Rush

you up.”
    “Oh, you don’t have to do that!” she exclaimed. “I can take a car into the city.”
    “I said I’ll come get you,” he persisted. “We can talk on the drive back. I’ll have
     my driver take you home after we eat.”
    “I’m looking forward to it,” she said, genuine excitement in her voice.
    It had been a good while since he’d heard her be excited about anything. In that moment
     he was glad he’d made the effort to get her out of her self-imposed exile. She needed
     to get out and face the world and discover that it hadn’t ended just because her marriage
     was over. He’d given her time to grieve and to hide away in the house his father had
     moved out of. But enough was enough. Hell, maybe he could even talk her into selling
     the house in Westchester and moving into the city. There was little point in her keeping
     it now. It held too many painful memories for her. She needed a fresh start.
    He knew all about fresh starts. After his divorce, he’d gone through a period much
     like his mother had where he’d just wanted to be left alone. He understood it, but
     he also knew the sooner she got out and started living, the sooner she’d be able to
     move on.
    “I love you, Son,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.
    “I love you too, Mom. See you Saturday night, okay?”
    He ended the call and then stared at the photo that still adorned his desk. His parents
     on their thirty-ninth anniversary. They’d looked so happy. It was all a lie. Two weeks
     after that picture was taken, his father had moved out and immediately moved in with
     another woman.
    Gabe shook his head. More and more he was beginning to realize that no marriage was
     safe. Divorce could happen to anyone. There was certainly the argument to be had for
     not setting yourself up for the emotional upheaval of a breakup. And definitely one
     to be had for protecting yourself from taking a huge financial hit. Divorces were
     a hell of a lot more expensive than marriage.
    He was perfectly content with the way he managedrelationships now. No financial or emotional risk involved. No bruised egos. No hurt
     feelings. No betrayal.
    He glanced down at his phone and pulled up the photo he’d taken of Mia just a few
     weeks earlier. She hadn’t even known he’d taken the picture. She’d never seen him,
     never known he was there.
    She’d walked out of a shop on Madison Avenue just a ways in front of where he was
     standing, and he’d been transfixed by the image she presented. Standing on the sidewalk,
     hair blowing in the breeze as she hailed a cab.
    He’d been nearly paralyzed by lust. Not that he hadn’t already known, but in that
     moment, he’d realized that he
had
to have her. There was something about her that he found irresistible. His fascination
     with her had reached the point of obsession. He was taking a photo of her without
     her knowledge just so he could pull it up and see her as he’d seen her on that day.
    Young, vibrant. So very beautiful. And her
smile
. When she smiled, she lit up the world around her. He failed to see how anyone could
     look beyond her when she was present.
    She was…captivating.
    He didn’t quite know what made her so special. Perhaps it was nothing more than the
     forbidden nature of their relationship. She was his best friend’s little sister. She
     was fourteen years younger than he was. She was a woman he should leave alone.
    But what he should do and what he was going to do were two different things.
    He wanted Mia, and he’d do whatever it took to possess her.

chapter six
    MONDAY, HCM OFFICES, PRESENT TIME
    Mia stood in the doorway of Gabe’s office staring at him.
    So he wasn’t as sure of her as he’d initially appeared. Relief still simmered in those
     dark blue eyes.
    She opened her mouth to tell him she hadn’t given him her decision, but it wasn’t
     a good idea to tease him. He seemed so on edge, and the last thing she wanted was
     to start things by pissing him off.
    “I’m here,” she said huskily.
    He reached down and took her hand and then pulled her toward the sitting area on the
     opposite end of the room from his desk.
    “Would you like something to drink?” he asked.
    She shook her head. “I’m fine. Too nervous to drink anything.”
    He motioned her down on the small leather couch and then sat next to her, pulling
     her hands up and into his lap.
    “I don’t want you to be nervous or afraid of me, Mia. That’s not my intention