Rush

deeply as it was possible to love another person. And God, he wanted her. Every
     day. In his life. As much a part of him as he would be of her.
    Without rules, conditions. Fuck the goddamn contract.
    How many ways could a man ruin the best thing that had ever happened to him?
    Mia was so right. He’d known it then, when her words had hit him right in the gut.
     She was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He didn’t need time or space
     to realize that.
    He should have never let her walk out of his apartment that night with Jace and Ash.
     When she’d knelt before him and begged him to explain to Jace, he should have spoken
     up then. She was right. He
hadn’t
fought for her. He’d been too numb, too consumed with guilt over what he’d allowed
     to happen.
    Fear squeezed his chest. It was an alien sensation, new and overwhelming. What if
     Mia wouldn’t forgive him? What if she wouldn’t take him back?
    He had to make her understand that this wasn’t a meaningless, sexual fling.
    He wanted fucking
forever
.
    What did he have to offer her? He’d already failed at one marriage. He was considerably
     older than she was. She should be having fun at her age, taking on the world, not
     tied to a demanding, overbearing man like himself.
    There were a dozen reasons why he should leave her alone and let her move on with
     her life. But he wasn’t a big enough person to let her go. She was the only woman
     who was ever going to make him happy. Make him whole. And he couldn’t let her walk
     out of his life. Not without one hell of a fight.
    He checked his watch, willing the time to pass. And then his intercom buzzed and Eleanor’s
     soft voice filled his office.
    “Mr. Hamilton, Mr. Crestwell is in.”
    Gabe didn’t respond. He’d told Eleanor to let him know the minute Jace arrived to
     his office. They hadn’t spoken since that night. They’d avoided each other the next
     day in the office. And then neither had been into the office the rest of the holiday
     week, and Gabe hadn’t wanted that confrontation so soon after the night in his apartment.
     Emotions had run too high.
    But he couldn’t wait a minute longer. He and Jace had to air this out, and Gabe had
     to let Jace know that he wasn’t backing down. Whether he had Jace’s blessing and approval
     or not, he wasn’t letting Mia go. If it meant the end of their friendship and of their
     business relationship, so be it.
    Mia was worth it all.
    He strode down the hall, knowing he looked like shit. He didn’t care. He had to get
     this off his chest.
    He pushed Jace’s door open without knocking. Jace looked up and his face grew cold.
     His eyes hardened as he stared back at Gabe.
    “We have to talk,” Gabe said in a terse voice.
    “I don’t have
anything
to say to you,” Jace bit out.
    Gabe shut the door and locked it behind him. “That’s too damn bad because I have a
     lot to say to you.”
    He planted his palms on Jace’s desk, leaned over and leveled his stare at his friend.
    “I’m in love with Mia,” he said bluntly.
    Surprise flashed in Jace’s eyes and Jace sat back, staring harder at Gabe.
    “You have a damn funny way of showing it,” Jace said in disgust.
    “I fucked up. But I’m not letting her go. You and I need to come to an understanding
     because I don’t want her hurt any more than she already is by this situation. I want
     her to be happy and she can’t be happy if we’re at each other’s throats.”
    “You didn’t give our friendship a whole hell of a lot of consideration when you jumped
     into bed with my sister,” Jace said icily. “You
knew
I’d be pissed. Hell, I warned you off that very first day, Gabe, and you fucking
lied
to me.”
    “Mia didn’t want you to know,” Gabe said. “She didn’t want to hurt you, and she didn’t
     want you to lose your mind. I agreed because I only wanted her, and I didn’t give
     a shit what I had to do to have her.”
    “What is she to you, Gabe? Entertainment? A challenge because she’s untouchable? She’s
     way out of your league and you damn well know it.”
    Gabe slammed his fist down on the desk, glaring Jace down. “I want to goddamn marry
     her.”
    Jace lifted one eyebrow. “You swore you’d never marry again after Lisa.”
    Gabe pushed off the desk and turned, pacing a tight line in front of Jace’s desk.
    “I said a lot of things. And no other woman has ever made me second-guess my decisions.
     But Mia…She’s different. I can’t