Storm Warning - By Kadi Dillon Page 0,37

quickly. She hadn’t minded staying put for an extra week. She had been exhausted and the cuts hurt more than she’d let on, and being able to spend time with Gabe, being able to get to know him better, was worth it.

She couldn’t regret having met him and she couldn’t regret falling stupidly in love with him. Tears stung her eyes as she wondered what her parents would have thought of him. Her mother would have loved him. Her father would have been protective, but Victor Fairchild had also been smart enough to see what a good man Gabe was. He would have come around, and he and Gabe would have been best friends.

The lobby filled slowly as the light changed from amber to yellow. A man in a burgundy suit—a hotel employee, no doubt—fed the goldfish soon after the shops and café opened. Tory watched them attack the gold and red flakes.

A movement caught her attention and she glanced across the table. Vance Johnson sat in the chair across from her with a placid smile on his face. She would have believed the smile, but his eyes spoke of hate. He wore glasses in place of his electric-blue contacts, making the color of his eyes pale and eerie.

“Hello, Vance.”

“Tory. What a surprise.”

She snorted. “You knew I’d be here.” And in truth, she’d expected him to be here as well. He’d let his hair grow since she’d last seen him, bruised and bloodied on a bar room floor. Funny, she mused, how her feelings for him had changed so dramatically since then. She’d walked into the bar infatuated with him, then had been afraid of him. Now, she was only sorry for him.

His handsome features were strained. “I thought you might be.”

She couldn’t think of anything polite to say to that, so she folded her hands on the table in front of her and waited.

“I saw you on the news after the chase in Lincoln.” The low, gravelly voice she’d once thought of as sexy now grated on her nerves. “Took you out of commission for a while.”

“I took a week off. We didn’t miss much.” She hoped Gabe didn’t decide to come down almost as much as she wished he would. She could handle Vance, she told herself sternly. It wasn’t Gabe’s battle. “We ended up planning the car wash during that time.”

“I’m sure you enjoyed that.” His gaze slid down from her face to her breasts. She crossed her arms and glared at him. “I know I would have.”

“It was fun and for a good cause,” she bit out, gritting her teeth when he smiled.

“I thought you’d be interested in knowing I’ve taken a break from my modeling career.”

“Did you,” she asked icily, “think I’d be interested?”

“Maybe more so when you found out I’ve rejoined my brother’s team.” His eyes gleamed behind the lenses, his smile turning sharp. “I heard about your run in with my brother. You should let your boyfriend know I won’t be as easy to take down.”

So that’s what this is about, she thought. “I assure you, Gabe has no interest in you or Charlie. He was standing up for me. You should know by now that both Gabe and my brother are both very protective of me and the team. And none of us will be easy to take down.”

He scoffed. “You think I’m afraid of a pretty-boy who takes pictures for a living?”

“About as afraid of he is of a washed-out model—who can’t hold on to a contract,” she added. She wanted to laugh when the fury swept over his face, but she schooled her features to remain aloof. She’d obviously hit the nail on the head. “Why don’t you do yourself a favor and leave me and my team alone? Stay out of our way and we’ll stay out of yours. We’re done, Vance—on every level.”

“You think you’re so much better than me.”

“Wrong.” She stood to emphasize that she was ending their conversation. Weary of him and of everything he’d put her through, she shrugged and pushed her chair in. “I know I’m better than you. I know I’ve always been better than you. Only you can change that.”

She walked away without giving him a chance to retort. She felt the heat of his glare burning her back, but she didn’t look back.

Gabe left shortly after she returned to the suite. He’d offered to take pictures of the conference for their website and needed another memory disk to hold the photos.