Authors: Asrai Devin
"Sorry.
I thought you knew my knocks were only a warning, not a question.
Bryce and I had an open-door policy. But then he never changed in his
office." He grabbed her arm with one hand and the dress with the
other. "Relax a little and this will go easier."
"Fine."
Her arm went limp and he pulled it through.
"Now
the other," he said, tugging on her other arm. Once her arms
were free, he grabbed the hem and pulled it down, letting his
knuckles brush her thighs. "This is the perfect dress. You look
beautiful enough to skip dinner altogether and have you for dessert.
Turn around so I can zip you up before I change my plans for the
entire evening."
"I
don't think you'd find a willing partner. Now can I have five more
minutes so I can finish reading this e-mail before we leave? You are
ten minutes early."
"I
know. I couldn't wait any longer," he said. He kissed her cheek.
"Turn around." She turned and he let his fingers skin her
stomach and lower back. "What e-mail are you reading?" He
could have looked at her computer screen, but he didn't want to take
his eyes off her.
"Oh,
from Trenton, no big deal. Some work related things to help him out.
He's such a perfectionist, he always wants me to go over everything
and make sure it's perfect."
Gabe
kissed her shoulder with a big grin. That was a perfect start. Shanna
sounded more annoyed with her so-called partner, than thrilled to
help him. And better, it confirmed Gabe's suspicion that Shanna was
doing his work.
"Get
your lips off me," she said, but without much vigor.
Gabe
pulled the zipper up on her dress then peered at the computer. "Maybe
I should look and give you a few suggestions for improvements."
Shanna
pushed him away. "Out of my office. I'm going to read this
private e-mail in private. I will come to your office when I am
done."
Gabe
shrugged. "Alright." He gave her shoulders a squeeze. "Ten
minutes, then I'm barging back in here and dragging you out. I won't
be ignored."
She
waved him off and dropped into her chair. Gabe went to his office and
woke his computer from hibernation mode. He knew it was an invasion,
but if his competition wasn't playing fair, neither would he. A few
taps and Gabe logged in to her company e-mail and found the message
from Trenton.
The
moment of guilt passed when he read the message. Gabe turned the
computer off and slammed the keyboard in. Part of him hoped Shanna
was smarter than he suspected. But he knew the type of guy who would
con a woman with his good looks, influence and money for his own
gain; showering attention and gifts on a brilliant girl who lacked
confidence in herself. She would do anything to keep that attention,
because she felt undeserving of him.
He
paced his office, wanting to slam his fist into something. What he
most wanted to hit was the asshole's face. He couldn't make any show
of protecting Shanna. He had to show her what was going on. He had to
lead her to the light.
He
poured himself a drink, attempting to calm himself. If he went in
with the rage bubbling in his blood, Shanna would know immediately
and want to know the cause. He would go through hell for this woman
tonight if she asked. Tonight he would travel to hell. He would spend
the evening talking about Trenton von Brooke.
Never
mind the anguish he would feel, staring at her beautiful form and
being unable to touch her. Or whisper into her ear how he felt for
her.
*
* *
Shanna
climbed into Gabe's truck. "You've never seemed like a pickup
guy to me."
"I
needed something to haul the materials when I fixed up my place the
last few years. All that tile work in the bathroom, done by these two
hands." He held them up.
"Well,
I'll admit, I didn't really look that closely at it."
"Maybe
next time you come by."
"Maybe."
Shanna's heart felt heavy. She tried to focus on Trenton and his
fucking work e-mail, but their last conversation left her angry with
him. She hadn't recalled ever being angry with him before.
"Have
you talked with Trenton lately?"
"We
talked. He got pretty exciting news, he got a major project. I was
reading about it before we left. I promised him I would look it over
and start planning for the initial meeting to be held when I get
back."
"Sounds
like a lot of work for you."
"Might
be." That really wasn't his business. Nor was anything else that
went on between her and Trenton.
"I
was just asking. Thought I should change gears and be supportive."
She
sighed. "It's been a long two weeks, I'm tired."
"You'll
be on a plane and back to your life before you know it."
Shanna
felt a familiar squeeze of her chest, around her heart. A sensation
she'd felt frequently during the last two weeks. Particularly during
times she spent with Gabe, when he tried to pull her into the past.
While the past pulled at her, she knew her future was more important.
However, the longer she stayed here, the less important her life in
Toronto seemed, and the more she longed for the quieter life here.
"Maybe,"
she said for lack of anything else to say. Gabe would like nothing
more than to know she'd been having these types of thoughts. Thoughts
about staying, thoughts about fulfilling all her teenage fantasies.
God, she needed to grow up.
"It's
a good thing I have the pickup for this trip," he said, as he
turned off the road to the dirt path in a field. "This would be
the access to the house. We own from the road this way."
"How
big is the land?"
"Thirty-three
acres in all. Bryce's plan was to build the house up here and rent
the rest of the land. I know the rough work has been done for water
and sewer."
"It
looks like the basement has been dug and poured, and they are
starting the framing for the house itself. Really, he told you
nothing about any of this?"
Gabe
nodded. "Now that you've seen it and had time to process, you
should ask him yourself."
Shanna
opened the truck door and walked around to look at the site. If she
looked south, she could see the edges of Whittikar Cabinet’s
building. Gabe followed at a small distance, and watching her as she
looked around. She had a test for him. "What color is the siding
going to be?"
"Nothing
vinyl. I was thinking either brick or wood panels. Brick takes less
work to maintain, but I like the look of wood better." He
groaned.
She
had him now. "So you've had very little to do with this
project?"
"Bryce
and I have talked about it a time or two. My personal thought, I
hadn't brought it up with him, was they would move in. Or we'd sell
it. I wouldn't want to live up here alone."
She
made no sound as she sat on a pile of lumber. "I think Dad built
this with the intention you and I would live here together."
"I
asked about that this morning. The house wasn't part of his plan.
They'd always hoped we'd get together."
Shanna
threw herself at him, swinging her arms. He caught her. "You
talked with him today about this? After you told me not to upset him
with it."
"Yes,
because you were all emotional about it. And I wanted to get his
permission before I brought you up here.”
He
held her wrists and she struggled. "Let me go, you big ass."
"Stop
struggling. If I let you go, you'll hurt yourself." She stopped
fighting him and he let her go. "There. Look, I didn't do it to
piss you off, or go behind your back so I'd have the advantage. I
wanted to warn them and hear their side."
"They
aren't your parents. They aren't your family."
"And
yesterday you told me I was part of your family. Which is it?"
"I
want to go home. To hell with supper. I'm too mad now to look at you
one more minute."
"Shan,
come on. I've been good all night. I haven't said one negative word
about anything. I shouldn't have warned you off asking then asked
myself. I was rude. I'm sorry."
She
stood eight feet away from him, her arms crossed as she pouted. He
came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. "Shanna, I
love you, more than anyone or anything. I've loved you forever, but
now that you're a woman, I want to show you how much you mean to me.
I want you every morning, every day and every night."
Shanna's
body froze with joy and fear. Her knees gave out and Gabe pulled her
up against him. She bowed her head. "You can't possibly,"
she whispered. She cleared her throat and made her voice a little
louder. "You can't possible feel this way about me, Gabe. I used
to dream about you saying these things to me. And now, this can't be
happening to me."
He
pressed his face into her hair. "It is happening and I do feel
this way." He turned her in his arms and brushed at her cheeks.
She
realized that she was crying, when he brushed away her tears. "I'm
sorry it took me so long, that I hurt you while I was getting my shit
together and figuring out the perfect person for me was right in
front of me the whole time. I know you aren't sure. And I'll give you
all the time you need, but I won't wait idly by."
Shanna
nodded, ignoring the swirl of other emotions that overwhelmed her.
The feelings were so strong that she went numb to keep herself from
thinking about them. She wanted space from him, but at the same time,
she felt safe inside his arms. "My makeup is running."
"You're
still beautiful."
"I'll
fix it in the truck. We should go or we'll miss our reservation."
He
laughed. "This is Claresholm, sweetheart. We don't have
reservations. People don't understand that."
She
joined in his laughter. "Right, we aren't in the city."
He
put his arm around her waist and pulled her against him. "I'll
indulge my need to touch you out here, but once we are in town, I'll
remain a chaste gentleman." He kissed her cheek.
Shanna
knew she should tell him to stop, but she seemed powerless. All the
confidence of the last few days had deserted her. She should tell him
that she was leaving in a few days, that she was marrying someone
else, that any hope he had was false hope. She should tell him she
couldn't and wouldn't live in this town, and in a house her father
was building specifically for her. The voice in the back of her head
said that wasn't true, that part of her did want everything Gabe was
offering.
She
climbed into through truck door he opened for her. She grabbed her
purse, pulled out a few supplies and set them on the dashboard. She
pulled the visor down and used the mirror there to fix her face. In a
few moments, all traces of tears disappeared. She smiled at Gabe, who
watched her from the driver's seat.
He
grinned back. "Beautiful as always."
His
words warmed her heart. She had no idea what to do with that feeling,
so she stared straight out the front.
Chapter 10
The
waitress approached the table and they ordered. When she was gone,
Shanna leaned toward Gabe. Man, if he smiled any more, his face was
going to crack.
"So,
tell me about you and Trenton von Brooke," Gabe prompted.
He
expected hesitation. He expected her to want to keep it private. He
expected her to still be upset with him. What he got was more
information than he ever wanted about the other man.
"Well,
we met my second year. I was still, you know, shy, and I was
surprised he paid attention to me. I think we met in the library when
we were doing homework and he started talking with me. We started
doing homework together. When I got to my last year, it was like I'd
already done the work because I'd seen all his."
Right.
It seemed more likely that she'd done all his. "If you were only
second year, he must have helped you a fair amount."
She
wrinkled her nose. "Not really. Sometimes I'd read his textbooks
with him, read over his papers." She looked at the tabletop and
tapped her fingers. Was she realizing how she’d been duped?
"Sorry
to interrupt. I have your wine," the waitress said, sliding it
in front of them.