Meeting Jason’s stare over the top of her sister-in-law’s head, Gia dragged in a breath, trying to get ahold of herself. They’d been so happy an hour ago. She’d been almost convinced this could work.
Almost.
Her father grabbed Jason’s hand again and shook it. “You did what I wish I’d had the means to do. My wife and I are grateful.”
Mama nodded. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re a permanent member of this family.”
“That means a lot.” Jason disentangled himself from Mila.
“Let’s leave them alone,” her mother suggested to the others.
Bella started crying, and Little Tony called for his mother. The women sent Jason one last grateful smile before they disappeared into the family room. Her father followed. As they retrieved the children, turned off the TV, and disappeared into the back of the house, the yawning silence suddenly enveloped she and Jason, threatening to swallow them whole.
“You’re really angry with me?” he challenged.
“Yes.” Fury growled at her, threatening to break free from its chain. “Apparently, I’m the only one. I know you did it for the right reasons, but…I can’t believe you went around me like that.”
Jason tilted his head. “You left me so few options. As long as Wayman was at large, you weren’t going to stop obsessing. It takes two to have a marriage, and I can’t be the only one fighting for us, Gia. I might make choices you hate, but damn it, at least I’m trying. What are you doing to keep us together?”
“You only offered that reward because you didn’t think I was good enough at my job or strong enough to bring Wayman in.”
“No. That’s your insecurity talking. I did it because I knew you were brave and determined to keep going until the day one of you died.”
His words knocked her back on her heels. For a long moment, Gia couldn’t quite breathe.
“You’ve always made me feel so special and cared for—until this. Now you’ve just taken away my sense of purpose. Poof.” She tossed her hands in the air. “All gone—without saying a word to me. Yes, I know you did it to protect me. But you tried to distract me with pretty baubles that don’t mean a damn thing. I needed to make this world a safer place for my family by bringing Wayman down way more than I needed new designer clothes. And you just didn’t get that love is more important than Prada. Or care. You might be able to buy another wife, but not this one. If you don’t see that, I’m not sure we need to stay together.”
He stiffened, then clenched his jaw as he stepped back from her deliberately and slowly. “You haven’t discussed any of your plans with me for nearly a year, especially this obsessive, dangerous manhunt. Or your decision to move in with your sister-in-law and totally ignore your husband. But I digress… I’m sorry for not consulting you and for trying too hard. Neither will happen again. I’ve done everything I know to make you care about our marriage, but it’s clear to me that we will never be a priority for you.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “Tell your family that it was nice to meet them. I have a reward to pay out tonight. Good-bye, Gia.”
Jason raised his hand like he wanted to touch her. But he didn’t. He simply clenched his fist and turned on his heel before he walked away. Her chest imploded as she watched him, the jagged and raw pieces of her heart a splintered heap. Gia wanted to call him back…but why? Loving Jason wasn’t enough. She couldn’t change him any more than he could fit her into the mold of women, like his mother, he understood.
As her husband shut the door quietly behind him for the final time, Gia knew that nothing would ever be the same again. A sob tore through her chest.
* * * *
Jason paced his condo. The November sun streamed through the floor to ceiling windows, blinding him. If he’d been able to drink himself into a stupor after last night’s debacle, his hangover would be bitching at the light. As it was, he had nothing to blame his squinty, vampiric avoidance of the sun on except his bad mood. Why should the day be so f**king cheerful when he wasn’t?
Stalking back into the kitchen, he grabbed a bottle of water and downed long swallows. He hadn’t been able to run this anger out of his system, even after a punishing eight-mile jog on the treadmill. Business hadn’t distracted him during his sleepless night. Neither had trying to logic his way out of this mess. No matter how he told himself that he’d failed at marriage and now he should move on, Jason couldn’t make himself listen. He’d even tried to convince himself that Gia was just another woman who could be easily replaced. On paper, maybe. Something inside him wasn’t buying it. He had no idea why.
She’d been a pain in his ass, with her quick Italian temper and headstrong ways. The woman wasn’t logical. She’d taken a long time to give him her submission, railed every time he tried to set boundaries or keep her safe, insisted that she didn’t need his money or his protection or…much of anything from him. Jason sighed.
In some ways, those traits were the very ones that had drawn him to her, which probably made him sound like an idiotic loon. But he’d enjoyed the challenge of coaxing her from her shell. Gia’s independence coupled with her submissive nature had been so unlike anyone he’d met. The fact that she didn’t seem to give a shit about his fortune was refreshing. Hell, he respected it. She’d wanted money from their divorce, yes. It disappointed him, but the businessman that lurked in his brain said that in her position, he’d want the sum they’d mutually agreed upon, too. His attraction to Gia was everything he’d thought and still more he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Her loyalty, for sure. The way she so often put the people she cared about first.
Sadly, she’d never made him one of her priorities. So where did that leave him? Mooning over a woman who would never return half of his…what, sense of attachment? No. He’d mooned over some of his girlfriends in high school. What he felt was more than mere connection. Missing her now hurt like he’d lost something vital. A limb, maybe. But even more important.
Like his heart?
Jason downed another swallow of water, then huffed out a breath of air. Oh, shit. Was that even possible? He’d always believed that love was a fabrication, but what else explained why Gia would sacrifice so much of herself to help raise her niece and nephew? Risk her life to vindicate her brother? Worry so much about her parents’ reaction to their marriage? She genuinely loved those people, would do anything for them.
Maybe she hadn’t been able to love him because he didn’t understand the meaning of love. His parents had been lousy examples. Samantha would never have lifted a finger to help raise the children of a relative grieving the loss of a spouse. She would have cheered Wayman’s death and Jason’s method for bringing it about because she wouldn’t have had to get her hands dirty. She could simply spend another day at the spa, drink champagne, and think about how grand life was. Even his dad hadn’t been a shining example of devotion. Jason had never said anything, but he had zero respect for a man who would leave his wife and three kids because he’d been stupid enough to bang his secretary and knock her up. All his life, Jason had seen “love” exchanged for a new pair of shoes or a trip to anywhere exotic.
Before she’d ever taken a dime from him, Gia had proven that wasn’t love at all.
So what was it exactly?
Jason whipped out his phone and opened his browser to search. Dictionary results popped up. With a shrug, he figured that was as good a place to start as any.
1. A deep, tender, indescribable feeling of affection and care toward a person, such as that arising from kinship, recognition of attractive qualities, or a sense of underlying oneness.