Ross 04 Take Me On (30 page)

“If you’d asked me even six months ago what my ambition in life was, I wouldn’t have had an answer for you. Since I met Gabby, that answer is easy. She’s it. She and our baby. Please, just…give us a chance. I swear to God, if I trip up one time, you can tell her to send me packing if you feel the need to, and I’ll go quietly. Just…give me a chance. Please. I won’t disappoint you.”

 
Silence greeted the end of his harangue, the only sound being that of his gently panting breath. What else did they need to hear? His mind grappled desperately for something, anything, a clincher on the whole deal.

Her parents exchanged a long look. Brian’s eyebrows were nearly in his hairline, but he gave Ian the nudge he needed. “There’s different kinds of support.”

Ian nodded. “I might not be much financially, but I’ll be there in every other capacity I can be. I promise you guys that. Surely you’ll agree she needs it right now.”

“I’ve been so worried about her,” Kelsey put in swiftly, looking at Mr. and Mrs. Ross. “Whenever I talk to her, she just…doesn’t sound like herself.”

“No,” Gabby’s mother admitted. “She doesn’t.”

Kelsey didn’t let up. “Do you really want her back with the man who humiliated her in front of the entire Dallas medical community? Her friends and family? The people she wants to
work
with? I mean, I don’t know about you, but I am
not
happy about that. She deserves so much better.”

Thank God for Kelsey; Brian had been right. Ian played that angle now. “I would take her to the altar tomorrow, if she would have me. And you’d better believe I would be there to meet her. She wouldn’t be able to keep me away.”

Both of her parents smiled at that. Evan took his son from his wife’s arms, not looking entirely convinced but not seeming as hostile as a moment ago.

“Come on, guys,” Brian said, unable to hold his tongue any longer, apparently. “I got Candace pregnant, and not one of you really gave a crap. You’re all freaking out and trying to run Gabby’s life because she’s a girl, the freaking princess. Get over it. It really should be up to her, not you.”

Ian wanted to cringe at his input, correct though it might be, but he was afraid to move or breathe or do much of anything else.

“Well,” Mr. Ross began, looking down at his wife, “I suppose it comes down to that, doesn’t it?” She sighed and nodded, and his gaze flickered up to Ian’s, narrowing slightly. “It’s up to Gabby, then. Whatever she decides is what we’ll support.”

“Oh, man.” Brian laughed. “Now you
really
have your work cut out for you, dude.”

Chapter Twenty-One

“Now you really have your work cut out for you.”

Wasn’t it the damn truth.

He’d tried to call her. No luck. She was out with her doctor. Ian could imagine her looking at her phone, thinking,
Fuck him
, and silencing it. Or maybe she was too occupied to check it in the first place.

It was thoughts like that one that had him on the road to Dallas as the sun fell below the horizon. He didn’t know what he was going to find when he got there, but whatever it was, it would be his fault.

For that reason, he couldn’t bring himself to be angry at her. The idea scarcely registered. She was there and she was lonely. Even if the only thing the doctor represented was a night away from her apartment, he couldn’t blame her for taking it. Hell, even if she
had
fallen into his arms at first sight, could he really blame her then either? Evan had been right.

Despite all these frenzied thoughts, somehow Ian knew she wouldn’t do anything rash. This Mark guy had most likely come to his senses in her absence, and he’d be a damn fool not to desperately try to get a woman like her back, but Ian could imagine her playing it cool and thinking long and hard about any major decisions. He also couldn’t imagine her not
talking
to him about it, whichever way it went. Giving him a chance to make things right before she made a choice.

But again, he didn’t know. Uncertainty stretched before him as long and dark as the interstate beneath the wheels of his Harley.

“No dessert?” Mark asked as the waiter came around again.

“No, thanks.” Gabby laid her napkin on the table top, well and truly stuffed for probably the first time since moving back. She was terrible about not eating when she was stressed—and while nothing had really changed about the latter, her appetite had roared to life the moment they strolled into her favorite restaurant.

Almost as if nothing had changed. Mark had seen one of his colleagues upon entering, who’d remarked how wonderful it was to see the two of them back together. She’d held her tongue, and Mark certainly hadn’t raced to correct the man. Gabby had spent the next few minutes wondering if it was true.

Was
it wonderful to be back here with him? It felt normal, but that made sense. Only a few months ago, it had been her reality. She’d caught sight of their reflection in the huge wall of windows adjacent to the table as they’d stood speaking to the man and his wife, and they’d fit. She nestled perfectly next to his tall build; she contrasted nicely with his blond good looks.

He obviously loved her, if he was truly willing to take her back now. Not many men would make an offer like that, she suspected. Maybe she really belonged here.

They’d made idle chat during dinner, avoiding anything too deep, and for that she was glad. But his gaze had remained steady and speculative on her for most of the night, and she feared some uncomfortable topics might be broached before the date was over.

“I don’t want to take you home yet,” he said as the waiter dropped off the check.

She’d been afraid of that. “Where do you want to go?”

“Home.”

He hadn’t said
my place
. But
home
, as if it were still hers too.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Mark.”

He smiled. “You didn’t think tonight was a good idea, but you’ve had fun, haven’t you?”

She had. Of course, Ian had intruded on her thoughts and she’d felt near tears a couple of times, but other than that, sure, she’d had fun. Better than moping at home at least. “Sure.”

“I only want to talk, Gabby.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready to talk yet. You saw me earlier today. I’m…not in a good place right now.”

“Well, you know I want to fix that.”

She repressed a scoff. “
You
can’t fix it.”

“Can’t I?”

“No. This is something I have to deal with and figure out on my own.”

“Sweetheart.” Her hand rested on the table; he placed his bigger one on top and gave it a squeeze. “Tell me what you’re thinking. What’s the problem you have to figure out?”

She looked at him incredulously. “How I’m going to make it through school and take care of a baby on my own.”

“I just gave you a solution for that. Come back to me. I’ll be there for you. You don’t have to go through this alone.”

“Mark, you make it sound so easy.”

“It’s not?”

“
No
. Jesus, you…” Biting down on her frustration, Gabby took a long exhale through her nose to keep from raising her voice. “You humiliated me. It’s kind of a big deal to leave me like you did, you know? You broke my trust. It’s not something I’m going to get over because you ask me to. I’m not… I’m not desperate.”

She forced the word out. Not two hours ago, she’d been feeling very desperate. Not for Mark. For Ian. Who wouldn’t even answer her calls.

Could Mark not understand? Maybe he was as cold and unfeeling as she’d convinced herself he was, because he didn’t seem to get it.
Oh, I’ll swoop in and rescue her like a knight on a steed, and she’ll be okay even though I ripped her life apart six months ago. Piece of cake.

“If you want to rebuild this thing,” she said, forcing her voice to remain even, “then we have to start small. Dinner was good. Let’s leave it at that for now. Please. There’s much more to work out than we can fix in a single night.”

“Is there a chance?” he asked softly.

She gazed at his handsome face, almost wishing that they were in some alternate universe where the wedding had happened, six months had passed, and they were excitedly expecting their first child. She hadn’t gone home for the summer; she’d never laid eyes on Ian Rhodes.

Kind of like the fantasy she and Ian had shared the night they went to the lake. She’d been happy with that one.

But that wasn’t their world, was it? And, despite everything, she wouldn’t change the way things had happened. She wouldn’t. Because she would have missed out on some beautiful moments.

“Maybe,” she told him. “That’s all I can give you right now. I don’t want to get your hopes up, honestly, but I’m not closing the door on the idea either. Okay?”

He didn’t look happy with her answer, but she couldn’t help that. It would be too easy for her to fall into Mark’s ploys. For one thing, if she went home with him, saw the beautiful house she’d lived in, slipped back into the life that had been snatched away from her…she might be a goner. No, she couldn’t do that.

“So…thank you for a beautiful dinner, but I think I should go home now.” She averted her gaze to the centerpiece of their table.

Mark sighed, pulling his hand away. “Fair enough.” He helped her from her chair, kept his hand at the small of her back as he steered her out of the building. A moment later, the valet pulled up in his blue BMW, and he tucked her inside. Never let it be said he wasn’t a gentleman, at least when it came to manners.

After she settled in the car, she dug her silenced cell phone from her clutch and swallowed hard past the knot that formed in her throat. Ian had tried to call her. Several times.

Instead of being happy about that, though, she truly hadn’t realized how angry she was at him until that moment.

“I’ve loved seeing you tonight,” Mark said as he entered the freeway, oblivious to her turmoil.

“It’s been great seeing you too.”

“And I’m glad you’re open to us going out again.”

“Mm-hmm.” She gazed distractedly out her window, thinking of burning hot hazel eyes…and then of punching one of them out. Of course, she’d never resort to violence. Only in her mind.

“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?”

Jolted out of her thoughts, she whipped her head around to stare at Mark. “Well…it’s kind of hard not to. I’m pregnant with his kid.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“Can we not end on this note?” She rubbed wearily at her temples, feeling the beginnings of a headache blossom behind her eyes.

“I’d simply like to know who my competition is. Your mother didn’t tell me much.”

Well, hallelujah for small favors. She’d remember to thank her mother for that the next time they spoke.

Competition
. She knew better. Mark wouldn’t consider Ian competition as much as he’d think of him as a bug to squash. When it came to wealth, power and prestige, it was a case of David versus Goliath. That might have mattered to Gabby in the past. Not so much anymore.

“He’s a regular guy. He works, he hangs out with his friends, he rides a motorcycle, he keeps to himself a lot, and…”

I love him.

Her eyes closed. She felt tears gather behind her lids, exacerbating the pressure in her head. God, she needed a Tylenol.

“Abandons you when you need him most?” Mark supplied.

“I seem to have a lot of that in my relationships, don’t I?”

He sighed, his jaw tightening. “You’d better believe I wouldn’t have run out on a responsibility like that.”

“Didn’t you have a responsibility to me, though? You’re saying if you’d just happened to put a baby in my belly before our wedding, you might’ve shown up? News flash: I don’t want to be married to someone only because we have kids together. That’s a prescription for freaking misery.”

“I guess I’m saying everything wrong.”

“That’s why I didn’t want to talk about any of this. You’re never going to spin that situation so that you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry,” he said after a long lull in the conversation. “I was wrong. I was so damn wrong, Gabby, and there’s nothing I can do or say to make up for it. It was…inexcusable. Not a second goes by that I don’t regret it. I also would completely understand if you didn’t want to consider giving this another chance. But I hope you will.”

Dammit, she kind of wanted to keep railing at him, but how could she? It was everything she’d wanted to hear but never in a million years expected to. “Well…” she stammered and finally sighed. “That’s a start.” As long as he meant it.

She might as well resign herself to the inevitable. Mark would persist, and she would buckle. Her parents—especially her mother—would be soooo relieved. It was almost enough to make her vow it would never happen, but she knew better.

At least he was here, prepared to fight for her. It was more than she could say for some people.

He walked her to her front door, lingering and making small talk as she unlocked it. Obviously he was hoping for an invitation, but she couldn’t go there.

“Well,” she said when the conversation had played out, “thanks again.”