The CEO's Little Surprise(31)

She scarcely noticed the handsome dark-haired man at his elbow. Because  next to Gage, Phillip Edgewood might as well have been invisible.

"Ms. Meer." Gage nodded to Alex as she rose. "This is my cousin,  Phillip Edgewood. Phillip, Alexandra Meer, Fyra's chief financial  officer."

The CFO and the senator shook hands politely, exchanging pleasantries  while Cass shot Gage a look and hissed under her breath, "Senator  Edgewood is your cousin? Since when?"

"Since I was born?" he suggested mildly. "His mother and my mother have been sisters for almost sixty years."

"You never mentioned that."

He shrugged, messing up the lines of his gorgeous suit, which was a  shame. "I never mentioned a lot of things. Which, not so coincidentally,  is why I'm here."

With that cryptic comment hanging in the middle of everything, Gage  repeated the introductions between Cass and Phillip and swung his  attention back to Cass. "Phillip has graciously agreed to help Fyra  navigate the FDA process required to get your formula to market. I came  by with him today so you could meet him personally and get the ball  rolling. Oh, and he'll also help you grease the wheels at the patent  office. The sooner you get going, the sooner the leak will become a  nonissue."

Cass's mouth fell open. "We're not-I mean...what?"

"That's amazing, Gage," Alex said, with a withering glance at Cass. To  the senator, she said simply, "Thank you. We're honored to have such  expert assistance."

"Yes, of course." Cass nodded woodenly, her faculties still scattered. "Thank you. We appreciate the assistance."

And now she sounded like a parrot instead of a savvy executive. Gage still fuzzled her mind.

The senator smiled at Alex, and it took over his entire body, as if he  was lit from within. Charisma radiated from him like the corona around  the sun. Cass started to get an inkling of what the fuss over him was  all about.

"It's no problem," Phillip said, but he was looking at Alex as if Cass  didn't exist. "Is there somewhere we can go to talk? And of course, we  should include your chief science officer."

"Dr. Harper Livingston," Alex interjected, and the two of them were off, their conversation deep in the details.

Looked as if Alex was more than willing to stay in the senator's orbit,  though he was hardly her type. They were a study in contrasts with  Alex's face bare of cosmetics and clad in a gray shirt and jeans.  Senator Edgewood wore Armani and power, and not necessarily in that  order.

They excused themselves to Alex's office, leaving Gage and Cass staring at each other.

"What was that all about?" Cass demanded. "Waltzing in here with a US  senator and throwing him at Fyra like some kind of peace offering."

"You say that like it's a bad thing." Gage shoved his hands in his pockets. "Does that mean it didn't work?"

"That's what it was?" A little stunned, Cass sank into her chair. She'd  been about to grill him on his angle. Without reason apparently. "A  peace offering?"

"Yeah. I needed an ‘in,' in case you wouldn't see me otherwise. Phillip  was my trump card." He grinned and she fought to keep from smiling  back. Too many unanswered questions for that.

"But why did you ask him to work with us on the FDA process? If we file  for approval, that's a pretty clear indication we're not going to sell  it. To you or anyone."

"That's why I did it. I don't want your formula anymore, but this  seemed like the only way you'd believe me. Now it's not a factor between  us." He took her hand and held it without making any other move, but  that alone connected them. "I owe you, and turnabout is fair play."                       
       
           



       

"You owe me?" She shook her head, still dazed. "You've got that  backward. You've been quite clear that it's the other way around."

"That was before I fell in love with you."

Her breath caught and she drank in the emotion spilling from his gaze.  Love. Tenderness. All of the things she'd witnessed in his expression  when he looked at his son. The same emotion she'd dreamed of seeing  directed at her. And now it was.

Shell-shocked, she stared at him. "I...what?"

"Oh, am I stuttering again? Let me start over."

He swept her into his arms and laid his lips on hers, infusing his  warmth into her dark and frozen soul. Everything thawed instantly,  blooming under his talented mouth as he kissed her senseless. All of her  feelings for this man surged to the surface, spilling out of her heart  in an endless flow. He was in love with her, and all of the sharp,  painful places inside smoothed out as she united with him, body and  soul.

No. No, no, no. She wiggled away, breathless and still fuzzled because,  oh my God, she wanted to dive back in and forget the past miserable  week had happened. But it had happened.

"When did you decide this?" she demanded, but he just grinned and yanked her back into his embrace.

"For such a smart lady, you're being very slow to catch on," he  murmured into her ear. "I'm not letting you go again. So you might as  well forget about throwing up your walls. I'll keep knocking them down  until you admit you're in love with me, too."

"Why would I do that?" She scowled but he just kissed the line between her brows.

"Because I'm sticking around this time. Forever," he promised and  crossed his heart, catching her gaze. The depths of sincerity in his  expression put a slow tingle in her midsection. "And I'd like to know up  front where we stand. No seeing how it goes. No agendas. Just two  people in it for the long haul."

"That's not what you want." Eyeing him suspiciously, she tried to cross  her arms, but he wouldn't loosen his grip on her waist enough to give  her room. "You want the formula, not me. So what exactly is all this  Gage-speak supposed to mean?"

He pursed his lips and contemplated her. "Here's the thing. I haven't  given you any reason to trust me. So I've spent the past week convincing  Phillip to clear his schedule, and then I cleared mine. Because I want  you to go to market with your formula so we can compete head-to-head.  May the best CEO win."

That sounded more like Gage. There was a gotcha in there somewhere. A  yet-to-be-named angle she couldn't see. "Now you're just talking crazy."

"No, I'm finally sane, thanks to you." Tenderly, he tucked a chunk of  hair behind her ear. "You have moved past my mentorship. Far past. And  turnabout is fair play. Show me what you've learned since then. I fully  expect you to win."

It was as if he'd opened her heart and read the words she'd longed for  him to say like a script. Where was this stuff coming from? Because if  he kept going, she was going to completely lose all her safeguards  against a bad decision.

But it was far, far too late for that. She'd been sliding toward Gage  since the moment she'd recognized him in the parking lot of her  building.

"Oh, I see." She didn't. But she had to keep fishing. His real agenda  was buried in these well-delivered lines somewhere. "You've given up  your bid for the formula and forgiven the debt you've claimed I owe you.  Out of the goodness of your heart."

"That debt never existed." His small smile wiped the one from her face.  "In fact, I owe you. Because I didn't know I had such a bad habit of  turning a blind eye to what was happening around me. Briana had a baby  without me cluing in. You were in love with me and I didn't know. You  didn't tell me because I was too busy pushing you away. And then when  you did tell me, I handled everything wrong. I should have admitted I  was falling for you then. But instead, I clung to my freedom, not  realizing it was meaningless. I'm a serial idiot."

This couldn't be real. All her dreams of being with Gage forever were  not on the brink of coming true. Her life was not a fairy tale and he  was not the guy he was claiming to be.                       
       
           



       

"So you've climbed aboard the commitment train?" She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Gage, but I can't buy that."

"Then you're going to feel very silly once I do this."

He pulled a small box from his jacket pocket and flipped the hinged lid  to reveal something that might look like a diamond ring to someone  whose vision wasn't instantly blurry with tears.

His arm dropped from her waist and he pulled the band from its velvet  nest to slide it on her finger. "That's the sound of the conductor  yelling ‘All aboard.' I love you and I want to marry you."

She went a little lightheaded. "You know that if the senator is helping  us get the formula to market, marrying me won't get you access to it,  right?"