He pulled back just enough for her to see his confused expression and brought his feet to the carpet. “You’re heading to Montana?”
“Chicago, actually. I booked my flight. I was just coming home for my bag before heading out.” She gestured to the duffle bag and rose to her feet. The clock was ticking. She had to go.
His brows leaped. “Chicago?”
She hesitated to tell him the real reason she’d chosen that particular city. But he was here, sitting on her couch, which meant he cared about her. She decided to take the risk of honesty. “It’s where your business is. Your life. I wanted to see you where you fit.”
He stared at her like she was a mystery. “You are something, aren’t you?”
Gabby fidgeted. She wasn’t entirely sure what to say to that. “Is that good or bad?”
Adrian stood, keeping her hand in his and helping her to her feet as well. “Good. Too good. I’ve tried many places, but I think it doesn’t matter where I go. The thing that was missing in each of those scenarios is you. You’re my best fit, Gabby Bybanks. You’re sunlight,” he said.
She could hardly speak. He’d said something similar as she’d been leaving town, but she hadn’t been able to process it. “Sunlight?”
He nodded his chin toward the window. “See that sunshine? It completely changes this room. It adds color. It brightens everything. Like gold. Like you.”
His gaze was powerful, filled with revelation and fire and focused directly on her. He reached past her shoulders and slid his fingers through her long, blonde hair, letting them run its complete length, like water.
“It’s not your hair alone that’s enlightening. You are sunshine, Gabby. You have that effect everywhere you go. I saw it when we went to Stano’s and you clapped for that guitarist when no one else would and livened up the audience. When we looked across the ranch, and you noticed everything I didn’t. You’re that way for me, too.”
“Adrian,” she said, not knowing what else to say. Was this really happening?
“You don’t believe me? I know you have a hard time with trust.”
She dipped her chin to her chest. His mother wasn’t around. This was no fake scenario. He was here, in her living room. He had come to see her, and he was baring himself to her.
“I can’t believe you’re saying all of this. I thought I’d have to explain myself.”
“What is it you need to explain?”
She twisted her hair over one shoulder. “I ignored your calls, Adrian. I—I’m sorry. I didn’t know what to say to you, how to tell you why I left Two Pines the way I did.”
“Why did you?” he asked.
She drew in a gradual, breath that did nothing to slow her heart. “I was scared,” she said. “Scared that deep down you didn’t really care for me the way you seemed to since it all started as a ploy to convince your mom you didn’t want to be with Danica. At times I wondered if you really did like me, but then when I realized you found out about my birth mom before me, it made me even more scared. I couldn’t believe you didn’t say anything.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I was going to tell you, but then you got that email and left. I never meant to deceive you. It’s why I’ve been calling every day. I hoped maybe the next time you’d pick up. Or the next. I know you think people can’t be trusted, but I wanted you to know you could trust me.”
“Why?” she asked.
“You were the first good memory I have of my family’s cabin,” he said. “The minute I saw you there—” He nuzzled in dipping to press his nose to hers. “You’ve shed light into my life. You’ve helped me see things in a completely different way. I was never satisfied with any of it before. I could never see it for what it was. It took seeing things through your eyes to appreciate just how good I had it.”
She rested a hand on his arm, basking in his words.
“I told my mom the truth. Then I went to Danica’s, and I told her the truth once and for all. That she deserves to find someone else because my heart is already long gone. It followed you the minute you left.”
Gabby’s insides whirred and ticked like a wind-up toy. He was being serious. He really had come to care for her as much as she had for him.
“Got any cabins in Chicago?” she asked with a grin.
His lips quirked. “No, but I have a guest house I can offer to you.”
“A guest house?” Seriously, how many guys have guest houses? “Adrian Bear, what aren’t you telling me?”
He full-on grinned, stunning her with the image of it. “So much,” he said. His hands slid from her hair to her jaw, and he pulled her gently to him to place a kiss on her mouth. It was budding and cautious, and so filled with promise the heat of it tingled all the way to her toes.
“Can you cancel your flight?” he said against her lips.
“It’s non-refundable.” She ached at just how much she’d spent on that ticket. “You’re not telling me not to come, are you? Job interview, remember?”
“Interview all you want. It’s just that I might have a faster way to get us back.”
“Magic?” she suggested. What was faster than an airplane?
He grinned, kissing her again. “A private jet.”
She curled her fingers into his hair as he pulled her closer. “Let me guess. Courtesy of Bear Financial Investments? Don’t tell me you’re some kind of closet billionaire.”
“Billionaire, yes. Closet, no.”
“Adrian,” she chided.
“What?”
Her eyes thinned to slits. She couldn’t tell if he was teasing her or not. He slid his arms around her again, giving her another kiss.
“Come on,” he said, releasing her long enough to bend for her bag. He offered her his free hand. “Let’s go.”
Gabby watched him, stupefied. “Billionaire? Seriously?” No wonder a hundred dollars had seemed like pocket change to him.
A shrug.
Smirking with flurries of disbelief, she took his offered hand. Whether he was serious or not, she supposed she had some time to figure it out.
EPILOGUE
THE CABIN NESTLED IN THE trees was exactly as she’d remembered it. Beams of light sprayed between branches, adding a glow around the place, making it that much more picturesque. Adrian got Gabby’s car door, and they strode hand in hand down the path. She waited for him to unlock the door, and together, they entered the place where they’d first met.
It was perfectly staged and secluded in a way that invited them to settle in, to get cozy and stay that way for a while.
“Well?” Gabby said, circling. “We’re here. Are you going to tell me why now?”
Adrian set his bag on the floor. “Remember the day I found you here?”
“Like I could forget it,” she said with a grin.
He lifted the flap on his leather bag and removed a square lockbox. “This is what I was looking for that day. It’s what my father left me in the family trust.”
“Ah, so you did lie to me.”
He froze, his eyes widening.
“You said it was lottery tickets.” She folded her arms, swimming in the delight of making him squirm.