They didn’t speak as they rode the elevator down with another couple to the parking lot beneath the building. But once they were in the BMW she sat while he came around to the driver’s side, her mind ticking over. What the devil were they going to do? If indeed they could do anything at all to wrestle the company from Keiran’s grip before he did too much damage.
Damien slid onto the driver’s seat. “Are you okay?”
She blinked. “Yes, I’m fine,” she said, but just as quickly realized she wasn’t. Whether it was because Keiran had put such a bad taste in her mouth, she suddenly felt the need to go home to where she’d grown up. All at once she wanted to touch base with something familiar.
“No, I’m not. Damien, take me home please. To my parents’ place.” She took a shuddering breath. “Just for a little while.”
He stared at her, watching her with some indefinable emotion in his eyes, then nodded. “I’ve got papers in my briefcase. I can work from there.”
Sudden resentment grew. Couldn’t he see she needed to be alone for a while? “Or you could just leave me there and I’ll get a rental car sent around.”
His mouth thinned. “I’m not leaving you alone with a group of strangers working around the place.”
She glowered at him. “Why not? Frightened I might run off with one of them?”
He swore. “Don’t be ridiculous, Gabrielle. You’re upset over Keiran. Don’t take it out on me.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry, you’re right. Just take me home, Damien.”
He started the car and ten minutes later drove through the open gates of her parents’ home that she hadn’t seen in five long years. She gazed up at the two-level mansion of grand proportions dozing in the tropical Australian sunshine. She’d grown up playing dolls on that wide balcony around the house. And later she’d sought refuge looking through the large windows of her bedroom over treetop views to the Timor Sea and distant horizon. It had been a wonderful place to grow up. If only her parents hadn’t fought all the time in those latter years. If only she’d had a brother or sister to share things with.
Thankfully Damien strode off toward the sound of hammering in the kitchen as soon as they stepped inside, saying he would tell the workmen to take a long break, and Gabrielle left him to it.
It was an odd feeling walking up the sweeping staircase to the second floor. Five years had passed, yet it only seemed like yesterday. But as she pushed the door open to her old bedroom, her mind reeled in confusion. The room was like a time warp. Everything was the same. The bed she’d often cried her heart out on, despairing over her parents’ troubled marriage, was still covered in the same quilt. Posters of some obscure pop star whose name she couldn’t even recall still hung on the wall. And even the clothes she’d left behind were still hanging in the wardrobe…almost as if they were waiting for her return.
She swallowed a sob. A new and unexpected warmth surged through her that was a welcome relief after her tussle with her cousin today. If ever she needed proof of her parents’ love for her, here it was. They had kept her memory alive.
Just like she did with her own child.
Damien’s baby.
A baby she’d miscarried at six months because of the car accident. God, how she wanted to tell Damien about their unborn baby that she’d loved and lost. Only, she knew she couldn’t tell him…could never tell him. He may not have cared for her, but she had no doubt he would have cared for their child. And she would never want any person knowing that brand of heartache.
Certainly not the baby’s father.
Damien glanced up from his paperwork and saw Gabrielle stroll out onto the patio, then stand looking out beyond the swimming pool, over the manicured lawn and lushly landscaped gardens.
Adrenaline kicked in as he watched the sun beat down on her face, giving a glow to her smooth skin. The high humidity of the November build-up toward the wet season wisped strands of the blond shoulder-length hair at the base of her neck. God, he couldn’t get over how beautiful she was. In the past five years he’d made love to other women, some more beautiful than Gabrielle, but none of them had…what was the word he was looking for?
Connected.
Yes, that was it. None of them had connected with something deep inside him the way Gabrielle did. Something fundamental. Something that was grabbing at him even now.
He thrust his papers aside and pushed off the sofa to go to her. “I’m impressed,” he said as he stepped through the open patio doors to join her.
She spun around, her face quickly assuming a blank mask that made him want to strip aside all the layers and get to what was truly inside this woman. “You are? With what?”
He went to stand beside her at the balustrade. “You.” He saw her start of surprise. “I like the way you stood up to Keiran.”
Her mouth curved into an unexpected smile, fascinating him. “Well, now you know. You’re not the only one I can stand up to.”
He went still, caught by an invisible pull of attraction. “I can see that,” he murmured, his gaze dropping to those kissable lips.
Awareness flared in her eyes, and she quickly turned and looked down at the garden instead. “Let’s hope my father gets better soon.”
“It’s going to take some time for your father to recover enough to get back to work.” If indeed he came back at all. “Many months at best.”
She sighed. “Then there’s nothing further I can do here. I may as well leave Keiran to it.”
Damien’s gut clenched. It wasn’t just the thought of Keiran ruining everything for Russell that made his spirits sink. It was the thought of Gabrielle leaving. She would be on her way back to Sydney just as soon as Russell pulled out of danger. A week was probably all she’d stay, and that wasn’t good enough. He wanted her in his arms and in his bed. He would settle for nothing less.
Just then an idea clicked inside him and his pulse began to race. It was the answer to the company’s prayers. Surprisingly, he wasn’t averse to the idea either. Lately, he had been watching Brant and Flynn with their wives and he’d felt like he was missing out on something special that came from being a couple. And Gabrielle was the only woman he could imagine being a couple with.
“Of course, we could always combine our shares and get Keiran out that way,” he said quietly.