Page 136 of Between Never and Forever

And she waltzed up to us with a trepid smile on her face that day to say, “You’re both back!”

She pulled me in for a hug right away and then stared at Dex, worrying her hands even as he nodded and smiled softly toward her. Then he said, “Nice to see you, Gabriella.”

She sighed and smoothed the collared polo she was wearing. “I don’t think you mean that, Dex.”

He frowned. “Of course I do.”

She sighed and glanced around fast before she bit her lip. “My husband is walking around somewhere with the kids, but I just have to say… I’m sorry for the gossip I started after the accident.”

“Wait. I’m a confused.” I narrowed my eyes at her and put some sauce in my cart. “What are you talking about?” My eyes ping-ponged between them. I saw the shock and then the recognition on Dex’s face and the shame on hers.

She took a deep breath. “I egged on reporters and…” She glanced at Dex before she looked down in embarrassment. “I shouldn’t have let people run with the story that you were the bad influence. The town painted him to be a villain, and I ran with the story. I was so mad at my luck, at having to relearn to walk, at knowing Dex saved you…”

I started to tell her she had every right to feel angry at her luck, but at Dex? Not at him. Yet, he cut me off. “No worries, Gabriella.”

“No worries?” I looked at him with wide eyes.

“I got what I wanted, Kee. I got you in the end. Right?” He smirked at me. The man was ridiculous, I swear.

“Right, and honestly, I know no one could have saved me now. I was young and stupid. We all were. I’ll never forgive myself for how cold I was to you when you came to visit. I know you tried to find me in the water.”

“It’s fine.”

Dex tried to stop her, but she shook her head. “No. It’s not. You told me you would have given your life for Kee and for me and for Kyle if you could have. I wasn’t forgiving then. I’m not really now, either, because there’s nothing to forgive.”

Dex cleared his throat, but I saw how his eyes sparkled, how he stood so still. His soul needed to hear those words, and I was so thankful Gabriella had been strong enough to say them.

“Also”—she leaned close as she wiped away a lone tear and laughed—“please stop sending checks to me. My husband is starting to think something’s going on.”

She rushed over to her husband then, who’d just walked past the aisle, and I stared up at Dex. “You can’t save everyone, Dex.”

“I can try.” He shrugged.

I don’t think he ever would stop trying either. He helped me reintroduce myself to my mother, albeit our relationship was much different, but it was still a relationship I wanted. He helped me take my dad to rehab and visited him with me. And now he was here, holding me close in my office, trying his best to help me with my workday.

“Let’s look over the blueprints together?” I murmured. “What do you want for lunch?”

“You, Kee.” I felt his length against my back.

“My office is not the place for that.” I laughed as his tongue dragged across my neck.

“Of course it is. You own the damn place. Let’s make use of it.”

I couldn’t help myself as I rotated my hips so I could get closer to him. “And why is it again, Mr. Hardy, that I own this place?”

“Because you worked your ass off for it.”

I smiled at how good he was to me. “Right, but also when the interviewer pressed you on the topic, tell me again what you said?” He lifted a brow. “Go on. I like hearing you say it,” I told him, because it gave me butterflies reading it.

“That interviewer was an asshole. He shouldn’t have asked why I invested in the company in the first place.”

Dex was right. It was the interview that stopped all other interviews, because the man had eyed me up more than once, and Dex had seen him. Then, on national television, he’d insinuated Dex was buying me.

“Isn’t it true you made your family invest?”

“I don’t make my family do anything.” Dex’s jaw flexed and right then I knew the man was going off script.

“My good friend, Mitchell, a former manager at Trinity, tells me you weren’t very into music. Why buy Trinity Enterprises when it’s not the best financial decision? You’ve been touted as a great investor and one who is pragmatic in all you do. The world-renowned magazineFinancial Worldactually is quoted as saying, ‘Dex Hardy is structured and ruthless in his categorization of most everything in his life.’ So why this company? Your wife really that good, or is she just good in—”