by Virna DePaul
And you accused her of using you for your money.
He didn’t deserve her, he thought, maybe he never would but what he’d told Pete was true. Even if she didn’t take him back, he needed to make things right between them.
He entered the facility and headed to the reception desk, where a young woman in a brown sweater greeted him. “Can I help you?”
“Hi, I’m looking for Zoe Reynolds.”
She nodded. “Oh, you mean Mr. Reynolds’s daughter.” She flipped through a sign-in book and nodded. “I’ll let her know you’re here. What’s your name?”
“Gabe. Thanks.”
As he waited, Gabe saw several senior citizens being ushered around, a couple walking on their own with the help of nurses, and a few others being carted down the hallways in wheelchairs. The place looked clean and modern, with plush furniture and crown molding. Everyone looked well cared for and the staff was attentive.
“Oh, Zoe,” he heard from behind him. “I was just coming to see you. You have a visitor.”
Gabe turned and spotted Zoe, standing in a hallway, looking beautiful but pale, her features pinched, shadows underneath her eyes. Her arm was looped around the waist of an elderly man: Kip Reynolds.
Chapter 23
“Bettie, could you stand by Dad for a quick second?” Zoe asked.
“Sure.” Bettie linked her arm through Zoe’s Dad’s.
Turning to her father, Zoe said, “I’ll be right back, sir. I have to talk to this man.”
She took two steps toward Gabe when she heard her father reply, “Do you need me to come with you?”
Zoe stared at her father. For two hours tonight and endless hours before that in the past two years, he hadn’t recognized her at all. But for most of the day yesterday, he had recognized both her and Pete, and tonight, the moment he saw her walking off to talk to a strange man all by herself, some paternal instinct had kicked in.
“It’s okay.” She smiled. “I got this one. Thank you.”
Dad nodded then his eyes immediately disconnected, and he again began looking around the hallways as though it were the first time he’d ever been here, back to wondering where he was and when he’d go home.
“Miss Reynolds, I think I’ll take him back to his room,” Bettie said. “You can meet him back there.”
“Okay, Bettie. Thanks.” Zoe sighed, walked right past Gabe, and breezed outside for a much-needed breath of fresh air. When she felt his presence behind her, she said, “How did you know where to find me?”
“Pete,” he said.
Still without facing him, because it hurt too much to look at him, Zoe laughed bitterly. “Right. Betrayed by my own flesh and blood. But at least he doesn’t think I’m a gold digger.”
“I begged him to tell me where you were and it looked like he wasn’t going to. He did punch me in the face, if that makes you feel better.”
“It doesn’t,” she said flatly.
He moved closer to her because suddenly she could smell him, fresh and manly and all Gabe. “Zoe, before I say anything else, please know that I know what I did was wrong. I was a complete asshole and I should never have accessed your phone messages and I should never have jumped to conclusions. I know you weren’t using me for my money. I know you’re not that kind of person. I just saw that text and I was scared, scared of how powerful my feelings are for you, and what it would mean if you didn’t feel the same way about me.”
At that, Zoe finally turned to face him. “Well, now you know that I did feel the same way. That the reason I was sad sometimes and the reason I was late on my rent at Iron Maiden is that this place is so expensive, but Pete and I do what we need to do to take care of our father. My mom didn’t want anyone knowing, and after she died, I still felt bound by her wishes. And I’ve been struggling with this, my father being here, and losing more and more of him when we didn’t have enough time together to begin with and I—”
Her voice broke and she could see the pain that ravaged Gabe’s face, reflecting her own. “I’m so, so sorry, Zoe. Sorry for what’s happening with your father. Sorry that I added to your distress. I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want to be with me anymore after what I did. I wanted to come earlier, I was ready to skip practice, but Murph told me you were dealing with things and to give you space. This was all the space I could give. Because I needed you to know. That I know, I know, Zoe, you’re the best woman in the world. I don’t deserve you, but even so, you’re the first real love I’ve ever felt, and if I’m honest? You’ll be the last.”
Zoe tried to hold on to her anger and bitterness, but she saw the true regret and love shining in Gabe’s eyes. And even though he’d hurt her, she still loved him with all her heart. She didn’t have any more time to waste in life, certainly not during a time that would’ve been better spent with the father she was losing. But she also didn’t want to spend another day as miserable as she’d been, crying every day at the drop of a hat and mourning what could have been between them.
“Gabe, I want to give us another chance,” she confessed, tears brimming in her eyes, “but I don’t ever, ever want to feel what I felt yesterday morning again. I felt like I was the one who’d been punched, in the gut, in the heart, then kicked repeatedly.”
He winced, scooped her face into his hands. She held onto them tightly, reveled in the sweet smell of his skin. “You won’t, Zoe. I mean, I can’t promise I won’t mess up, because I will. But I will never doubt who you are, what you mean to me, what we have together again, Zoe. I will trust you, and I will communicate with you, I promise. I will also be by your side to help you with your father. To help you with anything you experience in life, peach, whether it’s a good thing or not so good thing. You will be my priority, and if I have to skip a practice, skip a game, give up football altogether to keep you, I will.”
Zoe sucked in a breath, his words piercing and repairing at the same time. He meant it, she realized. He truly did love her. Wasn’t that love worth a second chance? “Yes,” she whispered, even though he hadn’t asked a question, but by the relief that washed over his expression, he understood.
Simultaneously, they reached for one another, and Gabe enfolded her in his embrace. He cradled her against him and kissed her hungrily, and she kissed him back, allowing his strength, his goodness, his love for her to wash the last of her anger and pain away.
In the end, Murph had been right – she was the perfect woman for Gabe, and he was the perfect man for her. That didn’t mean they were perfect humans, however. They’d both make mistakes, and they’d be all the better for working through them together rather than apart.
She pulled back and enfolded his hand in hers. “Come on.” She tugged him toward the glass doors that opened automatically.
She smiled at Bettie and tugged Gabe all the way to her father’s room where his nurse was in the open bathroom preparing the sink to help her father brush his teeth.
She realized Gabe had let go of her hand and was still standing at the door.
“You can come in.”
“You sure?”
“Yes,” she said, taking his hand and bringing him in next to Dad’s bedside where he sat on the edge, looking lost. “Mr. Reynolds?” she said. “I’d like for you to meet my friend, Gabe Murphy. He’s a big fan of yours.”
Gabe stepped forward and slipped his hand into her father’s. “Sir, I just want to thank you. For all the passes you threw, for all the games you won and didn’t win, too. You’ve been a hero to me my whole life, sir. Not just as a quarterback, but as a family man.” He looked at Zoe. “And for raising a wonderful daughter, thank you.”
Dad looked at Gabe with narrowed eyes. Any moment now, he would proclaim he wasn’t a quarterback, didn’t have a daughter, and was a war hero during the Civil War, not the NFL. “Her,” he said, pointing to Zoe. “That’s my daughter there.”
Gabe’s widened eyes reflected the same surprise coursing through Zoe. “I know, sir. I know. That’s the woman I love. So th
ank you.”
Zoe couldn’t speak. She could only choke on her tears as two of the three men she loved most in the word stood frozen in a handshake. Pulling out her phone, she held it up, barely able to see the image on her screen through her tears. “Look here, you two. Say cheese.”
Epilogue
Gabe Murphy had one job to do—take the Bootleggers to victory. On about his fifth visit to see Kip Reynolds, the other man had a thirty-minute bout of lucidity in which he recalled some highlights from his career, and when Gabe had told him he also played football, Kip had said, “Promise me you’ll win the Super Bowl in my name.” When Gabe had said he’d do his best, Kip had smiled, looked at Zoe who was standing close by, and then leaned closer to Gabe. “More importantly, promise me you won’t put football, you won’t put anything, before the people you love.” Gabe had looked at Zoe in that moment, too, so he saw her tear up. Without looking away, he’d said, “I promise.”
He’d kept that promise all through his first season with the Bootleggers. He loved playing football, and he still strove to be the best, but he’d meant what he’d said to her—he’d quit the game in a heartbeat for Zoe.
Now it was the last two minutes of the 4th Quarter of the Super Bowl, the Bootleggers and Washington Orcas were neck and neck at 17-17, and this was the Bootleggers’ best chance to score a touchdown from the 24 yard line, or else try for the field goal. There was forty seconds on the clock.
The center snapped the ball, everybody scattered into position, and Gabe ran past linebackers and cornerbacks for a post route jump ball. As he ran to catch the ball, he could see the Orcas safety charging in at him from the right hand side. Gabe tried to outrun him but when he saw he wouldn’t be able to, he stopped suddenly to let the safety slide past him, and the player caught Gabe by his bad shoulder. Hooking around, he tried to bring Gabe down, but Gabe ran another yard to catch the ball with his fingertips.
Half the battle. Now he needed to win—for the Bootleggers, for Kip Reynolds, for Pop and Mimi watching in the stands, for Murph, for the Noise who taught him how to win and was a valuable part of his past, but mostly for himself and Zoe, the woman who’d made him whole again. With what seemed like the world’s population chasing after him, now he needed to plow toward the end zone. As the stadium roared and the cheerleaders jumped up and down on the sidelines, Gabe outran the defense in the corner of the end zone.
The whistle blew and volumes of people descended on him, patting him, hugging, taking off his helmet and kissing his cheek. Though the clock hadn’t run out yet, they lifted him into the air. There was no chance for the Orcas to score. Maybe a field goal, but that would only give them three points under Gabe’s six. On the field, the Bootleggers’ kicker got the extra point, and the game was over.
Gabe Murphy had scored the winning touchdown for the Bootleggers, and they were now the reigning Super Bowl champions. On the sidelines, Zoe bulleted up to him, pushed her way past the players, and jumped on him, legs wrapped around his waist, arms around his neck, covering him in kisses.
“You did it!” she cried. “You really did it!”
Gabe would remember this moment for the rest of his life. His eyes scanned for his sister. Knowing what he was looking for, she stepped up with the biggest smile he’d seen her with in a while, and handed him a small package. Right there, as cameras surrounded him, and his image was splayed all over the JumboTron, he set Zoe down gently then kneeled in front of her.
The crowd cheered all over again, but Murph quieted those around him, asking for space. The players backed up, forming a close circle around them. Zoe, realizing what was happening, covered her mouth with her hand.
“Zoe Reynolds, only one thing could make this night any happier than it already is,” Gabe said, out of breath, all sweaty. He opened the ring box he’d intended to give her many months earlier.
“A shower!” smartass Dawson shouted, tossing him a towel, as the crowd laughed.
“Thanks, bud.” He wiped his brow. Above him, Zoe giggled. Speaking just loud enough that only Zoe could hear him, he said, “I asked your father’s permission to marry you a while ago, Zoe, and he gave it to me. Now, peach, will you give me the immense honor of being my wife?”
“Oh, my God, you’re so crazy. Yes!” Her dimples were in full form tonight.
Gabe plucked out the ring and slid it over her finger. It was a perfect fit. He stood, and reeled her in close, not letting go even when the Super Bowl trophy was passed from player to player, past Gabe’s hands, over to Kyle Young’s, then Heath’s then Alec’s then several other players before it found itself in the hands of their fearless coach and leader. While the team celebrated their victorious win, Gabe kissed his fiancée.
Last summer he never would’ve known the season would end this way. When he was injured and let go by the Noise, he thought he’d lost it all. But sometimes, when you give life a good fight, you can win back the things you thought you lost.
What he never expected, however, was just how high he’d go. Between winning the Super Bowl and winning the love of this extraordinary woman, Gabe just didn’t know how much better life could get.
Having little ones one day, he supposed. A family of his own.
At home that evening, there was much celebrating to do. Yes, they attended all the requisite after-game parties where, once again, all eyes were on his beautiful bride-to-be. Seemed to Gabe that Zoe only got hotter and more enticing every time he saw her, but he knew that was only his love for her growing deeper. Still, it only made him want to leave the parties early and bring her home, which he did, promising to join the team BBQ tomorrow.
After a good, solid pounding in the bedroom, one that left Zoe screaming and mewling and coming like a freight train against their headboard, Gabe shot hard into his fiancée, knowing that with each passing day, she was becoming more and more his. Their sweaty bodies fell onto the bed, as Gabe gasped and looked up at the ceiling to catch his breath. He’d never known life could be this way, this good, and he didn’t know what he’d done to deserve this gorgeous angel by his side, but he’d never, never refuse her the benefit of the doubt ever again.
“I have something else for you,” he said, reaching for his nightstand’s drawer.
“I don’t think I can take anything else. Good Lord, I’m going to need stitches after that one.” She laughed, reaching for the fan’s remote to turn it up higher.
He pulled out an envelope full of paperwork and handed it to her. “Here.”
“What is it?”
“Open it.”
She took the envelope and slid out its contents. Her bright green eyes scanned back and forth, skimming and reading parts aloud. Suddenly, it dawned on her what it was. “You didn’t…”
“Yes, peach. I don’t care that your rent was current, I didn’t want you having to deal with that asshole Tony for anything. Iron Maiden is your legacy, one your father left you. I bought the building. We’re gonna fix it up, restore it, modernize it, do a bunch of stuff to it… It’s yours, free and clear.”
“I can’t believe this.”
“Believe it. We’re going to do great things together, peach. I promised your father we would.”
“Did you really get his blessing? When did you manage that?” she asked.
“I did. I’ve been going to see him on the other days you don’t—with your brother. Get some good ol’ bonding time in there. I think your brother’s almost ready to forgive me for being an asshole all those months ago.”
“He forgave you the moment he saw how happy you made me again,” she said, but she was reaching over to her nightstand as well, pulling something out and holding it behind her back.
He pulled her into his arms, trying to get whatever was behind her back, but… “Damn it, woman. What do you have there?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Ah, something they entrusted me with tonight to give you.” She stuck out her tongue, and he nipped at it.
“Show me.” He watched as she opened
a jewelry box, pulled out a large, golden band with the Bootleggers pirate and sword logo on it, and slipped it onto his finger.
“Congratulations on your first Super Bowl ring, baby,” she said, flashing him her dimples.
“Our Super Bowl ring. And I’ll cherish it, peach. But never more than you. You’re my whole world. My reason for living. For breathing.”
“And fucking?” she teased.
“That, too, baby. Always.”
“Well you’re my reason for living and breathing and fucking, too, Gabe Murphy. Now how about dropping and giving me a hundred?”
He laughed. “Now? You want me to drop and give you a hundred push ups?”
She shook her head. “A hundred years,” she whispered. “Of happiness just like we’re experiencing now.”
“I’ll do better than that, peach. I’ll give you forever. Till death do us part. And even then I’ll find my way back to you.”
She sighed with happiness and pulled him close for a long deep kiss. When she pulled back, she cupped his face, stared into his gorgeous blue eyes, and said. “You’ll do, Gabe Murphy. You’ll do.”
***
Thank you for reading Deep Desire! If you enjoyed this book, check out the other books in the series here.
Do you love sexy romantic comedies? Check out my Kiss Talent Agency Series. Here’s a sneak peek of Book 1, Lip Service.
Blurb:
Dani
I just wanted to tell Hunter Kiss where he could shove the fancy phone he gave my little brother as an obvious bribe. I’m sorry/not sorry I hit him in the nose with it, but sports agents who come sniffing around with dollar signs in their eyes have to get through me.