“I owe you,” Jean Claude counters. “Not only do you protect me loyally even today, after parting ways years before, you made the property deal happen. I called Abbie an hour ago.” He looks at me. “As did you. I traded Abbie a signature for the dog, though she assured me she’d sign anyway. I believed her.” He looks between us. “He tells me he might go to Europe. Make sure he does.” He steps around us and stops next to Blake. “Hack for me.”
“Never fucking happening,” Blake replies.
Jean Claude laughs. “I had a feeling that’d be your answer.” He says nothing more. He simply steps around me and leaves.
I kneel to pet Dexter again and Reid and I share a look. “Do you want to talk to dad?” Reid asks.
“Not if we want him to live,” I say, standing up again. “Tell him goodbye and fuck you for me. I’m taking my dog home.”
“I’ll stay with Reid,” Blake says and looks between us. “And I’ll make sure your father is supervised until he leaves the country. Seems like this is just what you both wanted.”
No, I think. We wanted a father who was a good man, the kind ours can never become. And we wish that we’d figured that out when our mother was alive. All the more reason to cherish the people we have in our lives.
***
It’s twenty minutes later when Dexter and I arrive home and the minute I open the door, Abbie is running toward us. We launch ourselves in her direction and she all but slams into me, immediately trying to explain herself. “I wanted to tell you, but—”
I kiss her. “I know why you told Blake. It was a smart decision. I might have killed him and then you’d have to visit me in jail and that would get complicated.”
Dexter barks and Abbie laughs, tears streaming down her face as she kneels and ends up tackled. Savage silently walks past her, giving me a nod and exiting the apartment. I lock the door and go down on the floor next to Abbie. It’s a long time later when Dexter calms down and the doggy attacks are over. Abbie and I don’t get up. We lay there and stare at each other.
“I was afraid we’d lose him,” she whispers, her fingers curling on my jaw as we both roll to our sides and face each other.
“Never,” I promise. “You’re never going to lose him or me, Abbie.”
“Just so you know, Gabe, I don’t think I can help but fall in love with you. If that’s a problem then—”
I cup her head and kiss her, a deep stroke of tongue before I whisper, “I’ve loved you since you kissed me by the bathroom in that bar. I love you, Abbie.”
“I love you, too, Gabe.”
Dexter barks his love and we both laugh. “He loves us, too,” I say, before I stand, scoop Abbie up and carry her toward the bedroom where I intend to show her how much I love every inch of her, tonight and as many nights as she allows me. All of the nights she will ever live. Because she’s the reason I live.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Reid…
I enter my father’s apartment to find him sitting in one of two chairs that faces a window overlooking the city. I sit down next to him. I don’t speak. Seconds stretch to minutes before he says, “There’s a small town in Italy I’m quite fond of. I’ll leave tomorrow morning.”
I feel those words in an explosion of emotions. He’s my father. He’s a bastard. He’s leaving. I’ll probably never see him again because we both know he’s not going where he says he’s going. We both know he can’t afford to have Jean Claude find him.
“I’ll give you a ride to the airport right after you pay off that woman trying to extort us on your behalf.”
“You pay her the fuck off and I’ll give myself a ride to the airport.” He looks over at me. “I’ll be back when the baby is born.” His expression is defiant. There’s no love for Cat and his future grandbaby. It’s his way of telling me that I can’t get rid of him, not until he’s in his grave.
My father underestimates Jean Claude.
Or perhaps Gabe and I underestimate our father, and he’ll be back here causing trouble, proving Gabe’s superhero-villain-that-won’t-die theory. Whatever the case, I walk to the front desk, open the drawer, pull out the checkbook I knew would be there, and point. “Write a check to the woman. Or should I ask Jean Claude to pay your debt?”
He smirks, amused, like he’s proud of me for outsmarting him. I really fucking hate when he makes me feel like a chip off the old block but he writes the check and hands it to me. I happily take it. “Happy now?”
“Like a pig rolling in your shit,” I say and I am because at least for now, maybe forever, he’s leaving, and we’ll have peace. I don’t say another word. I walk to the door with one intention: going home to my wife and holding her closely, because my father has a way of making me appreciate how damn lucky I am to have her. At least for now, this is over and my brother has finally found his way, outside any path my father influenced. If we’re lucky, we’ll have Cat’s baby and another Maxwell wedding in the near future.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Abbie…
Packing up my apartment on Saturday is surreal in all kinds of ways, as is the funeral for Kenneth that has come and gone now without my presence. A chapter or even ten, of my life, it seems, have closed. For Gabe, too, where his father’s concerned. He and Reid had confirmed the claim this morning by stopping by his apartment to find him gone. Blake confirmed he found a flight out of the country for him as well.
“Any regrets?” Gabe asks as a group of movers leaves with the last of my furniture, which I’ve donated to a charity.
“None,” I say. “None at all.”
He smiles and kisses me. “Then let’s go home.”
Hours later, I’m in his office that we’re sharing now, filing away some of my basic documents, like my birth certificate, when I find a bag with a couple of cellphones in it. Gabe appears in the doorway, looking sexy as hell in a simple white tee and jeans. This man is mine. I am his. Does life get any better?
“You want a glass of wine?”
Apparently, it does. With wine. “I’d love a glass.” I hold up the bag of cellphones. “Do you secretly run a cellphone store and I don’t know it?”
His jaw clenches and looks skyward before he closes the space between us and kneels in front of me. “Rose-colored glasses, Abbie? Is that how you really want to see me and us?”
I inhale and let it out, and I don’t know why, but I know what this is. “You used them when you were planning to ruin Kenneth.” Surprise flickers in his eyes. “I told you. I don’t see you with rose-colored glasses. And you told me you tried to ruin him. Am I right about the phones?”
“Yes,” he confirms. “I hired someone I knew had shit for morals, and told him to dig. Kenneth died before he even got back to me. That’s the honest to God truth.”
He expects me to one day wake up and see the monster inside him because he still sees that monster. I cup his face. “I believe you. I’m not going to wake up one day and hate you, Gabe. One day, I hope you’ll wake up and say the same thing.”
He lowers his forehead to mine, and for long seconds we sit there like that, but as it goes in this house, Dexter has doggy radar. He must be in the middle of all affectionate moments and soon he’s nuzzling our laps and we’re loving on him, smiling at each other. We’re good. We’re the best I’ve ever been.
***
Sunday morning, Gabe and I enjoy just being home together. We watch movies. We go for a run. We talk. We eat. We find creative ways to make love and it’s wonderful. Even waking up Monday morning to reporters and news of Neal’s confession to killing Kenneth doesn’t mute the wonder of being here with Gabe and Dexter. Once we’re at work, we set the craziness of the press aside, and I dive into learning my way around the office. Lulu is wonderful and it’s clear we’ll be friends. I even get to know Carrie, who also works for the company, actually owns part of the company as her family business merged with the Maxwells.
By Tuesday, the press is already dying down and word of the case closing finally arr
ives. There will be no interviews. It’s over. Gabe and I celebrate with really hot sex and well-earned donuts. Later, at the office, life moves on. I embrace my new job by spending the morning at a conference table with Gabe, Carrie, and Reid talking through my role, creating their new philanthropy division. “We want you to present your ideas to us in a month,” Reid announces. “And from those, we’ll pick the best of the best, and you’ll present those ideas, your ideas, to the board. That will be roughly two weeks later.”
I perk up with a collision of nerves and adrenaline, but it’s all positive. This is my chance to prove my worth. “What are my boundaries?” I ask.
Gabe slides a folder in front of me. “Your budget. The rest is up to you. You’re the expert on non-profits.”
I’m excited and Carrie shares my excitement. She feeds my eagerness to get started making my time here really count. We chat for a good hour after the men leave to attend to their clients. Carrie and I begin to bond and by the time I sit down behind my desk, alone in my thoughts, planning my presentations, I know that I’m on my way to a new life, a new way. This is not just Gabe’s world. It’s my world.
And hours later, when he steps inside my doorway, to check on me, I amend one part of that statement. This isn’t his world and my world. This is our world.
***
That night we have dinner with Cat and Reese, celebrating the end of the investigation, as well as Reese winning the high-profile case he’s been navigating through all of this. We do so with sparkling cider and baby talk, which does pinch a bit though I’d never admit that to anyone. Gabe and I will never have children. I have this thought, but quickly dismiss it. It doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t, but it does serve to remind me of his past, which is a painful one. I vow to wash away that pain and fill it will laughter. Not the fake laughter he’d used to hide his pain beneath but real, heartfelt laughter.
***
For the rest of the week, I’m eager to dive into my new job. With the shelter relocated, I analyze the best charitable way the company can contribute to society and what the tax-related credits will be, if any. I radiate toward filling the hole in the city that losing my mother’s shelter has created.
Outside of work, Gabe and I spend every second together and fall into a routine. We workout together. We shower together. We sit in front of the fireplace and plan our future, the holidays. The travel we want to do together. The next weekend in the Hamptons, which I look forward to all week. We chopper in on Saturday morning.
Once we’re there, we visit the shelter and my mother. I watch Gabe help a wounded dog come down off a fear-driven fit of aggression and fall in love with the man all over again.
“Animals know,” my mother says beside me. “They hated Kenneth. They love Gabe. So, perhaps, should you.”
“I do,” I say softly. “I do, mother. I love him.”
She brushes hair from my face. “And he loves you. I see it in his eyes.”
There’s barking and we both turn to find Gabe now playing run and fetch with yet another dog. “He needs a baby and not the furry kind,” my mother suggests, winking at me, but thankfully moving on. “Though Gabbie and her babies are staying here. Brandon and I are too attached to let them go.”
Brandon just happens to appear in that moment, sliding an arm around my mother’s shoulders, and I know the look of love my mother described. I see it in Brandon’s face when he looks at my mother. He’s handsome and charming and as the day turns into a double dinner date, it becomes clear that he shares my mother’s excitement for the shelter’s future at his ranch. He’s proud of her, as am I.
It’s later that night, sitting by the outdoor fireplace, listening to the waves crash on the ocean that Gabe and I hatch the plan to open another shelter in the city, with my mother as the supervising veterinarian. We call her before we leave and invite her to breakfast. By the time we finish a breakfast that assures more jogging this week, we’re all eager for a future new shelter in the city.
A month and a half flies by like it’s mere hours, and I become less obsessed with keeping our relationship secret at the office, but vow to do so until after the board meeting where I will make my presentation. That day arrives, and I sit there with twelve hard expressions staring back at me. My presentation, which is completed with the aid of Dexter and Gabe, goes fabulously. Not only does the board approve of the shelter, quite a few members want to get involved. Dexter gives them high paws as appreciation. He also plays dead and dances. He’s really good at convincing people he’s not a serial killer. When the meeting is over, Gabe and Dexter kiss me in the lobby, and I don’t care. I’ve made my claim on this life. I don’t want to hide anymore.
The weekend arrives with Gabe’s promise of a big surprise. “I’m taking you somewhere to celebrate your presentation. Dress up. We’re going to do this right.”
This pleases me and I have several days to settle on an emerald green dress with a flared skirt and cinched waist. Gabe dresses in a dark suit and wears a tie to match my dress. The restaurant is in a high-rise and I have no idea why, but there are butterflies in my belly as the waiter leads us to a private room just under an archway. There’s a table set-up for us and champagne already on ice.
“This is amazing, Gabe,” I say, claiming my seat as he holds it out for me, the view stunningly lit up with city lights doing their best at rivaling the starlight.
“As are you, Abbie.” His voice softens. “As are you.”
“Gabe,” I whisper, emotion expanding in my chest.
He settles in the seat across from me and fills our glasses. We chat and sip our drinks when the waiter pokes his head inside and looks at Gabe. Gabe gives him a nod and then to my shock, Dexter walks in wearing a tie. I laugh as the pup offers me an envelope in his mouth. “What do you have there, boy?”
“Open it.”
I unseal the flap and pull out what looks like pre-op paperwork. My brow furrows and I glance at Gabe. “What is this?”
“I’m getting a reversal. So I can be a father and you can be a mother, should we see fit. It’s not a hundred percent, Abbie. I need you to know that, but—”
“Is this what you want? Really want?”
“I want everything with you, Abbie.” And then he’s on his knee beside me, holding out a velvet box. “Marry me. Marry me and make me the happiest man alive.” He opens the lid and presents me with a glorious round diamond that glistens in the lights above. “You will never doubt my love.”
Tears spill from my eyes. “Yes. Yes, of course I’ll marry you.” I press my hands to his face and my lips to his lips.
He stands and kisses me properly before sliding the ring on my finger. Dexter barks his approval and we promise him a steak for being such a handsome delivery boy. And I know that even if we don’t get pregnant, we are already a perfect family.
THE END
***
Readers,
Thank you so much for picking up THE DIRTIER DUET! Gabe and Abbie’s story touched my heart more than I could have imagined—Dexter, too!—and I hope they left a mark on you as well! What’s next for me? I have A PERFECT LIE—my first thriller— coming out next month. Keep reading for chapter one! But also, join me for my sexy and suspenseful NAKED TRILOGY which will be debuting in June!
PRE-ORDER AND LEARN MORE HERE:
https://nakedtrilogy.weebly.com
***
In the mood for a cowboy romance? I have a brand-new one coming out this year in mass market paperback (in stores everywhere!) and ebook on August 27, 2019! Check it out here:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43582158-the-truth-about-cowboys
***
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sp; KEEP READING FOR CHAPTER ONE OF THE BASTARD (BOOK ONE IN MY SUPER SEXY FILTHY TRILOGY) AND A PERFECT LIE (MY UPCOMING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER) !
THE FILTHY TRILOGY
BINGE THE ENTIRE SERIES NOW!
THE BASTARD (book one)
THE PRINCESS (book two)
THE EMPIRE (book three)
Chapter One OF
THE BASTARD
Eric
When the Kingston family decides to throw a party, it means no less than two hundred people at their twenty-thousand-foot Aspen estate, valets at the door, an abundance of Kingston Motors luxury cars in the drive, and money. Lots of money, because Jeff Kingston has nothing to do with anyone who doesn’t have money, aside from me, his bastard son, otherwise known as the backup heir just in case my half-brother kicks the bucket.
I exit the guest house, where I’m staying until my meeting with my father tomorrow, which I shouldn’t have accepted. I don’t know why the fuck I’m even here, aside from the fact that these people are supposed to be my people, and leaving the SEALs was like leaving family. It’s hard to let go of that need for a family unit. Family. Right. What the hell was I thinking? Like I could ever really be a Kingston.
I walk down a stone path shrouded in flowers and low hanging trees, twisting left and then right until I enter the courtyard filled with bodies in fancy dresses and tuxedos like the one I’m in now. A waiter walks by and I snag a glass of champagne when I’d rather have whiskey, but I’ll settle for anything to get me through tonight’s launch of a new model of car. I barely give a shit about the old model, which is exactly why my father shouldn’t want me to work for him. I walk to one of the few dozen standing tables covered in white tablecloths, down my drink and accept another when my gaze catches on a woman, on her and just her.
She’s standing on the other side of the pool, a princess in a strappy black dress, with flawless skin and long brown hair, surrounded by her subjects. At least, that’s how she reads to me, no doubt like every other socialite I’ve ever met in this godforsaken world, and yet I’m watching her when I never watch them. There’s something about this woman, a white swan among the black swans on a pond made of money and death, my mother’s death most specifically, since that’s how I got here.
Her Submission Page 17