Chapter 82
Walking hand in hand with Gideon feels right. I like that he’s here—that he made the effort. We still have so much to talk through. I’m hoping this gesture means he also wants to make this work.
“I’m going to stay up here through the weekend,” Declan shares, standing by his Tesla. “If you guys want, you can stay at my place.”
“We’re going back to the city.” I smile, making the decision for us, then approach Declan for a goodbye hug.
He hugs me tight. “All I want is for you to be happy.” He rests his head on top of mine.
“I am.”
“Send me your thoughts on axing the rebrand.”
“Okay. Bye.” I chuckle, then walk back to Gideon and grab his hand, feeling good about where Declan and I stand.
“Where’s your car?” I ask, and he points to an Aston Martin SUV. “This is yours?” I say, a bit shocked as we walk toward it. I’ve never seen Gideon’s car before. We’ve always taken Ubers.
“It was a gift to myself after the Harris Ventures deal closed.”
“Can I drive?”
“Of course.” He laughs as I climb in, settling into the leather seats.
I power on my phone and see the number of missed calls and texts that have gathered.
“What happened to your phone?” he asks, furrowing his brows, seeing the cracked screen.
“I, too, can have a temper.” I need to work on that. One of the many things I’m going to work on.
“When did that happen?” he asks, concerned.
“After Declan’s dinner party.” I consider leaving out how Declan texted me, but that is not productive, and I need to be honest always. “He texted me that he was sorry for touching me and it put me over the edge from all that had happened that day.”
Gideon nods, watching me on my phone. “What’s Adam texting you about?”
I sigh, then look over at him. “Adam is crazy. I have not spoken with him directly since the whole him showing up at my apartment incident. But yesterday, he texted me that he bought my aunt’s cottage in case I wanted to spend the night there instead of at my parents’.”
“He bought you a house?” he asks, his tone a mix of shock and anger.
“It’s where we met. It was our ‘special place.’” I sigh and start the SUV. Gideon presses the button, turning it back off. “I guess he was going to give it to me as a Christmas present.” I roll my eyes. “Read the texts,” I say, handing him my phone. “I don’t have anything to hide about Adam.”
“He’s crossed the line.” He rubs his hands down his cheeks, stressed.
“I know. I talked with Declan about it. He thinks I should have a formal meeting at his office and make it abundantly clear to him that I’m done.”
Gideon hums. “Or you could keep ignoring him. Whatever you think is best.” He takes a deep breath, then leans into me, resting his elbow on the center console. “I need to know. Did you do anything with him?”
“Adam?” I ask in a clearly joking tone, making fun of how I usually avoid tough questions.
“No.”
“Declan and I hashed it all out and did not hook up or anything. We agreed to be friends. Is that why you’re here? You needed to know if something happened?”
“I missed you. I needed to see you.”
“Why?”
“Because I love you, Dani Sommer. I hate this break.”
“I love you too,” I confess, smiling.
“Dani,” Gideon growls, his eyes darkening. “Can I kiss you?”
“Why are you asking?”
“Because we’re on a break.”
“You didn’t ask to kiss me in the development or in Adam’s bathroom.”
“Well, I know you’ve always wanted it, and right now, I don’t know.”
“I’ve never been scared to kiss you, and now I am.”
“Baby, why are you scared?” he asks, reaching for my hand.
“I don’t want you to be like them.”
“Them?”
“Sorin … Adam …”
“I’m nothing like them.”
“Promise me.”
“I promise,” he whispers, wrapping his hand around my neck and pulling me in for a kiss.
The kiss conveys how sorry he is and then quickly escalates.
“I missed you so fucking much.” He breathes deeply, pulling back just enough to say it.
I nearly climb on top of him, but then remember we’re in a cemetery, and there are plenty of people still around.
“I missed you too.”
He exhales a sigh of relief. “You can start the car.”
“Oh, I can?” I giggle, and the loud roar of the engine puts an immediate smile on my face.
Slowly passing Declan, I roll my window down, then rev the engine, fucking giddy to drive this car.
“Drive …” Declan yells, then hesitates, remembering I don’t want him to tell me to drive safe. “Have fun!”
I roll up the window. “We should go check out the house. The one Adam was texting me about. It’s fifteen minutes from here.”
“Okay.” Gideon kisses the back of my hand after grabbing it. “Whatever you want. We could take Declan up on his offer or we can get a hotel or something. We don’t have to go back to the city.”
“This house is kinda all I can think about at the moment. Let’s decide after that?” G nods, keeping my hand in his.
Driving this SUV with him next to me, I smirk at how this is the life I’ve always wanted, without the concessions.
He doesn’t want me to get pregnant. He isn’t trying to force me into his timeline.
He supports my career and wants me to be the best version of myself.
We have our flaws, and we acknowledge them.
It’s easy to be with him. There’s no baggage of shared pasts.
Gideon is also a fucking hottie with a huge dick that’s very successful.
I love him. I made the right decision and feel so completely sure about us.
“What are you smirking about?” G asks.
“How much I love your dick too.”
He chuckles. “That’s why you want me back, huh?”
I stick my tongue out at him, then get on the highway.
“Are you going to drive fast or what?”
I press the gas and giggle.
As we drive, G shares. “I think it’s the right time for me to step down from Real-ity.”
“What?” I look over at him, stunned. “Because of Adam?”
“He can win this one. I already won you.” I flash him a flirty look, loving hearing that. “I’ve made more than enough money,” he adds.
“I thought you were a capitalist?” I joke, and he shrugs. “Gideon. This seems like a rash decision. And I know I can be rash, so the fact that I think this is rash is saying something.”
“Real-ity has been my entire world for the last few years. I think it’s time for me to make my world bigger.”
“Are you being cheesy?”
He winks, then says, “I built something I’m really proud of. With this investment, it’s no longer mine. I don’t like the direction, the opinions, the targets … I’m over it.” His tone is raw, sincere.
“What are you going to do with all of your free time?” I ask, and he winks at me again. “You can’t fuck me all day,” I softly whisper to him.
“You sure?” he asks, squeezing my hand.
I laugh. “Seriously, is that really what you want?” I ask, wondering if this is just an overcorrection from our fight.
“I’m considering it. It wouldn’t be overnight. It would take months to transition from CEO to chairman. If we spend less than a million dollars a year for the first few years, I can comfortably retire without selling shares of Real-ity.”
“We?” I ask.
“I love you, Dani.”
The thought makes me smile, but guilt courses through me for the half-truths.
“G, I need to tell you the truth about these past few days,” I begin. He sharply inhales, waiting. “Declan and I … we hashed out some old things. I flirted with him. Thought about what it might be like if we were together, and he asked me to kiss him. But I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. I love you.”
His expression softens as he kisses my hand, and I know I’ve done the right thing.
“I have your whole heart?” he asks.
“Yes.”
He smiles. “Tell me about the past couple of days.”
“Cryptoball …” I pause. I shouldn’t tell Gideon that they were being hacked. Declan is a client. I need to respect that. “They were working through something stressful the past couple of days. I’ve never seen him stressed before.”
“He handles pressure really well, like someone else I know.”
I smile at him, then share, “I also cried so much the past few days. More than I may have ever cried in my entire life combined.”
“Because of Sorin?”
“Everything. My parents and I had an honest conversation. I really considered everything about my life.”
We pull into the cottage’s driveway. “Declan saw me cry a lot too. He held me at the wake. I was blubbering. It was embarrassing.”
“Baby, I’m sorry the past few days have been rough.”
“Needed. I needed to get all those emotions out.” Then I chuckle.
“What’s so funny?”
“Declan and I are going to do a book club.”
“What?”
“On the way to the funeral today, we were talking. He’s encouraging me to go to therapy, but I just don’t want to do that, so we compromised on a self-help book club.”
“You want to read self-help books?”
“I want to be a better person.”
G smiles. “Can I join your book club?”
“Really?”
“I’m about to have a lot of free time.”
“Come here.” I pull G in for a kiss. It makes me so happy that he also wants to be a better person. This is the most authentic relationship I’ve ever had.