Chapter 33
Gabe
Tori seemed off, almost distant, for the rest of the trip. I noticed the change when I returned to the living room with her brother, and it hadn’t faded. She sat across from me with Reid, who was fixated on a movie on his tablet, his headphones on as the plane took us home.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, causing her head to swivel from where she was absently staring out the window.
Azure blue struck my chest like the snap of a rubber band.
“Nothing. Why do you ask?” She gave me a smile, but it seemed forced.
“Because you’ve been off since yesterday. Did I do something?”
Her expression faltering, she replied, “No.” She rubbed her arms, and I could see the nerves. My stomach plummeted, and the urge to vomit churned within it. “It’s something I did.”
Eyes narrowing as I tried to figure out what she’d done, I waited for more.
“I said I needed us to take it slow, but when I’m with you, that’s so hard to do. I want us to be back to where we were so badly that it’s making my thinking irrational.”
Scooting forward in my seat, I took her hands in mine. “I want us back there, too, but I won’t sacrifice that chance by pushing you. Is that what I’m doing?”
I had thought I was taking my time. After all, she was the one who had suggested this trip, who seemed to fluctuate between middle ground and end.
I tilted my head and only then saw the conflict she was describing.
The hesitation was still there, and I didn’t resent it even if I hated it.
She was trying to put it aside, and when she was with me, she could, but it wasn’t right, and she knew it.
“I’ve been an idiot,” I said. “If this is too fast, you need to tell me, Tori. I can’t read your mind.”
“No, Gabe. It’s not you, and you haven’t done anything wrong.” She let out a fractured sigh that gutted me. I had done this to her, and I despised myself for it. “I’m sorry I told Reid. I should have let you have that conversation.”
Scrunching my brows, I said, “He’s been your son all this time. It wasn’t my right to make that decision. It was yours.”
She glanced at him, but he was still in his own world, paying us no attention.
“But I need to stop thinking that way. I’ve done this by myself for so long, it’s hard to think of someone else as part of our life.
As someone to make decisions with.” Taking her hands from mine, she sat back and pulled her knees into her chest. “I’m afraid of messing this up.
” The confession was a mere whisper, with the power of a scream.
I rose and sat in the seat beside her, turning her body toward mine.
“That burden should be mine, not yours. I’m the one who needs to prove myself.
Who needs to earn your trust back and show you I’m worth your love.
Not you, Tori. You didn’t mess this up in the first place.
I did, and it’s mine to fix. If we’re moving too fast, if you want me to back off, just tell me. ”
She dropped her head onto the seat. “I think we should slow down.”
“Then that’s what we do. The last thing I want is to push you away.” I hid the tremble in my hands, the nerves that threatened to turn me from the powerful man I was to a shriveling mess of emotion—terrified, hurt, sad, anxious.
“Okay. But I want you and Reid to spend time together. Alone, just the two of you, so you can talk to him. He knows now, so it’s too late for me to take that impulsive decision back, but he needs to hear it from you, not me. That wasn’t my right.”
Reid spread out across my seat, resting his tablet on the wall.
“It was only ever your right, Tori. I haven’t earned any rights with regards to him.”
She turned my face back to hers. “You are and you have.”
Slow was going to be difficult because there wasn’t a second that passed when I didn’t want to kiss her.
She turned in her seat and rested her head on my shoulder.
Repositioning so she could snuggle into my hold, I wrapped my arm around her, unsure of how many steps backward we’d taken but knowing I would take as many as necessary to have her back.
The weight of my phone seemed to double as I waited for my call to go through.
“I’m surprised it took you so long to call,” my father’s voice answered.
I rested my elbow on my desk and rubbed my head. Sleep had been minimal. I’d kissed Tori goodnight when we got back and given Reid a hug, but I’d kept my distance today, going in early to work out. I wanted to give her space, to let her lead at her pace.
“Tell me what you have on Bradman.”
He chuckled. “You are more like me than you think, William.”
My teeth ground at the name and the accusation.
“Just tell me. I know you have something, or you wouldn’t have dropped the hint about him.”
“Your lawyers still working on breaking that NDA?”
“How do you know about that?” I asked, standing and walking to the window.
“Bradman is infamous for them. He has a hard time keeping women on his staff. I’m surprised she lasted as long as she did, and her departure didn’t surprise me.”
The clenching of my fist did nothing to ease my anger.
“What do you have on him that I can use?”
He was quiet for a moment. “What’s in it for me?”
Just like my father to offer something with conditions.
“What do you want?”
“To meet my grandson.”
If I hadn’t been standing, I would have fallen out of my chair. As it was, my jaw almost hit the ground.
“No.”
“Then you can use your resources to find what you need.”
“You can’t possibly think I would let you anywhere near him after all you did to me.”
He snorted, which only caused my grip on the phone to tighten. “I made you the man you are. Built character and resilience in a boy who clutched at his mother’s skirts and cried at a scraped knee.”
“Normal things children do, yet you seemed to find them repulsive enough to beat me for them. I’m not letting you within ten feet of my son, and I can guarantee Victoria won’t.”
“Good luck with Bradman.” The phone disconnected before I could say more.
I shoved the phone back in my pocket just as Liv peeked her head into the office.
“Oh, I know that look. Did you talk to Dad?”
Hands scraping through my hair, I motioned for her to close the door. “Unfortunately.”
“What’s the asshole up to now?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. Her brow arched, and she sat in a chair, waiting for me to answer.
“He’s traveling. Something about Greece.”
“But that’s not what the conversation was about.”
“No, it wasn’t. He’s such a bastard. I knew I shouldn’t have called him.” I sat on the edge of the desk, running my hand over my face.
“Wait. You called him?” Interest piqued, she sat forward in the chair. “Why would you do that?”
“I needed information.”
“On?” Damn, she was too smart and persistent.
“Carl Bradman.”
“Why?”
“Let it go, Liv.” I walked around my desk, removing my phone from my pocket and dropping it on the desk, unsure of what else to do with my hands. I was a frenzy of nervous energy.
“What are you up to, little brother?”
“Nothing.”
She let out a loud laugh. “Don’t give me that. You’re up to something. Talk.”
“I need information on Bradman to take him down.”
Her eyes lit, understanding crossing them. “This is about Tori. Did he do something to her?”
“I can’t say. There’s an NDA.”
“That tells me enough.”
“Let it go and get back to work.”
She leaned back in the chair, folding her hands. “No. Does Tori know you’re scheming to take Bradman down? As much as I love a good takeover, Bradman’s not one to go after.”
“I’ve got it handled.”
“Without telling her?”
“She doesn’t need to know.”
And I didn’t want her to know. She needed to be out of anything unscrupulous I did. Besides, this was my revenge for what he had done to her. She didn’t need to be involved.
Liv’s laughter was even more annoying this time. “I was all for keeping secrets when we were going after Dad. That was necessary, but this?” She stood, putting her hands on her hips. “You’ll lose her again if you do this.”
A vise constricted the blood flow to my chest, and I stared at her, speechless.
“She forgave you the first time, but you lie to her again and she’ll leave, Gabe.
” She moved closer to me, her eyes concerned and unusually soft.
“You have a second chance. Don’t screw it up for some vendetta.
” She picked my phone up and handed it to me.
“If you really want Bradman, tell her what you’re planning. Let her be a part of it.”
I tilted my head, trying to figure her out. “Why are you being so nice?”
“You have a chance for something some of us will never have. I don’t want you to blow it. She’s too perfect for you, and there’s that whole nephew thing.” She waved her hand like she was untangling cobwebs from it.
“It’s a good thing you never had kids, Liv. I don’t think you’d ever survive.”
“Let’s not find out. No leaving me on babysitter duty again.” She gave me a wink and shoved the phone toward me. “Call her in. Tell her what you’re thinking.”
“I’m not thinking anything now because Dad wouldn’t give me the information.”
“What did he want in return?”
I scratched my cheek, forgetting she’d had years to learn our father’s ways while I’d been in Florida and at school.
“To see Reid.”
Her lips made an exaggerated oh. “No wonder you looked so pissed when I walked in.”
She took the phone from me and, before I could stop her, texted Tori.
“What the hell?” I said, snatching it from her. “How do you know my password?”
The roll of her eyes emphasized her annoyance with my question. “Because it’s the same one you’ve used for years. I saw you put it in after you blocked me from your phone.” Her eyes went wide. “Wait, isn’t Tori’s birthday in March?”
“Shut up.” I didn’t like how she knew my password or how she’d deduced it was Tori’s birthday.
A gentle knock had my eyes flying to the door. Tori peeked in, her blue eyes bright.