The Billionaire's Matchmaker(10)

Her eyes filled with tears as a mixture of hurt and hope coursed through her. She shook her head, closing off her emotions to him. Was she that weak that a couple of sentences and a tender touch could make her forget that T.J. hadn’t been there for her when she needed him?

If he had truly cared, he wouldn’t have left her behind.

“We better hit the road,” she said. “We have a lot of miles ahead of us.”

“Gabby—”

Charlie came running at Gabby’s whistle, waited while she reclipped the leash, then bounded along at a happy run beside her. Gabby tossed the trash into a nearby bin and headed back to the car, trying to calm the riot of emotions awakened by one very simple kiss and one honest apology.

Both had come too late. T.J. had left Chandler’s Cove to leave his past behind, and as soon as this trip was over, she was going to do the same.





Chapter Five



Almost ten hours after they left Chandler’s Cove, Gabby and T.J. pulled into the Pioneers Park in Lincoln, Nebraska. T.J. was back behind the wheel, with Charlie tucked against Gabby in the passenger’s seat. The dog had slept a good portion of the trip, content just to ride along with them. For a moment, T.J. allowed himself the luxury of imagining he and Gabby were married and this was their dog.

The wild Gabby he had known in high school was as far from domestic bliss as someone could get. She’d changed over the years, become not just more adult but also more self-assured and…solid. Yes, that was the word for it. A part of him was still figuring out this new Gabby and whether they were still the match he’d envisioned.

Either way, in the back of his mind, he knew this family-on-a-trip moment would end. He had started this trip on a lie, and eventually he was going to have to come clean to Gabby.

At the time, the lies had seemed like a good idea, a way to convince her to let him come along on the cross-country drive and at the same time rekindle the closeness they had in the past. But as the miles passed, he began to wonder if he should go ahead and tell her the truth—he wasn’t a struggling salesperson trying to get to California for an interview but, in fact, was the founder and CEO of his own successful software company.

Even now, all these years later and after that mind-blowing kiss, he risked her rejecting him again. The memory held firm, a wall. T.J. telling Gabby at the school dance he wanted to be more than a friend, then leaning in for a kiss, only to have her turn away and sputter something about not wanting to screw up a good friendship.

When he’d left town, he’d vowed to put Gabby from his mind. He’d dated several women, even come close to marrying one, but none of them had been Gabby.

When his fiancé turned out to be just after his money and the life it could buy her, T.J. had started thinking about the old days. Before the money, before the company. All those days came attached to a memory of Gabby.

Lord knew he’d tried to forget her, but Gabby had been…unforgettable. So here he was, in her Toyota, answering the question once and for all. Was Gabby just a friend, a sweet memory from the past, or was she more?

He glanced at her, remembering their kiss earlier today. A rush of desire roared through him all over again and he knew why he’d come back to town, to try again with Gabby. She had taken off her coat in the warm interior of the car, leaving her in the simple attire of a V-necked T-shirt and jeans. On any other woman, it might look boring or dull, but Gabby’s curves made the V an enticing peek at her cleavage, while the jeans outlined strong thighs and sweet hips.

Gabby was sweet danger and hot temptation. That—mingled with her being the only person he’d ever opened up to and allowed a glimpse into his true self—gave them a connection he had tried like hell to deny and couldn’t anymore. Every time he looked at her, he wanted her, not just in his bed but in his life.

“Watch out. You almost hit the curb there.”

He jerked the wheel back, overcompensating for the near miss, and sending Charlie sliding across the back seat. “Sorry. My mind wandered for a second.”

“Fantasizing about gigabytes and RAM again?” She grinned.

“Something like that.”

“Is that what you did for a side business in college? Computer stuff?”

He chuckled. “I thought you hated when I talked about hard drives and programming codes.”

“I did. I was being polite.” She grinned.

“Okay, I’ll tell you. And leave out all the boring parts.” He paused a second. “There. Story done.”

She laughed at that. “So I take it if you’re traveling to California for a job, then the small side business is no more?”

He could tell her the truth, that the small side business had grown into a giant, multimillion dollar firm, but if he did, then he’d have to admit he could easily afford a trip to California, which would take away his excuse for being with her. So instead, he fudged a little white lie. “It’s definitely not a small side business anymore.”

“That’s too bad. I’m sorry, T.J.” She pointed toward a paved lot on the side of the road. “We’re here.”

Perfect timing. He parked the car and they got out. Charlie tugged on his leash, eager to explore, to try on this new world. He kept peeking over his shoulder, as if making sure both of them were following him.

“This park is amazing,” she said. “Almost seven hundred acres of prairies and woodlands. And that, over there, is the remains of an old federal treasury building. It’s so unique, especially in this setting. I think I’ll start here,” Gabby said, dropping her camera bag and tripod on the ground then pointing toward a quartet of concrete pillars that looked like second cousins to Stonehenge. Two stood complete, with Grecian style caps, while two others had lost part of their height, as if some giant had tripped over them on his way toward the pond, leaving the stony remains scattered on the ground below.