Dangerous for You (21 page)

Lucas’s gentle smile didn’t reach his eyes. “You’ve yet to see me be unpleasant. I wouldn’t push if I were you. Now let’s try this again. May I be frank with you?”

Rebel or obey. Only one would be productive. “Please.”

He beamed at me as if I were a pet who’d performed on command. “Why do you want to be with my nephew?”

“Because I love him.”

“Yes, of course you do but why?”

Answering Lucas’s question would open me up to a level of intimacy I’d only let myself have with Gabriel. Remembering my love’s sincere feelings for the interrogator before me, I knew I’d have to risk it. Just in case Gabriel was right about his uncle…

Just in case I have some hope that I can fix this. That maybe, just maybe, someone besides Gabriel will see the value in me too.

“I can tell you he’s the sweetest man I’ve ever met and that he makes me laugh more than I’ve ever laughed before, but that’s not what you really want to hear. I love Gabriel because he
sees
me as I am. The good and the bad. He doesn’t judge me for it and he doesn’t try to change me. He just loves me.”

My eyes overflowed with tears. I let them fall unashamed.

“Thank you for your honesty.”

A spurt of joy spread through my wary heart. I might’ve gotten through to Lucas. Maybe he’d finally understand that I really just wanted the best for Gabriel and that I truly, madly, desperately loved his nephew and would for the rest of my life.

“I can see you really believe your words, Emma, but there’s this saying I’m sure you’ve heard. ‘When people show you who they are—believe them.’ You showed me exactly who you were when you broke Gabriel’s heart, when you blinded yourself to his worth. I’ll never forgive you for that.”

My heart detached. It floated somewhere while leaving my body with this beautiful, vicious man who may have worn Gabriel’s face but was nothing like him.

“I was only eighteen,” I pushed out through numb lips.

“So was he. It changed him forever, Emma, and almost got him killed.”

“What do you mean? Please!”

My desperation gave him ammunition to use against me. Triumph lit his gaze until it looked like I was staring into a diamond—striking and cold. “You won’t hear it from me. Ask Gabriel—if you’re brave enough.”

“I’m asking you.”

“And you don’t deserve to know. You didn’t give a damn what your rejection did to him. You moved on as if Gabriel had never happened.”

Guilt pumped its poison into the functioning part of my brain. It was true. Back then I never let myself imagine that I meant anything more to Gabriel than any of the others did. Never mind what my heart had felt for my golden boy, or that I’d never even kissed another since Gabriel much less anything else, outwardly I hadn’t let it affect me at all.

“I’d take it back if I could.”

“You can’t.”

“I know.” I drew in a shuddering breath while my eyes went dry. Brittle and strained, I wondered if I’d shatter in a million pieces or simply flake into ash. “That’s why I’ll spend the rest of my life with him—as long as Gabriel will have me.”

“It doesn’t matter because you’ll leave him again.”

I shook my head, clenching my jacket in my fists. “No. I wouldn’t.”

“You’ve already put Gabriel on the ropes. You weren’t sure if you could be with him after finding about his sexual proclivities.” He smiled, sending another stab into me at just how similar it was to Gabriel’s. “Yes, I’m sure you already heard me dancing around the issue with Marie.”

Swallowing, I murmured, “I didn’t mean to overhear you. I thought she had called me over.”

“I don’t care, Emma. We’re past that by this point. Let me make this clear if it isn’t already—I’ll do anything in my power to protect Gabriel. I won’t let somebody like you into my family, not when there’s already someone perfect for him. Someone who would never leave him, someone who accepts all of him—someone who will always understand her place in his life. Someone who isn’t you.”

My heart bounced against the ceiling before slamming back into my chest. The agony of Lucas’s vow radiated throughout every part of my body.

“Gabriel’s waiting for me.” They were the last words I could remember saying before getting my hope shredded. I didn’t wait for permission to leave. I turned on my heel and made my way down the long hall towards the stairs.

“Do you like the house, Emma?”

Back to the beginning again. Always back to the beginning where I lost before I knew I was even playing. “I do.” This I said without stopping.

“Good.”

Against my better judgment I stopped and turned around. “That’s not the word I’d expect you to use.”

Lucas took several steps towards me. “I’m not a total monster, Emma. Make no mistake, if I believed you didn’t have any decent feelings towards Gabriel, I’d throw you out of here now. I’m tempted to do it anyways because you’ve been a thorn in my side ever since Gabriel first laid eyes on you.”

“But?”

“But you should have some good memories because you do love him.”

“I already do. I don’t need your help.”

“No, you don’t. And because of that you’ll move on just like you did before. You’re strong, remember?” Lucas stepped around me and jauntily jogged down the stairs and out the front door. “Goodbye, Marie. I’ll be in touch.”

Gabriel’s mother looked up and saw me standing at the edge of the staircase, forgotten jacket dangling limply from one hand. “Emma! I thought you were out on the lake.”

I pasted on a tiny smile. “It was going to get cold so I needed this.” My legs moved before I realized it. “I’ll be going.”

When I reached the bottom of the staircase, Marie touched me lightly on the arm. “Are you okay, Emma? You look a little pale.”

“I’m fine.” I touched her hand and smiled. “Thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me and Gabriel. I appreciate it more than I really express.”

She closed her hand on my arm when I went to pull away. “Lucas spoke to you, didn’t he? What did he say?”

Gazing steadily into her blindingly blue orbs, I couldn’t find it in me to lie. “Yes, he did. Maybe it’s my fault. I eavesdropped on your conversation with him. I didn’t mean to. I heard my name and I thought it was you calling for me. Once I heard Lucas…”

Marie shook her head firmly. “There’s nothing to apologize for, sweetheart. You had every right to know what was going on. I’m only sorry that there was anything to overhear in the first place.”

“I’m really sorry.”

“You don’t have to say that, Emma. Truly. What did Lucas say to you?”

I found it harder to draw in breath. My shredded pride was the only thing keeping me from bawling out everything. I took a moment to compose myself and said calmly, “He doesn’t think Gabriel and I are good together. He doesn’t trust me, but he trusts Embry.”

Marie took hold of both my arms and stated, “Lucas is wrong when it comes to you, Emma.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I know my son and I trust him. Gabriel has always loved you. That’s enough for me.”

“But I hurt him. Badly.”

“I know. That’s in the past.”

“I didn’t think Gabriel really cared about me at all. I just thought I was another notch on his belt.”

“He doesn’t blame you, Emma. Honestly. Gabriel accepts his role with how things turned out between you two.”

Coldness spread all the way down to my toes. I swayed slightly. “What happened to him, Marie?”

A frown puckered between her perfectly arched brows. “It’s not my story to tell. Gabriel should be the one to tell you, Emma.”

A strangled choke lodged in my throat. Everybody had stories they couldn’t tell about one another. So did I. “Marie, he’s never mentioned a word to me and I can’t ask him without telling him why.”

“Ask me what?”

I whirled around. Gabriel’s easy pace quickened once he took one look at my face.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

My mouth opened but words refused to form.

Gabriel looked at his mother. “Mama, what happened?”

“Lucas was here. Apparently, he spoke to Emma and what he said to her wasn’t kind. At all.”

My lover’s face hardened to stone. “Where is he?”

“Gone.”

He pulled me to him. I went without resistance and buried my face in his chest. “I hate to break our plans but I need to get Emma home.”

I lifted my head and whispered, “No. It’s okay. Really.”

Gabriel shook his head once. “We’ll come back next weekend if that’s okay with you, Mama.”

“Of course, it is.” Her hand smoothed once over my hair. “I’m so sorry, Emma. I hope you can forgive me for letting this happen.”

Clenching my eyes shut, I warbled, “There’s nothing to forgive. Honest.”

I didn’t know why I was so being so emotional. As far as insults went, Lucas’s was rather tame. I suffered much, much worse, so why couldn’t I control my emotions now when it counted?

“We can stay, Gabriel. I don’t mind at all.”

He drew a finger across my cheek. “I know you don’t, but we need to go home. We’ll be back soon. Promise.”

My stomach felt queasy. I was afraid if we left I might never be able to come back again. But between Gabriel and Marie, I found myself sitting back in the Mercedes in too short a time.

“You got my books, right?”

“They’re already in the trunk, love.”

I reached out and clasped Marie’s hands. “I really wish we weren’t leaving.”

She smiled, eyes liquid with sorrow. “Me too. But you’ll both be back, Emma, and we’ll have a wonderful weekend when you do. Promise?”

I nodded, unable to say the words because superstition had me in its grip. Gabriel hugged and kissed Marie, whispering something in her ear that I couldn’t catch, before getting into the car.

Sadly, I waved one more time before we drove down the winding drive. I brushed away stray tears before turning to Gabriel.

“We need to talk.”

FOURTEEN

He glanced at me, gaze safely hidden behind his sunglasses. “What did my uncle say to you, Emma? I want to hear it straight out. No bullshit.”

I crossed my legs and shifted until I was comfortable. “He wants you back with Embry. He doesn’t trust me and won’t forgive me for what I did to you in high school.”

“You didn’t do anything
to
me, Emma.”

“Lucas doesn’t see it that way. He told me they almost lost you. What does he mean, Gabriel?”

My lover clenched his jaw and tightened his hold on the steering wheel. “Don’t feel guilty over this. He’s trying to blame you for something that was completely my doing, Emma.”

“Which was?” Seeing his reluctance, I reached out and placed my hand on his arm. “I don’t mean to pry, but that seemed to be what he hated me the most for. I’m just trying to understand.”

“I know.” Gabriel reached into his coat pocket and fished out his phone. I looked at the dash of his car, knowing he’d be able to make the call with a push of a button. He didn’t want the speaker activated which meant he didn’t want me to hear.

Lucas.

“Call me as soon as you get this message.”

Gabriel tossed the phone in the console cup holder. He stared straight ahead and said, “Things were rough for me after high school, Emma.”

“At Yale?”

“Yes, but before that actually. I was constantly getting in fights. Being blackout drunk was more the norm for me than not. I started hanging out in shadier parts of town and eventually it got me in trouble.”

“Jail?”

“No. A knife in the chest.”

I blanched. My hands reached for him. “I’ve never seen a scar!”

“Plastic surgery and blessed genetics I suppose. The blade nearly nicked my aortic arch. One point five millimeters away if I recall.”

“Oh my God.” I felt nauseous to think I’d been so close to losing him and being completely ignorant of the fact. While I was off in school, entombed in the library, Gabriel had been bleeding out somewhere. “What happened?”

He shrugged. “I was being stupid. Got into with someone and I brought my fists to a knife fight. That was also the last time I was free to go off by myself.”

My brow furrowed as I worked through his meaning. “Bodyguards?”

“Yep.”

“Oh, I thought that was because of your position at Gordon Industries.”

“The timing was pretty much the same because my father was dead a week later.”

I squeezed his hand before bringing it to my mouth. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, Gabriel.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, Emma. Really. Apologies for things beyond your control aren’t yours to give.”

“Maybe, but I wished I’d been there anyways. I also wish you’d never been stabbed.”

Gabriel shrugged. “It was a wakeup call. I wouldn’t be who I am now without it. So for that I’m grateful.”