downer. And we’ll definitely go back again, but if we wait for the craziness to stop, it’ll never happen.”

Wasn’t that the truth?

Kelsey was staying an extra night with her in-laws before she made the drive back to Austin in the morning, so Gabby enjoyed one more night with her, although it was under her parents’ noses. They loved Kelsey to pieces, so they hogged most of her time. Gabby managed to get up early enough the next morning to see her sister-in-law off, then went back to bed as the nausea began to work its evil magic on her. Thankfully, it had been giving her a bit of a reprieve, but not today. Her parents must’ve thought she stayed out partying the entire time she was in Destin, because she slept until early afternoon.

Waking up, she felt…better. Usually upon first opening her eyes, dread hit her hard right in the chest like a sledgehammer. For one blissful moment, she wouldn’t remember everything that was happening to her, and then…boom. Instant terror and OhmyGod, ohmyGod, what am I going to do? Today, though… Maybe the getaway had done her some good after all. She’d gotten some sun, some salty sea air—she actually felt pretty competent at dealing with life now.

Enjoying a nice, long stretch after she crawled from bed, she decided to enjoy all the good days that she could. Then she went to the bathroom.

And all the good feelings went away in a rush of terror so real that it made her previous turmoil seem as inconsequential as worrying over an exam she knew she would ace anyway.

Calm. Keep calm. She took care of the situation as best she could and changed out of her silky pajama bottoms into dark yoga pants. Purse, where was her purse? There, beside her dresser. She grabbed it, moving as carefully as she could, then went to look at her sheets. Nothing marred the pale-pink-with-flowers pattern, so that was good. Good. She left her room and went downstairs, taking each step slowly.

Her mother sat at the breakfast nook, having an afternoon cup of coffee and leafing through a magazine, her leisurely day about to be seriously disrupted. She lifted her mug to her lips as Gabby spoke.

“Mom,” she said coolly and waited until her mother looked at her. “Put down the cup.” Frowning, Gianna did so. “I need you to not freak out on me. But you need to drive me to the ER.”

Of course, as expected, Gianna freaked out. Her face blanched and her eyes rounded. She rushed to Gabby’s side as if she might collapse at any moment. “Oh God, what’s wrong?”

“I’m okay. But let’s go. I’ll explain on the way.”

Her mom’s eyebrows drew together, that Evan worry-line forming between them. “You’re okay but—”

“Mom! Get your purse and let’s go!”

Less than two minutes later, Gianna was speeding down their driveway in her Mercedes, her knuckles white on the wheel. Gabby stared blindly at those bejeweled hands and felt the words rising in her throat. She couldn’t seem to push them out, until her mother said…

“Gabriella, tell me what’s going on right now.”

“I’m pregnant. And I’m bleeding.” And now she couldn’t look at her mom anymore, so she turned and stared out the window at the passing trees, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth in an effort to hold back the tears. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t disappoint her family, get Ian involved and end up with nothing to show for it. She couldn’t have another dream snatched away from her. How much more could she take?

The tears spilled regardless of her attempts to hold them at bay. She hadn’t cried in her mother’s presence since she was a kid. Not even over Mark.

“Preg— You— What?”

“You heard me. And I know what you want to say. I don’t need a lecture.”

“By who?”

“Doesn’t matter. You don’t know him. I might be miscarrying anyway.”

To her surprise, she felt her mother’s fingers curl around her left hand and squeeze tight. “I hope not.”

“I guess we’ll see.”

Her mom released her, putting her hand back on the wheel. “Get my phone out of my purse. I’m calling your father. Don’t argue with me,” she added sharply when Gabby opened her mouth to wail. “You should have told us both about this.”

“I’m sorry, but—”

“Merda, Gabriella. Were you just going to leave without us knowing this?”

Oh God, she was bringing out the Italian cuss words. Brian would be so proud of her. “I don’t know!”

“This is not the way I would want to find out!”

Gabby lifted her fingers to her temples and rubbed. “Please don’t yell at me. You’ll upset the baby.”

Her mother’s face softened. Score. “Get my phone.”

“Telling Dad will upset the baby too.”

“Get. My. Phone.”

Or not. Sighing, she dug into her mom’s Prada and handed her the phone, then returned to her former position staring out the window. She supposed she needed to make a phone call of her own but couldn’t bring herself to do it until she had more information.

Still no pain in her abdomen. Obstetrics wasn’t her specialty by a long shot, but she hoped she could take that as a good sign. She shut her eyes and tried not to listen to her mother filling her dad in, but there was no way on earth she couldn’t hear it. The movements of the car without the benefit of sight began to make her feel nauseated, and she had to open them again.

“I know,” Gianna was saying. “I have no idea what she was thinking. If—”

She couldn’t stand it anymore. This wasn’t going to turn into a situation where she was talked about like she wasn’t even present. Where they planned and schemed like she didn’t have a say. “Give me the freaking phone,” she snapped, plucking it away from her mom’s ear. “Daddy?”

“What is going on with you, Gabby?” Alexander Ross could bring the thunder right alongside his wife, and that was what Gabriella had been prepared for, what she’d been ready to give right back. But her dad only sounded disappointed and more than a little concerned.

“I’m sorry,” she said, all the fight going out of her. She had a sudden vision of the distant future: her child fucking up and Gabby trying to understand his or her actions. She wanted that future so badly, even with its ups and downs and disappointments. She hadn’t realized how much until now. A fresh deluge of tears streamed from her eyes. “I didn’t mean for this to happen. I didn’t want to make you guys worry. I was going to tell you both, I promise. But yes, I am pregnant, and I don’t want to lose this baby. So please don’t make me explain any more right now. I just want to get to the hospital and find out what’s going on.”

“All right. I’m on my way there to be with you both,” he said. “I love you.”

“Love you too.” Sniffling, she gave the phone back to her mom, practically tossing it at her because she couldn’t see for her tears. Gianna spoke a few more words to her husband and hung up. Moments passed where the car’s quiet engine was the only sound. Finally, the hospital came into sight up ahead, and she felt the warmth of her mother’s hand on her arm as dread settled into her stomach. They always said doctors made the worst patients—well, she wasn’t one yet, but she already filled that particular criterion.

“It’s going to be all right,” Gianna said.

More than dread—outright panic welled in her chest. “I don’t want to go.”

“You have to.”

She knew that, she did—but that didn’t stop her from wishing there were some way she could get her mother to turn the car around and take her back home. As Gianna eased through the ER’s parking lot, looking for an empty space, Gabby grabbed for her purse and dug for her own phone. She fired off a quick text to Ian and prayed he would come. It would be so awkward to everyone involved. It would blow their secret wide open for the world to scrutinize and offer its fucking self-righteous opinions on, but it didn’t matter to her anymore. All she wanted was to see his face. She wanted him telling her it was going to be all right. Making her feel safe and protected. If he’d be inclined to do so.

If the worst happened, though—and she always planned for the worst, it seemed—she didn’t know how she was going to tell him. No doubt he would be gone from her life then, and probably ecstatic to get away from the insane almost-mother of his child.

Of course, the waiting area of the emergency room was a nightmare, and she wished she had an established OB/GYN here so maybe she could’ve gone there. There were only two available seats, and she and her mother took both after registering.

A dark-haired woman sat across from them with an infant in her arms and a toddler playing at her feet. She gazed worriedly down at her baby, and Gabby’s medical curiosity kicked in, but as she wasn’t practicing, she kept her mouth shut. Then the baby began to cough, and the woman sat her up—pink blanket; it must be a girl—and patted her back. As the coughing went on and on, Gabby’s back straightened, instincts kicking in. The terrible spasm went on until the child nearly went cyanotic, but finally it abated.

“Ask them to test her for pertussis,” she said. The woman looked at her with big eyes.

“For what?”

“Whooping cough. It’s making a comeback. Just…in case they don’t think of it.”

“Oh…okay. Thank you.” She went on cooing worriedly at her baby, and Gabby felt an emptiness yawn in the pit of her stomach. No matter what, she didn’t want to give up medicine. It was only going to get harder, she knew, but…the woman sitting across from her with her sick child was a prime example of why she couldn’t imagine quitting. She knew she would be good, good enough that it was more than feeling as if being an MD was simply something she wanted to do. She felt needed, bureaucracy and bullshit aside.

Her mother fidgeted beside her, a bundle of nervous energy. Gabby could relate. She wanted to get up and walk around to relieve some of her own, but figured she should rest as much as possible.

Gianna had something to say; Gabby could tell. Before the woman could fidget off her seat, Gabby sighed and leaned closer to her. “Okay. Say what’s on your mind.”

“I want to know who the father is.”

“I told you it’s not anyone you know. But he knows I’m here. So…we’ll see if he comes.”

“I’d had such hopes, I guess, that once you went back to Dallas, you and Mark might patch things up.”

What the fuck? Gabby had to squelch a screech. “The man who dumped me at the altar? I can’t believe that would even cross your mind.” Let alone that it would cross Gabby’s own, even for a second. But it had, during a weak moment when she was craving the stability of her former life. That had all been an illusion, though, hadn’t it? Maybe her whole fucking life had been an illusion.

“I know it was a terrible thing to do. I simply thought you two were so good together.”

Yeah, she’d thought so too. Enough to accept his proposal and prepare to walk down the aisle to vow it in front of God and everyone. “It’s over,” she said.

“Indeed it is.”

Slowly, the room began to empty as people were called back, but it wasn’t long before any empty seats were filled with new patients. Her mother let it drop for a while, but Gabby had known her reprieve was temporary.

“Tell me about him,” Gianna said.

Gabby started to play stupid and ask, “Who?” But that was pointless. None of this was her mom’s fault; she should stop giving her grief.

“Brian knows him.” She didn’t have to look at her to know her feelings. The tension that crept into the air between them was palpable.

“The one who gave you the tattoo, I suppose.”

“Ding-ding-ding.” Gabby mimicked a prize-winning bell.

“You must’ve gone out with him that night. You didn’t come home.”

Good God, she hadn’t expected her to take that much of an interest. “Yep.”

“So you’re two months along.”

“Roughly.”

“And I take it he knows, if you told him you’re here. So let me ask this. Does he care?”

Why had two of the people closest to her jumped to the immediate conclusion that she’d hooked up with some deadbeat asshole who was going to drop her like a bad habit? She’d been drawn to Ian partly because he’d been so kind to her through a difficult time. Granted, you couldn’t base a person’s entire character on one chivalrous act, but it was a pretty good indication he had a heart. “He knows, and he cares. If anyone is holding back, Mom, it’s me. He’s younger than me, he lives here, and apparently he plans to stay here, so…I’m not sure how it’s going to turn out. We’re still figuring things out. Part of the reason I hadn’t told you and Dad is because I don’t have any answers for you yet.” Her gaze strayed toward the double doors leading back to the treatment rooms. “And who knows if we need them anymore.”

“Well, let’s think positively,” Gianna said. “If you want this, fine. You know we’ll support you no matter what. But it seems to me you don’t know what you want, Gabriella. If you cared about the path you were on, I’d have thought you’d be a little more careful about not sabotaging it.”

“Just so you know,” she said coldly, “we took precautions. They simply failed.” Gabby wanted to throw in that she could ask her two sons about that, but God, she didn’t even know about Brian yet. “Please stop stressing me out.”

“Fine, fine.” Gianna wiggled her foot impatiently, staring at the TV mounted in the corner. “I wish they’d hurry. This is ridiculous. You could hemorrhage to death out here and no one would care.”

“I doubt it. I’m going to the bathroom.” Carefully, Gabby stood. Her mom started to rise with her, but Gabby waved her back down. “I’m fine. I’ll be back in a minute.”

Once alone, she checked her pale reflection in the mirror. A wave of nausea took her over, and she struggled not to throw up, hoping she could find a vending machine with some crackers or something. An empty stomach seemed to make it worse, and she hadn’t eaten all day. Her bleeding wasn’t any worse, so that was a good sign. Idly, she checked her cell phone even though she knew she hadn’t heard it alert her to a call or message.

God, Ian. Where was he? Her mother’s question echoed in her head. Does he care? He seemed to. She’d love it if he swooped in here and put everyone’s fears to rest, including her own, but that was romantic tripe.

She stalled at the mirror because she didn’t want to go back out there to her mom’s questions and opinions. A moment later, though, the door opened, and Gianna stuck her head in. “They called you back.”

Taking a deep breath, Gabby tossed her phone in her purse and followed her out to the waiting area.

Chapter Fifteen

The door closed behind the exiting client Ian had been working on for the past two hours, and he allowed himself a nice, long stretch to work out the kinks in his muscles. There had been a steady stream of business today, and they’d had to start putting people on a waiting list or set appointments for later, but right now there were no pressing matters, so he headed back to the break room. Brian was in there pouring the fifth cup of coffee Ian had seen him drink today, even though it was late afternoon.

“Doing all right, brother?” Ian asked, going to the fridge to get an energy drink. He needed his own jolt.

“Ah, God, dude. I need an IV,” Brian said, replacing the carafe with one hand and gulping the black coffee with the other.

“Jesus. I’d say so.”

“She wanted watermelon Oreos last night. I didn’t know they even fucking made watermelon Oreos. But three o’clock in the fucking morning, I’m out looking for them.” Candace’s intense cravings had been a source of amusement for everyone at the studio.

Not for the first time, guilt ate into him for the secret he was keeping from his boss and good friend. But when was the best time to tell your boss/friend you’d knocked up his sister? Certainly not when he was half-dead on his feet because of his own pregnant girlfriend’s midnight cravings.

“And you know, I’m not complaining,” he clarified. “She doesn’t ask me to do this stuff, she just has to say, ‘Some watermelon Oreos would be awesome’, and I’m gone. Really, I can’t wait for what she wants next. It’s pretty damn funny.”

“That’s good.” Ian cranked the tab on his can and drank in lieu of saying more. Had Gabby had any wild cravings? He wouldn’t know. He’d do the same for her, though, if she stayed with him. But that would never fucking happen. Dr. Asshole no doubt had a mansion on a hill, and Ian expected her to shack up with him in his one-bedroom apartment? What a laugh.

As he lowered the can from his lips, he noticed his cell phone sitting on the counter next to the microwave. He must’ve forgotten it there when he’d heated up a pizza pocket before they got so busy.

Stepping around Brian, he retrieved it and checked the waiting text message.

And felt his knees almost give out. “Jesus. Oh, fucking hell.”

“Hey, what is it?” Brian asked.

Ian looked the guy in the face and couldn’t lie to him anymore. Not now. Not about this. “Your sister is at the hospital.”

“Wait. What?”

Ignoring him, Ian checked his watch. “Fuck, that was almost three hours ago. Brian, man, there’s a lot of shit I need to tell you but—I gotta go.”

Brian caught his arm as he bolted toward the door. “Hold up just one goddamn minute. Why is she at the hospital, and why is she telling you before she tells me?”

He needed to come clean, but there wasn’t time to get into it now. She’d told him she was headed to the ER but hadn’t let him know any results. God only knew what she was going through or what was happening. He had to get there now, and he would go through the guy if he had to. Ian yanked away, looking Brian straight in his blue eyes. There was no way of sugarcoating it. “Your sister is pregnant. It’s mine. And she’s having complications. I need to be there.”

It might very well be rage building behind that stare, but he hoped Brian was only trying to come to terms with the words he’d heard fall from Ian’s mouth like stones in a still pond. That once he did, he’d relax and take it in stride.

But then he spoke. “I really, really want to knock you the fuck out right now.” So much for hope.

“Hey, I’ll give you a free shot later, man, whatever you want, but right now I gotta go.” He let his hand shoot out to clutch Brian’s shoulder, trying to insinuate his urgency into the words. “She needs me. She wants me there. Come on, you gotta know how this would feel.”

“All right. You go.” Brian’s voice vibrated with barely repressed fury, and his jaw was tight enough that he could probably crunch glass with his molars. “And you let me know what’s going on. Then you and me? We’re gonna have a long fucking chat.”

Ian didn’t look forward to that. But whatever it took to get him out of here, to get away from the accusation in his friend’s eyes. Whatever could get him to Gabriella as fast as possible.

“Where the fuck you goin’, dude?” Ghost yelled after him as he ran through the front of the parlor toward the door. He didn’t stop to answer. Brian could tell whoever he wanted. Ian didn’t give a shit.

He broke a few traffic laws getting to the hospital, using his bike to his advantage to weave through cars. He wouldn’t do her any good dead, but every time he slowed down, his frustration reached a fever pitch. Cussing a blue streak, he finally made it through and wheeled into the hospital parking lot.

People probably thought he was insane, and he was sure he scared the lady at the front desk to death. She directed him toward the back, no doubt to get him out of her face. Another nurse pointed out the room Gabby was in, and he sprinted toward it, halting in the doorway like he’d hit an invisible wall.

She lay partially upright in the hospital bed, her gorgeous dark hair stark against the white sheets. She saw him, and her face lit up, and nothing else mattered…until the couple standing beside her bed turned and looked at him.

Shit. Obviously her parents. Even if Gabriella hadn’t looked like a younger version of the woman, the way they both stared at him as if they wanted to rip his fucking spine out was a dead giveaway.

“Ian, I presume?” her dad rumbled, moving toward him. He was a big guy, gray-suited and authoritative, and Ian contemplated backing up. But instead of delivering the punch Brian wanted to give him (and the dude did look at him a lot like Brian had), the man stuck his hand out.

“Yes, sir,” Ian said, cautiously shaking it.

“Alex Ross.”

“Pleasure to meet you.”

Mr. Ross didn’t return the sentiment, but that was all right. He was just glad not to get coldcocked. Mr. Ross nodded and held an arm toward his wife, introducing her as Gianna. Gabby watched, amusement lightening the worry in her eyes. “Well,” her dad said at last, “let’s give the kids some privacy.”

“We’ll be in the coffee shop,” Gabby’s mother told her, leaning over to stroke her daughter’s forehead. “See you soon.”

A moment later, the two of them were alone, and Ian suddenly remembered: Holy fucking hell, I hate hospitals. But the itchy anxiety wasn’t creeping under his skin this time—all that mattered was the woman on the bed, who hopefully still carried his child.

He didn’t know what to do or what to say. Now that he was here, he didn’t want to know what had happened.

“You made it,” she said finally, holding her hand toward him.

“Yeah,” he softly replied, awkwardly running his fingers through his hair as he approached her bedside. “Drove over a few cars on my way, nearly gave a couple of pedestrians heart attacks.” She chuckled, and he nearly broke. He seized up the hand she’d offered. “Baby, I am so fucking sorry. I left my phone in the break room, and I was with a client. I got here as soon as I saw what had happened. Are you okay? Is everything…okay?”

“They’re thinking so,” she said, rubbing her free hand over her stomach. Her voice sounded so sweet right then. “They did an ultrasound, and everything looked good.” She smiled. “I could see the little heart beating. Just flickering away.”

He stroked the hair from her forehead. It felt so good against his fingers, he kept doing it. “I wish I could’ve seen it with you.”

“They want to monitor my bleeding before they send me home, and we’re waiting on labs. I might be looking at bed rest if it doesn’t stop, but if it does, I should be good to go. Sometimes this just happens, I guess.”

He sighed, relief a balm to his every sense. She was so beautiful, a dark angel. Drinking in the sight of her, her emerald eyes, her lips that slightly trembled, he wanted to grab her and never let her go. “I might have, um, told your brother.”

“Well, after this, I couldn’t expect it to be a secret for very long.” She winced. “How did he take it?”

“I got away unscathed, but just barely.”

“Leave him to me.”

“No. I’ll handle him myself.”

“Gotta be men about it, I guess?”

He chuckled. “Something like that. Gabriella…” She gazed at him expectantly, color flushing along her delicate cheekbones. He moved his stroking fingers to the curve of her eyebrow. “I’m…so glad everything is okay.”

“Me too.”

“I know I don’t have a fucking thing to offer you.” His voice nearly cracked, but he struggled to keep it steady. “I know you’re a woman who has it all in the palm of your hand.”

She lifted one of those hands and put it to his cheek. “Maybe now I do,” she said, smiling. His heart jumped and pounded hard. “I’m so sorry for acting like I wanted to shut you out from the start,” she went on. “When this happened, all I could think about was how I wished you were with me. I knew something had to come up for you not to be here. I was so scared I might lose the baby, and I kept imagining having to tell you—” She stopped and shook her head, closing her eyes against tears. They escaped anyway, getting caught in her spiky lashes. He gently stroked them away with his thumb until her erratic breathing returned to normal.

“We still don’t know each other very well, sweetie, but I’m ready to give this thing a shot if you are. It might work and it might not, but I can’t stand never knowing. I want to be around. If you wake up craving weird shit in the middle of the night, I want to be the one to go get it for you. If you have to go on bed rest, I want to be the one taking care of you.”

“Are you saying…?”

“I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I’ll stay. I’ll move. We’ll work it out. I just want to be with you. If I’m scaring the shit out of you with all this, I don’t mean to. Just…please don’t keep me at arm’s length.”

Her tremulous smile warmed his heart. “Good, because I don’t think I can stay under my parents’ roof anymore. Not that they’ll kick me out. They’ll just drive me nuts.”

Was she serious, or was he hearing things? Maybe he’d hoped so hard for this that he’d finally gone insane. “You want to stay with me?”

“Is that weird? Too soon, right? Ugh. I’m sorry.”

“No, no, it’s…it’s what I was getting at. I can’t believe you want to do it, though.”

“What better way to see if it’ll work than finding out if we drive each other nuts?”

“There’s one thing I want to make clear, though.” When she frowned at him, he sighed and dragged a chair from the corner to her bedside. Her fingers were warm and supple as he reclaimed her hand in his. “I realize none of this would be happening with us if you hadn’t gotten pregnant.”

He lifted his gaze from her hands to her face, counting on her to be honest with him. She didn’t let him down. “You’re right about that. No use denying it. It’s not that I wouldn’t have liked to see you again. I just…wouldn’t have let myself become distracted by you if I didn’t have to.” She looked down at her belly with a chuckle. “Seems someone else had other plans.”

“Our circumstances have kind of forced us into action, but I don’t want that to be the reason you’re with me. Not the only reason, anyway.”

“Trust me. It’s not. And I don’t think hormones are clouding my judgment or anything either,” she said.

“When do you leave for Dallas?”

Cringing, she raised a hand to her forehead. “Next week. And there’s so much to do. I mean, depending on how this turns out today. If I’m deemed high risk or anything, I couldn’t go back to school now if I wanted to.”

He was so fucking tired of feeling guilty, but he couldn’t do anything to stop the gnawing ache of it in his chest. All the girl had wanted was a night of abandon. She’d chosen him—and holy shit, thank God she had and not one of those other bastards at her pool table. Now, because of that, her world had been upended. “I’m sorry, baby. So sorry to interfere with your dreams like this.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “I have another dream now.”

The partially closed door swung all the way open, and a nurse strolled in. Ian stood and moved his chair, feeling uncomfortable as hell as she checked on Gabby. But he didn’t want to leave her. If he was in this thing, then he was in it. He’d have to get over his mild phobia of all things medical, because it looked like it might become a big part of his life for the next little while.

The nurse made a note on her chart and told them the doctor would be in soon. As she went back out, Gabby shifted in the bed, and he was at her side in a heartbeat. “Do you need anything?”

“To get out of here would be spectacular,” she said dryly.

“I’m with you there.”

The door opened again, and her parents came into the room with their Styrofoam coffee cups. Instinctively, he wanted to snatch his hands off their daughter—he’d caused her enough trouble by putting his hands on her, after all—but she held on tight to him.

“Any news?” her mother asked.

“Nothing really,” Gabby said. “A nurse just came by and told us the doctor would be in soon.”

“Oh, good. Maybe they’ll discharge you.”

Gabby and her mother went on talking, but Mr. Ross stared silent daggers at Ian. Jesus, he looked like a man who could fuck your world into oblivion if he wanted. This was Brian’s dad? Poor guy. Earl probably would’ve wept and bowed down to this dude.

“You work for Brian?” Mr. Ross asked.

Yes, and please allow me to continue to do so for now, if he’ll have me. “Yes, sir.”

He nodded and took a sip of his coffee but didn’t comment further. Ian figured he knew what he was thinking, though. Fucking little horny-ass bastard who nailed all of his clients and had finally found a way to screw his way into the Ross family. Goddamn, he was so gonna get fired, if not literally chased out of town. He racked his brain for something to say, but what was there? Anything that came to mind would probably make Mr. Ross feel as if Ian had only confirmed his suspicions. He didn’t want to spout anything about undying love or devotion to Gabby. It would sound fake and lame at this point.

All he could do was try to prove himself. Let his actions speak for him. It was the way he’d lived most of his life.

“Brian knows,” Gabby said to her parents, pulling him from his thoughts. “Ian had to tell him when he left work to come here.”

“Really?” her mom said. “Well, we might as well not keep Evan in the dark either.”

“I’ll call him tonight.”

Mr. Ross raised an eyebrow at Ian. “How did Brian take it?”

“Not well. I had to tell him he could punch me later.”

“Would you let him?”

“I guess if he felt that strongly about it.”

That got a chuckle out of him. “I wouldn’t worry.”

Why the hell did everyone assume he was scared of Brian? “Oh, I’m not.” That got an even bigger chuckle out of him.

The doctor came into the room soon after, and though Ian was apprehensive about what he would tell them, at least it put an effective end to the awkward conversation. Happily, he had good news. Her bleeding had subsided, her ultrasound looked great, her blood work was solid. She could go home and take it easy for a few days and watch for any other weirdness.

As they left the hospital after the discharge paperwork, her parents walked on ahead and Gabby hung back with Ian, lacing her fingers through his. In his entire life, he couldn’t remember a feeling as sweet as her being at his side. No more secrets, nothing to hide.

Chapter Sixteen

Gabby rode back to her parents’ house with her mother while Ian went back to work. The entire time, Gianna remained quiet and tense—not a good sign where she was concerned. If she was angry, you knew it. For her to be bottling her emotions, stewing in silence, it meant she was up to something.

But Gabby was too exhausted to even puzzle over it, and she certainly didn’t want to get into whatever was going on in her mother’s mind. As soon as she got home, she eased her way up the stairs—waving away Gianna’s offered assistance the entire time—and crawled into her bed. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, she was out.

Darkness greeted her when her eyes opened. Fuzzily, she attempted to focus on the clock, groaning when she saw it was almost midnight. No doubt Ian had been trying to contact her, but her phone was in her purse, which was across the room by the door. An earthquake probably wouldn’t have awakened her. She slid from the bed and got her phone.

Sure enough, a missed call, three text messages and a voice mail. He was worried about her. She dialed him back, and he answered right away.

“Are you okay? Fuck. I wanted to grab Brian by the throat and make him tell me where you live.”

“I’m fine. I fell asleep. How’s Brian?”

“Barely speaking to me, but he hasn’t fired me or hit me yet. Guess he’s waiting to cool off before we have the ‘long fucking chat’ he promised.”

“Are you home?”

“Yeah. I want you here, baby.”

“Then I’m on my way. I’ll bring some clothes.”

She was going to grab Brian herself. How dare he? As she threw a few days’ worth of her clothes in an overnight bag, she contemplated calling the little shit, but then remembered she was about to be staying only a few apartments down from him. What she had to say was better said face-to-face. Damn him.

Gabby swept her arm across the cosmetics on her vanity, shoving them all in her bag, then zipped it up and changed into a cami and more yoga pants—which would most likely be her uniform for the next seven months. And probably for months after. Slinging the strap of her bag over her shoulder, she headed out the door and repaired her sloppy ponytail as she took the stairs down.

Her mother’s voice stopped her as she reached for the front doorknob. “Where are you going?”

Whirling, she saw Gianna sitting in the parlor in full view of the door, looking as if she’d been there awhile. It wasn’t like her to stay up late. She was dressed in silky lounge pants, and a half-empty glass of wine sat on the end table beside her.

“I’m going to Ian’s.”

Her mom’s gaze drifted to the heavy bag bumping against Gabby’s hip. “For how long?”

“I don’t know. I need to get out of here for a while.”

“Why? Have we done something wrong besides worry ourselves sick about you?”

“Please don’t—”

Gianna put up a quelling hand. “Do not try to tell me not to worry about you. I don’t know why you can’t simply talk to us. Is sneaking out like this the way to handle things?”

“I’m not sneaking anywhere. I fell asleep, and I didn’t mean to. What I meant to do was rest until Ian told me he was heading home, and then go see him.” She lifted her free shoulder in a shrug. “It just worked out this way.”

“So you’re leaving. You’re moving in with this man.”

“I’m not moving in with him. But I want to spend some time with the father of my child, yes. I don’t get it—wouldn’t you consider that a good thing?”

“Just be careful, Gabriella.”

That made her laugh. “I think the worst has already happened, Mom.”

Gianna shook her head and stood, collecting her wineglass. “Not necessarily,” she said, walking past her without another word.

So much for her mother being excited about another grandchild. She honestly hadn’t expected this. Sighing, she let herself out into the heavy, humid night air.

Five minutes later, Ian’s door swung open, and he immediately reached to take her bag from her shoulder. Before he could do anything with it, she pitched herself into his arms and put her mouth on his, the very thing she’d wanted to do ever since he’d walked into her room at the hospital.

“Mmm,” he groaned as their lips parted at last, then sighed as he buried his face in the hair at her neck. “I’m glad you’re here.” She held him tight, savoring the safety of his arms.

“Me too,” she whispered. But there were things to clear up, a conversation she was burning to have, and she needed to get it out before she exploded. Not with him, though. With her little-shit brother. “First thing,” she said, drawing back from the comfort of his embrace and missing it immediately. “Let’s go see Brian.”

“It’s late—”

“I don’t give a damn. You know he’s still up.”

“Or out scrounging for watermelon Oreos.”

“What? Gross. Let’s go.”

He followed her purposeful steps as she headed to Brian and Candace’s apartment, but he tried to talk her out of it the whole time. She wasn’t having it. She pounded on their door until it flew open and her brother stood there, shirtless and pissed off.

“What the fuck, Gab?”

She glanced back to make sure Ian was still behind her. He was, but he looked rather pale. She stuck her finger in her brother’s face just as Brian was opening his mouth to say more. “Do you mean to stand there and tell me that after everything you went through to end up with that sweet girl in there, after you knocked the shit out of her brother, after you pretty much did with her whatever the fuck you wanted no matter what her family thought, you’re going to give him shit for being with me? Really, Brian? Are you going to stand there and tell me that?” She’d been poking him in his naked chest to punctuate each point she made, but now she cupped her hand behind her ear and gestured at him to bring it with her other. “Come on. Say it. Let me hear you try to say that to me. Right now.”

Brian stood gaping. No words came. She smacked him on his inked pec. “I thought so. Now that hopefully you realize what a hypocrite you’re being, I expect you to not be a shit to him anymore.”

Brian glanced at Ian and then waved toward her. “That’s all yours, man. My condolences, and don’t say I never warned you.” And he shut the door, muttering, “Fucking crazy” under his breath.

Gabby chuckled and turned. “There. Handled.”

Ian’s eyebrows couldn’t have climbed much higher in his forehead. “You weren’t kidding, were you?”

There had been too much excitement today. From the scare over the baby to the tense words with Brian—both Ian’s and later Gabby’s. Ian could tell she was on edge. He was no doctor, but he knew that wasn’t good for her. She needed to relax, but here she was, running around to meet him late at night, fighting what should be his fucking battles with her brother.

Then again, Brian was her family, not his, so he guessed he didn’t have much say in how those two interacted with each other. He just wished he weren’t right in the damn middle of it.

“What do you say we get out of here?” he asked once he’d surmised she was about to pace a hole in his carpet.

“Hmm?” she asked distractedly.

“I don’t know. Go for a ride or something. I’m the new kid in town, remember? I don’t get out much except to hang with the same people I see every day.”

She scoffed, fingering a long, dark strand of hair from her ponytail. Then she sighed and dropped beside him onto the couch, close enough that the side of her warm thigh pressed into his. “I’m pretty sure you’ve seen all there is to see.”

“Hey,” he said, gently turning her chin toward him so she had to look into his eyes. Was it his imagination that she melted a bit into his touch? “You’re here, but I get the feeling you’re not, you know?”

“Yeah,” she admitted. He could stare into those clear green eyes all night.

“So let’s drop out of life for a while. Even if it’s only for a couple of hours, we’ll pretend it’s just you and me.”

The corners of her lips curled up in a most enticing way, got him thinking about all sorts of things he’d like to do but couldn’t. Wouldn’t push anything on her. God, she was so fucking beautiful. So beyond anything he’d ever dared to pursue. “Where will we go?” she asked.

“I’ll drive, you navigate. Show me your life here. I want to know everything about you.”

“I was pretty much a nerd, Ian. What life I’ve had didn’t start until I went away to college.”

She chuckled as his brows drew together. Someone as smart, sexy and seductive as she was, describing herself as a nerd with no life? He’d imagined a high school career filled with throngs of admirers and slavering suitors. “I expected that you were Homecoming Queen or something.”

“Ha. No. It wasn’t my thing to really care what other people thought about me, which is like the kiss of death around here, and I damn sure didn’t run around trying to be everyone’s friend or make people like me. I wasn’t popular. In fact, I was probably universally hated.”

“I find that hard to believe. They were most likely intimidated.”

Her little smile bloomed into that full-force grin that tugged at his heart in all the right ways. “Am I intimidating to you?”

“Hell, no,” he lied, and she laughed. Yeah, she could be, but he could handle her.

“All right, Ian, I’ll give you the grand tour, if you really want it.”

He only wanted to be with her—only her, not her and all the troubles whirling around in her head. “I do.”

“Let’s go.”

Minutes later, they cruised in silence down all but empty streets, past darkened buildings. He drove while Gabby mostly stared out her window.

It did make him a little crazy to live in a town where there wasn’t much to do except catch a movie or a beer at the bar. Not that he’d been one to revel in the incessant hustle and bustle of city life, but it had been nice to have the option.

“Do you find yourself going a little stir crazy, being back here?” he asked, trying to get her talking.

“Not really. I can function in both. It doesn’t take me long to adjust either way.” She pointed ahead. “Up there on the right? My high school.”

Jesus, it was small. It must’ve been impossible to blend into the background at a place like that… Something he thought he’d become somewhat of an expert on during his own school days. He hadn’t been able to have many friends, because inevitably they’d start to wonder why they couldn’t hang at his place every now and then, or why he often couldn’t go out on the weekends. Because his stepdad had been such a drunken asshole, Ian couldn’t subject anyone else to it, and he’d felt a duty to protect his mother from it as best he could.

His knuckles tightened on Gabby’s steering wheel as he fought down the rising tide of memories. “What’s your most embarrassing moment?” he asked on impulse. This was about her, not about him.

“Oh God.” She laughed. “I made it through most of my school years without very many. Then, graduation night, I wore some heels I wasn’t used to, and I tripped and fell while I was walking up to accept my diploma.”

“You did not.”

“I did. Believe me. I’m sure Brian still has a picture of me lying on my face. It was all I could do to get up and move forward, and not turn and run…” She trailed off into silence, then sighed. He was pretty sure he knew what she was thinking. Reaching over, he laced his fingers through hers.

“You got up, and you’re moving forward,” he said, and out of the corner of his eye saw her smile. “More than once.”

“It was the same kind of feeling when Mark did that to me. Like I was back there, flat on my face in front of the entire town. ‘What do I do now? How can I face everyone?’ All at once, I realized how much I did care what everyone thought.” Her fingers tightened around his. “You know, you’re the only person on earth I feel I can talk to about this. I wonder why?”

He didn’t have an answer for her, because he couldn’t get past the knowledge he was the luckiest sonofabitch alive right now. Beneath that, however, another thought festered, upsetting the glow her words had given him. “Are you feeling the same way about everyone finding out you’re pregnant?”

She tilted her head pensively, and in between looking at the road, he stole glances at her as she formulated her reply. A passing streetlamp fleetingly lit her flawless profile, the slight purse of her lips, casting a sheen over her hair. Yep, luckiest bastard alive to be sitting with her, no matter what came out of her mouth. “I’m not, really. I mean, it’s crossed my mind. But it’s not my primary concern.”

“What did your parents say after we left the hospital?”

“Honestly, not much. Which concerns me, truth be known. I’m sure they’ve been having it out between themselves all night about it, and I’ll learn the verdict soon enough.” She chuckled, but it didn’t hide her nervousness.

Fuck. She didn’t deserve this. Above all else, he wanted her happy and relaxed…but how was he supposed to get her that way? It was impossible. Every turn their conversation took led deeper into gloom.

“I shouldn’t have asked that,” he told her. “We’re supposed to be shutting everyone else out for a couple of hours. I forgot. I’m sorry.”

She surprised him by turning to him and grinning. “We can pretend we’re an established, happily married couple out on a romantic date to celebrate the life we’ve created.”

The image hit him like a kick in the gut, and his throat closed up for a moment. Was that the future she envisioned? Maybe she’d just put into very blunt words the only things she needed to be relaxed and happy. “If you want,” he said lamely, then turned away and gritted his teeth in a cringe of frustration. Fuck, fuck, fuck!

He could ask her to marry him—and she could laugh in his face and say her words had been a joke. Maybe it was a preposterous, old-fashioned idea. They’d only today made the decision to give their relationship a try. To think a woman like her…

The warmth of her hand left his, and he drew a quick breath. Had he just let something momentous slip right through his fingers? No matter how he tried to wrestle his thoughts into something coherent, he couldn’t. She’d released his hand to turn the radio up a little.

“Are you a metal fan like my brother?” she asked.

It took him a moment to switch gears. Here he was contemplating forever with her, and now she was talking about music.

“I’m more a classic metal fan. Sabbath, Maiden, AC/DC.”

“I can handle that,” she said. “You and my dad have some common ground after all—he’s a huge Led Zeppelin fan, anyway. Hey…take a right up ahead. I’ll show you where everyone used to go to make out.” Despite her teasing tone and the pinch she gave his arm, he couldn’t shake the feeling he’d just majorly fucked up.

A few miles down that dark highway, she guided him through a maze of back roads that finally turned to dirt—Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday the 13th-type shit. Trees towered on either side of them, blocking out the black sky, and he began to pray they didn’t meet another vehicle, because this road wouldn’t give them much room to pass. He wondered if he’d hear dueling banjos if he cracked the window open. “Jesus,” he said as they crept past a falling-in farmhouse that must have been there since the turn of the century—last century.

“Is this your first time riding dirties, city boy?” she teased. “You grow up here, that’s all there is to do sometimes. Not to be confused with ‘riding dirty’, of course.”

“It would seem that stopping to make out anywhere around here is only inviting an ax murderer to chop your head off.”

“Well…just wait.” She lapsed into silence and watched the landscape creep by. It was intermittently flat and moonlit, then choked with foliage. “I’ve always wanted to go into a place like that,” she said as they passed yet another abandoned, decrepit old house, lonely in the moonlight. “Not sure why.”

“It would be pretty cool. Until fuckin’ Jason shows up with a machete.”

“It’s all fun and games until someone gets decapitated.”

“Right?”

Another bumpy, dusty mile later, the road widened and the trees thinned out until a spectacular lake came into view, calm and glassy in the still wind. “Wow,” he said, trying not to look so he didn’t drive off the road.

“Pretty, isn’t it? Keep going… See that turn-off up there? Take that. There’s a great view up on that hill.”

It was deserted, so apparently it wasn’t the prime make-out spot anymore. He brought the car to a stop, and Gabby popped open her door and bounded out. Ian followed, taking in the scenery, the pale roadway the light of the moon made across the surface of the water. Out here, far removed from the lights and noise of civilization, there was no sound but the symphony of frogs and crickets and the gentle lapping of the water on the shore.

“I haven’t been here in so long,” she said, walking around to slide up on the hood of her car. He took his place beside her. “And don’t worry,” she went on, nudging his arm with her elbow, “it was never to make out. I had this one friend who was eternally convinced her boyfriend was cheating on her, and we had to drive by here every other night to check if he was here.”

Okay, so maybe he had felt a pang of jealousy at the thought of her here with some other dude. He could admit it. Laughing at being called on it, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her closer to his side. “Yeah? Well, maybe we should change that.”

“Ooh, I could go for that.”

Her breath caressed his mouth a half second before her lips did, warm and softer than the light breeze. So sweet. She sighed and melted into his kiss, and he could hardly take it—but then she gasped and jerked away.

Moonlight sparked in her deep green eyes. “I’ve always wanted to make out here to Mazzy Star’s ‘Fade Into You’. I’ve got it on my phone!” She leaped excitedly off the hood and ran for the door while he laughed and shook his head.

“Whatever you want, baby.” He admired the scenery while she synced the phone to her car, and then the dreamy strains filled the air, adding to the music of the night.

Grinning, she rejoined him, whispered, “Perfect,” and put her lips back to his. All at once, he was swept away…by her, by the song, by the beauty around them, and every ounce of restraint he possessed stretched to the breaking point with the need to tear through her walls, take her, make her his…wipe out every bad memory of what her ex had done to her. Replace them all with good. But he didn’t know if he could give her the kind of good she deserved. The absolute best of everything. How could he do that when he had nothing?

She broke away from him and stared up into his eyes, her fingers stroking the back of his neck. “You haven’t shared much.”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “Nothing much to share.”

“What’s one thing you would want to pass on to our baby?”

From himself? God, he couldn’t think of anything. A lump lodged in his throat, and he could hardly breathe around it. Or maybe it was the sight of her, damn near ethereal in the moonlight, looking at him as if she wanted all the secrets of his soul laid out before her.

He hoped their baby was an exact replica of her. Not so much of him.

“I don’t know about passing anything on,” he said. “I’d rather build something brand-new. New traditions. New things that maybe he or she would want to pass on someday.”

“I like that,” she said softly; then her mouth curved in a smile. “You have your love of baseball, if nothing else, though.”

“Oh yeah. Definitely that. This kid will be a Rangers fan for sure.”

“Then we’ll be all right.” Her lips sought his again, and it was pure magic. Her long hair slid through his fingers like silk as he pulled her closer, ever closer. Here, surrounded by nothing but nature and moonlight and an almost miraculously apt song, he really could pretend they were the only two people in the world. And he liked it.

Hours later, at Ian’s apartment, Gabby snuggled closer to him on the bed. Already, she’d draped one arm and one leg over him, and it didn’t feel close enough. It wasn’t like her to fall so hard so fast, but it also wasn’t like her to be in denial for so long. It was happening. His steady heartbeat beneath her ear could become the rhythm of her life, and the variables and unknowns didn’t seem to matter as much when she was right here.

Light from the TV flickered in the dark room, and he chuckled at whatever was happening onscreen. Despite her extended nap, she was nearly dozing. When he pulled her closer to slide a kiss across her forehead, though, she couldn’t resist tilting her face up to get the full impact of that mouth.

Warmth spread through her as his lips met hers. Her heart jerked out of its lazy pace and settled into a throbbing pulse that awakened the dormant parts of her. He tilted his head, angling deeper, his tongue seeking entrance. She gave it, but he teased, taking a taste of her and pulling back until she was forced to chase after him.

“Baby,” he murmured against her lips as she reclaimed them, “I’m trying to keep my hands off you as much as I can.”

She whimpered her distress, stroking her hand over his hair. “Please don’t.”

“You know the doctor said take it easy for a few days.”

“I know.” Gabby pouted, nibbling his bottom lip and tugging it gently. “That doesn’t mean you have to keep your hands off me.”

“If I start touching you, I won’t want to stop.”

“You don’t have to stop. You can touch me all night. Just touch me.”

“Ahh,” he groaned, catching on. “But that’ll be torture.”

“Oh, I know. Such sweet torture.” She let her hand play across his bare chest, her fingers sliding against his nipple rings. He gave a shudder as she brushed them, and she giggled. “I never thought I liked these much until I saw them on you.”

“Glad I could sway your thinking.” He kissed her deep, rolling her under him, careful not to put his weight on her. Always so careful. She cupped his face with both hands and melted beneath his kiss, let him plunder, met his exploring tongue with a thorough exploration of her own. And he was so sweet, so, so sweet. His hand slipped under the hem of the T-shirt she wore now—one of his, actually—pulling it up as his fingers journeyed to the underside of her breast. She arched into him, seeking the contact. Drowning in the luscious intimacy of his kiss.

A few quick adjustments and he had stripped the shirt off her. “Oh yes,” she whispered, needing the closeness, needing his skin against hers. She ached, throbbed for him, and the more she tried to keep arousal at bay and just enjoy the simple beauty of his big hands on her, the more it warmed and bloomed in her core. He stroked her nipple with his thumb, then rolled the tight, ultrasensitive bud between his fingers.

“God,” she breathed, squeezing her eyes closed. “I can hardly stand it.”

At her words, he released and circled with his thumb again. When he suddenly chuckled, she opened her eyes in surprise. “I think they’re even bigger,” he said, and she joined in his amusement.

“I think you’re right. They feel freaking gigantic.”

“So amazing,” he said. “Really, I never thought much about all this before. I can’t imagine what it must be like for you, going through all these changes.”

She ached for a different reason than the passion he stirred. This should’ve been the most joyous time of her life, experiencing all these changes… She wanted it to be. By God, she would make it be, despite what everyone else thought. She didn’t want to admit her mother’s disapproval was weighing on her, but it was. Still, she didn’t have to let it ruin this moment.

He moved down the length of her body, kissing a trail to her navel. Her belly was still flat, but she’d noticed a little tightness in her jeans the past few days. She couldn’t wait to have a bump. Her sister-in-law’s had been so cute that Gabby had hardly been able to keep her hands off it whenever she saw her. Yeah, it might’ve been a little weird, but she didn’t care.

Ian’s tongue lapped a circle around her belly button while his hands still cradled her breasts, and she moaned and rolled her head back and forth on the pillow.

This continued on, and she wondered if she’d bitten off more than she could chew making this request. His hands on her were no longer sweet torture—they were purely torture. Her inner muscles clenched and longed intensely for him. Just when she was about to beg him to take her, though, he coaxed her over on her stomach.

His strong hands kneaded her back muscles, releasing tension that had been pent up for…God only knew how long. Before she found out she was pregnant. Before she came here. Hell, probably before she was dumped at the altar. She groaned into the pillow as his fingers dug deep, finding areas of tightness she hadn’t even known about. His hands had always been amazingly gifted, but now she thought he must have some wizardry in those fingers.

He didn’t stop with her back, easing down and massaging her hips and buttocks, then the backs of her thighs and her calves. He should’ve been a massage therapist. As he bent one of her legs up and began plying the sole of her foot with that wonderfully soothing pressure, she told him so.

He chuckled, a dark sound that made her think he wasn’t unaffected by this either. “Maybe I’ll pursue that if your brother and I find we can’t get along anymore.”

“I would help you all I could with anatomy.”

“Awesome. Maybe I’ve found another calling.”

“I don’t know…I might get jealous to think someone else…unhh, God…is getting this too.”

“You would keep me too busy doing it to you for me to have any sort of career at it.”

“Mmm. You might be right. I’m so paying you well for this.”

“You don’t have to do that.” His lips grazed her left calf, and she smiled into her pillow. Oh, yeah. If she’d had to get pregnant from a one-night stand, she could’ve done a lot worse than him. “Can’t get enough of your skin,” he whispered. One hand stroked up the back of her leg and squeezed her cheek through her panties. His mouth followed his fingers’ progression, and she shivered. He licked a wet trail up her inner thigh, and she wriggled her legs apart.

The breath from his chuckle gusted against her skin. “No.”

“Please?”

“After we make sure you’re okay for a few days, I’ll let you have it. I’ll lick it and suck on it until you come apart.” He moved up, allowing his hand to roam over her back. She thought of the tattoo there, of his fingers caressing the soft, freshly healed lines.

“Are you trying to kill me?”

“I’ll slide in slow, make you feel every inch. I’ll drag it out even slower than I put it in. I won’t go faster no matter how much you beg.”

“I hate you so much,” she moaned. His low, sultry voice and his words had brought a visceral reaction. Her pussy squeezed in helpless need. He gathered her hair in his hand, arranging it on her back, then buried his face in it and breathed, his chest expanding next to her. His fingers slid along her bare arm crooked over the pillow.

“I want it as much as you do,” he growled. “So fucking much.”

She didn’t know how that was possible. He wasn’t OD’ing on preggo hormones. He moved his head up and shifted over, stretching out beside her. She turned her head to face him, watching the light from the TV flicker over his face, in the depths of his eyes. In the dark she might not have been able to tell, but the dim illumination highlighted something in those eyes, an ache it pained her to observe. He continued stroking her hair, her face. The muscles of his throat constricted as he swallowed.

There was little doubt in her mind he had something to say, and whatever it was, it was troubling him. She wanted to know. She needed to know. But before she asked, she sent up a fervent prayer it didn’t ruin this. “Ian. What is it?”

“I went to see my mother the other day. To let her know about the baby.”

“And?”

“I think I told you we’re not close because of my stepdad. I guess we’re even less close than I thought. It’s…complicated. I’m worried about her, being there all by herself, and I know she’s been depressed ever since he died. I don’t have any brothers or sisters, and I thought hearing she had a grandchild on the way might cheer her up. It didn’t. If anything, it made it worse. She doesn’t seem to even want me in her life anymore. I offered to bring her here, help her out as much as I could. She wasn’t hearing it.”

“Oh, baby.” She put her hand to his strong jaw, stroking the stubble there with her thumb. How? How could a woman turn her back on a son as wonderful as he seemed to be? It didn’t make any sense. The slow burn of anger crept through her blood. She wished she could get five minutes alone with the woman. He probably didn’t want her input on the situation, but still, she was glad he was finally opening up a little. “I’m sorry. I just don’t understand.”

“I haven’t told you the whole story. Hell, I’ve never told anyone. She blamed me for his dying.” Sighing, he took her hand from his cheek and pressed a kiss into her palm. He drew a breath, and her heart gave a little flip. “We were fighting when he collapsed with a heart attack. I’ve tried to tell her so many times he was unhealthy to start with, that he was a ticking time bomb after all the years of alcohol abuse, but she won’t listen. She thought he could’ve had more time on earth if I’d just minded my own business and not gotten between them that day.”

“Jesus.” No other words would string together in a coherent thought.

“I try to remember that she was kept under his thumb and emotionally beaten down for so long that it’s skewed her perception or some shit, but I never once thought after it was all over and he was gone that it would still be this way between us.”

All at once, her complaints about her own parents seemed frivolous. In fact, she would go have a long talk with her mother tomorrow. “I know you love your mom very much.”

“I do. I really do.”

“If you want, after the baby comes, we’ll go see her. We’ll show her her grandchild, sweetie, and if she turns us away then, you’ll know the relationship isn’t worth pursuing. But you’ll also know you did everything you could.”

He stared at her, blinking. “You’d do that?”

“Of course I would.”

“We’ll see. I’m usually one to stay clear when I know I’m not wanted.”

“But it’s your mom.”

“If she wants to live in her misery, though, I don’t want her to drag me down into it too. I lived most of my life in it. When I finally busted out, I swore I’d never go back. I think of her, and I want good things for her, but I have to think of myself too.”

She ached for what he’d had to live with during most of his young life, her eyes drawn to the scar cutting through his eyebrow. How many beatings had he taken that hadn’t required a hospital? Or maybe they had, he just wasn’t taken for proper care? Gabby felt more inclined to throttle the woman than introduce her to her grandchild—her child. She hoped he’d at least gotten therapy—but figured he hadn’t. When she knew him better, she might suggest it.

“What did they tell the doctors?” she asked quietly. He didn’t mistake her meaning.

“That I got into a fight and some kid threw a rock. I didn’t speak up because I was afraid I’d get it even worse later.”

Some people didn’t deserve to breathe good oxygen. “Did she lie for him?”

“Actually, no, she just kept her mouth shut while he lied.”

“Did she ever at least try to leave him? Or consider it?”

“No. Never. Wouldn’t hear of it. She’d leave the room whenever I would start begging her to, or to at least let me go live somewhere else.”

“God, Ian. She’s damn lucky neither of you ended up dead. Damn lucky.”

“I know. I’ve said that to her. She didn’t appreciate it.”

“I bet. You know…” She trailed off and frowned. “Kids would come into the ER all the time with head wounds or weird lacerations and bruises. Sometimes the parents would tell the story and my hair would stand on end. Just that feeling that you know something’s not right, that you’re being lied to. I’ve made the call to CPS so many times while I was nursing. Sounds like a lot of people dropped the ball with you.”

He ran his thumb under her left eye. “Given how I think you’re looking right through me sometimes, I don’t doubt you would’ve picked up on it.”

“I miss my job,” she said softly. “I can’t give up on being a doctor. Sitting in the waiting room today with sick babies in front of me…I had this really strong feeling that I’m needed. I can’t give up.”

“Who ever told you that you had to give it up, baby?”

“No one’s told me. I’ve been weighing my options. It did occur to me to go back to nursing, get a job here and forget med school.”

“I don’t think you should do that. No way, Gabby. You can’t want to do that, can you?”

“No. But you said it yourself, my support system is here.”

“I know. I was kinda in shock when you first told me. Sorry about that. I had this mental image of you completely cutting me out of your life except for visitation rights and child support or something. I’m not worried about that now.”

“No. I wouldn’t do that to you.” She drew a circle on his shoulder, weighing her next words. “I don’t expect to you drop everything and run to Dallas for me. Take your time and decide if it’s what you want.”

“I just want to be with you. But I’d rather not leave until Brian has someone else lined up to take my place—if he doesn’t fire me first, anyway.”

“And in the meantime…we both go nuts.”

“We can work out some visits, I’m sure.”

“What, weekends when I’m already tired and sleep deprived, and when we both know Brian needs you to work?”

He chuckled. “You’re a little pessimistic, aren’t you?”

She looked at him gravely. “I usually consider it realistic.”

Sighing, he rolled onto his back, bending his arm back behind his head, and gazed at the ceiling. Gabby rested her chin on his chest, her own gaze as far away as her thoughts. “What is it you want me to do, then?” he finally asked.

“I couldn’t expect you to do anything more, Ian, I promise. But it sucks. You have to admit.”

“All we can do is roll with it. I wouldn’t expect you to do anything other than what you’re doing, either.”

“Are you sure if you had things the exact way you wanted, I’d be staying here?”

“Hell, no,” he said, lifting his head to look at her. It was a relief to see the vehemence at such an idea in his eyes. “If I thought you were staying here for me, it would drive me nuts. I’d pack you up and take you to Dallas myself. Are we clear on that?”

“Okay, then,” she said simply. “All right. We’ll roll with it. We’ll do what we can.”

The smile he gave her—how would she make it without seeing it every day? Even for a little while? He stroked her hair. “It’s all gonna be okay, baby. I’ll make it okay.”

It was everything she’d ever wanted to hear from him. In fact, she thought it was even better than hearing those three little overrated words that people tossed around every day without really meaning them.

God, to think she’d been dreading to go back to Dallas before she saw that little plus sign on her test strip. Now, excitement fluttered in her stomach. She hadn’t really known then how much she wanted to reclaim her world. And she missed Tina and her Dallas friends fiercely.

Ian snuggled her close, and Gabby closed her eyes. It was the best night’s sleep she’d had in a long time.

Chapter Seventeen

Ian dreaded going in to work only slightly less than he had yesterday when he knew Brian was pissed. He’d expected a confrontation but hadn’t gotten it, and he hadn’t provoked it because he figured Brian was too mad to discuss the situation. Today, he had absolutely no idea what to expect. Brian hadn’t exactly said all was forgiven last night, but he was probably ready to talk.

Ian wished he could’ve convinced Gabby not to make a scene, but once that woman got an idea in her head…

Sighing, he let himself in the side door and inwardly cringed as he walked past Brian’s office. Sure enough, his boss’s voice called to him.

“Hey. You got a second?”

Now his cringe wasn’t so inward, but he turned and stuck his head in the doorway. It was weird seeing Brian in here without Candace, but she still wasn’t feeling well in the mornings and had been coming in later in the day. “Sure, man.”

“Shut the door.”

Damn. Maybe he should try to get an explanation in first…but no. He just shut the door and dropped into the chair across from Brian, meeting his gaze directly but not defensively.

“Look,” Brian began, granting him the same favor. “I really want to apologize for yesterday. It was nothing against you, all right?”

He figured it was against him, but whatever, he’d go along. For one thing, he didn’t think he’d ever heard Brian Ross apologize to anyone before. “Okay.”

“But that’s my sister, and she’s been through a lot of shit. When that guy dumped her, I wanted to break his fucking neck. Now she’s being put through a lot more shit. She drives me nuts sometimes, but she deserves a break.”

“The last thing I want to do is hurt her, man. It goes without saying that we didn’t expect this. Now that it’s happened, though, I’m there for her. I’ll be there for her as long as she’ll let me.”

“Good. That’s all I can ask. I’ve known you for a long time, and I know you’re a solid guy. So I shouldn’t have gone off the way I did. I’d much rather see her with you than her usual type.”

Wow. “It’s okay. I know when I told you, it was the last thing you were expecting to hear come out of my mouth. Thanks for not knocking me the fuck out.” He punctuated the words with a smirk. “How’s Candace?”

“It was fried pickles with ranch dressing and macadamia nut cookies last night. But she made those herself. I didn’t have to go anywhere.”

“Hey, I’m with her on those. I don’t know about together, but yeah.”

“If Gab has any weird cravings, tell her to come over. Given our stash, we can probably take care of it. They can share notes.”

“I’ll do that. She hasn’t had any that she’s told me about, though.”

“What has she decided about school?”

A pang hit him in the chest. More than anything, he wanted her to go back to Dallas if that was what she wanted. Knowing he wouldn’t be seeing her every day, watching her belly grow… “She’s not giving up, so…we’ll work it out. I’ll do everything I can for her.”

Brian tilted his head back in contemplation for a moment. “Are you planning on going back?”

He’d thought he might have some time before he had to get into this part of things with Brian, but that had been wishful thinking. It stood to reason his boss would wonder about his plans. Quitting a job you hated was one thing. Quitting a job you liked… That sucked. Sighing, he rubbed a hand over his hair. “Not in the very near future,” he said carefully, “but eventually, yes. Sorry, man. Again, I never thought anything like this could happen.”

“Yeah. I hear you. Well, we love having you, but you know…long distance will be tough. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to go through it.” Ian cast his gaze downward and reserved comment. Brian went on. “Don’t feel like you have to stay if you don’t want to. It was pretty rough before you got here, but we survived. I’m sure we’ll survive again.”

Why couldn’t Ian have had a family like this growing up? Brian was willing to sacrifice a little of his sanity at work for his sister’s happiness. He would almost think the guy was up to something, but no. That was only his suspicious mind at work. He’d had to grow up that way—questioning whether every nice gesture from someone was going to end with a fist upside his head. If not from his stepfather, then the kids on his street or the kids at his school. He’d grown up fighting. He still was wary and mistrustful of a world where it appeared he didn’t have to.

It was sad, and he was fucking tired of it.

“I’m cool with being here awhile longer. I keep thinking she’ll get to Dallas and decide she doesn’t want me there after all.” Yeah, who was the pessimist now?

“One thing about Gabriella,” Brian said, and Ian thought it was the first time he’d ever heard him say her full name. “If she doesn’t think you’re worth her time, you’ll know it. But if you are, then she’ll do anything for you. I’ve never known her to screw anyone over. She’s usually the one who gets screwed. Which is another reason for the way I acted yesterday.”

“I’m not out to do that,” Ian said, thinking he had that in common with her. “I couldn’t imagine hurting her.”

“Well, whatever you decide to do, keep me in the loop.” Brian fiddled with a pen he picked up from the desktop, then finally sighed and tapped it against the polished wood a couple of times with finality. “All right. As long as we’re cool.”

“We’re cool.” Both of them stood and shook on it.

Thank God that was done.

Walking up to her parents’ front door that afternoon, Gabby wondered if she should knock. Now, with the light of day hitting her between the eyes, she regretted her words to her mother last night and wondered if she was even welcome any longer. Gabby would be a mother herself in a few months, and she damn sure didn’t want karma coming around to bite her in the ass once her kids were grown and making their own (sometimes idiotic) choices.

But that was crazy. She’d never knocked to enter her parents’ house before, even when she came in for visits. She’d always just barged in and announced her presence.

Before she could reach for the knob, though, the door swung open, and her mother stood there with purse in hand and determination on her face. “How do you feel?”

“Fine?” Gabby said tentatively, so confused right now that it came out a question.

“Good. You and I are going shopping,” Gianna declared.

Gabby glanced down at her budding pregnancy uniform—cami and yoga pants. Her hair was still in its unkempt bun. “Okaaay.”

“You look fine. Let’s go.”

“Mom—”

“Shh. I’m not letting you go back to Dallas without a few things for when you start to show.”

“But I’ll get all that when—”

“No, because then I won’t be a part of all this. And no matter what you think, I want to be.”

Breathing a sigh of absolute relief, Gabby followed her to the car. A little retail therapy never hurt anything, and thank God her mother was on board with this. Because it was happening, whether any of them liked it or not.

“You didn’t call Evan,” her mom said conversationally as she turned out of the driveway and headed for downtown.

“And you know this because…?”

“I did.”

“Oh. Great. What did he say?”

“What’s there to say? He’s like the rest of us, hoping the best for you.”

Gabby snickered, wondering how Kelsey played it off when Evan told her about the pregnancy. Did she fess up that she’d already known? Or had she played dumb? Knowing Kelsey, she hadn’t been able to lie to him, and besides, with the way she and Gabby had run off to the beach for a few days, he would probably figure it out on his own.

Their first stop was a maternity store, where Gabriella walked around mostly with her upper lip curled. “It’s really way too early for this,” she said, holding out a top that looked like it would swallow her twice. “I mean, I can’t even…”

“If you’re already two months, you’ll be showing before you know it.”

“Wonderful.” She picked out a few things she could live with to placate her mother, and their next stop was a children’s clothing store.

“Okay, now it’s way too early for this,” Gabby said, looking around at the wonderland of frilly dresses, onesies, cribs and toys.

“It’s been a long time since I was able to do this. Humor me.”

She’d already been doing that. Looking around, it all seemed so surreal. Gabby had loved shopping for baby Alex, but the thought of shopping for her own…

“We don’t even know yet if it’s a boy or a girl.”

“So you buy neutral colors. Really, you can never have enough. Best to start now so you’ll be ready later.”

“Mom…” She stopped at a rack of adorable little-boy outfits and leafed absently through them. “I’m sorry about last night.”

“It’s all right.” Gianna didn’t look at her.

“You’re still mad, which is why we’re shopping right now.”

“I only hope you’ll think things through before you do anything rash.”

“Like what? The only rash thing I could do at this point is get married. After the last fiasco, you’d better believe there’s no hope of that happening.”

Her mom looked at her in surprise. “Really? Never?”

Gabby had to stop and reassess her own feelings. She’d sworn it so many times that it was almost a reflex answer. “I don’t know.”

“Thought he might’ve changed your mind.”

If anyone could persuade her, she decided, it was Ian. Never could she imagine him doing to her what Mark had. Never could she imagine him even asking her to go through it again if he wasn’t 100 percent sure of his own feelings. She could try to pretend she’d known Mark all she liked—he still had left her with niggling doubts at times. She’d admitted it to herself many, many times.

“Maybe he will,” she said. “Someday. I really think you’d like him if you’d get to know him.”

“Honey, you don’t know him.”

So. Here it came. Her mother had gotten her to a place where Gabby couldn’t run away from her, cornered her, and now she was going to hear her exact thoughts on the matter. Great. Gabby sighed. “Say what you gotta.”

“Gabriella, you’re beautiful, you’re successful, you’re from a wealthy family. A few more years, and you’ll be a doctor—”

“Are you about to suggest that he’s after me for a free ride? That he somehow planned for this? Poked a needle through the condom? Come on.”

“I’m only saying that it’s worked out quite well for him, hasn’t it? Now he’s in the picture for good, and you’re obviously taken with him. Why wouldn’t he take advantage of the situation?”

“It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!”

“Lower your voice,” Gianna all but hissed, casting a glance around the store.

“You started this.”

“I don’t want to see you get hurt again.”

“You think I do? Please have at least a little respect for my judgment. I know it hasn’t been the best in the past, but—”

“Oh stop. Quit blaming yourself for what happened at your wedding. It wasn’t your fault.”

“Funny that’s coming from you, who not so secretly wishes I’d take Mark back. Whose judgment isn’t good here?”

“Gabriella—”

She couldn’t stop the words once they’d started. “But at least there’s no way Mark might be after my money, since he has his own. Because that would be a far, far worse thing than being a cowardly, indecisive asshole. Apparently.”

Gianna crossed her arms and glared icily at her. “If you move Ian into your apartment, consider yourself on your own.”

“Are you cutting me off?”

“I’m protecting you from yourself. You want to have this baby, and I support that. I will not support a…parasite living off our family.”

“But he’s not—!”

“If you want him, you’re more than welcome to have him, but you’ll have to quit med school and go back to nursing. We won’t support it. I’m sorry to draw the line this way with you, but I’m only thinking about what’s best for you. Forget about men right now, Gabriella. Focus on school and the baby.”

“So it’s med school or Ian. Yeah, forcing me into this situation when I’m already an emotional mess sure is what’s best for me and the baby.”

“Actually, I think we’re making the decision pretty easy for you, aren’t we?”

“Mother—”

She got the long-nailed finger in the face, punctuating each of Gianna’s words. “End. Of. Discussion.”

Momentarily robbed of speech—rare for her—Gabby stepped back in absolute astonishment, feeling her shoulders deflate in the subarctic temperatures of Gianna Ross’s dark stare. “I wasn’t planning on moving him in, Mother,” she said, finding her voice at last. “And it’s not like he doesn’t have a job. He works for your son. If he moves back to Dallas to be close to me, he’ll probably go back to work for his old bosses.”

“Well, good for him. He’ll make his own way. You can do what you want, but he won’t live under any roof that we pay for. You have a path set under your feet, and I want you to stay on it. I don’t think that’s unreasonable.”

“It’s your attitude toward him that’s unreasonable. Spending too much time with Sylvia Andrews, are we? Why don’t you just keep in mind how she really feels about Brian?” Gabby scoffed. “Though I get the feeling you’re about to find out in a big way.”

Her mother didn’t take the bait, and Gabby was glad, because the second she cast it out there, she regretted it. “This doesn’t have anything to do with her or Brian. It has to do with you.”

“I suppose Dad agrees with you on this. Was this his idea or yours?”

“He has the same concerns I do, yes.”

“Ian is the father of your grandchild. You could at least afford him that much respect. If you can’t, you’re going to lose a lot of mine. Both of you.” Doing her best to keep her composure, Gabby turned and left the store, even though going outside felt like walking into an oven and her mother apparently still meant to buy a few things. She wanted to tell her she didn’t want a damn thing from her—but she couldn’t, could she?

The car had remote start, so when Gianna had mercy on her and it fired to life beside her, Gabby got in the passenger side and put her head between her knees, deep-breathing.

Did she even want to subject Ian to this bullshit? Did she want to burden him with the knowledge of what her family—with the exception of Brian—thought of him? He’d had so much hurt to deal with all his life. She wanted to protect him from any future pain that might be coming his way—either from her family…or from herself.

It was the same feeling she’d had standing on the beach in Florida. Forces beyond her control washing away the sand beneath her feet, leaving her unsteady and unsure.

Chapter Eighteen

It was Candace who answered Gabby’s knock at Brian’s apartment this time, looking adorably disheveled with her blonde hair pinned up. She wore slouchy sweats and a T-shirt that could’ve been Brian’s for the way it swallowed her. She greeted Gabby brightly and invited her in.

“How are you feeling?” Gabby asked as she entered the apartment, almost identical in layout to Ian’s. A warm vanilla aroma drifted in from the kitchen that made her mouth water.

“Not too bad lately. How are you feeling?” Candace’s grin and the knowing tone of her question alerted Gabby to the fact that Brian hadn’t been inclined to keep her own condition a secret from his fiancée. She followed Candace into the kitchen.

“I’m okay. Still a little sick in the mornings.”

“Me too. I heard you went to the hospital, though. Everything okay now?” Candace bent down to peer into the oven, where obviously something sweet and decadent was baking.

“Seems to be. Is Brian around?”

“I sent him to the store. Should be back any minute. I realized I had no icing for the cupcakes.”

Gabby laughed, taking a seat at the bar that separated the kitchen from the living room. “You’re going to make him gain weight.”

“He’s already spending double time at the gym. I think he’ll be all right. Me, on the other hand…” Candace rolled her eyes. “Every day I say I’ll try to do better, and every night I’m in here baking.”

“So…when are you guys going to break the news?”

Her face darkened. “Well—” She paused when the front door opened, and Gabby turned to smile at Brian as he entered, carrying what looked like a ton of grocery bags, and kicked the door closed behind him.

“Isn’t that sweeeet,” Gabby said with pure syrup in her voice.

“If my hands weren’t full, I’d so flip you off right now,” he said, trudging into the kitchen, where he heaved the bags onto the counter.

“I said icing,” Candace laughed, looking over the pile of white plastic bags. “Only icing.”

“Yeah, well, who the fuck knows what you’ll come up with tomorrow night. I got everything we could conceivably be running low on.” He grinned and planted a kiss on the side of her bared neck. “Forethought.”

“Aw, you’re awesome.” She smacked him on the butt, and he made a grab for hers, but she twirled away, giggling. God, could they be any more sickening?

“Where’s Ian?” Brian asked, beginning the task of putting all the groceries up.

“At his place. I haven’t seen him yet tonight, but I’m headed over there in a minute.”

“He’s welcome, you know, if you want to call him to come over.”

“Thank you for that. Really. But I kind of wanted to talk to you first.”

“Everything okay?” Brian looked over at her, blue eyes wary beneath the bill of his black baseball cap. It warmed her a bit that her little brother still looked ready to kick some ass on her behalf if she said the word, even though it would be his friend on the receiving end and not a guy he hadn’t liked much anyway. Blood really was thicker than water with Brian.

“Mom is on my ass because of him.”

“Why?”

“She thinks he’s trying to weasel his way into our fortune or something.”

“Oh my God. That’s fuckin’ ridiculous.” Brian erupted at the same time Candace made a similar exclamation. “Do you want me to talk to her?”

“I don’t know. I mean, whatever, she can think what she wants, I guess, but…he doesn’t deserve that. It’s not like we were planning a wedding, but she makes it sound like I’ll be out on my ass if I try to set up anything permanent with him.”

“I can’t believe that,” Candace said, shaking her head. “Your mom is always so cool.”

“You didn’t grow up with her,” Brian said.

“Well, you didn’t grow up with mine,” Candace countered. “Believe me, I consider your mom cool.”

“Not about this.” Gabby stared down at her hands, where her fingers were laced so tightly together that her knuckles had gone white. “Maybe if, um…you guys would go ahead and announce, it would get all the focus off me?”

Brian and Candace both looked at her for a moment, then at each other.

“We weren’t planning to do that yet,” Brian said at last.

“Okay. Why not?”

“We’re going to get married first.”

“What?”

“Like, this weekend.”

Gabby heard all the words, but she couldn’t process them. “What?”

“I always warned y’all we were gonna run off and do it. Did you think I was joking about that? You ought to know me better.”

Sighing, Gabby shook her head. “I know you always said that. I’d just hoped we might be able to change your mind.”

Brian scoffed and returned to his chore. “Shit, no. We know what we’d be taking on with her family, and now you tell me Mom’s frazzled, so fuck all that. We’re going to take care of things, come back and say, ‘Here’s what’s going on, here’s what we did about it, fucking deal with it.’ I’m sick of the bullshit, Gab. We’re all grown-ass adults but you’d think we’re still teenagers for the way our parents want to have their hands all in our business.”

“I hear you,” she said quietly.

“We’ll move before we deal with it much longer, just leave it all behind. Evan had the right idea.”

“He never had to put up with this much, though,” Gabby pointed out.

“Yeah, he’s a fucking saint. I’m not. And I’m not gonna pretend to be one. You shouldn’t either, sis. If you want to be with Ian, then fucking be with him. You have my blessing, anyway. Jesus Christ.”

She had to chuckle, because Brian kept gesturing wildly with various boxes of food items as he ranted, and finally he shoved them in place and slammed the cabinet door as if the entire conversation had agitated him beyond control. Candace flinched, and Gabby sent her a sympathetic smile. Her little brother could be a hothead, but certainly it wasn’t the first time Candace had witnessed it. It had to be a burden on her, since her family was a huge part of their problem.

“What do you think they’re going to say?” Gabby asked her, and Candace didn’t have to ask whom she meant.

“Oh, they’ll be furious.” Her petite hands drifted down to her belly, hidden beneath Brian’s three-sizes-too-big shirt, and she shrugged before dropping them back to her sides. “But I’m with him on every point. I’m sick of it all. We planned to do this all along, but me getting pregnant has kinda put a rush on things.”

Gabby shifted her gaze back to Brian. “So this weekend, you said.”

“We’re going to fly to Vegas. She got our plane tickets today.”

“I’m happy for you guys. I really am. But…dammit! I so wanted a big wedding for you.”

“We never wanted that,” Brian said.

“Nope,” Candace agreed, shaking her head. “Never.”

“Is it not what you want, though, or is it yet another thing you’re letting your family dictate for you, Candace? The need to run away instead of having to deal with them through a big wedding?” Funny she was asking that. Wasn’t she allowing her family to dictate plenty for her right now?

“I see what you’re saying, but honestly, he’s all I need. I don’t need a crowd or a white dress or any of that crap. Hell, I’d rather get married in black.”

Brian grinned. “That’s my girl.”

God. Gabriella could only imagine how the Andrews family would react to something like that. Police cars and ambulances came to mind. How could it be that she wished so hard for things for Brian that she wouldn’t want for herself? If eloping was what they wanted, could Gabby really blame them? The memory of being the excited, nervous, expectant bride came back, rising around her like a flood intent on sweeping her away. And that moment when she’d had all of it ripped out from under her in one simple sentence from Evan.

“Gabby, he’s not here.”

Not that Brian would ever in a million years do to Candace what Mark had done to Gabby—but still. If she could ever be talked into going through with the whole thing again—and that was a big if—she would never want to set herself up for such failure again.

Failure… It didn’t necessarily have to happen at the altar, though, did it? It could happen years later and still blindside her as severely as it had that day, still rip her world apart.

Maybe it wasn’t weddings she had such a problem with… It was marriage. The entire institution of it.

Hell, maybe it didn’t go that far. Maybe it was relationships. They might work for other people, but for her, they had always been another arena for failure to whip her ass. One she didn’t need right now.

She forced words past the strangled feeling in her throat, since Candace and Brian were probably waiting for her thoughts on the situation at hand. “I see. You’re not sparing yourself from them so much as you’re sparing them a coronary.”

Candace laughed. “Yeah, you could look at it like that.”

Maybe she’d also be a failure at being a parent. Maybe it would all overwhelm her, and not only would she fail at relationships and parenthood, but all of it combined would crush her to the point that she would be a failure at med school too.

God, she couldn’t breathe.

“Keep me informed,” she blurted, sliding off her seat. Her brother and his soon-to-be wife stared after her in confusion as she made her way to the door.

“Hey, are you all right?” Brian called.

“Fine. Call me.” And she let herself out into the sticky night, which was just as close and suffocating as the walls in that apartment had become.

She could run the fuck away right now. Right now, at this very moment, she was free. She could jump in her car, speed all the way to Dallas and get back to her life for as long as her pregnancy would allow. She could put any big decisions off until forced to make them.

Exhaustion lapped at her limbs as she trudged back to Ian’s apartment. She didn’t bother knocking, knowing he expected her anyway. He’d left it unlocked for her.

How was she going to face him now?

Ian knew something was wrong with Gabby as soon as she walked in. She moved as if there were weights in all her limbs…but as soon as her troubled green gaze found him sitting on the couch, she darted forward. He stood, the Rangers game forgotten as she all but threw herself into his chest.

“Gabby? What’s the matter?”

“I don’t know.”

He chuckled, stroking her hair. It was the answer he’d expected from her, but he knew better. “Baby.”

Sighing, she lifted her weary gaze to his. “I’m just… I leave next week, and the thought of everything I have to do and deal with…it’s getting to me. That’s all.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded, tracing a pattern on his shirt with one fingertip. “Hey.” He nudged her chin up with the crook of his finger. “I’m here for you. Do you need help with anything? Tell me if you do.”

“No, I’ve got it. It’s weird, though. I kept looking at moving back there as getting my life back…but I guess I’m realizing it’s an entirely new life now. Nothing is the same.”

“Understandable. But you’re tough. You’ll adjust.”

“I know.”

It was so blatantly obvious there was more than that troubling her. But it was also plain to him that trying to get it out of her at this point was useless. As wearily as she’d trudged in, she practically vibrated with tension.

“I feel like I’m going crazy,” she admitted, and he raised his eyebrows. “My emotions are, like, all over the damn place.” She stared searchingly into his eyes, that direct gaze stirring up some pretty hectic emotions in him too. She was leaving next week. He had a lot of hard decisions to make, and soon.

How would he cope when she wasn’t here? He hadn’t wanted to think about it much, had shoved the thought from his mind when it tried to invade. In such a short time, she’d made a substantial impact. It was more than the fact she carried his child. Even before he’d known about that, it had been tough to exorcise her from his thoughts.

“Kiss me?” she whispered, making it a request when she usually made demands. And he knew where this would go once he gave in. He was worn too ragged from holding off last night.

“If I do,” he murmured, leaning his forehead against hers, “I won’t want to stop. Are you okay with that?”

Her fingers slid around his neck. “I am.”

Lifting his hands to her face, he brought her mouth to his. A soft breath escaped her as his lips claimed hers. Shuddering desperation overtook him, heating his blood to the boiling point. She tasted so fucking good. Everywhere.

Her hands slid under his shirt, nails scratching lightly as she lifted it and urged his arms upward so she could remove it. He returned the favor, fitting her naked skin to his, then worked on removing her bra.

“I want you to do all the things you promised last night,” she whispered as it fluttered to the floor at their feet.

“Ah. Hmm… What did I promise again?”

“All kinds of awesome stuff.”

“Yeah? Can you remind me?” He grinned. He knew damn well what he’d promised, mainly because he’d been thinking about it all day.

She gave his bottom lip a flick with her tongue, then sucked it gently. Fuck, yes. He’d been semi-hard thinking about doing that very thing to her clit, imagining her reaction, that sound she made. Now, with her demonstration and the reality of it imminent, he was already straining his fly.

“I think I might know what you’re talking about,” he murmured when she gave him back control of his bottom lip. “What else?”

Her warm palms came to his face, holding him in place as the tip of her sweet tongue slipped past his lips, then slowly pulled back. Then slipped deeper… Just as he was about to lose it and suck it hard into his mouth, she pulled it back again. “Fuck,” he breathed.

“Ian…” She leaned down and kissed his bare chest, trailing her tongue along some of his ink lines. Her hand drifted lower, cupping his erection, rubbing it through his jeans. The friction coupled with the warm sweeps of her tongue had him tilting his head back and groaning. Her fingers fiddled with his belt, the metal tinkling as she undid it. Then his button…his zipper…and oh, holy shit, his cock was free and in her hands. She stroked with just the right amount of pressure, enough to entice but not enough to take him too close to the edge.

“You’re gorgeous,” she murmured, the heavy silk of her hair sliding against his chest as she looked down at him. She was gorgeous. He burned with the need to show her how much. Pulling her upright, he slid down on his knees, kissing her breast until he reached her nipple and sucked it gently. While he distracted her there, he peeled her yoga pants from her body, leaving her in her silky purple panties. Her fingers curled around his neck, stroking, raising chills along his spine.

God, that her touch alone could have such an effect on him… His breath rasped through his lungs. His pulse throbbed—he could feel it everywhere. Gabby’s scent could make him drunk all by itself, but when coupled with her smooth body beneath his fingers, his mouth… He could OD on her.

He hooked his fingers in her panties and pulled them down. She stepped out of them, gloriously naked in front of him. He took in the slender curves of her body, the sexy dip of her navel. With one fingertip, he traced a line from between her breasts, down her stomach, to the neat, thin strip of hair between her legs.

And she trembled. Beautiful, confident Gabriella Ross shivered before him—whether from nerves or lust, he didn’t know. Didn’t care. All he knew was that she was a gift, maybe some divine or karmic reward for surviving some of the bullshit he’d been through, and he would treasure her.

Wetness greeted his finger when he pushed into her cleft. So slick, so soft. He quested deeper and she spread her legs wider to give him better access. Leaning forward, he swept his tongue over her little bud.

“Oh!” she cried, and her knees nearly buckled at the touch. Was she so close already? He glanced behind her and gave her a nudge backwards.

“Sit down, baby.”

Right behind her was an armchair; she settled in it, and he promptly spread her legs so that each one draped over an arm of the chair. She gasped, and the way her hand drifted toward the junction of her thighs, he thought she was going to cover herself.

“Okay?” he whispered, placing a kiss on her knee.

She nodded quickly, and he smiled.

“Beautiful.”

Her green eyes lit up. He leaned in and tasted her, groaning as her flavor hit his tongue. How he’d missed it. And she was leaving him? He was letting her?

The thought unleashed aggression he hadn’t expected. Holding her thighs open, he sucked her long and deep as she gasped and squirmed and thrust at him. He kept the control. He kissed and licked her in just the way he knew wouldn’t make her come. It was a need he seemed to have… She liked control everywhere else; he wanted it here. They could make it work. As she shuddered and came in his mouth, her cries reaching a pitch that probably woke his neighbors, he had the thought that he would gladly do this every night for her.

“God, oh God…” she groaned, melting back into the chair. Her tongue swept across her cherry lips; her own fingers were sunk in her dark hair. He thought it all the time, yes, but she was absolutely the most beautiful fucking thing he’d ever seen. All smooth, taut, olive skin. Flawless. Too damn perfect, the way she gave herself to him.

And he couldn’t wait to have her. Quickly reaching back for his wallet, he grabbed the condom out and sheathed himself. Remembering his promise, he teased her as he entered her body. Slowly, so slowly, feeling, watching her pussy stretch around his straining cock, so big inside her narrow channel. Her head tossed, and she practically purred in bliss. He bit down on the inside of his cheek with the effort to keep from giving it to her hard and fast. That wasn’t what she’d asked for.

So much for his having control.

That was all right. As long as her face looked like it did right now, slack with pleasure, he was doing what needed to be done. When she’d taken all he had to give her, he pulled back, retreating from her gripping wet heat, watching her mouth fall open and feeling warning signals race up his spine. Too much of this and he was gonna blow.

She cried out his name as he left her. Empty air swirled around his dick, and he ached to reclaim her warmth, but he made her wait. Her wild eyes locked on his, and she pleaded with him. Nope. Not yet. He palmed her breasts, concerned himself with teasing her nipples into hard little peaks. Once they were erect to his satisfaction, he gave her another slow thrust. Inch by inch, as he’d promised.

She wasn’t having it. “Oh, fuck this!” she cried, flinging her arms around his neck and pushing her body onto his. He had to laugh as her mouth crushed down on his, and she threw her weight forward so that he fell back on the floor with her atop him.

There, she pinned his wrists to the floor and rode him with a pace that left him momentarily stunned. She took what she needed from his body now, and he fucking loved it. He could have easily broken her grip and taken over, but he let her have her way. It was a beautiful sight, her hair wild, flushed skin. Her tight pussy milked him until no amount of praying or thinking of other things or mentally reciting the Rangers lineup was gonna help him. He came, and thank God she did too, because he was lost. Nothing left.

The woman was going to kill him. And he’d die happy.

Light filtered in from the single window in his bedroom. It was enough for him to see her lovely naked body stretched out on his bed. She lay on her stomach, and he couldn’t stop touching her. They hadn’t been here long, but it had been long enough for him to figure out that whatever was bothering her hadn’t been eased by their wild ride earlier. In fact, if anything, she seemed even more down, more tense.

Maybe it was only that she was leaving him. Hopefully that separation would be brief. They could figure something out.

If only he knew that was the problem.

She lifted her head and turned it toward him. He’d begun to wonder if she was asleep, but no, her eyes were wide open. Even the scant light showed they were full of chaotic thoughts. She probably didn’t realize how expressive they were; with her, they truly were the windows to her soul.

“Gabby,” he said tersely, already preparing for her refusal to talk. “What’s the matter? And don’t say ‘nothing’.”

“Ian—”

“Something’s wrong with you. I’ve known it since you got here. If we’re gonna get anywhere, you’ve got to let me in. Shutting me out isn’t going to help anything.”

“I’m not the one shutting you out,” she said bitterly, sitting up and facing away from him.

Ian frowned, pushing himself around so he could see her face. “What the hell do you mean by that?”

She stared at him—he could still see the turmoil taking place behind those pretty eyes. Her mouth worked soundlessly for a moment, and finally she dropped her head in her hands. “Fuck. Don’t make me do this.”

“Do what? For God’s sake, talk to me.”

“We talked about making this work, right?”

“Right. I want to.”

“Well, my parents apparently don’t agree.”

Ice infiltrated his heart, wrapping skeletal fingers around it. That shouldn’t be a big deal, right? At the end of the day, who really cared what her parents thought? She was a grown woman. But something told him it was a big deal, a very big deal. After all, it was enough to keep her in a funk all night. “Okay. It happens. So…” He lifted his brows, waiting for her to supply the problem.

“My parents pay for my apartment and pretty much all of my expenses, but only as long as I’m going to school. Hell, they pay for most of my school. I have some money, but not that much. Without them, there’s no way I could make it.”

He’d figured as much. Damn, and he’d been a dumbass. It should’ve been abundantly clear where this was going. So clear he could’ve stopped her from talking and deduced the problem himself, but he let her go on, each word a dagger driving deeper into his heart.

“It’s fine with them if we want to be together,” she said. “But you won’t be moving in with me. I move you in, I’m on my own. Which basically means I’ll have to quit med school and go back to nursing.”

Sighing, he rolled to his stomach, staring sightlessly at the pattern on his drapes. What could he say? He thought of the powerful couple he’d met at the hospital yesterday, and he’d known the very thing that was probably going through her dad’s mind. Looked as if he’d been exactly right.

“You’re not doing that,” he said firmly. Gabby giving up her dreams was unthinkable.

“I mean, it’s not like you and I had even talked about moving in together or anything.”

“Right.” But he’d had hope; it stood to reason that they would eventually, if this thing progressed. He damn sure wouldn’t mind waking up to her every morning. But he couldn’t give her a decent place on what he earned. He’d had roommates back when he lived in Dallas, and they’d still struggled.

“It just sucks that it was laid out there to me like that. My mom…she’s never been that way to me before. It’s always been Brian who got the whole finger-in-the-face thing.”

He thought of his own mom, and the shambles that were left of that relationship. If he could fix it, he would. Gabriella had never had to go it alone, not like him. Hell, she never would. She had beauty and brains to get her by. He’d only had brawn and street smarts. They’d gotten him through some rough shit. She was from an entirely different world altogether, though, and he never, never wanted her to get any taste of his. She couldn’t piss her parents off so severely that they disowned her. She needed them.

She needed them a fuck of a lot more than she needed him. What the hell could he do for her? He damn sure couldn’t earn enough to support them and a baby and put her through medical school.

“I don’t know what to do,” she said miserably.

He stroked her smooth, naked back while she held the sheet to her chest and gazed at him with such forlorn sorrow in her eyes that he almost couldn’t take it.

And worse than any of it, maybe, was his own humiliation. That he wasn’t good enough. It was fucking Earl all over again, telling him he was a worthless piece of shit who would never amount to anything. Hearing it from him, though, Ian could’ve laughed it off—look who was talking, after all. King of the worthless pieces of shit.

Hearing the equivalent from Gabriella’s parents… It cut. It cut him deep as fuck.

So the bastard had been right after all, hadn’t he? Ian had a beautiful woman who wanted to be with him, who wanted to have a child with him, and he couldn’t be what she needed. He would never be the fucking doctor who could give her the dream wedding and everything she wanted. He could almost hear his asshole stepfather laughing at him from beyond the grave.

“I don’t know either,” he said distantly. Raw emotion churned in his gut, old wounds breaking open and oozing. The last thing he wanted was for her to witness it. “But…maybe you should go home tonight. Not because I want you to, baby, but…” He trailed off and sighed as her eyes widened.

“You’re serious? You’re giving in to their bullshit?”

“What else do you want me to say, Gabby? You said yourself you don’t know what to do. I don’t know what the fuck to do, either.”

He expected an explosion. He didn’t get one. Gabby’s shoulders rose with her deep inhale. She looked straight ahead for a moment in a sort of stunned daze, then stood.

Ian grappled for something to say while she dressed. Something to make her feel better, something to soften the blow of the words he’d just uttered. But he’d only be kidding himself, wouldn’t he? He had nothing left.

And it was the best thing for her, for his baby, to maintain their attachment to a rich, powerful family. If he would in any way jeopardize that by his mere presence, then he had to step away.

As the door closed behind her and despair ate a hole in his chest, he didn’t know if he could.

Chapter Nineteen

September

Even under the roof of the parking garage, it was hotter than the ninth circle of hell. September in Texas was little better than August, heat-wise—hell, she couldn’t hope for much relief until at least late October. If then. And they were breaking high-temperature records. Gabriella felt as if she were walking uphill through sludge—the journey from her last lecture to her car should’ve been a breeze, but for some reason today, she feared she might collapse before she made it. If it was this bad now, what would it be like when she was eight months along? Nine?

She was absolutely fucking exhausted, and she had a night of reading about the various ailments of the liver ahead of her. Joy, joy. She was being punished for something, she just knew it.

Digging her silenced phone from her bag, she cursed herself again for being such an idiot. Hoping for something, anything, from Ian. Saying he’d changed his mind. That he didn’t give a shit about anything but her. And then…what?

And then she’d have to give up everything she was working toward if she wanted to be with him.

Damn him. It wasn’t as if there weren’t other options. She’d asked if he would be willing to move back, find his own place, get his old job back if he had to, just to be close to her.

“Well, babe, I always had to have roommates before to make it there. I don’t want to do that again.”

But he could stay with her a lot of the time, she’d suggested.

“You don’t need to be worried about someone finding out I’m staying there.”

Her family wasn’t going to stake out her place, for God’s sake. They weren’t the Andrewses. Besides, they were three fucking hours away. So she’d asked when he thought he could come see her.

“It’s been like unbelievably busy. I’ll ask Brian when he can spare me.”

Did he really think she couldn’t check up on that? Brian had told her it hadn’t been any worse than usual; Ian could take off any time he asked.

So it was pretty much official, wasn’t it? She was pregnant and alone. Even her friends here had somewhat drawn away…maybe that was only her imagination, but it sure felt like it. She couldn’t meet them for drinks—well, she could, but what was the point?—and she was sick of calling one of them up only to hear about what they all did the night before. Even Tina, one of her bridesmaids, her refuge when the shit had hit the fan, suddenly seemed too busy to have any time for her. Maybe she was tired of having such a needy friend.

That was fine. Gabby would make it just fine by herself.

As she passed car after car and finally spotted her own, she was even more certain that some transgression in a past life had come back to bite her on the ass. A man leaned casually against the driver’s side door, his attention currently focused down on his cell phone.

Dr. Mark Easton. Former fiancé, almost-husband.

He looked as handsome and cool as ever, as if sweating was too undignified for him. His khakis were perfectly pressed along with his dark blue shirt and tie. He always styled his dark blond hair back in a way that made him look as if he’d stepped off his boat after a day of sailing—effortless and windblown. It was beginning to thin the slightest bit on top, a fact Gabby knew unnerved him but didn’t take away whatsoever from his striking good looks.

Her first impulse was to flee. Hide out and watch until he grew tired of waiting and left. Her second was to hit her panic button and watch him lose that carefully cultivated cool when the blaring horn scared the shit out of him. No sense in the first, though—he would only come back again, and besides, she was melting. She needed to sit, and she needed her car’s air conditioner. She was prepared to go through him, if need be, to attain those things.

As for the second impulse, well…it was beneath her, even if it would be damn funny.

“Well, lo and behold,” she said loudly, making sure he found her glaring at him when his head snapped up. “Mark Easton finally shows up.”

That might’ve been somewhat beneath her too, but…whatever.

If she’d expected a sheepish reaction from him, she was disappointed—if anything, his expression became even smoother and more remote.

Gabby proceeded to the door of her car as if he weren’t standing there, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of moving.

“Gabriella, please,” he said, blocking her way. “Give me five minutes.”

“I remember you not giving me that same courtesy a few months ago. That was all I needed, you know, about five minutes of your time.” She dodged to the right a bit, trying to get a grip on the door handle. His hand gently caught her arm.

“I know you’re pregnant.”

Freezing in his light grip, she let her gaze climb up to his familiar, once-beloved face. The distinguished features, laugh lines, bright blue eyes. Seeing them this close again was a jolt to her senses, but it couldn’t compete with the face that haunted her dreams every night now.

“And how in the hell do you know that?” she asked, though she figured she already knew. Her mother was going to get a very angry phone call later, once Gabby cooled off enough that she thought she could get through it without flinging mindless curse words.

“That isn’t important.”

“It’s not? Did you call her, or did she call you?”

Sighing, he dropped his hand and looked away. “If you must know, I called her. I wanted to make sure you were coming back.”

“Checking to see if you completely crushed all my dreams, or just the one?”

“It was never my intention to crush your dreams. Any of them. I only thought we needed more time.”

“You thought you needed more time. I knew exactly what I needed.”

“You had become so obsessed with the wedding, Gabby, that it was no longer about the marriage.”

Look at that, a shiny new excuse pulled right out of his ass. How long had it taken him to come up with that one? “Oh, bullshit, Mark!”

“Please lower your voice—”

“That doesn’t even make any sense. Yeah, I wanted the show. I wanted the whole princess-for-a-day thing. But my heart was always set on you. On our future together. If the whole thing wigged you out that badly, you could have spoken up, you know. You said nothing to me about any of it.”

“I realize that, and I take full responsibility for my lack of communication. It seemed easier to let you handle all the details because of my schedule, and you wanted to do it. You became so immersed in it, though. When the time came, I couldn’t go through with it. It didn’t even seem to be about us anymore.”

“Mark, it’s two hundred and eighty-nine degrees right now. I’m not going to stand here in this oven and retread the same ground we’ve been over and over already. There’s no point in it, and I’m about to pass out. You’re not going to wear me down. I’ll never forgive you for what you did. Ever. End of.”

“Let me take you to dinner.”

“I’m in a relationship…” Her voice choked off into pathetic, heartbroken silence. Because the relationship she was in, apparently, was only in her head. She missed Ian so much, so desperately, that her throat had closed up, and she realized her hands had gone reflexively to her stomach at the thought of him. Her belly had the slightest little pooch now, and she wanted Ian to see it so badly, where their child grew bigger and stronger every day. This was killing her.

“Honey, I know you’re working yourself to death, and I can’t even imagine how worried you are about being pregnant. And alone. Where is he now, by the way?”

“Back home,” she said dully, in place of none of your freaking business.

He must’ve surmised from her tone it was a touchy subject. “Getting away for an evening and having a nice meal will do you good. I know how you are when you’re stressed, so I doubt you’re eating well. We don’t have to argue. We don’t have to talk much at all if you don’t want to.”

I know how you are. He’d said a lot, but her brain was stuck on that. There was so much comfort in those words: someone who knew what she needed when she needed it. For the most part, Mark had—except for the one thing she’d needed from him more than anything else. To show up and commit to her.

What could it hurt to go to dinner? If she’d thought for a moment that he still wanted her, she’d turn him down cold, but there was no way he could now.

Then again…what the hell was he doing here?

“I care about you, Gabby,” he said, as if sensing the turn her thoughts were taking. “You might not believe it, but I do. Very much. I want more than anything to know you’re going to be okay.” Frowning at her, he reached forward and swept a strand of hair from her damp forehead. “You’re not anemic, are you?”

“No.”

“Are you taking vitamins?”

“What are you, my doctor now? I think it’s only a case of being thirty-six and pregnant in three-thousand-degree heat.”

He retracted his arm, still looking at her in that too-assessing, doctor way he had. “All right, then. My offer stands. What do you think?”

If nothing else, it would be a night away from her apartment—and away from much-needed reading, unfortunately—but it would be a night in someone else’s company besides her own. She was practically sick of herself, sick of festering in her lonely, chaotic thoughts.

But in the end…

“I can’t,” she said softly. “Thank you for caring. I just can’t.” She attempted to reach around him again. And again, his hand caught her before she could.

“Gabby…”

“What, Mark, what now?”

“I love you.”

“I loved you. Past tense.”

“I don’t think so. If you truly wanted to spend the rest of your life with me, and I believe you did, you wouldn’t be able to walk away so fast.”

“Here’s the thing. I can’t love without respect. And I can’t respect someone who doesn’t respect me in return. What you did…it’s pretty damn far from respect, you know?”

“This summer without you… It’s been hell on me, and it crushes me to think what it’s been for like for you. That you’re pregnant with another man’s child—I’ll deal with it, Gabby. We’ll make it work. I’ll raise this baby as if it’s my own. It’s a part of you, and that’s enough for me. I swear to you, honey, I wasn’t there before, but I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere, and I’ll always be here for you and this baby.”

She could only stare at him in stunned silence.

“I didn’t want to do this here,” he went on, casting a glance around and taking both her hands, “but you aren’t giving me much choice. I still have your ring. You can have it back, or I’ll buy you a brand-new one. We can start all over. I miss you.” He gazed searchingly into her eyes, his own like a clear autumn morning. Not the hazy, sweltering late-summer sky outside the building…and not the warm spring of Ian’s that she longed for. “I do want to marry you. Come back to me.”

Gabby jerked her hands from his, all but slapping them away. Whether it was fury at him or horror at how much she wanted to go with him, not only to dinner, but home... She couldn’t even analyze it right now. Wouldn’t. Didn’t have the strength to. “I can’t believe you’re doing this. I have to go.”

Those autumn-blue eyes clouded with desperation. “At least give some thought to it. I promise you, I see what I’ve lost now, Gabby, and I’m sorry it took me this long to—”

“You’re too late.”

“Think about what’s best for you and this baby.”

“It wouldn’t be you. Get out of my way.”

He let her step past him, not turning to watch her yank open her car door and fling herself inside, where it was twice as hot as the sauna outside. She meant to start it and speed off before he could do anything more, but he walked away, his steps long and rapid. She couldn’t help herself; she watched his retreating figure and had to grab hold of the steering wheel to keep from jumping out and running after him. He was…home to her. No matter what he’d done, no matter how he’d hurt her, he represented everything she’d ever wanted. It was almost like watching her life walk away from her. Her future, the one she’d almost had, the one he was offering to her again.

God, the confidence he exuded. It was evident in every move he made. His control, his…elegance. It was no wonder she’d fallen so hard for him so fast. Hell, even his sex had been graceful.

Ian couldn’t be more different. His raw swagger got her blood pumping in a completely different way that was no less potent—even more so. The only thing she could really consider elegant about him came through in his art. He could give her everything she wanted in the bedroom, and then some. But could he give her same things the man walking away from her could?

At least Mark was here. He might’ve screwed things up, but he was trying to make it right. Where the fuck was the father of her child?

Ugh, to hell with it. Maybe the answer really was to swear off all men, like her mother had suggested. Hadn’t they gotten her into enough trouble?

She started her car with every intention of leaving, but in the end, she only sat with the air conditioner running. And cried. Ugly cried, half collapsed over her console, letting it all pour out in great racking sobs that had been coming for a long, long time. The sobs she didn’t allow even when Mark stood her up for the biggest date of her life.

A knock on her window snapped her head up, and she could only imagine the sight that greeted her former fiancé as he peered inside at her.

“Gabby,” Mark said sternly, though his voice was muffled by the glass. “Open the door. Right now.”

Absolutely depleted of any strength, she obeyed, not bothering to wipe her streaming eyes or fix her mussed hair. “What?”

“I’m not letting you drive like this. Go around, and I’ll drive you home.”

“But—”

“I’ll call a cab from your place. It’s okay.”

He had come back, she thought as she clambered from the driver’s seat and trudged around to the passenger side. And she had the feeling he wouldn’t give up no matter how many times she pushed him away. How would she have the willpower to resist that, as beaten down as she’d been feeling?

She wouldn’t. Simple.

After listlessly reciting her address to him, she kept her head bowed as he drove, using the time to pray he would let her be and not push his agenda. Unfortunately, the familiarity of him in the driver’s seat, the simultaneous proximity and distance between them, the whole impossible mess she’d made of things all because she’d wanted to get laid…it all kept her eyes on a steady drip, and she knew it was only a matter of time before he started in on her again. But he touched her only once, when he reached over to briefly rub her back as they stopped at a red light.

Of course, the traffic was horrendous and they had plenty of time to sit in awkward silence. Gabby kept remembering the one and only time Ian had driven her car. The night they’d ended up at the lake, sitting on the hood, kissing under the moonlight. Probably the last night she’d felt good about things. Calm. Like maybe everything would be all right.

“Feel any better?” Mark asked. She lifted her head to see they were pulling into her building’s parking lot. Thank God. Things were beginning to crack again inside her. Who knew what would come pouring out this time? She’d probably start screaming and hitting things.

“Not really.”

“You shouldn’t be going through this by yourself.”

“No one knows that better than I do. Trust me.”

“He should—”

“I don’t know what’s about to come out of your mouth, but don’t you dare judge him. Remember it wasn’t too long ago when everyone wanted your head.”

After a brief pause, he said, “Fair enough.”

“You’d better get back.”

Sighing, he checked his watch and then dialed his phone, requesting a taxi at her address. Gabby stared straight through the windshield as one of her neighbors passed on the sidewalk in front of them, pushing a baby stroller, a little pink bundle tucked safely inside. That would be Gabby next spring. Pink or blue? And would anyone be walking beside her?

What if she couldn’t do this alone?

Mark ended his call, and she felt his gaze on her. Finally, she drew a deep breath and met it.

“I’ll go with you tonight. Pick me up at seven.”

“Ian. Come talk to me for a minute, dude.” Without waiting for a reply, Brian turned and headed down the hallway toward his office. Naturally, all gazes present in Dermamania swung toward Ian, and Ghost ribbed him by singsonging, “Oooooh. Somebody’s in trouble.”

“Fuck off, man.”

“Go get your spanking like a good boy.”

“There’s seriously something wrong with you.”

“Well, no shit.” Ghost laughed.

Sighing, Ian made a show of straightening up around his station for a few seconds, but he was only stalling. He’d been waiting for this. Unfortunately, he still wasn’t prepared for it. Brian had remained quiet about things lately—dealing with his own family drama, a brand-new marriage and impending fatherhood—but there wasn’t much doubt in Ian’s mind that time was over and Brian’s focus was shifting to what the hell was going on with Gabby. So when he walked into Brian’s office, Ian closed the door without being asked to.

Brian didn’t sit, rather crossing his arms and leaning back against his desk. And as usual, he got straight to the point. “What’s going on with you?”

“In what way?” As if he didn’t know.

“Well, for one, you’re still here, and for another…you’re always here. I don’t want to, like, tell you to take a break, or to quit and go be with my sister, but you’re hitting it too hard. You’re gonna burn out.”

He couldn’t tell his boss he was already burnt out. Weekday, weekend, he accommodated anyone and anything he could, working his ass off trying to better his financial situation. For what, he didn’t know. For some wild dream that if he saved up enough money, he could swoop in and take care of the woman he loved and his child to the point that her family would accept him, and he wouldn’t be dependent on her.

For the first time in his life, he wished he’d done more. Gone to college. He’d always loved photography when he was younger…then Earl smashed his camera, and he’d never bothered with it again. He had his art, but he could probably make more money inking it onto other people than selling prints.

“You might be right,” he muttered, shifting on his feet under Brian’s intense scrutiny. “But…it’s better than being home.”

“All right. I promised myself when this started—after my initial freak-out, of course—that I wasn’t going to stick my nose in it. Because I hate that shit, and I deal with enough of it myself. But now I’m going back on my word. Tell me what’s going on.”

“She’s there. I’m here.” It really was as simple as that.

“Dude, if you love her—and I’m not asking if you do, I’m just saying—then you’d better get your ass to Dallas and be with her.”

Hearing those words—as if he didn’t already know their truth—was too much. “How in the fuck am I supposed to do that?” he demanded, and Brian actually tilted his head back at the savagery in his voice. Ian was surprised to hear it himself. But that emptiness that had been gnawing its way deeper into his chest…it was reaching some vital part of him, and he feared every day he was about to lose it. Maybe this was it. “Jesus Christ, man, your family thinks I’m only after her for her money, or to fuckin’ mooch off her after she becomes a doctor. How am I supposed to deal with her having to give up everything she’s working toward just to be with me? It’s best for her and our kid if she achieves her dream. I can’t be a part of it right now. I’m willing to accept it if it keeps her on the right track. She needs you guys. She doesn’t need me.”

“She told you about all that?”

“I got it out of her.”

At least he apparently had an ally—Brian looked as if he were itching to hit something. “Goddamn, man. Look, I’m sorry. I know how you feel. I’ve been there—”

“Then how the fuck did you fix it?”

“It’s still not fixed. But I had information Candace’s parents didn’t want brought to light, so they tolerate me. I hate it. I still do, but she’s worth it.”

“I don’t have anything I can threaten your family with, unless you have a dark secret you’d like to divulge.” He gave Brian a crooked grin to show he was only joking. Sort of.

“Nothing like that, but I can tell you this: never underestimate the power of a good old-fashioned ass-kissing, dude. It’s worked with my old man more times than I care to admit. My mom…she’s a little tougher, but he can usually bring her around if you can get him on your side.”

“Yeah, but you’re his son. I’m just the indigent asshole who knocked up his daughter.”

“Look, they can’t want Gabby alone and miserable. If a solution were presented, they’d jump on it. I guarantee it.”

“I can’t present one. I can’t snap my fingers and have a trust fund fall out of the sky.”

“Believe it or not, I doubt this has much to do with money. It’s more about, I don’t know, ambition. They hated me being a tattoo artist when I worked in that little hole downtown. Fucking hated it. But once they learned I wanted to have my own studio, though, and that I was serious about it, they calmed down, helped me get established. It’s all about your work ethic.”

“I don’t have any way to show them that.”

“You’ve damn sure been showing me. And I know you want more than this. I think for you this has always been something you just happened to fall into, and you were good at it, so you stuck with it. You like it, but it’s not your passion.”

“Yeah.” Brian was right about that. But Ian’s passions always had a way of getting doused…by life, by circumstances…by other people. He was fucking tired of sitting around and letting it happen.

His passion…right now, it was Gabriella. It was the thought of being a father. Again, he was sitting on his hands, watching it slip away, and afterward…afterward, he would blame the Rosses, he would blame the distance, he would blame everyone and everything except himself.

Lifting his gaze to Brian, he had only one plea. He could do this. He knew he could…but not without help. “Help me reach them.”

A grin spread across Brian’s face. “All you had to do was ask.”

Chapter Twenty

If she and Mark were going to make any progress tonight—whatever that might entail—Gabby knew she was going to have to get in a better mood. As she dressed for the evening, she tried to shift gears back to the time they were dating. The excitement she’d felt before every night out with him, thinking she might’ve found The One, and later, the peace and happiness of knowing, just knowing, that she had.

The effort only worsened her mood. She could have all of that again, if she would only take it. So what was the problem?

The problem was three hours away. The problem was tall and tattooed and built, and his child, their child, grew in her belly.

Gabby turned sideways and studied her reflection in the full-length mirror hanging in her bedroom, smoothing her hands down her stomach. The little black dress she’d chosen was more flowy than fitted and camouflaged her almost nonexistent pooch—but then, most of the items in her closet would at this point.

Ian had seemed to want this so much. Why was he pulling away now? She wished she hadn’t told him what her parents thought about the whole situation, but should it really matter that much?

He might not like the idea of moving back here and living with roommates, as he’d said. Well, poor baby. She hadn’t wanted to move back here and be alone. She’d had to suck it up, though, and if he cared about her, really cared, he would do the same.

Never in her life had Gabriella Ross been desperate. Never. Not even when Mark had left her under a ton of humiliation. She’d been furious, she’d been heartbroken, but never desperate. She could almost hate Ian for making her feel this way, for making absolute anguish churn in her gut at the thought of the night ahead and what it might mean for a future with the father of her child.

Could Mark really love this baby like his own? What did that mean for Ian’s place in the baby’s life? Hell, had Mark ever loved her?

In less than twenty minutes, Mark would be knocking on her door—she could only recall once that he hadn’t been on time, but he hadn’t shown up at all then. There was time for one last attempt before she gave herself over to this. Grabbing her phone, she called Ian.

It began to ring, and she counted her heartbeats between those pulses of sound in her ear. She counted more between each ring.

“Hey, this is Ian. Speak.” Beep.

She disconnected just as a knock sounded at her door.

Punctual as always. Nerves flittered about in her belly, beginning to replace everything else. Maybe Ian was busy with a client, maybe he was asleep, maybe he’d had enough and skipped town completely. Maybe he was at the fucking bar. Maybe that wasn’t Mark but Ian standing outside knocking on her door. Ha!

Fact was, she practically sat on top of her phone waiting to hear from him, even in class if it were at all possible. She hated herself for it. Especially now.

That he didn’t afford her the same devotion should be all the answer she needed.

She gave herself one last look in the mirror and, satisfied, headed for the door, determined to open it to another possibility.

“Oh yeah,” Brian said casually from the driver’s seat of his truck. “I forgot my brother is in for the weekend.”

Ian had already been staring slack-jawed at the magnificent house since it came into view—now he focused on the sleek black SUV sitting in the circular drive. “The lawyer.”

“Yep. Dude. You get to take on the whole congregation.” He laughed merrily. “This is gonna be epic.”

Dropping his head back and grinding the heels of his hands into his closed eyes, Ian groaned. “You’re deliberately setting me up for failure, aren’t you?”

“It’ll be all right. I got your back.”

Was that a good thing? Wasn’t Brian kind of the black sheep of his family? He might not be the most effective ally in this particular battle.

“Besides,” Brian went on, “his wife, Kelsey? She’s cool. He’s kind of an ass sometimes, but it’s the opposite deal from my parents. Win her over, and she’ll bring him around.”

“Thanks for the tip. I don’t know what the fuck I’m going to say. To anyone.”

Brian braked to a halt, and Ian’s phone took that particular moment to ring—shit! Gabby. He couldn’t talk to her right now. If he told her what he was up to, she might get her hopes up—worse, she might tell him not to bother. Because odds were he was going to do more harm than good. He’d be lucky if he didn’t get run off with a shotgun. Too bad her parents weren’t the old-fashioned kind to push for a wedding in these situations. He would go grinning all the way.

Throughout all this, he kept thinking of her—her smile, her laugh. Kept remembering the night out by the lake, when anything and everything had seemed possible. He wanted a lifetime of nights like that. With her. If the people inside that house were the only thing keeping him from it, then he had to take them on.

He got out of Brian’s truck, jaw set with determination as he followed his friend to the front door. He’d had enough confrontation in his younger years that he tried to avoid it now…but dammit, this was his future at stake. His family. How dare they try to keep him away from that? What gave them the right?

He continued the mental psych-up as he and Brian took the brick steps leading up to the massive front door two and three at a time.

Then Brian was flinging the door open and bellowing, “Hello!” while Ian stalled at the threshold. Cheerful greetings answered Brian’s call from within.

“Dude.”

Brian looked back at him. “What are you, a fuckin’ vampire? You’re my guest. Enter.” He swept his arm toward the interior.

Sighing, Ian walked into the blissfully cool house, realizing how much the back of his neck was burning…and then he looked around in awe. It seemed to be a European country style, tasteful with muted colors, dark shiny wood and beautiful iron work. Jesus, just when he’d been feeling a little confident, he had to walk into this palace. This was where she’d grown up, wasn’t it? This was what she was used to. This was what he could never give her.

“What’s the matter with you?” Brian asked.

“This is beautiful.”

“Man, fuck this house. Come on.”

Leave it to him to put the matter into perspective. Anyway, this was it. Brian headed in the direction of the voices. Ian could hear them all, chatting and laughing, the bubbly babbling of a toddler ringing above the adult conversation. Holy shit, they were at dinner, weren’t they? What the hell was Brian dragging him into?

A pretty, dark-haired woman appeared in the arched doorway of what was apparently the dining room, pausing in uncertainty when she saw Ian but then rushing ahead to give Brian a hug. “Hey, you! Where’s that pretty wife of yours?”

Brian returned her embrace, then jerked his thumb in Ian’s direction. “You’ll have to settle for him. Not as pretty, but he’s good for a laugh sometimes.”

She gave him a light smack on his arm, then extended her hand in Ian’s direction. “He’s so bad. Kelsey Ross.”

He shook it. “Ian Rhodes.”

Kelsey’s assessing gray eyes widened and her grip on his hand tightened, fused to his, he supposed, by her surprise. “Oh! Oh, you’re…oh!”

Brian scoffed. “Well spoken, Kels.”

“Shut up, Brian. I’m sorry, Ian, it’s just that…yeah, I’ve heard a lot about you. It’s so nice to meet you!”

“Same here.” She seemed genuine, so he hoped Brian had been correct. A little black-haired boy appeared at Kelsey’s legs, holding his arms up to her. But Brian promptly scooped him up and turned him upside down while he squealed in delight.

“Where’s Alex?” Brian asked, looking around in mock confusion. “I can’t find him.”

“Here, Bi!” the kid cried happily, while Kelsey shook her head. Laughing, Brian turned him upright again and gave him a high-five. “My nephew, Alex,” he said to Ian.

“He loves his Uncle Bi,” Kelsey said, reaching forward to tame Alex’s black mop of hair.

Brian gave Ian a death look. “If you tell Ghost he calls me Bi, I swear to Christ I will fire you.”

Ian grinned. “I’ll just file that away for future reference.”

“Good idea,” Kelsey agreed. “Ian, you’ve met everyone except Evan, right?”

“Yes, well, briefly.”

“He’s here to have a word with the parental units,” Brian said. “Have you talked to Gabby?”

“Earlier today,” Kelsey said. Her brow furrowed, and she gave her brother-in-law an uneasy look. Something about it raised the hair at the back of Ian’s neck. “Have you?”

“Not in a while…a week or so, maybe?”

“How about you, Ian?”

Shame settled hotly in his chest. Well, it had been there for a while, it just flared hotter. As well it should. He knew he’d been avoiding Gabby, thinking it was for her own good that he was out of the picture, though it was the last thing on earth he’d wanted to do. Probably the last thing she’d wanted him to do. “It’s been a couple of days,” he admitted.

“Oh, guys,” Kelsey said, taking Alex from Brian when he stretched his chubby little arms out to her. “I could kill her. I’m assuming you don’t know who she’s going out with tonight.”

Once, a long time ago during his short-lived JV baseball stint, Ian had taken a line drive to the chest. He’d fallen to the ground and lain there in helpless anguish, trying to force his lungs to fill with oxygen for what felt like an eternity. He’d been convinced something inside him was broken, that this was it; he was going to die.

Even that moment didn’t compare with this.

Gabriella going out with someone.

Who wasn’t him.

Both gazes swung toward him, gauging his reaction to this news. “Who?” he managed to choke out.

“Mark. Her ex.”

Jesus Christ.

“I’m really sorry,” Kelsey said quickly, and he had to wonder what had registered on his face to spur her to move toward him. She put a hand on his arm. “I don’t know what’s happening, but she’s miserable there without you. I’m afraid she might do something stupid.”

“Like go back with that asshole,” Brian all but growled. “I should’ve whipped his ass when I had a chance.”

“Whose?” A man appeared at Kelsey’s side, slipping an arm around her waist. Piercing green eyes—almost identical to his Gabby’s—met Ian’s, and he suffered yet another blow at the memory of her endlessly green gaze. How he felt stripped to the core when she looked at him.

“Evan, this is Ian,” Kelsey introduced. “Ian, this is Evan, my husband.” Evan only gave him a nod and an almost surreptitious once-over. The conclusion he seemed to come to, judging from the look in those eyes that were so like Gabriella’s, was here’s the bug who dishonored my sister.

“My jackass brother,” Brian was saying.

“We’ve got to do something,” Kelsey said, ignoring him and gazing imploringly up at Evan. “Tell me you don’t agree with what she’s doing.”

“What she’s doing?” Evan said, the implication being that he damn sure didn’t agree with what Ian had been doing in comparison. “She’s all alone there. I really can’t say I blame her.”

“Look, I’ve been an idiot.” The words tumbled out, and Ian only hoped he could keep from causing a scene that would get him tossed out of here. “I know that. I let her go back alone, and I shouldn’t have. But it was only because I know she needs you guys. I didn’t want her getting in trouble with all of you because of me. So I stepped away.”

“Which is a pretty shitty thing for y’all to do, by the way,” Brian said, pointedly loud. A moment later, Mr. and Mrs. Ross walked in, looking none too pleased to see Ian standing in their house.

“Brian, what is this?” Mrs. Ross demanded.

“Please, dude, shhh,” Ian hissed at his friend.

“All right,” Brian said, standing back, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. “I got you in. It’s all on you now.” He smirked as if to say he couldn’t wait to watch the show.

Ian took a deep, fortifying breath. All eyes were on him, and if thunder could be personified, it would take the form of Alexander Ross. The guy looked scary as hell. It wasn’t so much that he was bigger or badder than anyone in the room—it was simply the authority he exuded that made him seem ten feet tall.

Or maybe it was just that he had the power to absolutely crush Ian’s dreams right now.

But, shit, what did it even matter anymore? At this very moment, Gabby was probably with Dr. Asshole. Reliving old times. She might have fallen into his arms at first sight, so pissed and upset at Ian that she couldn’t run back fast enough. Fuck. She’d tried to call him not twenty minutes ago, and he’d let it go to voice mail. “I’m sorry to interrupt your dinner. That wasn’t my intention. Brian brought me here only because I asked him to, because I have to tell you…how much I love your daughter. How much I want to be there to take care of her and the baby.” It sounded horrifically lame to his ears, as if he could possibly sum up his feelings in mere words. He’d never been much of a talker.

“We can appreciate that,” Gabby’s mother began evenly, but her husband cut her off.

“Tell us how you propose to do that, Ian.”

“Sir, I know I don’t have everything you do. I’m not ashamed of where I’ve come from, but it’s true I didn’t have it that great growing up. I fell into the tattoo business when I was young, and I stuck with it because I’m good at it. I think Brian will attest to that. But if you will just give us your blessing, I will work my a— I will work as hard as I can for her. I’ll do anything. I’ll go to college so I can be something more for her, if that would make you feel better. If I have to work seven days a week, I will. I only want to be everything she needs. Even if she asked me to stay home with our baby while she goes out to be everything she can be, I would do that too. I’m all about her.

“If you’d asked me even six months ago what my ambition in life was, I wouldn’t have had an answer for you. Since I met Gabby, that answer is easy. She’s it. She and our baby. Please, just…give us a chance. I swear to God, if I trip up one time, you can tell her to send me packing if you feel the need to, and I’ll go quietly. Just…give me a chance. Please. I won’t disappoint you.”

Silence greeted the end of his harangue, the only sound being that of his gently panting breath. What else did they need to hear? His mind grappled desperately for something, anything, a clincher on the whole deal.

Her parents exchanged a long look. Brian’s eyebrows were nearly in his hairline, but he gave Ian the nudge he needed. “There’s different kinds of support.”

Ian nodded. “I might not be much financially, but I’ll be there in every other capacity I can be. I promise you guys that. Surely you’ll agree she needs it right now.”

“I’ve been so worried about her,” Kelsey put in swiftly, looking at Mr. and Mrs. Ross. “Whenever I talk to her, she just…doesn’t sound like herself.”

“No,” Gabby’s mother admitted. “She doesn’t.”

Kelsey didn’t let up. “Do you really want her back with the man who humiliated her in front of the entire Dallas medical community? Her friends and family? The people she wants to work with? I mean, I don’t know about you, but I am not happy about that. She deserves so much better.”

Thank God for Kelsey; Brian had been right. Ian played that angle now. “I would take her to the altar tomorrow, if she would have me. And you’d better believe I would be there to meet her. She wouldn’t be able to keep me away.”

Both of her parents smiled at that. Evan took his son from his wife’s arms, not looking entirely convinced but not seeming as hostile as a moment ago.

“Come on, guys,” Brian said, unable to hold his tongue any longer, apparently. “I got Candace pregnant, and not one of you really gave a crap. You’re all freaking out and trying to run Gabby’s life because she’s a girl, the freaking princess. Get over it. It really should be up to her, not you.”

Ian wanted to cringe at his input, correct though it might be, but he was afraid to move or breathe or do much of anything else.

“Well,” Mr. Ross began, looking down at his wife, “I suppose it comes down to that, doesn’t it?” She sighed and nodded, and his gaze flickered up to Ian’s, narrowing slightly. “It’s up to Gabby, then. Whatever she decides is what we’ll support.”

“Oh, man.” Brian laughed. “Now you really have your work cut out for you, dude.”

Chapter Twenty-One

“Now you really have your work cut out for you.”

Wasn’t it the damn truth.

He’d tried to call her. No luck. She was out with her doctor. Ian could imagine her looking at her phone, thinking, Fuck him, and silencing it. Or maybe she was too occupied to check it in the first place.

It was thoughts like that one that had him on the road to Dallas as the sun fell below the horizon. He didn’t know what he was going to find when he got there, but whatever it was, it would be his fault.

For that reason, he couldn’t bring himself to be angry at her. The idea scarcely registered. She was there and she was lonely. Even if the only thing the doctor represented was a night away from her apartment, he couldn’t blame her for taking it. Hell, even if she had fallen into his arms at first sight, could he really blame her then either? Evan had been right.

Despite all these frenzied thoughts, somehow Ian knew she wouldn’t do anything rash. This Mark guy had most likely come to his senses in her absence, and he’d be a damn fool not to desperately try to get a woman like her back, but Ian could imagine her playing it cool and thinking long and hard about any major decisions. He also couldn’t imagine her not talking to him about it, whichever way it went. Giving him a chance to make things right before she made a choice.

But again, he didn’t know. Uncertainty stretched before him as long and dark as the interstate beneath the wheels of his Harley.

“No dessert?” Mark asked as the waiter came around again.

“No, thanks.” Gabby laid her napkin on the table top, well and truly stuffed for probably the first time since moving back. She was terrible about not eating when she was stressed—and while nothing had really changed about the latter, her appetite had roared to life the moment they strolled into her favorite restaurant.

Almost as if nothing had changed. Mark had seen one of his colleagues upon entering, who’d remarked how wonderful it was to see the two of them back together. She’d held her tongue, and Mark certainly hadn’t raced to correct the man. Gabby had spent the next few minutes wondering if it was true.

Was it wonderful to be back here with him? It felt normal, but that made sense. Only a few months ago, it had been her reality. She’d caught sight of their reflection in the huge wall of windows adjacent to the table as they’d stood speaking to the man and his wife, and they’d fit. She nestled perfectly next to his tall build; she contrasted nicely with his blond good looks.

He obviously loved her, if he was truly willing to take her back now. Not many men would make an offer like that, she suspected. Maybe she really belonged here.

They’d made idle chat during dinner, avoiding anything too deep, and for that she was glad. But his gaze had remained steady and speculative on her for most of the night, and she feared some uncomfortable topics might be broached before the date was over.

“I don’t want to take you home yet,” he said as the waiter dropped off the check.

She’d been afraid of that. “Where do you want to go?”

“Home.”

He hadn’t said my place. But home, as if it were still hers too.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Mark.”

He smiled. “You didn’t think tonight was a good idea, but you’ve had fun, haven’t you?”

She had. Of course, Ian had intruded on her thoughts and she’d felt near tears a couple of times, but other than that, sure, she’d had fun. Better than moping at home at least. “Sure.”

“I only want to talk, Gabby.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready to talk yet. You saw me earlier today. I’m…not in a good place right now.”

“Well, you know I want to fix that.”

She repressed a scoff. “You can’t fix it.”

“Can’t I?”

“No. This is something I have to deal with and figure out on my own.”

“Sweetheart.” Her hand rested on the table; he placed his bigger one on top and gave it a squeeze. “Tell me what you’re thinking. What’s the problem you have to figure out?”

She looked at him incredulously. “How I’m going to make it through school and take care of a baby on my own.”

“I just gave you a solution for that. Come back to me. I’ll be there for you. You don’t have to go through this alone.”

“Mark, you make it sound so easy.”

“It’s not?”

“No. Jesus, you…” Biting down on her frustration, Gabby took a long exhale through her nose to keep from raising her voice. “You humiliated me. It’s kind of a big deal to leave me like you did, you know? You broke my trust. It’s not something I’m going to get over because you ask me to. I’m not… I’m not desperate.”

She forced the word out. Not two hours ago, she’d been feeling very desperate. Not for Mark. For Ian. Who wouldn’t even answer her calls.

Could Mark not understand? Maybe he was as cold and unfeeling as she’d convinced herself he was, because he didn’t seem to get it. Oh, I’ll swoop in and rescue her like a knight on a steed, and she’ll be okay even though I ripped her life apart six months ago. Piece of cake.

“If you want to rebuild this thing,” she said, forcing her voice to remain even, “then we have to start small. Dinner was good. Let’s leave it at that for now. Please. There’s much more to work out than we can fix in a single night.”

“Is there a chance?” he asked softly.

She gazed at his handsome face, almost wishing that they were in some alternate universe where the wedding had happened, six months had passed, and they were excitedly expecting their first child. She hadn’t gone home for the summer; she’d never laid eyes on Ian Rhodes.

Kind of like the fantasy she and Ian had shared the night they went to the lake. She’d been happy with that one.

But that wasn’t their world, was it? And, despite everything, she wouldn’t change the way things had happened. She wouldn’t. Because she would have missed out on some beautiful moments.

“Maybe,” she told him. “That’s all I can give you right now. I don’t want to get your hopes up, honestly, but I’m not closing the door on the idea either. Okay?”

He didn’t look happy with her answer, but she couldn’t help that. It would be too easy for her to fall into Mark’s ploys. For one thing, if she went home with him, saw the beautiful house she’d lived in, slipped back into the life that had been snatched away from her…she might be a goner. No, she couldn’t do that.

“So…thank you for a beautiful dinner, but I think I should go home now.” She averted her gaze to the centerpiece of their table.

Mark sighed, pulling his hand away. “Fair enough.” He helped her from her chair, kept his hand at the small of her back as he steered her out of the building. A moment later, the valet pulled up in his blue BMW, and he tucked her inside. Never let it be said he wasn’t a gentleman, at least when it came to manners.

After she settled in the car, she dug her silenced cell phone from her clutch and swallowed hard past the knot that formed in her throat. Ian had tried to call her. Several times.

Instead of being happy about that, though, she truly hadn’t realized how angry she was at him until that moment.

“I’ve loved seeing you tonight,” Mark said as he entered the freeway, oblivious to her turmoil.

“It’s been great seeing you too.”

“And I’m glad you’re open to us going out again.”

“Mm-hmm.” She gazed distractedly out her window, thinking of burning hot hazel eyes…and then of punching one of them out. Of course, she’d never resort to violence. Only in her mind.

“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?”

Jolted out of her thoughts, she whipped her head around to stare at Mark. “Well…it’s kind of hard not to. I’m pregnant with his kid.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“Can we not end on this note?” She rubbed wearily at her temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache blossom behind her eyes.

“I’d simply like to know who my competition is. Your mother didn’t tell me much.”

Well, hallelujah for small favors. She’d remember to thank her mother for that the next time they spoke.

Competition. She knew better. Mark wouldn’t consider Ian competition as much as he’d think of him as a bug to squash. When it came to wealth, power and prestige, it was a case of David versus Goliath. That might have mattered to Gabby in the past. Not so much anymore.

“He’s a regular guy. He works, he hangs out with his friends, he rides a motorcycle, he keeps to himself a lot, and…”

I love him.

Her eyes closed. She felt tears gather behind her lids, exacerbating the pressure in her head. God, she needed a Tylenol.

“Abandons you when you need him most?” Mark supplied.

“I seem to have a lot of that in my relationships, don’t I?”

He sighed, his jaw tightening. “You’d better believe I wouldn’t have run out on a responsibility like that.”

“Didn’t you have a responsibility to me, though? You’re saying if you’d just happened to put a baby in my belly before our wedding, you might’ve shown up? News flash: I don’t want to be married to someone only because we have kids together. That’s a prescription for freaking misery.”

“I guess I’m saying everything wrong.”

“That’s why I didn’t want to talk about any of this. You’re never going to spin that situation so that you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry,” he said after a long lull in the conversation. “I was wrong. I was so damn wrong, Gabby, and there’s nothing I can do or say to make up for it. It was…inexcusable. Not a second goes by that I don’t regret it. I also would completely understand if you didn’t want to consider giving this another chance. But I hope you will.”

Dammit, she kind of wanted to keep railing at him, but how could she? It was everything she’d wanted to hear but never in a million years expected to. “Well…” she stammered and finally sighed. “That’s a start.” As long as he meant it.

She might as well resign herself to the inevitable. Mark would persist, and she would buckle. Her parents—especially her mother—would be soooo relieved. It was almost enough to make her vow it would never happen, but she knew better.

At least he was here, prepared to fight for her. It was more than she could say for some people.

He walked her to her front door, lingering and making small talk as she unlocked it. Obviously he was hoping for an invitation, but she couldn’t go there.

“Well,” she said when the conversation had played out, “thanks again.”

He nodded, taking the setback with good grace. But then he leaned in, and she felt the tip of his finger nudge her chin upward. She closed her eyes, her pulse accelerated, and his lips brushed hers.

And…nothing. No rush of fevered adrenaline, no desperate need to grab him and drag him into her apartment and have her way with him. As quickly as her pulse had spiked, it fell in disappointment. She did little more than tolerate his kiss until finally he drew away, smiling.

Oh no.

“Good night, Gabriella,” he said and turned to go, seeming very pleased with himself. Probably certain he’d given her something to think about.

He had, all right. Fighting tears, she went into her apartment and threw herself back against the closed door, breathing deep. She couldn’t waste any more tears on Ian Rhodes. She couldn’t. Damn him.

The deluge burst forth and streamed down her face despite all her efforts.

She hated him.

He’d already knocked on her door once, only to find she wasn’t home yet. Praying she would be eventually, he’d retreated to his bike and contemplated his next move—having no idea what it was—when the dark BMW had pulled in several spaces down.

He hadn’t wanted to watch—hell, he’d wanted to march up to them and make his presence known—but some sick need had kept him rooted to his spot, staring on helplessly as that asshole leaned in to kiss his Gabby.

Problem was, Ian was as much an asshole as that guy, wasn’t he? And if she were really his, she wouldn’t have felt the need to give Mark another shot. He thought he might break under the weight of the guilt that crashed down on him all at once.

All his fault. Every bit of it.

He waited until the doctor—tall, good-looking, obviously filthy loaded—descended the stairs, got back into his expensive fucking car and drove away.

Gabby had long since shut the door. He debated calling her, alerting her that he was here, but…no. Whatever reaction he got from her, good or bad, he wanted it to be the true one. Candid and unrehearsed. He bolted up the stairs to her door and knocked, hoping he wouldn’t scare the shit out of her.

He didn’t have to wait long. It flew open, and she stood there, her heels making her almost as tall as him, those green eyes flashing. As inwardly ravaged as he was from just having watched her kiss another man, she took his breath away, the upsweep of her hair exposing her graceful neck and dewy shoulders.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she demanded.

No, not scared. And definitely not happy. Pissed the fuck off. As soon as she gave in to that anger, though, she deflated. Her expression all but collapsed, and for the first time, the light from the living room caught on the fresh tears on her cheeks. They were smeared, as if she’d tried to wipe them away, hide them from him, before flinging the door open.

He didn’t wait for her invite. Surging forward, he caught her face in his hands, feeling that dampness on his palms, assuring himself it was real. “Ian,” she breathed, her eyes taking in the measure of his face, seeming to drink him in.

Another man’s kiss was fresh on her lips. He struggled to contain his desperation to wipe that memory away from her. Her hands slid up his forearms, clamping on his wrists. All at once, she wrenched herself away from him. “I can’t deal with you right now.”

“Gabby… Please hear me out.”

“I haven’t heard much of anything from you for nearly a month. Now I’m supposed to listen just because you say so?” Damn stubborn woman. Brian had tried to warn him from the start. He hadn’t listened, and he was damn glad of that. But still. “What have you been doing, lurking in my bushes? How long have you been out there?”

“Not too long, but long enough.”

“You saw us.”

“Baby, I’m not even— I understand, okay? I do.”

“You don’t understand. You can’t possibly understand what I’m going through. I don’t want your fucking pity, I just don’t ever want to hear you say those words to me again. Because it isn’t possible.”

“All I meant was that I understand why you might turn back to him. You’re here all alone, and it’s my fault. I can’t put the blame on anyone else. I didn’t want you to alienate your family, Gabby. You need them more than you need me. You can’t tell me that much isn’t true.”

“Then what the hell are you doing here? You’ve made your decision, apparently. So be on your way.”

“What would you have me do? Make you give everything up? That’s a hell of a position you’re putting me in. You told me from the start you didn’t want anyone making decisions for you. So I backed off.” He wanted to tell her everything was all right, that he’d made it that way. Hell, he didn’t know how she would take to that news now.

“I presented you with other options, and you didn’t want to take them. And that’s okay. I told you from the start that I would do this on my own, and you didn’t have to be involved. You should’ve left it like that! If that’s the way you really wanted it, then why did you have to lead me on and make me think you…” She dissolved into hiccupping sobs. Oh God. He couldn’t bear it. He wrapped her in his arms, withstanding her brief struggles until she finally collapsed against him, all but boneless.

“That’s not the way I want it. I love you,” he said, his voice cracking as he closed his eyes and pulled her closer still. Her hands fisted in his T-shirt, wetness spreading through the fabric from her tears. “I love you so fucking much. I can’t be without you anymore.”

Twice in one night, she’d heard things she’d needed to hear for a long time from two different men. She hadn’t expected either of them, though, to put her in this predicament.

Mark still wanted her. She could go with him and reclaim her security, her much-needed stability. The support of her family. But she’d sacrifice her child growing up with his or her father…and now she knew she’d sacrifice the blazing sexual chemistry, the fireworks that she’d never known with anyone else.

Ian wanted her. With him, she would be giving up pretty much everything except their little family being together, standing strong against everything the world threw at them…but the intensity of the feelings between them, the understanding, the connection might just be worth it. And he was here now ready to fight for her too.

When he slipped from her grasp and went to his knees in front of her, she gasped, unstable on her jellied legs. Only his hands around her hips held her steady. His hazel eyes lifted to meet hers, and the emotion she saw in their depths robbed her of breath. Her heart lurched into her throat; her pulse throbbed so hard she could feel it everywhere. She shook with the force of it.

“I love you,” he said again, and while she didn’t think there were actual tears in his eyes, they were a little misty. “Gabriella, you’re carrying the only family I have, but it’s more than that. It’s you. If you hadn’t been so far out of my league, I’d have fought to keep you in my life even before the baby, but I thought it was hopeless. That there was no use in trying. There’s probably no use in trying now. But if you’ll forgive me, I swear to God and you and anyone else you want me to swear to, I’ll be with you. I’ll protect you and our baby and any others we might have. I can’t promise I’ll be able to give you everything you deserve, but I can promise you that you’ll have all of me. Forever.”

She’d never seen such sincerity or longing, such heartbreak, as she saw in his face right then. So much simultaneous hope and despair, as if he knew the thing he so fervently prayed for was most likely out of his reach. There was nothing to do but pitch herself down into his arms, and he squeezed her so tight she couldn’t draw what little breath her emotions would allow.

Oh God. What would they do? It didn’t matter. Somehow, someway, they would make it work—she would do whatever she had to. To hell with everyone else. It would indeed be their little family, their little trio, standing strong against everyone else.

“I love you,” she said, the words pouring from her, unstoppable. “And I love everything you just said too. It’s all I want, Ian. You’re enough for me. I don’t need anything else.”

“Really? You would give it all up for me? Medical school even?”

She didn’t want to. She’d already worked so hard. But…yes. When she thought of a future without this, without this feeling of safety and love, without the strength and solidity of him against her…she would. She would have to. She might die without him. She had been dying, hadn’t she?

“Yes.” Her eyes closed to keep a fresh torrent of tears from falling. So many dreams she’d be giving up, all to have another.

“Baby,” he said into her neck, inhaling her scent and seeming to relax into her. “There’s something else I need to tell you.”

Dread kicked her in the gut. “What?”

“I went to see you parents. It’s all good. We have their blessing.”

Seizing him by the shoulders, she wrenched herself back and stared incredulously at his face. Did she even dare to hope…? “What?”

“I saw them before I came here. I can’t say they were overjoyed, but they said whatever you decided, they would support. If that means what I think it means, they’re okay with us now.” He chuckled, and she knew it had to be because of whatever look was on her face. “Brian helped me,” he went on, “so unfortunately, you might owe him big-time.”

“I love that little shit.”

Laughing, he drew her back into his arms. “So we’re okay. For now I might go back to work for Marco, but I want to do more. I will. I promised your folks.”

“Ian, I don’t care. If you love what you do, then please stick with it. We’ll be all right. That’s their hang-up, not mine.”

“To me, it’s only a job like any other. It’s not my life’s ambition like it is for Brian or those other guys. Actually, you’re my ambition.” He stroked her cheek with his thumb, and the way he looked at her lips then, like he wanted them, made her blood surge.

“I do have an idea for you, though.”

“Yeah? I’m all ears.”

She grinned. “What we talked about before. Massage therapy. You can start with me.”

He kissed her—at last!—and the hunger that consumed her was almost frightening in its intensity. She’d have been more than happy to do it on the floor, but yeah—her door still stood wide open. Any observant neighbors might have thought she was insane, kissing one man and then making out wildly on the floor with another. The former wasn’t one of her prouder moments, especially knowing Ian had seen, but whatever. Hopefully she was done suffering indignities for a long, long time.

They broke apart, and Ian got up to close the door when she laughingly pointed it out. Then he helped her to her feet, where she promptly kicked her heels off and pulled his head down to her again. So good, so sweet to feel his mouth on hers again, his tongue invading in its teasing way.

Groaning against him, she pressed her body closer, fitting every inch of herself to every inch of him that she could. His hands roamed down her back and cupped her ass, grinding her against him. Heat pooled in her belly, flowed languidly out to all her limbs, weakening her while strengthening her need. She slid one leg up, hooking it around his hip, and his hand followed the long, lean muscle of her thigh. Her bare skin tingled under the warmth of his touch. Other places tingled in the anticipation of it.

“I missed you,” he murmured. She couldn’t even explain how much she’d missed him. Like a part of her was gone. Or rather, the piece of himself that he’d left with her was crying out for him.

“I don’t even want to remember how much I missed you,” she said. “Just be with me now. Make it all go away.”

Heat flared in his gaze. His kiss blazed through her senses again, and all at once his hands were everywhere. Squeezing her ass, then stroking her breasts, and everywhere in between. Finally in her hair, pulling it down, sending pins flying, and she almost laughed against his mouth as the silky strands tumbled around her shoulders.

Finally. Finally, she had a guy who would demolish her updo. As ridiculous as it seemed, that moment somehow confirmed everything she already knew. This was right. This was perfection.

They somehow made it to her bedroom, flinging clothes in every direction until she landed on the mattress, his hard half-naked body between her legs. Besides his jeans, only her panties remained between them, and she wrestled with the button on his jeans, trying to eliminate one of those barriers. When he slipped from her hands to slide down her body, she whimpered in frustration.

But his kisses slid down with him, teasing along her breasts, then lower. His hand spread over her stomach, the pressure of it warm and gentle. It was too early to feel any movement within, but she liked to think the life inside her surged with happiness at his nearness. “You’re starting to show,” he said, his voice tinged with wonder.

“I think so,” she whispered. He moved his hand to sprinkle more warm kisses around her belly button, which tickled as much as they enticed. She giggled, wriggling under him, stroking her fingers through his hair. It had grown. She liked that. Something to grab on to—and the thought of that first inexorable thrust had her licking her lips. “Ian, please…don’t make me wait.”

He did, though, taking his time pulling down her panties, lightly kissing and licking places that were craving a much more substantial touch. She loved the sight of his big hand dragging the scrap of lace down her thighs, his mouth smearing erotically over the places he revealed.

“God!” she cried in frustration, nearly wrenched in two by her need. Her pussy clenched, heat and pressure building to unbearable proportions. His head dipped lower and his tongue flicked lightly over her clit. Her hips came off the bed, seeking that wet touch again, but he evaded her. The sound that burst from her throat was nearly a growl.

He only grinned, getting up on his knees and pulling her legs straight up in the air to slip her panties all the way off and cast them aside. Seeing him like that…shirtless, inked, pierced, jeans undone and hanging low on the V of his hips…fuck. She was going to attack him if he didn’t get inside her soon. But he only took that opportunity to run his mouth down her calf, the side of her knee, then parted her legs and licked a trail up her inner thigh. Sighing, she let her legs drop on either side of him. He settled between them and put his mouth, that mouth, that wonderful, wet, hot mouth, right on her clit. She slid her fingers through his hair, sighing her absolute bliss.

He sucked her, licked her, devoured her. Whispering how he loved the way she smelled, the way she tasted, how he’d never get enough of her. She prayed it was true—she’d damn sure never get enough of him.

When he’d gotten her so hot and wet and wild for him that climax was imminent, he moved up her undulating body, trailing more kisses, stopping to suck each of her nipples in turn deep into his mouth. She clawed at his back, begging, wrapping both legs around his waist, overjoyed when she felt him push his jeans down enough to free his hard cock.

“Did you ever get tested?” she asked in a breathless rush.

“I did. I’m clean.”

“Me too.” She wanted nothing more than to feel him sink inside her with nothing between them, flesh to burning flesh. Reaching down to take him in her hand, she guided him to her entrance. “Give it to me,” she pleaded, rubbing the blunt, thick tip along her crease, and he lifted his mouth to hers.

“Yeah? You want it?” He kissed her furiously.

“Oh God, yes. Now, now, now…”

She expected him to draw it out, torture her some more. But he was as tired of waiting as she was. With one long thrust, he took her, their mutual groans lingering in the air between their lips as he stared into her eyes. Nothing in the world had ever felt better. So thick, filling her so perfectly, and he barely gave her time to adjust before he began to move with gentle thrusts.

She couldn’t look away from him. Never again did she want to hide from him behind her walls—she wanted him to break them down every time. Gasping as he slid even deeper, she grasped his face in her hands and brought his forehead to hers. “Ian…”

“I love you,” he rasped, and it was even sweeter than the first time he’d said it.

“I love you.”

“Marry me.”

Shock snapped her eyes wide, and he kissed her wildly, further tumbling her under the waves threatening to wash her away. The physical maelstrom of pleasure, the emotional joy of his words—it was all too much. She had only one reply to all of it, and she tore her mouth away from his to cry it out. “Yes!”

And she barely got the word out before climax rendered her mute with all-consuming ecstasy. As she floated back down to earth, panting, shivering, Ian nestled his face into her neck and locked into her, groaning her name as she felt him pulse deep inside.

For a moment, in the warm afterglow, neither of them spoke. Then he slid off her and pulled her into his arms, snuggling her close.

“Yes?” he whispered with a smile as he rained kisses along her jawline.

In the blistering heat of the moment, it had been easy to shout out her answer. It was no more difficult now. “I will. Of course I will.”

“You don’t know how much that means to me,” he murmured, caressing her cheek with his thumb.

Knowing what she’d been through before, he meant. God, she could even question her own sanity. Still, on some deep level, far below her hang-ups and her walls and all that other crap in her soul she didn’t like to deal with, she knew this was right. It was a certainty she’d never known before, even with Mark.

Poor Mark. He wasn’t a bad guy, really, and she had some explaining to do. But she’d deal with that later. She and Ian had the whole night ahead. A lifetime of nights.

Dreams really did come true.

Chapter Twenty-Two

March

At precisely 3:02 a.m., Gabriella Rhodes’s eyes flew open. She knew because she was staring straight at the glowing red digital numbers of her alarm clock.

Sighing, she turned her face deeper into her pillow and mourned for the long-lost nights when she could sleep all the way through until sunrise. According to Kelsey, they were gone for good. Or at least for several more months.

At the moment, however, there were any number of aches and pains or kicks or Braxton Hicks contractions or bathroom runs to disturb her rest, and turning over in bed was such a chore that it required her to be alert to pull it off.

Would this ever freaking end?

She was four days overdue, but no matter how much she begged and pleaded, her doctor didn’t want to induce her. Everything was fine, and she hadn’t dilated. So it was a waiting game. The baby was comfortable in there, apparently, and not ready to make his or her debut yet.

Ian still slumbered peacefully beside her, and she had the thought that she should kick him. If she had to be awake, then he had to be awake. It was only fair.

But no, fair or not, she’d rather kiss him than kick him. Gathering her strength to attempt a rollover, she noticed an uncomfortable ache low in her back. Huh. That was new. Not that her back didn’t hurt often, this just felt…different.

Maybe this was labor.

Ha! If only she could be so lucky. She’d been to the doctor two days ago. Not even one freaking centimeter dilated. Nothing worked—not walking, not sex, not the million and one different ways she’d tried to get things rolling. She was going to be pregnant for the rest of her life.

The ache eased somewhat, and she shoved her weight over, wincing with the effort. This was fucking ridiculous. Her massive belly ensured that it took damn near all her might to even turn onto her other side.

Whatever she’d expected, it hadn’t been this. The indignity of it all. It was one thing Kelsey hadn’t crowed about until Gabby mentioned it one day; then she’d said, “Oh yeah! Just wait until you deliver. By the time that’s over, so many people will have seen your vagina that you’ll automatically spread your legs whenever you hear the door to your room open.”

Bitch. Everything else she’d warned about had been true. Horrifically true.

Forcing her eyes closed, Gabby tried her best to get back to sleep. She almost got there. Except that dull ache in her back…

And she had to pee. Of course.

Flinging back her covers with a curse—she emitted them so often these days—she sat up with more great heaving effort…

Oh dammit. This was the final straw. Everything else she could handle, kind of, but incontinence on top of everything else…that was a deal breaker. This baby had to come out, or she was going to stage a sit-in at her OB/GYN’s office. A couple of hours of listening to her bitch, and they’d gladly give her an epidural if only to shut her up. And she’d take it.

So now she had to wake Ian up after all and tell him she needed to change the sheets she’d just peed all over.

Except…that was quite a lot of…

“Ian!” she shrieked. He popped up next to her, then sprang out of bed to grab for his clothes. She almost laughed. Was he even awake yet? Obviously, he’d been training for this. “I need some peppermint patties. Like now.”

He stopped, jeans in hand, hair rumpled up, and stared uncomprehendingly at her. “Huh?”

“Now. Keep getting dressed. Go get me some.”

“Gabby.”

“Ah! Seriously, you believe that? Oh my God. My water just broke.”

Plopping his cute bare ass back on the mattress, he shoved both feet into his jeans. “You ask me seriously when you’re joking at a time like this?”

“I’m sorry, I’m just ecstatic. Not two minutes ago, I was contemplating reaching into my uterus and pulling this baby out with my bare hands.”

“That’s gross, Gab.”

“You ain’t seen gross yet, baby.” After pushing herself up from the bed, she pressed both hands into the small of her back, stretched and grimaced as a vise seemed to clamp all the way around her nonexistent waist. “Yeah, that hurts. Okay. This is the real deal. Oh God.”

Now that the time was here, really, truly here…she wanted to crawl back under the covers. All those traumatizing childbirth videos flashed through her head. This was happening. To her body. Soon.

“Are you okay?” Ian asked, coming around their bed to stand beside her, fully dressed now. She needed to get changed out of her sopping-wet jammies.

“I will be. Ugh. So much to do.” Gabby waddled stiff-legged to the clothes she’d already laid out for this very occasion. Ian helped her along as if he were afraid she might collapse and start pushing at any second. “I’m fine,” she assured him, taking a moment to look up into his beloved face and give him a smile. “Let me get cleaned up while you grab our stuff and take it to the car. And can you call the hospital and tell them we’re coming in?”

“Sure.” He drew her into his arms, and she went happily, needing that comfort and safety to face the thought of the long hours ahead…even if she couldn’t get as close to him as she used to, thanks to her ginormous stomach. Please, please let her labor be smooth. Preferably short, but she’d settle for slow and uncomplicated. No problems, no worries. Just happiness. They deserved that, didn’t they?

Despite all her moaning and whining and complaining, she couldn’t wait to meet their baby. Count the little toes. Kiss the little hands. She certainly had felt them thrashing around her insides enough. It would be interesting to see what had been causing all the trouble. When she thought of how Ian loved to lay his head on her belly at night, the way his face would light up whenever he felt the baby move, a pang went through her. He wouldn’t be able to do that anymore; that time was over. She would miss that much, at least. But he’d have the baby here to love on, which would be a far better thing…and they would have more opportunities.

Once in the car and on the way to the hospital—sitting on a garbage bag she’d put down to protect her seat—Gabby called Kelsey’s cell while Ian drove. Now it was almost four, but when Kelsey answered her phone, she sounded like she could’ve been up all night chugging coffee. “Are you in labor?” she trilled.

“That’s how we answer the phone?”

“At ten till four in the morning? You’d better believe it. Evan!” Gabby heard a grunt from her obviously still-sleeping brother. “Gabby’s in labor! You are in labor, right? Or are you messing with me?”

“My water broke almost an hour ago. We’re on our way to the hospital.”

Kelsey sucked in a breath. “Don’t you dare have that baby until we get there!”

“I’ll cross my legs as tight as I can, Kels, but I don’t think it’ll matter much.” Beside her, Ian laughed.

“Are you in pain?”

She shifted around uncomfortably even as Kelsey asked the question. “There’s pain, yeah. It’s not too bad yet. Do not tell me how bad it will get.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you now. I don’t want to scare you.”

Oh, now she didn’t want to scare her? “You scare me by saying that. You are an evil, evil woman. I’ll get you back someday, I vow it.”

“You love me, admit it. Okay, we’re getting up, and we’re headed your way. Keep us updated. Or tell Ian to, if you’re in too much agony to speak.”

“I hate you.”

“I love you! Bye!”

Okay, so Kelsey had been Superwoman. She’d done the whole thing naturally. Good for her. Gabriella didn’t like pain, and she was all about some modern medicine. She wanted drugs. Lots and lots of drugs. Since she’d known this about herself from the beginning, she could rest easy in the idea that it wouldn’t be too bad. There wouldn’t be any agony, nope, not for her.

If Ian had been standing anywhere near Gabriella when she let out the first real wail he’d heard from her, he would’ve immediately moved his genitals out of her reach. Thankfully, though, he’d just walked into the room from getting her some ice chips and was still a safe distance away.

All the Ross women in her hospital room—her mother, Kelsey and Candace—rushed toward her bedside to offer support, but her eyes found his through the crowd of her family.

“Where the hell did you go?” she demanded pitifully.

“I was getting you some ice.”

“Did I ask for any fucking ice?” Most everyone standing around her laughed, though her mother shook her head at the ceiling.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Oh. Sorry.” Gabby grimaced and dug her heels into the mattress, trying to roll on her side. He made his way around to help her, his gut twisting at the sight of her in so much pain. Where was the fucking anesthesiologist? He was supposed to be here an hour ago.

The last nurse who’d checked Gabby had told them she was halfway there.

Kelsey stroked Gabby’s hair, her other hand holding Gabby’s tight. “You’re doing great. Remember to breathe through it,” she told her, leaning down to be close to her face. He felt that was where he needed to be, but Kelsey had been through this before and was no doubt a much better coach than he could ever be. So he rubbed Gabby’s back, trying to let her know any way he could that he was here for her.

The Rosses had all shown up a few hours after Ian and Gabby reached the hospital. It was now early afternoon. Brian and Evan had come in periodically, but Gabby had shooed them out when the worst of the pains began. She’d said she couldn’t maintain her “scary big sister” status with them if they saw her beaten down. Candace had fearlessly remained even though she was due at any time. Brian had tried to talk her into staying home, but she’d said she wouldn’t miss it for the world.

Ian had called his own mother and let her know the day was upon them. She hadn’t answered, but he’d left her a message. Whether or not she cared she was about to be a grandmother, it was on all her head now. He’d done all he could.

It would’ve been nice to have family of his own bloodline here for the birth, but it didn’t matter. Gabriella was working hard, going through hell, to give him that. Today.

She couldn’t lie still. From her back, to one side, to the other, finally back to her original position, she writhed and moaned. He fed her ice chips; he told her how strong she was and how well she was doing. How beautiful she was and how much he loved her. But if he could take every bit of pain away from her and bear it himself, he would.

Especially when she looked up at him with agony in her eyes and said, “Ian, I can’t do this.”

All right. He was gonna find the fucking doctor and drag him in here by the scruff of his neck. He’d have gone right then too, if she hadn’t had such an iron grip on his hand. “Yes, you can, baby. But let me go see what’s going on.”

“Don’t leave me.”

He cast a helpless glance up at Kelsey, who nodded and left the bedside. Mrs. Ross and Candace followed her out, and Gabby sighed with relief. “I hate to say it, but I’d rather them stay out,” she said.

“Are you sure?”

“I only want you.”

Jesus, he didn’t know if he could handle this. He’d gone to the birthing classes with her, but now that the situation was here, it felt like throwing a rookie cop into a roomful of crossfire or something. He gently stroked her forehead. “Tell me what I can do for you.”

She cringed and squeezed his hand as another contraction wrenched her, forcing a pained growl from her throat. “Breathe, baby, breathe,” he said, for lack of anything better. Besides, even he could tell she wasn’t doing it—she was fighting the pain. But at his prompting, she began taking slow breaths. He watched the readouts on the fetal monitor connected to her. Her contractions were getting more intense.

“Did every fucking woman in the city go into labor today?” she demanded suddenly through clenched teeth, and he had to laugh, though he quickly clamped down on it. A demon could’ve been speaking through her voice. “Is it a full moon?”

“I don’t know. You’re doing awesome. Have I told you lately how beautiful you are?”

It was true, even if she was bathed in sweat and pale with her hair plastered mostly over her face. “I’m gonna throw up.”

“Well, damn, I’m sorry—”

“No, I mean I’m gonna literally freaking throw up, Ian.”

“Oh.” Shit. He made a grab for the wastebasket by her bed, but after she breathed steadily for a few minutes, her wave of nausea passed.

“I can’t believe my mother went through this three times,” she said finally, as her contraction eased. “All for us to be little shits to her at one point or another. She must’ve wanted to slap the crap out of us. Especially Brian.”

“My mom always said there’s a reason I’m an only child. Apparently, I nearly killed her.”

“Great. You’ve probably put some kind of monster baby in me or something.”

“Nah.” He stroked her belly as best he could around her monitor belt. “He or she will be perfect.”

“Do you have any regrets that we didn’t find out the sex?”

“Nope.” It didn’t matter to him in the least. Boy or girl—his only hope was for health and happiness. Besides, the anticipation, the not knowing, was exciting.

The anesthesiologist came shortly after, and Ian helped her through getting a needle in her spine—one of the hardest things he’d ever had to watch in his life. But as she lay back afterward and sighed in absolute relief even when her next contraction was damn near off the chart, he was glad for it. Gabby still didn’t feel well, so her family was gracious enough to retreat to the waiting room.

And finally, as the day advanced into evening, it was time. Ian held her as she pushed, watching in astonishment as his child, their child, came into the world. Cheers went up from the staff. Tiny, pink, wrinkled, perfect…and, after a brief moment during which Ian held his breath, squalling with a strength that made him nearly collapse in relief.

His daughter.

He wasn’t the only one ready to collapse. Gabby’s head rolled onto his shoulder, her chest still heaving from her exertions. She laughed breathlessly, and he wrapped his arms around her. His voice was half strangled with emotion. “You did it, sweetie. I love you so much.”

“I love you,” she whispered.

“Can you see her?” he asked, watching as the nurses…did whatever they did to the poor little angel. If he hadn’t been so near tears, he might have laughed at his tiny daughter’s outraged cry.

“I can. She’s beautiful.”

“Like you.”

It seemed forever before the nurse brought her over and laid her on Gabby’s chest. Ian crawled onto the bed as best he could, arms around them both, staring down at their miraculous little creation. Already, she looked so much like her mom, but he could see a resemblance to some of his own baby pictures too. Her eyes opened and peered at the world around her; she grasped their fingers in turn with surprising strength.

Gabby unwrapped her blanket and touched her miniature, almost transparent toes in wonder. “Oh my God,” she said, tears in her voice. “She’s so perfect. So incredibly perfect.”

Ian placed a gentle kiss on the side of his wife’s damp forehead. Besides his daughter, she was still the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. Then he stroked the baby’s forehead, marveling at the softness of her skin.

“Are we still good with the name?” Gabby asked.

“Lia? I think it fits her. I love it.”

“Me too.” She spoke to the baby in a cooing voice. “Hi, Lia, sweetheart. Mommy loves you.” She turned her head and kissed Ian on the lips. “And Mommy loves Daddy.”

Daddy. Wow. He’d contemplated the moment when he could truly consider himself a father, but nothing, nothing had prepared him for it. The absolute awe and wonder and love and mind-numbing terror.

He couldn’t promise he would never let this little girl down, but he could damn sure promise that nothing would ever, ever hurt her while he had breath in his lungs. Her, or the wonderful woman who’d given him the only thing he’d ever truly wanted in his life.

A family.

It was a rare thing, really, for all of the Rosses to be in the same place at the same time. Holidays and births…that was pretty much it. But Gabby was thankful for each and every time. Especially this one.

She was exhausted, sore, still a little woozy, and her epidural hadn’t worn off yet…and she’d never been happier in her life than she was right now. Snuggling her daughter close in her recovery room while Ian snapped picture after picture—yeah, he’d really taken to the photography thing, and he was a natural at it. He’d taken too many pregnancy portraits of her to ever count.

“Ian! That’s enough.” She laughed when it seemed the sound of the shutter would never stop.

He grinned at her and snapped one more of baby Lia’s sleeping little face. “I can’t help it.”

“But you aren’t in any of them,” Gianna said.

“She’s right,” Gabby told him.

“Here, dude, I got it.” Brian stepped forward and took the camera from Ian. “Get over there.”

They posed as a family, and Brian turned out to be quite the photographer himself. Naturally, he thought himself better than Ian, which resulted in a brief, good-natured cut-down contest that had everyone laughing.

“I’ll return the favor when the time comes,” Ian said, gesturing to Candace. She’d long since sat and put her feet up. Poor thing. Her ankles were so swollen. Gabby could sympathize.

“Let’s hope that’s sooner rather than later,” she said wearily.

“Really?” Kelsey asked. “Today didn’t scare you to death?”

“It doesn’t matter much,” Candace replied, shifting uncomfortably. “It’s happening whether I want it to or not. I’m just ready to get it over with.” Brian moved to her side and stroked her hair. She beamed up at him. “I’m sure it’ll be worth it.”

Lia cooed in her arms, and Gabby kissed her forehead. She couldn’t stop kissing her—she just wanted to gobble her up. So precious swaddled in her pink blanket, which matched her tiny pink lips. “Totally worth it,” she said softly.

A knock sounded at the door. Evan, who was standing closest, opened it and peeked around, exchanging brief words with a female voice outside. Gabby expected one of her friends, but as Evan pulled the door the rest of the way open, a petite, unfamiliar gray-haired woman walk timidly into the room, flowers and a pink gift box in her hands.

“Mom?” Ian said.

A gasp left Gabriella’s lips before she could stop it. He’d told her earlier that he’d let his mother know they were at the hospital. Against his expectations, she’d come.

“I hope it’s okay,” she said, looking uneasily around at the Rosses standing around the small room.

“Yeah, it’s great. I’m happy to see you.” Ian moved to her and wrapped his arms around her. He couldn’t see his mother’s face, naturally, but Gabby did. Right there was everything that Ian probably needed to see but most likely never would. Sorrow, regret, immense love. By the time they parted, she’d gotten control. Gabby would be sure and tell him about it later.

“Everyone, this is my mom.” Introductions were made. Gianna even embraced her and welcomed her to their family. By the time Mrs. Rhodes came over to meet Gabby and Lia, there were tears in her eyes.

“Oh…” she said, putting her free hand to her chest. “She’s beautiful.”

“Would you like to hold her?”

The older woman looked back to her son as if seeking his permission. He nodded and took the gift and flowers from her. Mrs. Rhodes sat on the edge of Gabby’s bed, and she carefully handed Lia over, cooing at her to meet her grandmother. Lia opened her eyes, gazing up at Ian’s mom and pouting her little lips, and the floodgates really opened.

And she immediately knew Ian wouldn’t have to worry about his mother not being a part of his life anymore. Never underestimate the power of a baby to bring family together. The woman was in love. They had a lot of years to repair, Gabby knew, but she was ready to take the journey with him if it was what he wanted. From the look on his face as he watched his mom with Lia, she knew it was.

Conversations struck up around the room. Gabby looked around at her family with absolute love and happiness. They got on her nerves. They pissed her off. But damn if they didn’t rally when one of them was threatened or in trouble, even if the one they were defending was perfectly capable of taking care of him or herself. She loved them fiercely.

“So, not to steal Gabby’s thunder or anything tonight, but we have something to tell you guys,” Evan spoke up suddenly. Kelsey, who stood in front of him in the circle of his arms, grinned widely.

Candace, Gabby and Gianna shrieked all at once. “You’re pregnant!”

The happy couple both burst out laughing. “Can’t get anything by you guys,” Evan said.

“How far along?” Candace asked.

“I’m due in late October,” Kelsey said. She turned her excited smile on Gabby. “What can I say? I guess I drank the water.”

Congratulations, hugs and handshakes made the rounds. Candace, with Brian’s help, pushed herself up out of her chair to walk over to them, but she froze and her hands flew to her stomach before she took the first step. “Oh God,” she said, looking up at Brian with wide eyes.

“What?” he asked, tightening his hold on her. “Baby, are you okay?”

“Um…I don’t know.” She winced, slightly bent over, and put her hand out on the nearby dresser for more support.

“The baby?”

“You’re in labor!”

“Oh my God!”

“You always have to one-up me, don’t you?” Evan said to Brian, punching him in the shoulder.

“Talk about stealing your thunder, dude.”

Gabriella wanted more than anything to be able to jump out of her bed and help as her family excitedly hustled Candace out of the room, but she would’ve landed on her face. She could only call out, “Good luck!” to her sister-in-law as she was taken away. Brian ran back to give Gabby a quick hug; then he was off like a shot, leaving only her, Ian, his mom and Lia in the room.

“Well,” she said cheerfully to Mrs. Rhodes. “That’s my loud, boisterous, very in-your-business family.”

“They seem wonderful,” she said, still snuggling Lia close to her chest.

Ian’s and Gabby’s gazes met over her head. He smiled at her, a light in his eyes she knew she’d put there. She and Lia. Could this night get any better? Could life get any better? To think where she’d been a year ago this month… Heartbroken. In ashes. If someone had told her back on the night Mark left her what was in store for her in a year’s time, she would’ve laughed herself silly.

Yet here she was. A wife. A mother.

All because she’d asked a guy to give her wings.

About the Author

New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Cherrie Lynn has been a CPS caseworker and a juvenile probation officer, but now that she has come to her senses, she writes contemporary and paranormal romance on the steamy side. It's much more fun. She's also an unabashed rock music enthusiast, and loves letting her passion for romance and metal collide on the page.

When she's not writing, you can find her reading, listening to music or playing with her favorite gadget of the moment. She's also fond of hitting the road with her husband to catch their favorite bands live.

Cherrie lives in East Texas with said husband and their two kids, all of whom are the source of much merriment, mischief and mayhem. You can visit her at www.cherrielynn.com or at the various social networking sites. She loves hearing from readers!

Content

Take Me On
Ross Siblings - 4
by
Cherrie Lynn

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

About the Author