Page 42 of Flirting With Forever
“Fine. Keep digging. Hopefully we can figure this out, and she’s telling us the truth.”
The doubt and question in Cole’s tone left Gage feeling angry, and they exchanged a long stare.
“I like her. I want to help her, but I don’t want you getting hurt,” Cole said softly. “If she’s trouble, I don’t want you involved.”
He already was, and they both knew it. Alec called out a goodbye, and Gage lifted his hand, waving to him and the others as they climbed into vehicles and started engines.
Gage nodded his understanding, and he and Cole parted ways. Gage got into the truck to find Sloane watching him with a wary expression.
“What was that about? Or do I even need to guess?”
Gage started the truck and threw it into Reverse. “Cole had some questions.”
“About me. Or…us?”
“Is there an us?” He braked long enough to search her gaze in the light of the dash. “You’d have to agree to stick around for that to be the case.”
Her shoulders slumped even more, and she turned her head toward the window. “I told you, it’s best if I don’t.”
“Best for who? Because the way I see it, you’re certainly not doing what’s best for you. People need people, Sloane. You need people. Community. It’s a fact of life.”
“You want more than friendship.”
“Is that so wrong? I find you attractive. You’re smart and sassy and I know you feel the same way I do. Maybe you’re not ready to admit it yet, but you feel it. Is it that easy for you to give up before we even have a chance to see what might happen?”
She wrapped her arms around her front and didn’t turn to look at him. Gage fought his frustration and got them moving again, and they didn’t speak the entire drive back to his townhouse.
Once he’d parked inside the garage, he turned off the engine and sat there, unmoving. “I am well aware of how little I know about you. But I know enough. And I know I want to know more. I don’t know what you’re so afraid of, but I want to help you.”
“I told you, you can’t.”
“You’d have to let me try before saying that. You’d have to let me in. Give me a chance by telling me what is going on. Why are you running from your family?”
“I told you.”
“You haven’t told me anything. Vague statements tell me nothing.”
“Because the less you know, the better!” she said, practically growling the words. “That way, you stay out of it, and you stay safe. You can’t help me.”
“Fine. Then I’ll dig into your past on my own.”
She paled at his words.
“You can’t do that. Please, Gage, stay out of it.”
He saw the fear on her face. Heard it in her tone. “Not unless you give me an honest answer as to why.”
“Because it’s my life, and if you keep pushing me—I can’t stay. You know what? This is pointless. I’ll leave tomorrow. The hurricane is over. Alec said most of the roads are passable. I’ll be gone, and you can go back to working nonstop and focusing on your businesses.”
She stretched out a hand to grasp the door handle, and he reached for her, stopping her with a gentle hand on her arm. “Wait. Will you just wait a second here? Sloane…. Are you really going to run away because I’m asking a few questions?”
She shook her head, curls bouncing around her face from where they’d escaped the messy bun atop her head. “What do you want from me, Gage? I can’t answer your questions. I can’t risk?—”
Her voice broke, and he was done for. Unable to bear her pain, he used his hold to tug her toward him and fold her against his chest. The console was an uncomfortable barrier between them, but once he had his arms around her and she didn’t protest, he carefully lifted her up and over it, somehow managing to shift his seat back enough to squeeze her onto his lap between the steering wheel and his chest.
He cradled her in his arms, running his hand over the tight muscles in her back but avoiding the scrapes he’d memorized when he’d tended to them. He felt her shudder against him as though fighting with every ounce of strength to hold back her emotions. Tears glistened in her eyes, but they didn’t fall, and he admired her strength of will even as he cursed it.
The woman was a force of nature, and he respected it to no end, but she didn’t have to go it alone. “Listen to me. Please,” he added, holding her close and murmuring the words near her ear. “The situation you’re in is obviously out of your control. And the fact that you’re scared? I can’t ignore that. I can’t pretend that doesn’t scare me. You need help, Merida. Let me help.”
