I’ll Be There (27 page)

“And getting naked on the sofa will help us do that?”

His lips twitched. “It certainly couldn't hurt.”

Gabriella straightened and put a little distance between them before standing up. Keeping her eyes on his, she unbuttoned her blouse and dropped it to the floor. Her skirt followed. Zach put his hands on her waist and pulled her between his spread legs and placed soft kisses on her belly.

“I know it's wrong, but if I could, I'd make this a work uniform for you.”

She made a throaty sound. “Then we'd have to move the office back here full time.”

Zach lifted his head. “You'd…you'd actually work in nothing but stilettos and a thong…if we worked from home?” he croaked.

She pretended to consider it. “Well, maybe not every day, but I could be on board for a once-a-week gig.”

He groaned. “You're killing me. You just got me to go back to the office and now you throw this at me?”

“You never asked,” she teased.

“Hell, had I known you'd consider it, I would've begged sooner. You have no idea how many times I've fantasized about his. You and me, my office…my desk…” He groaned again and went back to letting his mouth roam over her belly.

Reaching down, Gabriella raked her hands through Zach's hair and tugged slightly to get him to look back up at her. “You have a desk here.” She motioned over her shoulder. “We could…practice. It could be fun to get back into work mode for a little while and then christen the desk.”

He quickly stood up and took her by the hand, leading her to the office. “If I wasn't in love with you before, you definitely sealed the deal now.”

* * *

By Friday afternoon, Zach was beat. It was hard to deal with the fact that he used to work twice as many hours as he had this week without giving it much thought. Now all he wanted to do was go home and have a quiet evening with Gabriella. He'd like to say it was only because he just wanted to be with her, but he also felt like he'd run a marathon this week.

Looking at the clock on the wall, he saw it was only four o'clock. Another hour to go before he would feel comfortable calling it a day. The newspaper was on his desk and he reached for it. Earlier in the week the local paper had sent someone over to interview him about his accident and comeback—it wasn't something Zach had particularly wanted to do, but it was good PR for the company so he reluctantly agreed.

Scanning the pages, he found the story and read it. Not bad. It didn't get too invasive and it didn't go into too much detail about his personal life, but there was a good picture of him with Ethan, Summer, and Gabriella. He smiled. They all looked good, happy. By now, Ethan and Summer were on their way to the airport—finally heading back to the East Coast for a weeklong vacation where they could oversee the construction of their house and start their wedding plans.

Zach was happy for them—even a little envious. He hoped he and Gabriella would be ready for that step soon. He didn't want to take away from his sister's big day, but he also didn't want to wait too long before asking Gabriella to be his wife. In his heart he knew that's what he wanted.

Raised voices out in the reception area made him jump to his feet. There weren't any appointments on the calendar, and at this hour on a Friday afternoon it seemed odd for anyone to be coming around. But when he opened the door, he saw Gabriella walking away with a man, heading into the conference room. More than a little concerned, he followed. He supposed she thought she'd slammed the door shut, but it hadn't latched. Zach stood outside the door and listened.

“What are you doing here, Alan?”

“What? Can't a guy come and visit his favorite sister-in-law? You know, there was a time when you and I were friends.”

“Yeah, well, it was a long time ago,” Gabriella muttered.

“It doesn't have to be like this, Gabby. You don't visit near enough.”

Zach heard Gabriella's huff of frustration. “And we all know why I don't. Why don't you get to the point about why you're even here? Somehow I doubt it's to talk about how much everyone misses me.”

“See, that's where you're wrong,” Alan said. The tone of his voice set Zach's teeth on edge, but he waited the guy out to see where this was going.

“Seriously, Alan…”

“I made a mistake, Gabby. Chose the wrong sister. I never should have married her.”

“You're joking, right?” Gabriella spat. “There was never a choice. I was never attracted to you. We were friends. That's it.”

“No,” Alan said dismissively. “You wanted me. I know you wanted me. You were just so damn uptight back then and didn't know how to relax and have fun.” He made some sort of sound deep in his throat before saying, “But you're different now. I saw that picture of you in the paper and just…knew. I knew you were finally ready for me.”

Zach had heard enough. “Excuse me,” he said smoothly, walking into the room. “Is everything all right? You okay, Gabriella?” he asked as he took his place beside her and wrapped his arm protectively around her waist.

Alan looked at the two of them. “Found yourself another one, did you?” he directed at Gabriella. “Couldn't land one boss so you moved on to another.” Then he turned toward Zach. “I read about your accident and your remarkable recovery in the paper. That's awesome. Of course, you had our girl Gabriella there.” He took a deep breath and almost seemed to take pride in Gabriella's role in Zach's rehabilitation.

Zach just glared at him.

“You know,” Alan continued unaware, as if hearing him reminisce were the most important thing they could be doing right now, “when my wife left me, I was a broken man. But luckily I had Gabriella right there to…help me up.” His gaze lingered on Gabriella's body before looking back at Zach. “I'm sure she was very
helpful
to you too. She's a great…motivation.”

“I think it's time you left, Alan,” Zach said, feeling how stiff Gabriella had gone beside him.

“Nonsense,” the man countered. “Gabriella and I are family. You know the importance of that, don't you, Zach? I mean, you work with yours. Certainly you wouldn't throw any of them out.” It was a challenge, and Alan met Zach's steely gaze to see how far he could push.

“Here's the funny thing about family,” Zach began, his hold on Gabriella never relenting. “Family should be there to build one another up, support each other. From what I've seen of your family, you only come around to tear Gabriella down. I don't know why you're here, I don't want to know why you're here, but I will tell you this, you're not welcome. Not here in this office, not even in this state. If I were you, I would turn around and walk out the door and not look back.” His words and his tone left little room for argument. A smart man would simply admit defeat and go.

“I don't think you realize who I am to Gabriella,” Alan said. “I could easily walk out of here now, but like I said, we're family. Next time I come back, her sister and parents will be with me. I'm sure they'll just
gush
with pride to see how far Gabriella's come. ”

Gabriella broke free of Zach's arm. “What is wrong with you? What could I have possibly done to make you ruin my life like this?”

He stepped in close. “You always thought you were better than everyone else even though your own family didn't want anything to do with you. You thought I wasn't good enough for you, or your sister. Even though she was the one who pursued me,” Alan said, pointing at his chest. “And then you had to rat me out.”

“You were cheating on her!” Gabriella cried.

“So what? She was too desperate for me anyway. It will be very different for you and me, Gabby.”

“You make me sick, Alan. Get out.”

“Come on. You're not serious,” Alan said, taking a step back and looking between her and Zach. “I'm offering to leave your sister. We were a good team once. We can be again.”

When Gabriella made no move away from Zach, Alan raised his eyebrows skeptically. He nudged his head in Zach's direction. “How long do you think he'll keep you happy? He's never going to be man enough for you. You saw the way he walked in here and—”

In an instant, Zach lunged and went to grab Alan by the throat—a feral growl coming from his very soul—but his leg gave out and he lost his balance. “
Zach!
” Gabriella cried as she reached out to steady him.

Alan resumed his arrogant stance, fixing his coat. “See, Gabby? You need a man like me. He needs a woman to catch him when he falls.” He smiled at her in a self-satisfied way. “Give me a call when you come to your senses.” And he turned and strode from the room.

Gabriella did her best to steady Zach but he jerked from her grasp. “
Don't!
” he snapped. “Just…just don't.”

“Are you okay?”

“You mean for a guy who isn't man enough to defend a woman?” he sneered.

“I didn't say that, Zach! I wouldn't even think it!”

“Yeah, well…it's the truth, isn't it?” He turned and walked a few feet away and stretched before pacing back toward her. “What the hell was that guy even doing here?”

“I don't know!” she said, leaning against the conference table. “I was typing up the last of today's contracts and I looked up and there he was.”

“So you didn't invite him here?”

She looked at him incredulously. “Invite
him
here? Are you out of your mind? Zach, I haven't invited my family anywhere near me since that day at my apartment years ago. I have no idea why Alan chose now to show up.”

Zach thought about it for a moment. “The article. That damn article.” He cursed again. “He mentioned he read it.”

“I'm so sorry, Zach. I…I don't even know what to say. I'm so embarrassed.”

“Why?” he asked, taking a seat and flexing his leg to work out the cramp.

“Why? Didn't you hear all the ugly things he said? And you know he's going to go to my family and twist everything so that I look like the crazy person!” She began to pace. “He'll say I'm the one who contacted him and I'm looking to get out of this relationship and—”

“Are you?”

She stopped pacing and looked at him. “Am I what?”

“Looking to get out of this relationship. Does it bother you that I'm not the same man I was before the accident? That I have a limp? That I'll probably always have this limp?”

“Zach,” she said softly, going to stand in front of him. “I think you're a better man now than you were before the accident. A
better
man. I'm not looking for an out.”

Zach wasn't so sure. Everything about the last few minutes was twisting things he thought he knew and suddenly old insecurities and doubts began to surface. She might say she was fine with the way he was, but the mere fact that he couldn't defend her when she needed him to all but killed him. He wasn't a better man. At the moment, he didn't feel like a man at all. “Maybe he has a point.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Maybe this is your…thing. Maybe you like the idea of chasing the boss. Back then, maybe it bothered you that he chose your sister over you and you created all this drama for sympathy.”

She recoiled as if he'd slapped her. “How can you even say that? Think that? I've always been honest with you, Zach. I never lied.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. But now that he's come sniffing around and you can finally have what you obviously once wanted, you should go for it.”

Her eyes went wide before welling with tears. “What are you saying?”

“I think it would probably be best if we…if we were honest with each other. It turns out I don't like being second best.”

“But you're not! Zach, I don't want Alan! I
never
wanted Alan! That was a story he concocted to cover his own ass! You know me better than that!”

He couldn't look at her. He focused on his hands that were clasped in his lap as he spoke. “I didn't like it when the guys in the office were gossiping, and I didn't like coming in here and listening to Alan either.”

“You're not making any sense,” she sobbed as the tears began to fall freely. “This was just the act of a pathetic, spiteful man. He means nothing to me. You know that. It's you I want, Zach. It's you I love!”

He shook his head. “I thought I was ready for all of this, Gabs, but I'm not. I don't like drama, and I certainly don't want to go around wondering if it's me you really want or if you're staying with me out of pity or…you'll be eyeing the next executive who comes along.”

“Stop it!” she cried. “Please! Let's go home. Let's talk about this. Don't let him ruin this relationship too!”

“So now you're going to blame him for ruining your relationship with your family? I thought that was strained long before he came along.”

“It…it was,” she stammered, wiping away the tears. “He just made everything that much worse.” She reached out for his hand but he pulled away. “You're not being fair, Zach. You're listening to the rantings of a sociopath over me! I thought you said you loved me!”

She was killing him. In that instant he wanted nothing more than to quiet the demons inside of him that were making him second-guess everything he had come to believe, but they were too loud, too demanding.

“I was wrong,” he said flatly and then forced himself to look up at her as his heart ripped in two.

The look of utter devastation on her face made him curse his very existence. He thought for certain she'd curse him to hell and fight back as she always had.

But she didn't.

Gabriella transformed right before his eyes. She wiped the last of her tears away and straightened her spine enough that she could have given a soldier a run for his money. And with nothing more than a nod of her head, she turned and walked from the room.