She made a sound like she was thinking it over. “I don’t like pink fish, but I’ll take a pink cupcake if you have one.”
“No, but I tell you what. If you will be a good girl and pick up the toys you’ve dragged out, I’ll bring you home that pizza.” I smiled as she cheered and breathed a sigh of relief. I knew I was spoiling her rotten, but I couldn’t help myself. It was so much easier to oblige.
“Okay, Daddy, I’ll pick them all up.” She gave me a little giggle, and before I could say another word, she was making smooching noises into the phone. “Big kisses, Daddy.” Then she hung up the phone.
I laughed and hung up. Hopefully, things would work out before I got home. I needed her and Helen on the same page. I’d have to talk to both of them about it, and I knew it would be better once I was working from home full time. If I decided to do it. I was still debating it.
I decided I’d pack up the contract and gather my things to leave early. Being the boss, it was nice to come and go as I pleased, and I added grabbing a pizza to my to-do list before heading home as I walked to the elevator.
When I got on and pushed the buttons, my phone went off. I was shocked to see Lauren’s name pop up, even though I’d been the one to add her to my contacts. Perhaps she didn’t want to wait for me to call; perhaps she’d gotten in early. I was surprised how my nerves were suddenly on edge when I answered. “Hello? Lauren?”
“Hey, Gage. I’m sorry to bother you, but Noah had given me your number, and he said that you might be the only person who can help me.” Her tone seemed a bit desperate.
“Well, that depends. What do you need help with?” Her voice was as lovely as ever, and it sent a tingle to my cock. I cursed the damned thing and knew better. Noah and I had always held our own, but not even I could take him if he was crossed over his sister.
“My car broke down, actually. I called for a tow, but they said it could be more than an hour, and I’m only about twenty minutes out of town. I know it’s getting bad out, but I hoped you could come and wait with me?”
It was far too dangerous for her to be stranded on the highway in the bad weather. When and if that tow truck showed, something could have already happened to her. “I’m on the way. Text me your location, and I’ll put it in the GPS.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank you so much! I’m really worried out here. I’m close to the old truck stop where that couple was murdered.” Even I’d be a bit nervous about being there.
“Lock the doors, and if anyone but me shows, you keep your doors locked and closed, okay?” That was a horrible place to be stranded, and with the weather, the tow truck was probably backed up worse than they thought.
“Will do, and don’t think Noah hasn’t already warned me. He told me to call you right away.”
“Glad I can help. I need to make a call, and I’ll call you back when I’m close. If you have a charger, go ahead and charge your phone.” The elevator opened, and I headed out to my car. The snow was falling pretty good, and I knew I needed to get to her before it got much worse.
“Okay, thanks, Gage.” Her voice had always been so sweet and sincere, but that was just what kind of person Noah’s sister was. I had to keep reminding myself that she was his sister, or else I was liable to let this get out of control. It had been too long for me with all of the Olivia stuff and the accident, not to mention that I’d been so busy with work and hadn’t been anywhere to meet anyone.
I wondered what she’d like to do if I took her out. I planned to ask her about the dinner and the contract once I got her safe and warm.
I dialed home and asked Helen to speak to Olivia. “She’s upstairs cleaning her room, sir. She’s looking forward to the pizza you promised her.”
“Ah, about that. I had a friend call and tell me that they’re stranded, so I’m afraid the pizza isn’t going to happen, at least not until later.”
Helen let out a sigh that grated my last nerve. “That’s why you shouldn’t promise her things for good behavior. Good behavior is its own reward, sir.” I felt bad enough that I couldn’t follow through, the last thing I needed was for her to make me feel worse.
“Will you just put her on the phone, Helen? Please?” I held my breath until I heard the phone click to hold. I wasn’t used to dealing with women as much as men in hard hats, so it was rare that I’d thrown in a “please.”
“Daddy? Did you get my pizza? I like the kind with pepperoni and Colorado bacon.”
“Canadian bacon, baby, but I can’t bring the pizza home. I’ve got to go help a friend who is stuck out in the snow, and once I pick her up and bring her home, it will be too late. You may need to let Helen make you something.” She’d just have to understand.
“No, Daddy. You promised me. I cleaned up the house and everything.” The disappointment in her voice made me feel like a piece of pond scum. But those feelings didn’t change the fact that I had to go help Lauren.
“Thank you, Olivia, but as I said, it will be too late. Be a good girl for Daddy, and ask Helen to make a sandwich, or how about a grilled cheese and some soup?”
The phone was quiet. “Olivia?”
“Fine, Daddy.” Her mother used to say fine when everything wasn’t, and damn if she didn’t sound just like her. I wasn’t a fan of her sass, either, but I knew some of that stubbornness had come from me.
“Thank you, baby. Daddy loves you. Maybe I’ll have time for a story.” I pulled my lips in tight and wished I hadn’t opened my mouth. What if I didn’t have time to do that, either? I’d already made one promise I couldn’t keep. This parenting thing was too new. God knew I didn’t want to be the type of hard-ass my own father had been, and the only other example was Mr. Patrick, who was Noah and Lauren’s father. He’d always been especially hard on Noah and treated Lauren like a little flower.
Ollie hung up the phone without another word, again something her mother would do. Katrina and I had a good relationship at first, but then, just before she’d found out she was pregnant with Ollie, she left me for someone else. I’d taken a paternity test and made sure Olivia was mine, but I couldn’t stand by Katrina for obvious reasons. I was there for her financially, and when she got killed in a car accident, I paid for her burial. I’d done right by her in the end, and I’d continue to do right for our daughter until my dying day.
I hadn’t found much time for a steady relationship since ours, but I had bedded many women before I’d left the country, and a couple after. Since the plane crash, I hadn’t been with anyone, and only because I knew anyone I brought around would be a part of my daughter’s life and not just anyone would do. I needed a good woman; someone who would love me, someone who cared about me and would not only be faithful but be a shining example for my daughter. It seemed that was a tall order.
The closer I got to the rest stop where Lauren was supposed to be, the more I wondered what she’d be like. She was only a few years younger and had been a freshman when I was a senior. She’d been a skinny little girl, all knees and elbows when she was younger, and Noah forgive me, it didn’t take her long to blossom into a knockout with curves in all the right places and hair you wanted to grab hold of and lead her to her knees with.
I had tried not to think those things about her, but it couldn’t be helped, and while I didn’t focus on them too often, I was only human.
It wasn’t as if I didn’t have plenty of other pretty girls vying for my time, but I’d always thought if any one of them might actually care for me, it was probably Lauren with her crush.
Chapter 6
Lauren
I had never been happier to see headlights in all my life, and I texted Noah to let him know that Gage had made it to me before any monsters.
He came up to my window, shivering in his coat. “Hey, are you okay? Want to pop the hood and let me take a look?”
“Sure.” I reached down and popped the hood, and he disappeared behind it.
“Battery looks fine; it might be your fuel pump. I’ll j
ust wait with you until they get here.” He blew on his fingertips, and I realized he didn’t have gloves.
I hit the unlock button. “Come around and get in. It’s warmer in here.”
He wasted no time running around the car and practically fell into the seat, he was so tall. “Thanks. It’s getting worse out there.” He rubbed his hands and blew on them again. I couldn’t remember him ever owning a pair of gloves as a kid, either, and I remembered my mother making him wear her Isotoners, and how he’d complained that they were girl gloves, and Noah had laughed.
I reached over and took his hands into mine, which were warm in my own gloves. “We’ll wait a bit, and then we’ll call again and get someplace warm.” I looked up to see that he was staring at our hands, and while I hadn’t thought anything of warming them, it must have been incredibly awkward for him after so many years apart.
“Thanks.” He smiled and gave them one last rub.
“I was just thinking about my mom’s black Isotoners. She would want you to have warm hands, at least.”
“She was a great lady. I can’t believe you remember that. We were so young, and you were so much younger.”
“I remember just about everything when it comes to you and my brother; all of your crazy stunts.” I gave a little laugh, and my heart warmed a bit when he joined in. He was still as hot as ever, and even though my brother had been dubbed the heartbreaker of the two, I was sure Gage had done his fair share.
“Yeah, we had some good times.” His eyes seemed even darker blue than they used to be and even though Noah told me he’d been messed up a bit in that plane crash with cuts and scratches, I couldn’t see one scar. Of course, the beard might be hiding a few. It was new, but I really liked how it gave him a rougher look.
“Still do from time to time, if my brother’s stories are any indication.”
His cheeks reddened a bit. “That makes me wonder just what he’s told you.”
“Well, I’m sure he leaves out most of the good stuff, since telling me would incriminate himself, but I can fill in the blanks.” I had always been able to tell when the two of them had something plotted, and Noah usually slipped up after and said something anyway. He was no good at keeping secrets, at least, not from me, and he had no poker face.
“Yeah, that’s Noah. Never rob a bank with him.” We shared a laugh, and then I found myself staring a little too long at him.
“Yeah, I heard all about the plane crash. I’m glad you’re here. Sounds like it was a close call.”
“Yeah, pretty damn close. My mother always said I bounced.” He shrugged it off, and I realized he probably didn’t want to talk about it. Besides, what was I going to ask him? Show me your scars? Any lasting traumas?
My windshield was accumulating snow, and the car wasn’t as warm as when he’d opened the door. “I think I’ll just call them and ask them to tow it home. I’ll have someone come out and look at it. We’re going to freeze.”
“Sounds good. Are you going back to your father’s house?”
“No, Reed is staying there. I’m going to get a hotel room.” I didn’t want to spend the entire trip down talking about work, and that was all Reed ever focused on; that, and his retirement.
I gathered my things and made a quick call to the towing company who said they’d been delayed but would pick it up and take it to my father’s house. Then we headed out into the cold and to Gage’s big truck.
We climbed in, and I slammed my door a bit too hard and then strapped into my seatbelt.
He reached across and made sure it was in good. “Hey, instead of getting a room, you can stay at my place. I’d love to have you.”
Heat warmed me in all the right places, and it was so very wrong. “Thanks, but no, I don’t want to impose, and I’ve got so much business, I’d be in and out so much.”
“Suit yourself, but the offer stands. At least let me take you out to dinner. I’ve wanted to see you and catch up. It’s been too long. I was actually going to call you, but you beat me to the punch.” Suddenly, he was looking at me in a way I’d always wanted him to when I was younger, and while a part of me rejoiced, fresh wounds still reminded me not to let myself get too involved. Craig had only broken my heart; Gage could obliterate it. And seeing him could ruin so much more, too. I wasn’t sure if I should dare.
A little dinner wouldn’t hurt. “Yeah, I’d like that. We should catch up.” But only as friends.
“Are you seeing anyone?” The question hit me from left field.
“Not anymore.” I didn’t want to tell him too much, in case he decided to mention something to my brother.
“Oh? A recent breakup?”
I let out a breath and gave him a weary grin. “It’s not really a big deal.”
“Are you hungry? We could stop and get something to eat now if you want.”
“No, I’m good, thanks. I stopped about two hours ago.”
“Ah, okay. Well, I guess I’ll just take a pizza home to the little lady in my life, like I promised, and see if she’s still awake.” He gave me a goofy grin and then continued down the road like it was no big deal. I was a little miffed at myself, though, for thinking that he might want to give me the kind of attention I’d always craved from him. Boy, had I been wrong. Unless he was like Craig and thought that I’d be his number two lady.
I stared out of the window as the silence stretched out between us, and once we got to the hotel, he parked and then came around to help me climb out of the truck.
“I’ll walk you up.” He rested his hand on my back.
“No, that’s okay. You should be getting that pizza home to your girlfriend. And thanks so much for helping me.”
He belted a laugh as I gave him a narrow glare. “I’m talking about Ollie. You know? Olivia, my daughter?”
I closed my eyes and felt like a total idiot. I had forgotten all about the little girl he’d had with Katrina Phillips, who had died in a car accident. Noah had told me all about it and how Gage had recently gotten custody of her. “Oh, sorry. I just assumed.”
“No, it’s okay. But I’m not seeing anyone, for the record.” He took my hand and led me into the hotel like it was the most natural thing in the world, and I supposed it was, being that we were old friends.
“Well, that’s good to know. But if that’s your way of asking me out on a date, I’m not sure Noah will like it.”
He pulled his lips into a tight line. “I know he wouldn’t, but he’d be okay with dinner, and if you happen to have a good time, what’s the harm? We’re both adults, Lauren. Besides, we can be friends. I’d never do anything to hurt you or Noah.”
“Thanks. I’m just going to be so busy, but I want to make time to have dinner; maybe after the reading? I’ve missed you.”
“Sounds good. I’ve missed you, too. You know, you can call me whenever you like if you just need to talk.” He led me to the check-in booth, and once I confirmed my reservations, he followed me up, seeing me to the door like a true gentleman. Craig had always met me at the hotel, and now, I knew why. He couldn’t be seen coming and going. But Gage was different in so many ways. He was not only more rugged and handsome, but he had manners, and it was so very sexy.
I unlocked the door, and he watched as I walked in and explored the room.
“How is your daughter?” It was hard to imagine him with a little girl, especially raising her alone. I wondered if he had a nanny hired to help out. I knew he’d taken R&R and made it into a huge company.
“She’s a little imp at times, but she’s beautiful. I never knew I was capable of so much love.” His eyes lit up when he talked about her, and it was obvious that she melted his heart just by the way his voice softened when he spoke of her. It was a total turn on to see that side of him.
“I’d love to meet her sometime. I know she’s bound to be adorable. Katrina was a beautiful girl.”
“Well, she happens to look just like yours truly, but don’t worry, all that sass of hers comes from her mother.”
“Looks like you?” I curled my lip and tried hard not to laugh. “I won’t hold it against her.”
He gave me a playful nudge. “You’re too funny; a real laugh riot.” He poked me in the ribs, and I giggled just like I would if I were still twelve. We exchanged a flirty look, and then he let out a breath as my phone went off. “Let me guess, it’s your brother, right?”
I reached into my bag and pulled it out. “Yeah, I think he figured out we must be having too much fun.” I stuffed it back in my bag without answering it. I didn’t have time to get the third degree from my brother.
“You know he’s just going to call me next, right?” He gave a short laugh as the phone stopped ringing. “Three. Two. One.” His phone rang, and he smiled.
I smiled. “Let’s let him wonder.”
“Okay, then. But I guess I’ll leave you to get all settled. Let me know if you need anything, okay? I’ll help any way I can.” He gave me a look of concern.
I patted his hand. “Thanks.” I couldn’t help but think what a shame it was that he had to go back home and bring his daughter that pizza. I suddenly wanted to visit a little more, and with any luck, I’d get the kiss I’d been waiting for my whole life.
“Anytime.” He opened his arms and leaned in to hug me.
I pulled away a little slower than normal, and he turned and kissed my cheek. It was the first time he’d ever kissed me, and although it was a friendly one, much like something my brother would do, I felt like the two of us were connecting on some deeper level.
He turned to go, and I watched him as he got in the elevator. Then I headed back to my room.
I answered the phone when Noah called the second time and assured him that Gage hadn’t even walked into my hotel room. Not one step.
Then I called Chloe and let her know I’d made it safely and what had happened with the car. And even though I talked to them both and had a long talk with Chloe, my mind still wandered back to his lips on my cheek. The place was still tingling in my heart.
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