Rush

live without her, Jace. With or without your blessing,
     I’m going after her. I can’t be happy without her. I’ll never be happy without her.
     I want her in my life. Every goddamn day. I want to take care of her, make sure she
     never has to worry for anything that I can give her. Fuck me, but I’m even imagining
     children. At my age. All I can think of are daughters who look just like her. I picture
     her round with my child and it’s the most mind-blowing feeling in the world. Everything
     that I’ve sworn off in my life, she has me reevaluating. Because of her. It’s
all
her. I’ve never felt this way about another woman. I never will.”
    “Whoa,” Jace breathed out. “Sit down. You’re making me crazy pacing around my office
     like that.”
    Gabe paused and then finally eased into the chair in front of Jace’s desk, but he
     was going stir crazy in this confined space. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted
     to be with Mia. Wanted to go to her and throw himself on her mercy. She’d said he
     had to crawl. Goddamn it, he’d crawl.
    “You’re serious about her,” Jace said, disbelief evident in his voice. “You’re in
     love with her. She isn’t some passing entertainment you amuse yourself with and then
     move on.”
    “You’re pissing me off now,” Gabe growled.
    Jace shook his head. “Holy shit. I never thought I’d see the day. How did this happen?
     Have I been a complete dumbass for not seeing this?”
    “It’s better we not delve into a conversation that’s only going to piss you off,”
     Gabe said. “It’s not important how long. What’s important is that I love her, and
     I hope to God she still loves me and that she can forgive me.”
    Jace winced. “I don’t know, man. She’s pretty pissed. You hurther. A lot. You’ve never had to work to have a woman. They’ve always dumped themselves
     onto your lap. Mia…She’s different. She’s of the mind that she deserves a man who’ll
     stand up for her and fight for her. You didn’t do any of those things, and she’s not
     going to so easily forget that.”
    “Don’t you think I know all of that?” Gabe said in frustration. “Hell, I wouldn’t
     blame her if she never wanted to speak to me again. But I have to try. I can’t just
     let her go.”
    Jace cupped a hand to the back of his neck. “Jesus, man, you never like to do anything
     simple, do you? I’m a damn idiot for not beating the crap out of you and tossing you
     out of my office. I can’t believe that I actually feel sorry for your ass right now.”
    Some of the tension knotting Gabe’s chest eased. He met Jace’s stare. “I’m sorry,
     man. I handled this all wrong. You have to know that I’d never do anything to intentionally
     compromise our friendship. And I damn sure wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt Mia.
     Not again. Never again. I’ve hurt her too many times already. If she’ll forgive me,
     I’ll spend the rest of my life making sure she never has reason to cry again.”
    “That’s all I want for her,” Jace said softly. “I want her to be happy. If you can
     do that, then you and I are good.”
    “I’m damn sure going to try,” Gabe said, determination gripping him by the neck.
    “Good luck,” Jace said. “Something tells me you’re going to need it.”

chapter forty-two
    Mia tugged her coat tighter around her as she walked the last block to her apartment.
     It had been hard to go to work in the brisk chill after spending the last several
     days on a beach in the Caribbean.
    Jace and Ash had worked hard to cheer her up and ensure she had a good time, and she
     had to admit, it had been a lot of fun. It had been a while since she and Jace had
     gotten to have an actual vacation together and with Ash there, things had been lighthearted
     and happy.
    That wasn’t to say that she hadn’t spent a fair amount of time brooding over Gabe,
     but she’d managed to enjoy herself. If anyone had told her that she could have a good
     time so quickly after she and Gabe had split up, she wouldn’t have believed them.
    Still, going in to La Patisserie instead of the HCM building this morning had been
     hard. It had been a slap in the face and a sharp reminder of Gabe’s betrayal. She
     liked her job with Gabe. Yeah, it had been a fluff job that had been a cover for their
     sexual affair, but as time had gone on, she’d taken on more responsibility and she’d
     made the job her own. She’d proven to herself that she could