Innocence Defied (New York) (22 page)

“Well, now that you boys got that out of your system—” Gage said.

“Oh, not out by a long shot, friend,” Cade interrupted. “Not even close.”

Trevor looked as if he had something to add as well, but Brice stepped forward and offered Gage a hand. Gage saw it for what it was. A peace offering. He took the hand and met his friend’s look head-on.

“I love her, Brice,” he said, loud enough so everyone could hear. “I love her, and I hope to hell that you can accept that.” He looked to the others and saw all eyes turn to Zoe, she was crying.

Not one person in this room was immune to Zoe in tears, including himself. She never got blotchy or red faced when she cried. Those big blue eyes just got bigger and brighter when they filled, and her lashes got all spiky and wet. What killed him the most was her mouth. Those full lush lips turned down at the corners, and her chin quivered just like a damn cartoon, and it melted his fucking heart.

“Oops, darlin’,” he said while guilt twisted his guts in knots. “You damn well know I’m right about this, and cryin’ about it is just mean.”

“What’s he talking about, honey?” Riley asked as she wrapped her arm around Zoe and rubbed her shoulder.

“He said he loved me, but he’s sending me back home.” She said it like she was exposing him as an axe-murderer. When everyone in the room remained silent, she threw in, “And he wants me to finish school too.”

That was said like a kid tattling, and now everyone in the room was trying not to laugh.

“Oops,” Brice said gently. “Those are good things. Smart things.”

“But he said he loved me.” She looked at Gage, clearly baffled.

“You think I can’t love you and still want those things for you?” he asked.

“What good is finishing college going to do for me? I’m going to be yours. Your full-time slave. It’s really no different than being a housewife. Millions of women are housewives, and if that was all our relationship was, nobody would even bat an eye. And there is nothing wrong with that. It’s what Mom does. That’s what I want. Just to be your slave.”

Gage could see every person in the room biting their lips to try to keep from butting in. They all loved her—they all wanted what was best for her. He appreciated that they were trying to let him handle it but this was exactly why he’d called Brice in the first place. He looked at Brice and gestured with his hand toward Zoe. “You want to try and get through to her? I tried and she just ended up shouting at me.”

“Shouting?” Brice looked nonplused. “Well, that’s a first.”

“No. No, it’s not,” Gage told him.

Brice smiled. “Well, I feel better about you two already then.” He walked to Zoe and knelt in front of her. “Listen up, brat. Mom has a college degree, and you know that. She chose to become a housewife when she started having us kids. The most important thing I can tell you is this: she made that choice with an education behind her.”

Zoe looked unimpressed. Gage walked to the bar and poured himself a drink. Looked like this was going to be a long night.

For hours they all took their turns, trying to talk sense into her. Arguing the pros of finishing school and how she would only be stronger for it. She came back with the cons of wasting all the time and money on an education she would never put to use. “Besides,” she told them, “some of the classes had wait lists, and it would be unfair to take up a place that could be filled by someone who deserved and wanted to be there.”

All the while he sat back and watched her. Looking closely at her expressions, he realized something. “You don’t disagree with us at all, do you, darlin’?” Gage set his glass down and pushed up from the barstool. “I’ve been watching you, and I’m starting to see that you really think everything that’s being said is right.” He fixed her with a piercing stare, and wouldn’t let her look away. “Don’t you?”

“Yes.” Her agreement was grudging.

“Then what is it that you are fighting, exactly?” He could see that she wasn’t going to talk, and firmed his resolve. He gave her his best Dom look and stood in front of her with arms crossed and feet spread. “You will tell me, darlin’. Complete honesty. That’s the start of what we have between us, if it’s not there, we got nothing.”

Her eyes filled and the chin started quivering again. Lord almighty, if she kept this up, he was going to crack. He didn’t think there was a Dom in the world that could stand firm against that.

“I don’t want to go to school because…” She looked down and two fat tears plopped onto her clasped hands. “Because if I do, then I won’t be what you want me to be.”

“What?” He gave up all pretenses and crouched down in front of her. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You told me,” she said, clearly dejected. “You told me what you wanted. A full-time slave. Don’t you see? If I go back to school and keep living at home, you’ll be giving up on what you want.”

“Darlin’,” Gage said, cupping her cheeks. “I already told you. You changed what I wanted. You redefined what I want out of my life. I want you. Exactly who and how you are.”

“You say that now.” Her hands covered his where they held her. “But what about later? When I’m not there in between meetings at work, or all those long weeks while I’m at school? All those nights? What am I supposed to do, if one day you resent me for not being there and you find a girl who is?”

“Ah, so there it is at last.” Gage shook her face a little, and tugged her close so he could kiss her forehead. “You think you’re the only one who can wait for the person they love?” He raised an eyebrow at her. “You think my love for you is a weak or fickle thing? That I’m gonna get an itch awhile down the road, and let just any girl scratch it?”

“Well, no.” She blushed and looked abashed. “But you want a slave. What if I finish school and want to be a vet after all? Then what?”

“Then you damn well better make sure the office at your clinic has a locking door.” His hand slipped behind her neck, and he shook her there, hoping he could shake some sense into her. “I keep telling you, darlin’, it’s you. You, whatever you decide to become, is what I want now. During school, I’ll see you as often as I can steal you away. After school? You decide you want to be a vet, I’ll build you the best state-of-the-art animal clinic you ever saw. You decide you want to stay home and have my babies and be at my beck and call? Great. Grandpa will do backflips. He’s been after me for babies since I hit twenty-five.”

He stood and pulled her to her feet with him. “Thing is. As long as it’s you, I’m good. I’m going to say this one more time and I want you to listen close. I love you. Love that goes beyond the bedroom, and is more about making you so happy and satisfied that you don’t wake up one day and wonder what the hell you’re doing with an old man like me.” When he pulled her close and kissed her, he heard Riley burst into tears. He ended the kiss but kept their faces close, with his forehead touching hers and their eyes locked. “Okay? We clear now? You and me? That’s forever. The rest is just details, darlin’. It’s all just details.”

“Okay.” She sniffled and kissed him again. Then, “Okay. Just details. I love you. I love you so much. And, Gage? I think I do wanna be a vet.” Her smile was watery and bright at the same time.

“I know, darlin’.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I know.” He took her hand and turned to face her family. “Now, someone want to tell us why Riley is bawling?”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Surprise! Merry Christmas!” Zoe let herself into the townhouse and dropped her bags on the floor, and Gage came barreling out of the home office and right toward her.

“What the hell are you doing here?” The question was boomed at her with a delighted smile on his face, so she took no offense and launched herself into his arms. God, he felt so good. She squeezed her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, while he squeezed all the air out of her lungs.
Oh well
, she thought,
who needs to breathe when the man you love is kissing you like he’s going to die if he stops?

“Hey! Oops is here!”

Zoe thought that might be her brother talking, but at the moment she didn’t care. She hadn’t seen Gage since Thanksgiving. Weeks of emails, phone calls, texts and three very steamy cyber dates that made her blush every time she thought about them were all she’d been surviving on. She hadn’t been able to touch him for almost a whole month, so she was going to savor this moment.

Gage ended the kiss with a smack, and pulled his head back to grin at her. He didn’t put her down though. She grinned back. Looked like he missed her touch as much as she missed his.

“How’d this happen? You weren’t due in for two more days.”

“I wanted to surprise everybody. I finished up all my finals early and here I am.”

“Welcome home, darlin’.” One more kiss and squeeze, and he put her down. Since he took hold of her hand once he did, she didn’t complain.

“Oh, Gage.” She breathed once she got a chance to look around. “The house looks amazing. Did you do all this yourself?” There were Christmas decorations everywhere. Lighted pine garland with pine cones and berries lined the ceiling and wound up the banister. There was a huge tree decked out with multicolored lights and ornaments galore. The end tables even had decorations on them.

“Don’t give me too much credit. Terryn has been over here every day for a week.”

“And every day, I’ve brought something new,” Terryn said, then gave her a warm and welcome hug. “Glad you’re here. We need all the help we can get.”

“Is it that bad?” Zoe asked, biting her lip and hoping her fear didn’t show.

“It’s worse,” Brice answered, then leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Your timing couldn’t have been better.”

“Or worse, as the case may be.”

“Cade!” Zoe ran over and hugged first him, then Trevor when he stepped up behind him.

“Hiya, Oops,” Trevor said as he stepped back. “I hope you aren’t planning a lot of sightseeing on your winter break, because we are calling dibs.”

“You can’t call dibs,” Gage said as he walked up behind her and pulled her in close.

“Why not?” Trevor asked.

“Because I got dibs first.”

“Did you call it?” Trevor asked, “‘Cuz I didn’t hear you call it, and if you didn’t call it, then you don’t get it.” Zoe kicked him in the shin. “Ow. Her. I meant dibs on
her
.”

“Gah,” Zoe said in amused frustration. “And you all think I’m immature. Which room is she in?”

“Don’t go in there, darlin’.” Gage tightened his hold, and his voice got comically desperate. “You just got here. Give me an hour or two first. If you go in there now, that’ll be it. I’ll never see you again.”

Zoe laughed, kissed his cheek and said, “It’s a chance I’ll have to take, my Sir. We all have to make sacrifices for the cause.”

She marched into what used to be the media room, and there was Riley. The room was a magical Christmas wonderland, with a beautifully dressed bed in the center. Riley was on her side in the middle, buried under a mound of blankets and sleeping like the dead.
 

“How long has she been asleep?” she whispered.

“She was awake just before you got here.” Gage was behind her again, and he shook his head with a quiet chuckle. “This bedrest is making her batty. She’s going to love having some fresh company.”

“Okay, Cade?” Zoe asked when the man stepped up and leaned a shoulder on the frame to smile indulgently at his wife. “Tell me the rules so I don’t let her up for too long like Terryn did.”

“Hey!” Terryn’s indignation was loud and clear even in a whisper. “She tricked me. She told me the doctor told her she could be up as long as she took it easy.”

“Easy there, Red,” Brice said when he wrapped an arm around her shoulder. “Everyone knows that. No harm, no foul.”

Trevor spoke from behind them as he tried to see over everyone’s head. “She was doing fine once we got past the first trimester, then this crap happened. It would make anybody nuts if they had to lie in bed on their side day after day.”

It was true. Riley had gotten over the nausea almost magically after the first trimester, and everyone had assumed the remainder of the pregnancy would be a breeze for her. She’d been glowing and robust and cute as a roly-poly puppy once her tummy started growing. Her men had been like a couple of strutting roosters.

Then, ten days ago at her regular check up, the doctor had discovered something that concerned him. Her blood pressure had gone up substantially during this last month, and she had started to retain water. The doctor had assured them all that it wasn’t all that uncommon and with bedrest, both Riley and the baby would be just fine. Only problem was
 
Riley was going insane from boredom and she was taking the whole family with her.

Trevor shouldered past them and opened the armoire. “Every board game you could imagine is in here, as well as word puzzles and all her favorite movies. She wanted to try knitting the baby a blanket, so there’s a bunch of yarn and stuff. She gave up, though, because it’s a bitch to learn when you have to stay on your side all the time.”

“Trevor and I are in and out all day,” Cade said. “But if there’s an emergency, call Trev because the rec centers are closer than the restaurant.”

“We’re closer too,” Brice piped in. “So, if you can’t get either of them—”