I’ll Be There (23 page)

“Exactly. I think he's doing a good job in California but…I'm concerned. He's not really…engaging. Does that make sense?”

“Kind of. Beth hasn't said he's having any issues. As a matter of fact, she's kind of gushed about how smooth the whole transition went.”

“Well, Ryder ran a tight ship and he worked closely with Christian to make sure it went smoothly. But it's more than just business, Gabriella. All he's doing is working! He's not getting out and meeting people. I guess I just hoped you'd take the position and you'd hit it off with him and…”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute,” she said, swiftly interrupting him. “Are you trying to set me up with your nephew?”

He chuckled again. “I don't know if I'd say
that
…”

“Don't even try that with me, William,” she said good-naturedly. “You know darn well that's exactly what you're doing. It's your thing! It's what you do! What I don't understand is why?”

“Why?” he repeated. “You just said so yourself. It's what I do!”

She laughed at his ability to poke fun at himself. “Yes, but what I meant was…why Christian? I mean, I would have thought you'd be playing matchmaker for me and Zach.”

“Would you, now?” he asked slyly. “Interesting.”

“William?” she asked cautiously, suddenly suspicious as she wracked her brain for any proof she'd been set up.

“What? What did I do?”

Gabriella thought over the last few months and her interactions with William, dating back to their time in Alaska while they were waiting to hear about what had happened to Zach. All she could remember was William trying to convince her to leave Zach. “Don't you think I'm good enough for Zach?”

Now he laughed heartily. “Maybe I don't believe Zach is good enough for you!”

She was beginning to feel like they were talking in circles. “William, I'm being serious. Why have you been doing your best to convince me to leave Zach?”

“Maybe I'm just curious to see how committed you are to staying.”

Gabriella rolled her eyes. The conversation was going nowhere and starting to make her a little crazy. “Things are going very well right now,” she said vaguely. “I hope you find someone to take Beth's place, but it's not going to be me. I hope you understand.”

“There's a big raise and a bonus involved if you change your mind. Plus, Montgomerys would pay all of your moving expenses and your housing for the first year. Think about it, Gabriella. Zach's a little contrite right now; he's still healing. How is he going to be when he's better and ready to take on the world again? Are you sure you want to deal with his moods?”

There was a time when she would have questioned it, or when William's offer would have really turned her head. But now? After today? Gabriella knew exactly where she wanted to be and whom she wanted to be with. And why.

“Thank you for thinking of me and for the opportunity, William. I really am happy with my decision to stay on with Zach. We're a good team, and when he makes his full recovery,” she said for emphasis, “I'm still going to be happy to be here.”

“Are you certain?” he asked. But Gabriella could tell he was pleased with what she had just shared with him.

“Yes. I'm certain.”

They hung up and Gabriella looked at the phone in her hand. She contemplated calling Summer. Only…it wasn't necessary now. Somehow her conversation with William Montgomery had gone a long way toward clearing her head and giving her the insight she was looking for.

The man was beyond crafty. He was downright spooky.

Putting her feet up on her coffee table, she sat back and let out a deep breath. She was certain about her decision now more than ever. This was where she was meant to be, where she wanted to be.

Because she was in love with Zach Montgomery.

For two weeks Gabriella felt like she was living in a dream.

A really sexy dream.

At first she did her best to keep her work time and personal time with Zach separate. It wasn't easy because Zach always wanted her to spend the night, but she felt it was important for them to have some time apart. But eventually, he wore her down—in a good way—and she had all but moved in with him.

While he had his sessions with Alex, she did her own thing. They had moved the rooms around as Zach had wanted, so while he did his therapy in the home gym in the morning, she would be in the master bedroom getting ready for the day. She still wanted to maintain her professionalism, after all. During his evening sessions, she would make dinner or run errands.

It was hard to even remember what their relationship had been like before because Gabriella felt like a new woman and this was their new life. They were blissfully happy. Zach was getting stronger every day, only using a single crutch and even that only if he overexerted himself during the day.

That's not to say he was fully recovered. Sometimes he would lose his balance, and he still had a fairly pronounced limp. Although he never mentioned it, Gabriella had a sneaking suspicion it was the limp keeping him from returning to the office. She knew him well enough to know he wanted to be absolutely perfect before he'd be comfortable working around other people again. She wished he didn't feel that way—she knew no one was going to think any less of him—but it was his own demon he had to defeat.

Not that she was particularly anxious for them to return to the office yet either. While they were actually working from home and getting a lot accomplished, there was something to be said for the way they could simply stop what they were doing and make love whenever the mood struck.

With a final notation in a client folder, Gabriella looked up and caught the familiar look in Zach's eyes.

She loved that look.

“Did you finish with that file?” he asked, slowly rising from his seat across from her.

Gabriella chose not to answer right away. Instead, she closed the folder and added it to the stack on the coffee table. Then she straightened it. Looking up at him, she gave him a knowing smile. “I did.”

“I was thinking I'd like to take an early lunch,” he said, his voice deep and sexy as hell. “Care to join me?”

She pretended to consider it. “That depends.”

“On?”

“Where are we eating today?” She could barely keep the excitement out of her voice.

Slowly, Zach dropped to his knees in front of her. His hands immediately found their way to her knees and began a slow journey up her thighs under her skirt. “I was thinking right here.”

Gabriella blushed clear to her roots. No man had ever been so…vocal…about sex the way Zach was. At first she was a little shocked by it, but now she found it really exciting. Her pencil skirt didn't allow for too much freedom of movement, so she did her best to accommodate Zach's large hands as they slid the garment up her thighs.

“Hmm…right here?” she purred. “That sounds very…decadent.”

Zach inhaled deeply at the sight of the dark red thong she was wearing. “Believe me,” he growled right before he began to lower his head to kiss her thighs, “it is.”

She couldn't help the low moan that escaped at the feel of his hot breath and his lips on her sensitive skin. It was always like this—Zach Montgomery was a skilled lover and it didn't matter how he touched her or how many times he made love to her, he made sure she completely lost her mind in the sensations he created.

Gabriella thought at first it was because they were new lovers and eventually things would slow down or get a little less…intense. But if anything, it kept getting better. Never before had she lost control and been such an active participant in the bedroom.

With the few previous lovers she'd had, Gabriella had been relatively reserved. She didn't like the feeling of letting go or letting anyone else have control. But Zach left her no choice—she gave everything she had to him willingly and begged for more.

Something she was on the verge of doing right now as he peeled her panties down her legs and tossed them over his shoulder with a wicked smile on his face. She returned it with a smile of her own. “You know, this really isn't proper office protocol.”

One strong finger stroked her inner thigh as he intently watched her face. “It's a good thing I'm the boss. I can change the policies.”

She chuckled. “Mmm…that is a good thing. But it makes me wonder…how are we ever going to get any work done if you keep me here like this?” The last was said with a throaty moan as his fingers went to work doing more than just teasing.

“I guess we'll just have to work late,” he said, returning to placing kisses on her leg, starting at her knees and working his way up. “Probably long into the night.” And then it wasn't his fingers making her cry out but his mouth, and all thoughts of work were forgotten for a very long time.

* * *

“I think you've corrupted me,” Gabriella said much later as they sat down for dinner.

Zach arched a brow at her. “How so?”

“I'm a very regimented person. I have a routine, a schedule. You've completely ruined that for me. I barely know what day it is because I've lost track of my schedule.”

“And this bothers you?” he asked with a smirk.

“I don't know if bothers is the right word, but…I don't know. I kind of feel out of sorts.”

Zach looked at her and realized she was serious. If he were honest, he knew this subject had been bound to come up. He'd known Gabriella for too long to think she would just be able to change her life around without any complications. Reaching out, he placed a hand over hers.

“It's not a bad feeling though, is it?”

“No, it's not bad,” she began slowly, “but it is a bit unnerving. You know me, Zach. I like order. I like things to be neat and tidy, and right now I kind of feel like a kid running with scissors.”

“I'm not following you, Gabs.”

She sighed. “I spend a lot of my time here now—even my nights—but I still have my apartment. Some of my things are here, some of my things are there. I'm living out of a weekender bag and things are wrinkled and messy and…” She threw up her hands. “It just makes me a little cranky when things are out of order.”

“I have an iron,” he said half-jokingly, but the sour look on Gabriella's face made him realize this was a little more complex than wrinkled clothing.

“Things are wonderful right now for us. I know that. It's new and exciting and I love being with you.”

“But…” he prompted.

“But…I feel like I'm losing a bit of myself. I went home the other night and there was nothing to eat in my refrigerator. I had laundry piled up and a huge stack of mail to go through.”

“So what are you saying?”

“I think we need to…I don't know…get a little back to normal.”

Zach did not like the sound of this. He had a feeling Gabriella's version of normal would include more work and less play, and he was not ready for that. He was enjoying the way things were going between them. There was an amazing sense of freedom to being here all alone and being able to reach out and touch her without prying eyes looking on. Their modified work schedule meant they were able to take time to go for a walk or a drive or make love on the living room floor. All of that was going to go away—quickly—if they tried to go back to “normal.”

But he wanted to be fair to her. It wasn't only about him and his wants. “And what does ‘normal' include?” he asked, hoping he didn't sound nearly as nervous as he felt.

“Well…” she began as she pushed her food around on her plate, “I think I need to spend a little more time at home. I need to go grocery shopping and do laundry, pay bills, clean… It's important to me that my life not spin out of control because I'm spending all my time here.”

Unease began to wrap itself around him. “I didn't realize you were unhappy spending time here,” he said quietly. “I didn't mean to monopolize your time.”

Now it was her turn to comfort him. “No, I don't think of it like that, Zach. Really. It's just…you know me. I thrive on keeping things orderly. I'm not used to this. It feels weird.”

“Weird isn't always a bad thing, Gabs.” He squeezed her hand. “I like having you here. I kind of like the chaos having you here has brought.”

She smiled. “I do like being here with you, Zach, but I can't just change who I am.” She gently disengaged her hand and went back to her dinner and Zach did the same. They finished their meal in companionable silence, then together went about clearing the table.

“You could move in here.”

The fork in Gabriella's hand clattered to the floor, unheeded. “What?”

Zach picked the fork up from the floor, put it back on the table, and pulled Gabriella to him. “Live here. With me. All the time.”

“I…I don't know. I think—”

“Don't think, Gabs,” he said softly. “We could share all the responsibilities—food shopping, laundry, mail sorting. No messes. No wrinkles. Just…you and me.”

Her eyes went wide. “I don't know what to say.”

He squeezed her hands and positioned them until they were touching from head to toe. “Say yes. Say you'll move in with me.”

Zach watched as her eyes scanned his face and her mouth moved but no words came out. “Just think about it, okay? You don't have to answer right now.” He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. “Promise me you'll at least consider it.”

She nodded before taking a step back. “Let me get this cleaned up.”

“It's not a big deal.” But he watched her, noticed the nervous energy coming off her. “What's going on, Gabs? Something's on your mind. I can tell.”

Gabriella turned and faced Zach, her expression serious. “I think it's time for you to start getting out more.”

It was the last thing he was expecting her to say. He figured he'd freaked her out by asking her to move in. He never even considered her wanting to talk about this. “I get out. We went to a movie the other night, and we had a picnic in the park just the other day.”

Gabriella sighed as her expression softened. “Your therapy sessions are going great. You're moving around wonderfully and it's pretty rare that you rely on the cane Alex gave you.”

Zach smiled. “I like it more than the crutch but I still hate to use it.”

“And that's the thing—you hardly need to use it and yet you're still hiding out here at home. Your family has been dying to see you and yet you turn down all of their invitations to get together. You don't want them all here but you don't want to go to anyone's house.”

“We talk on the phone all the time. I don't see what the big deal is about getting together.”

“Zach,” she said with a hint of exasperation, “they're your family. They love you. Most of them haven't even seen you since you started working with Alex. Your brothers are curious about your recovery and how far you've come. The only reason Summer's seen you is because she decided to just drive over and see you for herself. She was tired of waiting for an invitation.”

“That's not true. She had some contracts for me to sign. It was about business.”

“You don't really believe that, do you?”

Zach frowned. “What? She brought contracts here. I signed them.”

She smiled and shook her head. “She could have emailed or faxed the contracts. She came here herself because she wanted to see you. It's not always about business, Zach.” She paused. “And that's another thing.”

He was almost sorry he'd brought any of this up. “What?” He sighed loudly.

“It's time.”

Confusion marked his features. “Time for what?”

“It's time for you to go back to the office. There's no reason why you can't. You can still do your sessions with Alex here at the house, but there is nothing stopping you from working out of the actual office. Even if it's only part time.”

Panic nearly choked him. He hadn't felt it in a while. Gabriella was right, he
was
better and there wasn't any reason for him to not go back to work, but…doubt and insecurity grabbed him by the throat. “I'm not ready,” he said.

“Seriously? You're going to use that excuse? On me? Zach, this morning we had rather…energetic sex in the shower. You held me up. You're stronger than you're giving yourself credit for. What are you afraid of?”

Everything
. “I…I haven't even driven yet. I'll need to drive if I'm going to go to the office. I don't want anyone to see you driving me around like I'm some sort of invalid.”

“So what's stopping you from driving? The doctors gave you clearance for that a week ago. You haven't had any signs of the temporary paralysis in a while now. Why haven't you gotten in the car and tried? I would think by now you'd be anxious to.”

“It's not that easy,” he snapped, raking a hand through his hair.

Zach started pacing back and forth, and Gabriella walked out of the room briefly, then came back in.

“Catch,” she said and tossed a set of keys at him. He caught them instinctively, and Gabriella turned and walked back out. “Let's go.”

Zach stalked after her. “Go? Go where?”

She was already at the door, pulling her jacket on. “Wherever you take us,” she said.

Zach stared at the keys in his hands like they were explosives. “I…I can't, Gabriella. I'm not ready for this.”

“Yes, you are,” she said and stepped closer to him. Softly, she skimmed a hand across his cheek. “Tonight you asked me to move in with you. That scares me to death. In the last couple of weeks I've left my comfort zone for you in a dozen different ways. I'm asking you to do this one thing. For me.”