Page 107 of Chasing the Dream

He chuckled but then immediately sobered, thinking about what might have happened if he hadn’t been there. “I’m sorry for going against your wishes, but I’m not sorry for being there when you needed me.”

She cupped his face and gazed deep into his eyes. Hers shone with fresh tears. “Thank you for not listening.”

He laughed harder that time. “I think that’s the first time somebody thanked me for being insubordinate!”

Suddenly she stiffened. “What about the contract? He can’t force me to keep working with him, can he?”

Gabe shook his head vehemently. “Not after what he pulled. I’ll call the lawyer on Monday and fill him in. I’m certain it won’t be a problem.”

“I doubt that Bryan would want to keep working with me anyway, now that I rejected him.”

“I agree. The man lives in Arizona, but he has an ego the size of Texas. He’ll probably move on to somebody else by tonight.” He studied her closely for a few beats. “Have you told me everything? Do you swear he didn’t hurt you?”

“He didn’t touch me until we were outside. He was trying to stop me from leaving so he could apologize. At least, that’s what he said.”

“Jerk.”

“You probably have more to worry about than I do. When you showed up, he looked like he wanted to kill you.”

“The feeling is mutual, believe me.”

“Promise me you won’t go after him, Gabe. I mean it. We only have a few weeks left, and I’m not keen on visiting you in jail.”

He tipped his head back and laughed. “I promise I’ll listen to you this time, but—”

“I thought you hated buts.”

“I do, except for—”

“Mine. I know.”

“I want to ask a favor of you too.”

“Okay.”

“We have to tell Maria about us. I want her to know what happened today, why I was there, and why I’m going to be keeping an exceptionally close eye on you for the next few weeks.”

She met his gaze and then brought her arms up and looped them around his neck. “Yes.”

He let out a huge sigh and hugged her tightly. “Thank you.”

“When should we tell her?”

“No time like the present.”

Her eyes went wide. “Right now? Shouldn’t we plan out what we’re going to say first?”

He gently removed her arms from around his neck and shifted over to the driver’s seat. “Don’t worry. After what you went through today, telling Maria is the least of our concerns.”

Then he pulled out of the neighborhood, mentally preparing himself to confront his next opponent.

Chapter 29

It wasn’t until they’d pulled into Maria’s driveway that Morgan realized they hadn’t discussed what they were going to say. She’d been too shaken up by what had just happened, and she hadn’t been thinking straight. Now they were about to reveal their secret to her best friend, and Morgan was more scared than she’d been with Bryan.

“Gabe?”

“Don’t worry. Just follow my lead, okay?”