For Always (A Donovan Friends Novel)

by AC Arthur

  “Then I’ll go with you,” Tyler said over her hand.

  Gabriella smiled and moved her hand from his mouth to cup the side of his face.

  “No. I got into this on my own. I tried to handle it on my own once before. It’s only fitting that I go back alone and fix it.”

  “But you’re not alone anymore, Gabriella. I’m with you. I told you I would never leave you. I love you,” he said.

  Gabriella eased over to him. She leaned in to drop a soft kiss on his lips. “I love you so much Tyler. That’s why it’s so important that I do this. I don’t want to come to you with all this baggage. And you’re not leaving me,” she said with a tentative smile. “I’m technically leaving you.”

  “And I’m not dealing with it too well,” he said. “Gabriella, please reconsider.”

  “It’s better this way,” she said and sat back against the couch again. “This way, when I come back—because Tyler, I definitely plan to come back to you—I’ll be whole and renewed and completely healed. And then we can start our future, on new and solid footing.”

  “I don’t like this idea,” he said with a mock frown. “But I understand that you need to do this for yourself. I respect that you want to do this for yourself.”

  “And for us,” she told him. “I want there to be an ‘us’, Tyler. Please don’t doubt that.”

  He smiled. “No. I don’t doubt it. I just don’t want you to forget it.”

  “I won’t,” she said. “Here, get your phone out.”

  She’d slipped her phone into her back pocket and she pulled it out while Tyler released her hand and retrieved his from the side pocket of his sweat pants.

  “Pull up your calendar. We’re going to set a date,” she said.

  He chuckled. “Okay. But what are we setting a date for?”

  “For September the first at three o’clock in the afternoon. That’s when we’ll meet back here at the equestrian center. The place where we first met,” she said after she finished typing it into her phone.

  She leaned over to make sure he’d typed the same thing into his phone and smiled when he hit the save button and returned his phone to its locked screen.

  “September the first,” Tyler said while gazing into her eyes. “At three o’clock sharp I’ll be at the equestrian center with GG and Brown Eyes waiting for you.”

  “I’ll be there,” she promised.

  “Don’t make me wait a second longer,” he whispered as he moved in closer.

  “Not one second longer,” she stated just seconds before they sealed their deal with a kiss.

  Chapter 18

  2 weeks later, August 31st

  Greenwich, Connecticut

  “A toast,” Alex said. “To Gabriella. A fierce and determined young woman who took no crap from Austin Sterner as he stood in the courtroom and tried to deny all that he’d done to her.”

  Although she hated being the spotlight of tonight’s family dinner, Gabriella lifted her glass and accepted the toast to herself. She deserved it for everything she’d endured in the last two weeks.

  When she’d returned home from Hobbs Creek, Gabriella hadn’t been certain how she was going to deal with Austin, she just knew that she had to do something. So, after going to the police station and filing a formal complaint for harassment, she’d gone to the office where she used to work with Austin under the pretext of returning some literature that belonged to them which she still had in her home office.

  Faran Beulsky, the lead agent at the firm happened to be at the front desk when she’d arrived.

  “Hello, Gabriella. It’s such a nice surprise to see you again,” Faran had said.

  He’d always been very nice to her and so Gabriella had smiled at him genuinely. “I’m only back in Greenwich temporarily, Faran. Just wanted to drop these materials off to you.”

  “Ah yes,” he said taking the stack of pamphlets and papers from her. “I heard that you were working for the Proctor Group now. I’m sure they have you traveling a lot.”

  “Yes. As a matter of fact I’ve just returned from a project in Texas.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Faran said. “No. That is a lie. It’s not wonderful. I wish you were here still working with us.”

  “Why thank you, Faran. I did enjoy my time here with you and the other agents. It just became too uncomfortable after Austin and I broke up,” she told him.

  “What? You mean that rumor was true?”

  “What rumor is that, Faran?”

  “The one where you and Austin were involved in a relationship that you eventually ended. When I confronted Austin about it, he told me it was a lie. That you’d probably said that because he hadn’t been satisfied with your work on the last project and suggested you find another position. I told him I would have liked to talk to you about your position and I would have liked to see that project that he was so unhappy with. But he brushed it off saying that he’d handled it and it was over.”

  Gabriella kept her smile in place. If she had been feeling any measure of guilt for intending to come to his job and tell Austin’s employers what a sick bastard he was, she definitely wasn’t now.

  “I assure you, Faran, we definitely had a relationship. I have the text messages, emails and doctor’s bills to prove it,” she quipped.

  Faran immediately began shaking his head. “No. Don’t tell me he was abusive. I will not stand for such a thing. Not at my firm.”

  “Oh no, Faran. Austin never laid a hand on me. I’m talking about the baby I lost because Austin wouldn’t take me to the hospital when I begged him to,” she said and while there had been a pinch of sadness and pain at her words, the look on Faran’s face was enough to make it better.

  By the time Gabriella left, she felt confident that Faran was going to call Austin and tell him that she was back in Greenwich. That was what she’d wanted when she decided to go there. Now, all she had to do was wait for him to come to her.

  And he did, not three hours later.

  He knocked on her apartment door and Gabriella had answered it ready for whatever was about to happen. At least she thought she was before she saw him.

  Standing at six feet even, Austin Sterner was one fine black man. His clean-shaved head and muscled chest only accentuated how brilliant he was in the real estate market. He wore gray slacks and a gray dress shirt with the first two buttons left open. The shirt was fitted because Austin liked to show off all the work he put in at the gym.

  “So you returned,” he said as he walked into her apartment without an invitation.

  It was fine. Gabriella had let him in. If she didn’t want him there, he wouldn’t be.

  “I have.”

  “And you’re running your mouth about me already. Look Gabriella, I told you I wanted you back. We could have worked this out, baby. You didn’t have to go running to Faran feeding him a bunch of lies,” Austin said.

  Gabriella folded her arms over her chest and stood with her back against the door.

  “Oh, they were lies? I thought for sure that I’d spent three days in the hospital earlier this year because of a miscarriage.”

  Austin shook his head. “I told you to deal with that situation well before that time. It’s not my fault you waited,” he told her.

  She nodded. “You’re right. It was my decision to continue with the pregnancy. But it was your decision to leave me on that floor bleeding when you knew I needed to go to the hospital. It was your decision to tell me that bullshit about not wanting another child when you barely ever remembered to use a condom when we were together. Now, true, that was my fault. I should have never trusted an ignorant bastard like you. But I’m cool with my mistakes now, Austin. I’ve come to terms with them and I’m ready to move on.”

  He took a deep breath and held out his arms to her. “It’s about time,” he said. “Now, come here and give me a hug, girl. You standing there looking all fine in those jeans and that shirt. Got yourself a little tan too. Makes you look more Cherokee than Brazilian
, but you know I’ve always loved your exotic look.”

  When she didn’t move, Austin came to her. He was in just the right position for her to pull her knee up and slam it into his groin. When he stumbled back, speechless from the pain, Gabriella walked toward him.

  “You’re a spineless coward, Austin. I know you set my car on fire because I wouldn’t take you back and I know you told Faran that I lied about our relationship and that I messed up on one of my projects that’s why you wanted me out of the office. You’re a liar and an ass and if I never see your face again it will be too soon,” she said.

  Austin still couldn’t speak and she’d backed him up until he was close to the couch. He was bent over and holding his stomach while he gasped for air. She started to push him, just to see him roll onto the floor. But she stopped. It was enough and she’d already won. Seeing him in pain was just the icing on the cake. Gabriella went to the table by the front door and picked up her phone. She dialed a number and said, “I’m ready.”

  In less than five minutes, Detective Cole Desdune and his partner came through the door. The next words Gabriella heard were, “Austin Sterner, you are under arrest.”

  That had been a day that Gabriella knew she’d never forget.

  Earlier today, Austin had been in court for a bail review. It ended with him being remanded back to jail and held without bail because Faran and Gabriella testified that he was a flight risk and posed an existing danger to her. Austin yelled every name he could think of at her in the courtroom and Gabriella held her head up high as she stared him eye-to-eye and waved goodbye.

  Now she sipped her champagne and enjoyed the feeling of accomplishment.

  “She was fierce, Mama. You should have seen her,” Adriana said.

  Her sister was now six months pregnant, with a bump that resembled a basketball tucked beneath her shirt. She and Parker had arrived in Connecticut two days ago as a surprise to check-up on Gabriella.

  “No. I just did what I had to do,” Gabriella said, casting a thankful glance at Monica who was sitting on the other side of the table.

  “Not every woman can do that,” Beatriz told her youngest daughter. “You should be proud that you stood up. Not only for yourself but so many of those who could or cannot stand for themselves.”

  Gabriella nodded. She understood exactly what her mother was saying, without looking at Monica again.

  “Well, since we’re celebrating and Gabriella is leaving us again tomorrow, Eva and I have an announcement to make,” Rico told them.

  “Oh my,” Marvin spoke from the head of the table. “I don’t know if my heart can take anymore announcements or admissions from my children.”

  His comment was meant for Gabriella. Her father had been extremely hurt when she told him and her mother about the baby and her time in the hospital. He’d said over and over again how he’d raised his children to trust him and to always know that they could come to him no matter what. She’d let him and her mother down, Gabriella knew that, which was another reason why she’d wanted to come home and deal with all of this personally.

  “It’s okay, Dad,” Rico continued. “This is good news.”

  Eva sat back in her chair and rubbed a hand over her very flat stomach. “It’s very good news,” she said.

  It only took another second for clapping and cheers to erupt as Marvin and Beatriz realized they were now going to be blessed with two grandchildren. Tears stung Gabriella’s eyes for a moment, but she breathed deeply until they subsided, then stood up to go and hug her brother and sister-in-law. She was happy for them, just as she was for Adriana and Parker and for Monica and Alex for setting a wedding date.

  “So, while we’re all on a good note, I’m going to head back to my apartment,” Gabriella told them. “I have an early flight tomorrow.”

  She was going back to Hobbs Creek to meet Tyler and she couldn’t wait.

  “Oh honey, I wish you could have stayed home a little longer,” Beatriz said as she came around the table to hug her daughter.

  Gabriella hugged her mother tight. “I know, Mama, but I’ll be back to visit real soon. I promise.”

  “You’d better,” Marvin said as he came to stand beside her.

  Marvin Bennett was a tall and burly man who could be imposing and downright scary when he wanted to. But to Gabriella he was just her dad. When he wrapped an arm around her she immediately lay her head on his chest and let him hold on.

  “You take care of yourself out there, little girl. And don’t you dare keep another secret from me like the one you just did,” he told her.

  “I won’t, Daddy. I promise,” she said just before the doorbell rang.

  “Who in the world can that be at this time of night?” Beatriz asked.

  “I don’t know,” Marvin said. “Gabs, why don’t you go and answer the door since you were getting ready to leave anyway.”

  “Oh, okay, Daddy,” Gabriella said and left the kitchen to walk down the long hallway toward the front door.

  She grabbed her purse from the table closest to the door and was prepared to tell whoever it was—probably a lost delivery man or something—to be on his way and then head out herself. But she stopped in her tracks when she opened the door and saw Tyler standing on the other side.

  He looked spectacular dressed in black denim and a crisp white chambray shirt. His boots were new and matched his hat. And the flowers in his hand were gorgeous.

  “Am I late for the family dinner?” he asked.

  “What? How did you know we were having a family dinner?” she asked in return.

  “Of course you’re not late,” Beatriz said as she came up behind Gabriella. “Come on in, Tyler. I’m Beatriz. We spoke on the phone.”

  “Yes ma’am,” Tyler said. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person. These are for you.”

  Gabriella watched him hand her mother the flowers. Then she looked at the rest of her family that had assembled in the hallway.

  “What’s going on here?” she asked them all, needing somebody to answer her quickly. “Tyler, what are you doing here? I thought we were scheduled to meet at the equestrian center tomorrow.”

  He looked around and after a nod from Marvin, reached up and took off his hat. He had hat hair now and Gabriella’s fingers instantly itched to reach up and touch it. But she didn’t because she was still trying to figure out what was going on.

  “I could not go another day, Gabriella. Not one more second,” Tyler said.

  He reached out and took her hands in his, holding them between the two of them with everyone watching.

  “I’ve learned the hard way about waiting too long to say what I have to say and do what I need to do,” he continued. “I cannot change the way things turned out with my parents and I know that they both loved me as much as I loved them. But there was so much time wasted and I don’t want to do that ever again. I love you, Gabriella Joy Bennett. I love you today. Tomorrow. For Always. Will you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

  His words had come so quickly Gabriella didn’t think she’d heard them correctly. This had to be a joke. But her heart had started to beat faster, her eyes blinking to keep her tears from falling.

  “What are you doing?” she asked and then looked around at her family. “What’s happening?”

  They were all smiling. Her mother, Adriana, Monica, Eva and Bree. Her brothers didn’t smile, but they weren’t brooding like they were ready to jump on Tyler and beat him senseless either. And her father, well, he was standing next to her mother with his chest poked out as if he were proud of her, or this moment, or all of the above.

  She turned back to Tyler just in time for him to release her hands. He dug into his side pocket and pulled out a black velvet box. Gabriella gasped. She covered her mouth with one hand and began shaking her head. When he went down on one knee and opened that box, extending it up to her, Gabriella dropped her arm to the side and whispered, “I thought we were just going to meet up at the ranch. I didn
’t know this was going to happen.”

  Everyone around her chuckled. Tyler smiled as he said once again, “Will you marry me?”

  With tears freely flowing now and her family already clapping their approval from behind her, Gabriella was nodding before the words could fall from her mouth.

  “Yes! Yes! Yes. I love you, Tyler. I love you for always.”

  Will the Ice Queen turn into Bridezilla?

  Find out in the next Donovan Friends book,

  THE WINTER WEDDING

  Coming Winter 2018!

  “I’m so excited for you, Monica!” Cheyna exclaimed. “You and Alex are one of the greatest couples I know.”

  “Thank you,” Monica replied. “And since you did such a fantastic job with the gallery anniversary party last month, I’d like to hire you to help me plan my wedding.”

  Cheyna wanted to jump up and down, maybe do a few cartwheels, a back flip and then yell “Yes! Yes! Yes!” over and over again. But she refrained. She sat back in the guest chair and looked Monica Lakefield directly in the eye before responding, “I would be happy to help you, Monica. Have you and Alex set a date? When would you like to get started?”

  Monica opened a side desk drawer. She pulled out two white binders. Handing one to Cheyna and keeping the other on her desk, she opened to the first page. Monica looked up to see Cheyna staring at her in anticipation of an answer to her questions, and raised one elegantly arched brow. Cheyna quickly opened the binder.

  “The date is December 21st,” Monica stated. “It’s the first day of winter and will be the first day of me and Alex’s married life together.”

  Cheyna had seen that printed in gold script on the white sheet of paper that marked the first page of the binder. She swallowed and looked up to Monica once more. “That’s two months from now.”