He wanted Rachel. And he knew from the way his mother had lived and loved that she’d be prouder to know he’d learned how to give himself to a loving relationship than how to be the best chief creative officer.
She’d think he was an idiot to have taught the woman he loved how to let go.
Garrett had some work to do.
Genius that he was, inspiration came quickly. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed.
When he’d finished that call, he dialed Rachel.
She didn’t pick up.
He deserved that. He borrowed Stephanie’s trick, left a message saying he was at the hospital and it was urgent, that she needed to come right now. Then turned off his phone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
T
HIRTY
MINUTES
LATER
,
the door to the waiting room opened. Rachel jogged in.
The sight of her robbed Garrett of breath, made him feel as if his heart had skipped a beat. How could he have been so blind as to not realize he loved her?
She didn’t exactly look loving. Her expression was anxious, but cool, her chin set at a haughty angle. If he grabbed her now and kissed her the way he wanted to, he’d likely end up with a black eye.
It’d be worth it.
Still, he should do this right.
“Hi, Rachel,” he said.
“What’s going on?” she demanded. “Is Stephanie okay?”
“I’m glad you came,” he said humbly.
She got a suspicious look in her eye, and he laughed.
Which made her even more suspicious. “Is she having the baby?” she said.
“Oh, yeah, the baby. Yes, she is. Shouldn’t be long now.”
She was looking at him as if he was insane.
“I love you,” he said, before he could chicken out.
The words fell into a sudden silence.
She opened her mouth, closed it again, licked her lips. Damn, he loved it when she did that.
“I love you, Rachel,” he said, just for the thrill of seeing that tongue again. She didn’t disappoint.
“What’s this about?” she said, her voice pleasingly shaky.
“It’s about the fact that sometime over the past few weeks, I’ve been seduced by your devious brain, your sense of humor, your bad temper…and I’ve fallen in love with you.”
“Is this some kind of trick?” she asked. “You didn’t say that the other day.”
Really? She might not have left if he’d been smart enough to figure out how he felt earlier?
“I’m slow,” he said. “An idiot. But, sweetheart, I’ve seen the light.”
“If this is an elaborate way of apologizing for stealing my life story…” But she took a couple of steps toward him, so he figured he was on to something.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’ve been a jerk, which I can only put down to the fact that I was fighting this thing I have about you, and sabotaging my own future.”
“Tell me more about this thing,” she said.
“It’s driving me nuts,” he said. “I can’t stop thinking about you, and every time I see you I want to tear your clothes off… .”
“Which isn’t actually love,” she pointed out.
“It is when I want to put a ring on your finger,” he growled.
She gaped.
“Hell, Rach, I know you want something permanent—that’s who you are. But I want it, too, despite my best efforts to convince myself otherwise.” He curled his fingers around hers and looked deep into her eyes. “I screwed up and I’m a jerk and a coward. We both know that. But I want to get past all that, and I want to be with you forever.”
“You have got it bad,” she said wonderingly.
“You’re not giving me a lot of encouragement,” he said. “It’s about now that a guy likes to hear
I love you, too.
”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Or so I believe,” he said. “I’ve never actually been here before.”
“Makes sense,” she agreed.
He noticed she didn’t actually say the words. “Rachel…” he warned.
She had the nerve to laugh at him. “Do you really think you and I can work this out?”
“Hey,” he said, “I might not have the best track record, but I can change. I’m brilliant, remember?”
“How could I forget?” she murmured. Then she burst out laughing.
“So glad me baring my heart is so amusing,” he said. “Dammit, Rachel, if you won’t take my words seriously, take this. I just phoned Tony and quit KBC.”
She sobered instantly. “What?”
As if on cue, her cell phone rang. She pulled it out, looked at the display. “It’s Tony.”
“Answer it,” he said. “Take the job.”
“I—I can’t.” She stared at the phone, dazed.
“Don’t let pride stop you,” he urged her. “You get to be partner and chief creative officer at KBC, all the security you want. You’re wonderful—you’re exactly what Brightwater needs.”
“That’s true,” she said.
He grinned.
“I can’t believe you gave up that job,” she said.
“You were right,” he said. “It was all about Mom. I wanted to be the best for her. But she’d be proudest of me for finding an amazing woman and making her happy.”
Tears swam in Rachel’s eyes. “She would,” she whispered. “I know it.”
“I can always find another job, but I’ll never find another you. I finally found something that’s irreplaceable.”
She looked very pleased with herself at that.
“And you’ll never find another me.” He drew her closer, into his arms. “You’re crazy about me, Rachel. You’ve got to be.”
“I have no idea why I find your arrogance sexy,” she said sadly.
“I can be arrogant every day for the rest of our lives,” he promised.
“Thanks, but a little goes a long way.” Rachel wrapped her arms around his neck, marveling that she would get to do this whenever she wanted. “Garrett, I don’t want the job at KBC because I already found another job.”
His hands tightened at her waist. “JWT, I bet. They’d be fools not to snap you up.”
The pride in his voice made her want to laugh. “Not JWT,” she said. “But thanks, anyway.”
“Ogilvy & Mather?”
“Nope.” She tried to contain her glee. She obviously wasn’t doing a good job of it, because his eyes narrowed.
“Rachel, sweetheart, what did you do?”
“I now work for Brightwater Colleges as head of family services.”
“I didn’t even know they had a head of family services,” he said.
“They do now,” she said smugly. “I was visiting my sister and it occurred to me that Brightwater could actually do people like her some good. Kids like my nieces have a high dropout rate, either because their parents aren’t college educated, or because the loans get out of control. Brightwater’s hired me to develop programs that help the family support their college student in different ways, and minimize the risk of them wasting their investment.”
“Incredible.” He kissed her until she couldn’t breathe. “That’s my girl.”
Her smile widened. “There’s more. Brightwater wants to make a big deal out of this—they think it’ll attract a lot more students. And it’ll tie in perfectly with your ad campaign.”
He kissed her.
“But there will be some tweaking needed, and I insist on having the best creative director in the business. So I suggest you get back on the phone to Tony and withdraw your resignation.”
“You want to be my client?” he said, horrified.
“I think it’s only fair after the way you behaved.”
“It’s a conflict of interest,” he said hopefully.
“I’ll risk it,” she said. “I asked Brightwater to give me a year. If they’re not happy with the way it’s working out, I’ll leave.”
“Where’s the security in that?” he asked.
“I won’t fail, not with your brilliant ad campaign.” She nuzzled his neck. “But, Garrett, the funny thing is…I’m not scared of failing, and I have you to thank for that. You made me reach beyond what I thought were my limits.”
His hands cupped her derriere and he tugged her closer. “So you’re looking for a way to express your gratitude? Because this building is full of beds.”
She swatted his shoulder. “That’s creepy. But, maybe.” She shot him a wicked grin, full of promise, and he was instantly desperate for her. “First I need to say something.”
He groaned.
“I
was
going to say I love you,” she said with dignity, “but if you don’t want to hear—mmph.” Garrett’s hand had clamped over her mouth.
“When I release this hand,” he said dangerously, “you get to tell me you love me. Nothing else, just that. Got it?”
She nodded, eyes wide with enjoyment. He let her go.
“I love you, Garrett,” she said. “I love you to the ends of the earth.”
“And you’ll marry me,” he said.
“Purely to save you from yourself,” she agreed. Then she could say no more, as he locked her in an embrace that poured out all his love, his longing, his loyalty. All for her.
Rachel had no idea how long they stood there, holding each other up, until a cough from the doorway penetrated her consciousness.
She dragged herself away from Garrett, to face his father. Oops.
“Rachel, I see you made it,” Dwight said courteously, as if she wasn’t tangled and breathless and untucked. That stiff upper lip military bearing had its uses. Dwight turned to Garrett, and a smile split his face. “Come say hello to your sister.”
Garrett whooped. “Sister? I was convinced it was a boy.”
“Me, too, from the sonogram photo Stephanie showed me.” Dwight rubbed his chin. “The nurse tells me we likely mistook the tailbone for, uh, other parts. This baby is definitely a girl.”
“Well, damn,” Garrett said.
“Don’t talk about your sister like that,” Dwight growled.
Rachel snickered.
Garrett twined his fingers through hers. “Come on, Rach. Come meet your soon-to-be sister-in-law.”
They walked together to the sun-filled room where a delightfully disheveled Stephanie cradled her baby in her arms. Garrett didn’t let go of Rachel once, not even through welcoming his little sister with a kiss on her tiny head.
“I’m going to need this hand back sometime,” Rachel warned him. “We can’t play chicken for the next fifty years.”
But when he grinned at her, eyes alight with humor and love, she had a funny feeling that was exactly what they might end up doing. While she tamed her shark one day at a time.
She couldn’t wait.
* * * * *
ISBN: 9781459226456
Copyright © 2012 by Abby Gaines
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