Richard took a step back as if some invisible force had shoved him backward. He fell into his chair, locking narrowed eyes on Gabrielle. His eyes swept over her like he surveyed her for damage.
Icy fingers gripped my heart, and rage clouded my vision. Richard knew me better than that. He knew that I would never hurt a woman. It was more than that.
In that instant, I knew that I wanted him to be okay with it. To give us, me, his blessing. I knew that he respected me, liked me, even.
One look at his face and I knew that that wasn’t going to happen. The icy fingers tightened their grip.
Richard turned to look at me, his face a mask of rage, betrayal, and disbelief combined. His eyes bored into mine, searching for answers. I gave him none.
My stomach dropped. My palms went clammy for the first fucking time that I could remember.
Shit.
“Is this true?” Richard asked me, his eyes not leaving mine for a split second. His voice was low and demanding. My world narrowed.
Goodbye best of both worlds...
In my mind’s eye, I could practically see that ship sailing away from me with the way that Richard looked at me. I had to catch that ship. I didn’t have any fucking choice in the matter.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Gabrielle
My heart pounded in my chest. My father and James both stood frozen, locked in some battle of the wills as they stared each other down.
I couldn’t believe that Olivia had tricked me into coming here. I seethed with rage and tried to keep my entire body from shaking. I wanted to wring Olivia’s scrawny neck, but I pushed that to the back of my mind.
The only thing I could focus on at that moment was James. His answer seemed to be taking an eternity, but it was probably no more than a few seconds.
His expression was unreadable; it was as if he could only see my father. I could only see James.
It wasn’t the ideal way for my father to have found out about us, but somewhere along the line, it had become inevitable that he would. I wanted to be with James. For as long as he wanted to be with me, too, there was nothing I wouldn’t be willing to do to make that happen.
I would have faced a horde of murderous Vikings if that was what it took. James only had to face my father. Sure, he was pissed as all hell, but he would get over it. Eventually. I was sure of it.
My heart felt like it was made of glass, sitting in James’s hands. Was he going to let it drop and shatter, or protect it and keep it safe in his strong grip?
James’s expression changed almost imperceptibly. If I didn’t know him as well as I’d come to know him, I would never have noticed it.
He’d made his decision. My heart kicked into a higher gear and sputtered to a stop at the same time. I trembled visibly. I didn’t care. I needed to hear his answer. It was the moment of truth.
“No.” His voice was firm. Decisive. Steady. “Gabrielle and I barely know each other. There has never been anything going on between us.”
My stomach dropped. Blackness rimmed the edges of my vision. I was pretty sure I swayed on my feet as his words washed over me.
It felt like a battering ram with ten Navy SEALs behind it had slammed into my chest. The man that I loved hadn’t simply dropped my glass heart. He had taken that magical throwing arm of his and launched my heart into a fucking oncoming freight train with all of his considerable strength.
I forgot how to breathe. I was aware of angry voices around me and Olivia scurrying out of the office, slamming the door behind her. I had no idea what they were saying.
My ears buzzed. James’s denial repeated so loudly in my mind that I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be able to hear anything else.
How can he stand there, completely unaffected, and deny our relationship after everything that we’ve been through together? After everything that we’ve shared with each other?
My survival instinct kicked in. Whatever happened, there was no way in hell that I could allow either of those two men see me falling apart.
Get out of here! The scream came from the back recesses of my mind.
My fingers dug into the back of the seat responsible for keeping me standing somehow. My knuckles were white.