Managed:a VIP novel(58)

"Should I go sing a song that calls her an easy lay?" I ask. Which is low, because that was Killian's mistake with Libby.

The guys snicker, and Killian kicks me again. "I married the girl, jackass, so I won."

Marriage isn't something I've ever wanted, or even considered. But I  could marry Sophie. I picture it: my ring on her finger, all my assets  guaranteed to go to her. She'd be financially safe for life. She'd be  mine for life. And instead of the future being a blank wall I never  examine, it would be sunshine and light. It would be her happy laughter  and soft warmth. Perfection.

Yearning adds to the ache in my heart.

I haul myself up, wincing at the pain in my chest and stomach. "Everyone out. I have gestures to plan."

"Thatta boy, Scottie." Rye slaps my shoulder. "Just, whatever you do, don't make it a Star Trek theme."         

     



 

Because I know it will please them, I flip the finger as I head toward the shower.

My progress stops when Brenna bursts into the room.

"You complete asshole," she says by way of greeting.

"I see you've been talking to Sophie." I refrain from demanding where she is and how she's doing. But only just.

Brenna sneers. "Did you really tell Jules to send Sophie home? Like  she's some fucking lackey you can fob off when things get difficult?"

My blood runs cold. "What?"

"Sophie heard you telling Jules to put her on a plane. Not first class this time? Ring a fucking bell?"

"Oh, shit," Rye says somewhere behind me.

I ignore him, horror prickling my skin and making my ears ring. Sophie  thinks I want her gone? No wonder she appeared so hurt, lashing out at  me like the walking wounded. And I gave her space with that to brood on  all night.

"I was talking about Jennifer, the sodding roadie who let that fuckwit  Martin into Jax's room! Sophie is my life, for fuck's sake."

"Oh," Brenna says, looking pleased. "Well, that's good." But then her happy face falls. "Actually, it's bad."

"Why?" It's all I can do not to grab Brenna and shake her.

Brenna's nose wrinkles. "She, ah, left a note saying she was going ‘on walkabout'."

"What the fuck is a walkabout?" I roar.

"Crocodile Dundee," Killian calls out behind me. "You know, when he went roaming around the outback?"

Sweet hell, my girl is a nut. An adorable little nut.

"Where is she walking about?" I grit out.

Brenna grimaces. "Australia. Her flight leaves at five."

My girl is an adorable, misguided, evil nut who I'm going spank as soon  as I get my hands on her. I need to get to her. Oh, God help me, I need  to make that gesture Killian was going on about.

I might truly be ill when it's all said and done. But I can do this. For her, I'll do anything.

I let out a breath and shove my hands into my hair to hold my pounding head.

"All right," I say. "All right, I need help, and I need it now."

And my mates, God love them all, rise to the occasion.

"What do you need, Scottie?"

"I need my lawyer, and I need to get on that plane." I'll make the rest up as I go along.







Sophie







They say you never really know what you have until you lose it. I'm not  sure how accurate that is. I know what I have with Gabriel is something  special, a connection few people are lucky enough to find. And yet here I  sit on a plane that's getting ready to take me away from him.

Of all the rash, impulsive things I've done in my life, this one really takes the cake.

I'm so angry with myself that my nails are digging into the meat of my  palms. I should have stayed and apologized for not explaining things  straightaway, for saying hurtful words in an attempt to protect myself.  Gabriel deserves that. He deserves the world. A few asshole comments  aside, he is the best man I have ever known. And I want to continue to  know him, to care for him.

A passenger headed down the aisle bumps my shoulder with her butt and  mutters a quick apology as she angles her way down the narrow passage.  First class, this is not.

With my salary, I could have paid for a premium-fare ticket. But I  couldn't fly that way. Not without him by my side. Luxury has lost its  luster without Gabriel to share the experience.

"Shit." I grab my purse and yank it from beneath the seat in front of me.

The man sitting next to me sends a curious glance my way.

"I have to go," I tell him, as if he needs to know.

Dude gives me a salute as I scramble from my seat.

It isn't easy, navigating up the aisle while everyone else is boarding.  I'm a salmon fighting my way upstream. Frustration prickles at my lids. I  need off this plane. I need Gabriel.

A flight attendant sees the struggle and meets me at the first emergency exit. "Is there a problem, miss?"

"No problem." I haul my purse strap higher up my shoulder. "I just need to get off."

She slowly looks me over.

Great, I'm probably broadcasting crazy. Not something you ever want to do on an airplane.

"Are you Ms. Sophie Darling?"

"Ah … yes?"

She smiles, going from weary to strangely affectionate. "Bene. I was on my way to find you."

"You were?" Shit, what did I do?

She links her arm with mine. "Come with me."

I follow, because what else can I do? People give me looks, and I look  right back. Hey there, tell my story if I'm Tasered, okay?         

     



 

But she doesn't take me off the plane. She leads me into first class. My  steps slow, a protest rising. I don't know what the hell this is about,  but I'm not accepting any charity …

Then I see him. Crisp, gray three-piece suit, ice blue silk tie, coal  black hair perfectly combed: the man of my heart. He sits in a cabin  made for two, his eyes narrowed and tracking my movements as if he's  waiting for me to turn tail and run.

Relief has me swaying. Joy has me embarrassingly close to tears.

I'm so surprised, I've lost the ability to function, and the flight attendant all but pushes me into my seat.

"Gabriel? What are you doing here?"

His brow quirks. "Coming after you, obviously."

God, his voice, all low and rich and rumbly. And irritable. I've missed it so.

"But you hate flying. This flight is twenty hours long!"

He grimaces, going green at the edges. "Yes, I know. You're more important."

My heart goes all fluttery, and I want to jump in his lap and kiss the  hell out of him. But the flight crew is clearly getting ready to close  the doors.

"You can't suffer for that long. I won't allow it. We have to get off." I grab his hand and tug, but he pulls me back down.

"I have things I need to say." His expression is set, and I know he won't be swayed.

"Okay … "

As if facing a firing squad, he sets his shoulders and lifts his chin. But the look in his eyes is vulnerable, exposed.

"First and most importantly, I love you. I have never said that to a  woman, and I will never say that to any other but you. I've lived long  enough to know that you are completely it for me. This is a done  deal-signed, notarized, what have you."

Happiness bubbles through my veins like warm champagne. "Gabriel … "

"I'm not finished."

He looks so adorably committed to having his say that I bite back a smile. "Okay."

He nods, takes a breath. "I will say the wrong words from time to time.  And I will cock things up. That's a given, unfortunately. But there will  never, ever be a time when I do not love you or want you in my life."

I blink rapidly, stunned to tears.

He scowls as if annoyed at himself and bends down to pull a slim file out of his case. He hands it to me. "This is for you."

My hands are shaking too hard to open the damn thing. "What is this?"

"My will. I almost didn't get it done on time," he muses. "I've left everything to you."

My words come out in a high squeak. "What? Why? What?"

He looks at me, perfectly calm, as if he hasn't just leveled me. "I want  to give you tangible proof that-whether you marry me or not-my life is  literally linked with yours until the day I die. Actually, long after I  die, too, if you want to be technical."

"Marry you?" My cheeks are tingling.

His brows lift in confusion. "I hand you everything I own, and that's what you focus on?"

Because the rest doesn't matter; I can never conceive of a life he isn't in. "Answer the question, sunshine."

"Yes, I'm going to want to do that. As soon as possible, if I have my  way." Uncertainty fills his eyes. "That is if you'll have me, of  course."

I gape at him, words stuck in my throat.

Gabriel tugs at his cuffs. "If you do not, I should warn you now, you'll  have a hard time getting rid of me. I can be persistent when I want  something."

I press my hand to my hot cheek. "Holy shit. I'm dizzy. Did you … was that a proposal? I can't tell."

"Sod all," he mutters, flushing. "I told you I'd cock things up-"

I launch myself at him, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing his  mouth to shut him up. He freezes for a second, as if too surprised to  react, and then kisses me back, taking control. His hands hold my nape,  and he goes at my mouth as if I'm the only one who can give him air.