A painful lump rose in my throat. “I don’t want to talk about this.”
“I do,” he said in that compelling voice. “Because I also have a feeling this is exactly why you don’t believe I have your best interests at heart. Because nobody before me ever has.”
Real tears threatened, then fell, splashing on his golden chest. “Damn you,” I muttered. “Do you want to talk, Gabe? Do you want to tell me who she was?” I looked up, wanting to see his expression.
“She who?” His voice sounded cold, and I shivered.
What a joke, I thought. Exactly as I’d thought, he pushed me to open up but was unwilling to do the same. “You know who. The last stray you took in.”
I remembered his brother’s words in the police station. They’d stayed with me and helped me find the courage to leave. I didn’t want to be anyone’s pet project. Someone he could keep and feed and feel sorry for.
“She has nothing to do with us.”
“Oh, but my past, my parents, do?” I pushed hard against his chest, and this time he let me go. I started for the sliding door to the penthouse.
“Isabelle, come back here.” His tone said he expected me to obey.
“I told you I do what I want. And if you can’t share in return, it doesn’t matter what you want from this relationship,” I informed him. “It’s over.” I stormed inside only to see the elevator doors open and Lucy step out.
“Good morning,” I muttered and headed directly for the master bedroom. I took a fast shower, then dressed in a bathing suit and cover up, with a pair of flip-flops that looked as expensive as they were.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, I thought. I shouldn’t have spent the money. I knew it had belonged to Gabe. I shouldn’t even have come here.
Without looking at the terrace, where I heard Lucy and Gabe’s raised voices, I hit the elevator button. If the man couldn’t open up about himself, how did I expect to have a relationship with him, never mind maintain my independence? What I wanted from Gabe was … what?
The doors opened. I stepped into the open elevator and turned in time to meet Gabe’s shuttered gaze before the closing doors cut off contact. I headed for the privacy of the beach. I wanted to be alone. Later, I would have to find someone who could direct me to Joely and a way to get off this island.
But as I walked through the hotel, the question in my head remained. What did I want from him? Unfortunately, I knew. I wanted what I’d been pushing down and away since I’d realized Lance was a selfish prick who would never love me. I wanted a family. A man who loved me unconditionally, and kids we loved, who were wanted the way I never had been. And even if I’d never expressed it or even allowed myself to formulate the thought before, I’d wanted it with Gabe.
Chapter Fourteen
Gabe: Protect and Defend
“You idiot!” Lucy yelled at him. “Only you could drive away a woman on an island called Eden!”
Gabe pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. “Stay out of it, Lucy.”
She laughed. “As if. If I leave it to you, you’ll screw up a sure thing. What’s happened? What did you do to her?”
Well, he’d started by digging into her painful childhood and forcing her to open up, and he’d ended by shutting her out when she’d asked him to do the same.
“Okay, I’ll guess. You told her you’d been married?”
“I wouldn’t tell her anything,” he muttered.
Lucy clapped slowly, applauding his idiocy. “I get it. She asked, you shut down.”
If he didn’t explain, she’d just keep talking, and he already had a splitting headache. “I pressed about her past and forced answers—”
“And then you wouldn’t give up anything in return. Oh, good job, big brother.” She picked up a piece of cantaloupe and popped it into her mouth.
All Gabe could think about was Isabelle sitting on his lap, curled into him as if she belonged, allowing him to take care of her. Yes, he had this caretaker streak, but it wasn’t about strays. It was more about making sure the people he loved got what they needed, just like he’d done for Lucy and Decklan when their parents had … died. His thoughts careened to a stop, backing up to one word. Love.
Did he love Isabelle?
Want, desire, an all-consuming need to protect and defend. He hadn’t touched a woman since she’d come into his life. Really come into his life that night at the police station. In the three months alone, he’d turned Naomi away when she’d tried for a second chance, something he wouldn’t be informing Isabelle of.
He hadn’t used a condom, and she hadn’t mentioned birth control either. In his mind, it hadn’t mattered. He didn’t plan on letting her go.
So did he love her?
Hell yes, he did.
“God, I have to tell her the truth, don’t I?” he asked his unusually quiet sister.
She shrugged and snagged another piece of fruit. “Just don’t screw it up. I like her. And given the women you normally hang out with? I don’t want you to lose this one. She’s special.”
He blew out a long breath. “I agree.”
“And she likes you for you. Not your money or power.”
He grinned. “She does, doesn’t she?” He rose to his feet.
“Where are you going?” Lucy asked.
“To shower, change, and find my girl.”
Chapter Fifteen
Isabelle: A Day of Revelations
Although I intended to find the beach or the pool, a private place to unwind and think, I hit the wrong floor on the elevator and ended up on the bottom level beneath the main lobby area. The sign across from the open doors said CLUB, so I decided to look around and came upon the original club that had been shut down. Obviously Elite would open here, and I decided to look around.
I pushed open the doors. The place was dark, just a few lights marking my way. The tables, chairs, and even the countertop were visibly old and scarred, the floors dingy. The place needed a complete overhaul, and my creative juices were already flowing. I couldn’t wait to hear what Lucy had in mind. No matter that I’d initially been upset, I wasn’t stupid.
I understood how the world worked. Connections and money ruled. They opened doors. So Gabe had introduced me to Lucy, who probably didn’t need my advice, but she was willing to accept my input anyway. That would give me the opportunity to prove my ability, and from there, it was up to me to make the most of it. No matter what happened between myself and Gabe.