“You read my mind.”
“Isn’t that what friends are for?”
Sharon nodded. “They are and I’m so glad I have you.”
“You know it’ll all be fine once this Mary Perkins thing is over. It’s really stressful,” Gabrielle said, her voice tight.
Sharon met her friend’s gaze. “For everyone, not just me, right?” No matter how overwhelmed she was by her own problems, Sharon couldn’t forget Gabrielle was equally affected.
“Well, yes, I have my share of problems, but that isn’t what I meant. We’re focused on you right now. You’re worried Richard coddles you and thinks you’re too fragile? I say you show your fiance the real you.”
Sharon raised her gaze. “You mean…?”
“Buy a teddy, strip for him, show him you aren’t as fragile as he thinks.” Gabrielle shimmied her top half and laughed.
“He might keel over,” Sharon said, imagining the look on Richard’s face.
Gabrielle shrugged. “Or he might be relieved. One way or another, you’ll know. Then you’ll be able to focus again on your relationship and not your differences.”
“Or the past?” Sharon asked. The photograph and the incident that still hovered between her and her fiance.
Gabrielle waved a hand through the air. “It’ll stay where it belongs-”
“Once this Mary Perkins thing is over,” they said at the same time, and laughed.
“What do you say we forget the budget, forget the writing, and let’s go shopping.” Gabrielle jumped up from her seat, decision made.
Sharon gathered her papers. “Now, that sounds like a plan. Victoria’s Secret?” she asked, knowing that was Gabrielle’s favorite store.
Gabrielle nodded.
“You have this determined look on your face. Why is it I think this trip has less to do with me than with you?” Sharon asked her friend.
Gabrielle let out a long sigh. “I think I’ve brought more aggravation to Derek’s life than joy.” She wiped her hands over her eyes.
Was she crying? Gabrielle was an emotional person, but she rarely fell apart.
“What’s going on?” Sharon asked.
“Derek’s ex-wife is threatening to file for sole custody because he exposed Holly to danger. Because of me. And with the film crew coming, the situation is only going to get worse, not better. I know a stupid negligee isn’t going to make any of that go away, but it’s the only apology I can think of at the moment.”
Sharon sucked in a sharp breath. “I told you I shouldn’t be worried only about myself.” She pulled her friend into a hug. “Derek knows it isn’t your fault. Isn’t that what you keep telling me to believe about Richard?”
“There’s one difference. I knowingly invited that film crew here. I escalated the danger. For a man who believes bad things are destined to happen when he falls in love.” Gabrielle cleared her throat. “Now I’m going to have to live with the consequences.”
There was nothing Sharon could say to help her friend or herself because Gabrielle was right. They’d both just have to let things play out and see what the future held.
DEREK HAD LIED TO Gabrielle. His divorce lawyer was in Manhattan, where he’d been living at the time, not in Stewart. But he’d needed some time and space to cool off, away from Gabrielle and his feelings for her, which were so tangled up they didn’t let him breathe, let alone make a rational decision.
While driving around letting off steam, he had called his attorney, a friend of his who assured him that Marlene didn’t have a leg to stand on if she took this to court. Leaving his child for three nights at his father’s house didn’t make Derek a bad parent, just a cautious one. He could counter Marlene’s accusation with the fact that she left the country and her daughter for a selfish month-long honeymoon. That wouldn’t win him sole custody, either but he at least could threaten Marlene back. His lawyer had also assured him they could legally force Marlene to stick to the agreed-upon visitation schedule if she tried to make his time with Holly more difficult to come by.
Derek groaned. He
Though his lawyer had reassured him that he wasn’t going to lose his daughter, Derek couldn’t shake the nagging discomfort Marlene’s threats had caused. History hadn’t been kind to Derek, and he wasn’t about to trust in the attorney’s platitudes.
He’d spent the day out, picking up tools he needed to do work around the house and clearing his head. Hours later, he arrived home to see Gabrielle’s car in the driveway. Was she there? He didn’t know, as he hadn’t touched base with her all day.
Though he was still irritated, he had calmed down since their last conversation. He wasn’t fine with her choices, but they were hers to make.
He let himself inside. It was dark downstairs, but a small light glowed from above in the loft. He dropped his keys on the counter in the front hall and headed upstairs.
He found Gabrielle watching television in his bed. “Hey there.”
“Hi.” She lifted her hand in a halfhearted wave.
Obviously she wasn’t any happier than he was at the moment.
He walked over and sat beside her. “What did you do today?”
“I went shopping with Sharon.” She gestured to a pink Victoria’s Secret shopping bag sitting across the floor.
“I’m glad to see the day wasn’t a lost cause.” He tried to keep things light.
“Wasn’t it?” She glanced down at her fingers as she toyed with the comforter. “I was stupid enough to think buying something sexy would solve all our problems. That I could apologize for risking everything you love with sex. But life doesn’t work that way.”
“It could.” He brushed his thumb over her cheek, loving the feel of her soft skin. “An apology is just that. An apology and I accept it, if you’ll accept mine.” He owed her one for blowing up at her earlier.
They’d both helped make the mess they were in.
“Do you mean that?” she asked.
He took her hand. “I’m not doing a tap dance that you’re antagonizing Mary Perkins, but you wouldn’t be you if you didn’t handle things out in the open. It isn’t your fault I have an ex-wife who will use any excuse to pull my daughter away from me. I’m upset with a lot of things and I took it all out on you. I’m sorry.”
She smiled a little. “It’s okay. What if Marlene does sue for custody?”
His stomach churned at the thought. “I’ll just have to deal with it. My lawyer said Marlene doesn’t have a leg to stand on.” He spread his hands out in front of him. “I can’t say I’m trusting that at face value, though.”
She nodded slowly. “I understand.”
“I’m actually glad Holly’s with her mother right now, though. That means I can focus on keeping you safe without worrying about her. If this television crew is going to be around, you’re going to need me to make sure Mary Perkins isn’t.”
He rose and started to walk across the room.
“Where are you going?”
“To get this.” He picked up the shopping bag and pulled out something wrapped in pink tissue paper, which he easily discarded. A red lace garment hung from his fingertips, looking skimpier than ever thanks to his large hands. “Think you can put this on for me?” He barely recognized his own rough voice.
His desire and need for this woman only seemed to grow rather than diminish. For as long as she was in his house, she was his.
And when the threat was over?
He refused to think about it now, burying his face in the warm skin of her neck, just as he’d soon bury himself in her willing body.
