covered her nipples. Then there was the admission that she “forgot” to put on panties.
The woman was going to be the death of him and he could not wait to see what she planned next. But he had to survive the next few minutes first.
Gabe stared across the table at Rick. He’d been in the chair for all of three seconds and was already moving around. Gone was his characteristic smoothness, that outside veneer of control. From the slight beard and the ruffled hair Gabe wondered how long it had been since his brother showered.
Rather than draw out the moment, Gabe went right to the point. “Come to the house this weekend for dinner.”
Rick’s head shot up. “What?”
“Brandon is coming home for a visit. Some sort of break. Who knows. The point is he misses you.” Gabe promised Natalie he wouldn’t hold back anything and the warmth of her palm against his thigh reminded him of that fact. “Hell, Rick. I miss you. The old you. The one before our worlds collapsed.”
“Before I ruined everything, you mean.”
“I didn’t say that.” Over the last few days Gabe had tried to imagine being in Rick’s shoes and couldn’t. His older brother had made so many mistakes and tried to hold on to the wrong things, but he loved Brandon and Gabe couldn’t fault him for that.
Rick glanced over at Natalie. “Is this coming from you?”
“Gabe misses you. I don’t really know you. Not the Rick who Andy and Gabe talk about. Not the uncle Brandon describes as the best fisherman in the family.”
Rick visibly swallowed. “My life has been a shitshow lately.”
Mostly of his own making, but Gabe didn’t point that out. Might have, but Natalie squeezed his thigh and he guessed she was making a point and not a pass with Rick sitting right there. “Let’s find a way through it. Get back on track.”
“You forgive me?”
Gabe hesitated because there was still a part of him that couldn’t believe his own brother betrayed him in such a painful way. But years had passed since the cheating and they had to move on from the rest of it. “Give me a chance to, okay? Earn it.”
Rick nodded.
He would never be the one to issue a big apology. That’s who Rick was, and as Gabe sat there, with a son in college and a woman by his side who satisfied his head, heart and body, he could afford to feel some sympathy for Rick. He had nothing to fall back on but his work.
Maybe the DNA test had been his way of gaining a foothold in the outside world or dealing with his injuries. Gabe didn’t know what went on in Rick’s head but he knew he wanted to get Natalie home and thank her for this moment. She pushed him to be the better man. She opened this door. Whether Rick walked through or not was up to him, but Gabe wouldn’t walk away from his brother.
“So, six?”
“Sure.” Rick wiped a hand over his growing beard and glanced at Natalie again. “You’re sticking around?”
“I’m living with your brother,” she said in a firm voice, as if daring Rick to say something about that.
“Always said Gabe was the smartest one of all of us.”
With that, Gabe relaxed. Sat back in his chair. “I have my moments.”
Rick eyed Natalie once more. “Any chance you’re looking for a job?”
She snorted. “We would kill each other.”
“I could use your skills.”
“No.” Gabe didn’t mean to shout the denial, but when they both stared at him, he guessed he did. “She’s taking some time off.”
Rick shrugged. “I’m talking about later.”
“She has to think about my offer first.” When she looked at him, Gabe figured he might as well make the offer now. “I want you to throw in here with me. Help me run operations from here.”
“When were you going to ask me?”
“Soon.” One night in bed when she was all soft and a bit more open.
She exhaled and nodded. “Good.”
A new rush of relief hit Gabe. “Good?”
“I plan on working my way into every part of your life.” Her hand moved a little higher.
“I support that plan.”
“On that note, I think I’ll go.” Rick stood up. “But I am happy for both of you.”
Gabe stood and reached his arm across the table. A handshake might be a shaky start, but at least it was one. “And we’ll see you on Saturday.”
Rick took the outstretched hand then nodded to Natalie. “Right.”
Gabe watched the door shut after Rick left. It seemed like he walked a bit taller going out than he did going in. Gabe hoped that was true.
“See, that wasn’t so bad.” Natalie snaked her arm through his.
“Don’t think I won’t be collecting my reward tonight.” He really wanted to start right now but there were rules in the office. And he regretted writing every single one of them right now.
He leaned back against the conference room table, and she slid into the space between his outstretched legs. “I bet I’m naked during this reward.”
Gabe thought his heart might have stopped. When her fingers trailed down his chest to land on the top of his pants, he was pretty sure his lungs cut out. “We can’t have sex in here.”
“Absolutely not.” She reached for his belt. “That would be naughty.”
He loved this side of her, so in touch with who she was and what she wanted. “But I do like you naughty.”
“It’s all so confusing.” A jingling sound filled the room as she opened his buckle.
“Maybe I should explain. You know, step by step.” His hand slipped inside her jacket and he wanted more.
“Any chance there’s a lock on that door?”
When she leaned in and pressed her lips against the side of his throat, his common sense blinked out. “I sure as hell hope so.”
Before he could get up or drop his pants or do one of the hundred things she tempted him to do, she brushed a hand over his jaw. “We are perfect for each other.”
“From the start.” And only grew from there.
She smiled at him. “I love you.”
Hearing that made all the stresses of the world disappear. “I love you, too.”
She kissed him, slow and oh-so-sexy. Her mouth still touched his when she started speaking. “So, when I work here do I get to boss you around?”
His body hummed with his need for her. “For you? Anything.”
“Then lock the door.”