by Bella Andre
Taken off guard, he backed up a full step and said, “All four of us, you mean?”
She half expected him to jiggle a finger in his ear as if he couldn’t possibly have heard her right. Refusing to take offense at his response, she nodded and said cheerfully, “Yup, all four of us.”
When he remained silent—likely trying to think up an unassailable excuse for why the playdates couldn’t happen—Rosie decided it was long past time to make yet another big change in their relationship. She’d never touched him before. Gideon’s keep away sign flashed such a bright neon that even Ari rarely hugged him. But Rosie refused to let nerves stop her from reaching out to put her hand on his arm.
Wow. The barest brush of her hand over his skin left her fingers tingling and set her heart racing.
But Gideon went rigid. And his face turned red.
“You know what a great time the boys have together,” she said. “And I’ve taken off the whole two weeks while Matt and Ari are in Iceland.” Before he had a chance to respond, she said, “I’ve got to run now. They’re waiting on me for the hair and makeup session.” She ran a hand through her dark curly hair. It badly needed taming. “They’ve got their work cut out for them,” she said with a smile. “Anyway, let me know when you’ve had a chance to look at your calendar. And can you also make sure the boys get into their tuxes in the groom’s tent? Then hand Jorge over to Susan? He’s going to sit with her for the ceremony.”
“Sure,” he said, always a man of few words.
She laid her fingers on his arm one last time, because really, who knew when she’d get another good excuse to touch him and feel those delicious tingles? “Thank you.” Then she jogged off to drop kisses on Jorge’s and Noah’s heads, the heat of Gideon’s gaze on her as warm as his skin had been beneath her fingertips.
Just before she turned away, she saw him put his hand right on the spot she’d touched. As if he could still feel her.
Maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t quite as immune to her as he always seemed…
Chapter Two
Rosie Diaz was the world’s best mom—so sweet, so natural, so full of love. Gideon couldn’t help but compare her to his own. Nadine Jones had tried her best, but addiction aside, though he knew she’d loved him and Ari, she’d never been good at showing it.
Whereas, Rosie was always showing Jorge how much she loved him, making him laugh as she chased him down, growling, her hands clenched close to her sides like a T-Rex, grabbing him for one more terrible “Mom kiss.” The kid was going to be a heartbreaker, so like his mother with olive skin, deep, soulful brown eyes, and thick, curly, dark hair. One day, the girls would fall all over themselves for him.
The way men must fall all over Rosie.
The way he would fall all over her if he could, if he had a prayer of ever being good enough for her. Which he didn’t. Not even close.
The activity hadn’t scared off Henri the peacock, and Noah held out a piece of bread to Rosie. Instead of rushing off to get her hair and makeup done, she knelt down beside the boys and fed Henri. Noah leaned into her, Jorge on her other side, resting his head on her shoulder.
Gideon loved Noah with every broken shard of his heart. Noah was Matt’s kid by some woman Gideon had met only once. Noah’s biological mom had been flighty and talky and flirty, and how Matt had ever hooked up with her, Gideon couldn’t figure out. But Matt had been lucky enough to end up with Noah, and they’d both found Ari, so that made it all worthwhile in the end.
Blood didn’t matter. In every way except DNA, Noah was Ari’s kid. Which meant Noah was now a part of Gideon too. He’d love Noah even if he wasn’t Ari’s, simply because he was such a great kid. Funny, interested in everything, and so kind. Where other little boys might pluck the wings off a fly, Noah would catch it in a jar to set it free outside.
Wrapping themselves around Rosie, the boys convinced her to feed the peacock one more piece of bread. Of course, she was a softy and gave in, laughing with them.
Gideon didn’t know much about Jorge’s father except that he’d run out on them, leaving Rosie to raise Jorge on her own. She’d worked hard to earn a degree in accounting from the local college, then found a good job and a nice place to live for her and her son. Not a lot of women could have made it the way Rosie had.
He’d known she was special the very first moment he’d seen her. It was Thanksgiving, and she’d been wearing a dress the color of merlot. His chest clenched as he thought about how perfect, how sweet, she’d looked. How perfect and sweet she always looked.
She was petite and curvy and gorgeous, her hair dark and curly. Luscious. He dreamed about burying his face in her beautiful locks, drinking in her scent, one of flowers—orange and lemon blossoms. He dreamed about laying her down on a big bed and exploring her generous curves. He dreamed about making her cry out his name in pleasure.
But simply saying he was attracted to her minimized the strength of his feelings for her. During every Maverick party and barbecue and holiday, he not only felt almost drunk at the sight of her, he was constantly amazed by her intelligence and the sense of peace that radiated from her.
Of course, he could never be with her. Never have her heart. Not after everything he’d done.
Yet his heart couldn’t stop longing for her. His heart seemed to have a mind of its own, wanting what it wanted, the impossibility of it all be damned. Even if he could never deserve her. He could never go back and erase his past. He could never scrub out his mistakes. He would never get a do-over to make everything right—not only with Ari, but with his team, the team he’d lost in the Middle East.
“I really need to go now,” he heard her say to the boys in a soft voice that did things to him deep inside. Made him want all those things he couldn’t have. When she’d touched him so unconsciously just moments ago, the force of his desire—and longing—had nearly dropped him to his knees. “I’ll be over in the tent with Ari and Chi getting made up,” she said to Jorge, then pointed at Gideon, their eyes meeting. Her coffee-colored eyes were rich enough to fall into. “Gideon is going to watch out for you while I’m gone. So obey everything he says, okay?”
Gideon ached with the realization that Rosie trusted him with her son. He didn’t deserve her trust, but he hugged it close as if he were holding her. And when she fluttered her fingers at him to let him know she was finally leaving, his heart fluttered with her.
But he could never let himself touch her. Not when one touch would be his undoing.
If he touched her, he would need to kiss her.
And if he kissed her, he’d never be able to stop.
He’d been to hell while in the service, but though he was back in California, he’d never left that fiery pit behind. And he would never drag someone as extraordinary and wonderful as Rosie into that brutal abyss with him.
As she headed for the bridal tent, he remembered her comment about the stylists having their work cut out for them. Yet Rosie didn’t need paint on her face, or a fuss made over her gorgeous hair. Rosie was beautiful exactly the way she was, her petite figure a sexy hourglass that made men drool. She made him drool. He couldn’t figure out why some great guy hadn’t already snapped her up.
If only he could be that guy.
But he couldn’t. Not now. Not ever.
He was still amazed that the Mavericks had taken him in. Matt had offered him a home during the weeks when Gideon had been building a new life in California. Daniel Spencer had offered him a job, responsibilities, promotions at his Top Notch chain of DIY stores. First Gideon had been responsible for supplies, then purchasing, and now Daniel had put him in charge of warehousing—all the Top Notch warehouses, including the five being built in the Bay Area. Construction of those warehouses was now his baby. He couldn’t be sure why Daniel had given him the responsibility—maybe it was because Gideon had been a team leader in the army, or because he’d worked as a contractor after he got out—but whatever the reason, he wasn’t going to let Daniel down.
; Still, there was a part of Gideon, a huge part, that couldn’t figure out why the Mavericks were helping him. Not after he’d left his sister alone for sixteen years—allowed her to be raised in foster care. As far as he could see, he hadn’t done a thing to deserve what they’d done for him. Except being Ari’s brother. Sure, he worked hard, tried to do the best possible job on everything Daniel threw his way. But he could never repay Daniel. Never repay Matt. Never repay each and every one of the Mavericks for taking in Ari the way they had.
For taking care of her when Gideon hadn’t even been able to find her.
The boys ran over to him, and Jorge grabbed his hand. “Come on, Gid. The lady’s gonna let us feed bugs to the peacock.” Gideon smiled at the awe in Jorge’s voice over the thought of eating bugs.
Noah grabbed his other hand. “Yeah. Real live bugs.” His cheeks were flushed with excitement. “The lady said peacocks like bugs even better than bread. They spend all day poking around looking for them in the dirt and plants.”
“And we get to touch ’em too!” Jorge said.
“That sounds cool. Let’s go check it out.” They led Gideon back to Henri the peacock and the soon-to-be-eaten bugs.
Noah would stay with him for the two weeks Ari and Matt were in Iceland. Gideon guessed his sister would have taken her son with them if everyone hadn’t stressed that it was a honeymoon. That was how much she loved Noah. Gideon loved him with equal fervor—and couldn’t bear the thought of anything bad ever happening to the little boy. Especially not on his watch.
“Here you go.” The docent opened a plastic bag full of bugs.
They didn’t move a whole lot, and Gideon was pretty sure they’d had most of the life refrigerated out of them. Still, Jorge and Noah were clearly thrilled, saying wow and awesome as they got their handful of bugs.
Gideon got his handful too, and before he could stop the memory from coming, he was over there again, back in the sandbox, his team forced to eat bugs because there’d been nothing else.
But watching the kids go a little nuts with feeding the peacock brought Gideon back to the present, to the sunny California day when his little sister was going to say her I do’s.
Finally having had his fill, the bird strutted away, his magnificent plumage trailing on the ground behind him. Jorge made a little face, saying, “I guess we’re just chopped liver now.”
The docent laughed, her face crinkling with delight. Gideon allowed himself a small smile too, guessing Jorge must have heard that phrase from Rosie.
“You were very good boys,” the woman said, and with Gideon’s agreement, she handed them each a sucker. “My best kids of the day.”
Noah blinked at her. “We’ve been your only kids today.”
“Yes, but you’re still the best.” She turned with a wave and padded slowly after the peacock.
Jorge tugged on Gideon’s hand. “Can we pet the llamas?”
“Sure, kiddo. And the donkeys too.”
“They’ve got donkeys?” Noah was in petting-zoo heaven. “I haven’t gotten to feed or pet a donkey before.”
As he led them over, a boy hanging on each hand, Gideon let himself relish the joy of being with the kids. Only when he was with them did he feel like he could take a full breath. Somehow, they always managed to tap into the part of him that hadn’t been damaged by fiery blasts and guilt and loss.
Daniel had given him two weeks off to take care of Noah, and Gideon had already planned a full schedule of fun things for the two of them to do together. But now Rosie had suggested playdates for the boys. It was a head-smacking moment—of course, he should have realized that the boys would want to do some activities together.
He wanted Noah to have a great vacation while his parents were gone, and Noah never had more fun than when he was with Jorge. They were BFFs, almost like brothers. Only, Gideon wasn’t sure he could survive spending hour after hour with Rosie while the boys played…
Somehow, he’d have to find a way to convince her that it made more sense for them to split up the duties. He could take the boys up to the Exploratorium in San Francisco one day, while she took them to the mummy museum in San Jose another day.
Because he would go stark raving crazy insane if he had to spend too much time with Rosie. She was too beautiful, too tempting, too smart, too good at mothering.
Too damned good for him in every way.
Chapter Three
Rosie peeked out of the bridal tent, opening the flaps only a couple of inches so she could see out but no one could see in. “No peeking, but your guests are arriving,” she said to Ari. “And the puppet theater is fabulous. You did such a great job setting it up.”
Ari ruffled the skirt of her wedding dress, getting its folds to fall the way they had in the bridal magazines they’d pored over. The dress was amazing, the bodice tightly beaded with seed pearls in shades of silver, cream, and black, and fringed in a scallop of pearls along the empire waist. Ari had chosen to go bare-shouldered, the dress held up only by straps of beads and dipping low in the back. The gossamer skirt flowed down to the floor in creamy waves. The hairdresser just had to attach the wreath of flowers Ari would wear in her hair and the short veil in the back.
She was the most beautiful bride Rosie had ever seen.
When Ari was finally satisfied with the results, she lifted her head and smiled at Rosie and Chi. “I could never have done this without you.”
“Take some credit, girl, for your amazing abilities,” Chi said. “You’re going to make the best teacher ever.” Ari was working on her master’s in education and was aiming to teach elementary school kids like Noah and Jorge.
For so long, it had been just the three of them, Rosie and Ari and Chi—sisters, best friends forever, a team of three. Then came Jorge. And now, in the past year, they’d become a huge family with all the Mavericks.
The tent flaps opened, and Susan Spencer, Matt’s foster mother, stepped in. Wearing a flattering dress of aubergine, it was hard to believe Susan was in her mid-fifties, despite her silver cap of hair. It was Susan’s smile that made her seem so young—and she was always so full of smiles.
Susan and Bob Spencer were mom and dad to the Mavericks. They’d taken all the boys in as young teenagers and raised them as their own, with no differentiation between the guys and Daniel or Lyssa, their two biological kids. Rosie had always found Susan and Bob to be completely generous and selfless.
Susan’s face lit up when she saw Ari. “You are so beautiful, honey.”
Ari beamed at her soon-to-be mother-in-law as Susan curled her into a warm embrace, careful not to crease the dress or muss Ari’s hair. When she pulled back, her eyes were misty. “We are so happy you’re part of our family. Matt loves you so much. And Noah couldn’t have asked for a better mom, or loved anyone more than he loves you. They’re so lucky to have found you.” Susan dabbed at her eyes.
“I’m the lucky one,” Ari said. “Thank you for always believing in me.”
“Oh, honey, you are exactly the woman I wished for Matt. You are so good for them. You’re so good for all of us.” Then Susan turned to Chi and Rosie. “And you brought us beautiful Chi and Rosie and Jorge too.”
Rosie felt the prickle of tears at the way Susan always included her and her son.
“Ari, I’m not done with your hair,” called the hairdresser, waving her magic curling wand. “We have to put on your wreath and veil. And it looks like some of your curls are about to droop. We absolutely cannot send you out with droopy curls.”
Susan ran her fingers lightly over Ari’s hair. “Everything about you is perfect just the way it is, honey.” She smiled. “But go on, let your stylist do her thing.”
While Ari had her hair recurled, Susan touched Rosie’s arm. “I’m so pleased that I get to take care of Jorge while you’re busy with the ceremony. Thank you for that.” Then, with a kiss to Rosie’s cheek, Susan slipped away, her subtle perfume lingering in the air.
“This setup is fantastic,” Chi said
as they once again peeked through the tent flaps. A red carpet had been rolled out for Ari to make her trip down the aisle, and the usual wooden benches had been replaced by chairs draped in white cloth. A grand piano stood at the edge of the stage, the tuxedoed pianist playing instrumental versions of Ari’s favorite music, from Somewhere Over the Rainbow to Evermore to songs she’d loved as a teenager. “I can’t wait for the robots to come to life.”
Since this was a puppet theater, Ari and Matt had decided to put on a puppet show while everyone took their seats. Because Matt had conquered the world of robotics, the stage had been transformed into a factory with robots moving product along an assembly line. It was amazing with all the moving parts—levers and gears and robot arms and robot hands.
As the guests filed in to find their places, two puppet robots appeared onstage to take their spots along the assembly line as if they were starting work for the day. The puppets had been inspired by five classic film robots—R2-D2 and C-3PO from Star Wars, Wall-E and Eve from Wall-E, one of Jorge’s favorite movies, and a dash of Lisa from Weird Science. Somehow, the mash-up worked, and it was impossible not to smile at the scene.
“Hello, Number Ten,” came the deep male robot’s voice, a number fifteen stenciled on his vest.
The robot with a ten on her vest said, “Hello, Number Fifteen,” as she passed him, her long eyelashes fluttering and a smile on her rosebud-red mouth.
Pink and red hearts fell out of the ceiling to hover over the male robot as he stared longingly after the lady.
Everyone laughed at the loud sound of his wildly beating heart.
Then levers and gears clicked and clacked and the assembly line rolled. The robots patted pieces and parts on the conveyor as if they were manufacturing toys or trucks or toasters.
Rosie glanced at the groom’s tent on the other side of the theater, where the boys, already decked out in their mini tuxedoes, were staring at the stage with rapt attention. A man’s big hand held the flap aside. Of course, it had to be Gideon. He would make sure they didn’t miss a thing.