Expecting it to be an instruction about something he needed for the call, she was surprised to find: Mac had an appointment cancel at three thirty.
Her chest grew tight but she gave him a nod, and when the time came around, got in the car with him to drive to the psychologist’s office. It was only when she read the name on the door of the office that she realized Dr. Mac was actually Dr. Thomas McCauley. Then his secretary showed them in, and she almost burst out laughing. Santa Claus had gone completely bald and clipped his beard.
He was roly-poly though, and short. The latter comforted her. Her father had been short. Much thinner than Dr. Mac, but of the same height and with the same gentle eyes.
“Gabriel,” he said, rising to shake Gabriel’s hand. “This must be your Ms. Baird.”
“Charlotte.”
Dr. Mac’s touch was firm but not too hard when he clasped both his hands warmly around her own. “Charlotte. It’s lovely to meet you—what are you doing with this guy?”
“She has excellent taste,” Gabriel said.
The doctor chuckled. “And you have a healthy ego.”
Smiling at the affection in the doctor’s tone and relying on instincts she’d distrusted for a long time after Richard, Charlotte turned to Gabriel. “I think I’ll be all right.”
He didn’t second-guess her, just said, “I’ll wait outside.”
“Take a break and read a magazine,” the doctor ordered him. “Don’t scare my secretary by yelling at competitors on your phone.”
Since Gabriel was already sliding out his phone, that just made him grin. He pulled the door closed behind him with a look at Charlotte that said he’d be there in a heartbeat if she needed him.
Turning to the doctor after the door shut, Charlotte took a deep, shaky breath. “So, how does this work?”
GABRIEL WASN’T USED TO waiting. He was used to doing. So he did what he could—which was work. Rather than taking over Dr. Mac’s waiting room, he stepped out onto the verandah of the white-painted villa the doc used as his office. He made sure he was always within hearing distance in case Charlotte had a panic attack and needed him.
But forty-five minutes after Gabriel had closed the door on the doctor and Charlotte, it opened again and Charlotte walked out. Her eyes were red, but there was a smile on her face when she said good-bye to Dr. Mac. Afterward, she came straight into Gabriel’s arms.
“Okay?” he asked, pressing a kiss to the top of her hair.
“Yeah.” Her voice was a little husky. “He’s a nice man.”
Walking her to the SUV, he gave her a boost into the passenger seat just because he liked touching her, then stood in the open doorway. “I’m nicer.”
She took hold of his tie and tugged him to her for a kiss. “Yes, you are.”
He tapped her cheek. “So you’re comfortable with him?”
“Yes. He made me feel as if I could go at my own pace, that he was in no rush.” A fierce smile. “But I’m ready to be done with this.”
Gabriel wasn’t sure it would be that easy, but he was in this for the long haul. Charlotte was his—it was as simple and as immutable as that.
WITH IT BEING WINTER-DARK by six thirty, Charlotte grabbed a taxi home after work. Gabriel had left at five to make his coaching session at the high school a half hour later—the interruptions to his workday meant he’d have to put in several more hours on Saxon & Archer business after the session finished, but he’d made a commitment to the team, and Gabriel took that seriously.
He’d scowled when she turned down his offer of a ride home because she wanted to finish up some work, but she stood her ground. She didn’t want him to babysit her, and he didn’t have to. Not yet. Because once Richard was out, Charlotte knew there’d be times when she wouldn’t be able to let Gabriel out of her sight.
Not because she was afraid for herself, but because she couldn’t bear it if Richard hurt him. The man she’d seen as a handsome, sunny boy so long ago knew how to hold a grudge, to stew and plan, and he was evil enough to come after the people who mattered most to her. Molly was safely out of reach, but Gabriel wasn’t.
He’ll be safe. He is safe.
Repeating that silently to herself, she got out of the taxi at the top of her drive. Her neighbors were outside chatting, and after she collected her mail from the mailbox, she joined them for a few minutes before heading down to her town house. She’d miss it when she had to move into the apartment, but her decision made sense.
It was time she began to pack enough things that she wouldn’t constantly have to come back here. Might as well start tonight, since she had a hunch Gabriel would be dropping by after the coaching session. She’d put him to good use, hauling boxes—or maybe they’d indulge in another form of exercise, she thought with a wicked smile.
It’d give him a break before he dug into work again.
Charlotte frowned as she changed out of her office clothes into stretchy black pants and her green cardigan with the three-quarter-length sleeves. She could understand Gabriel’s need to catch up on work today, as she’d understood the hours he’d pulled the first couple of months, but the man needed more balance in his life. Saxon & Archer was in a much better position, thanks to him. He could afford to take a breath now and then.
Musing about how to make that happen, she gave in to temptation and dug up one of the peach-and-passion-fruit muffins she’d frozen after making a batch two weeks ago. A quick minute in the microwave to defrost it and she put it on a saucer to nibble at while she stood at the kitchen table checking the mail.