The Billionaire's Matchmaker(8)

Or almost. Something nagged at her as she framed the image then snapped a few photos. The scene didn’t feel quite right, even with the perfect composition and lighting. Something was missing. But what? Behind her, she heard T.J. and Charlie exit the car and join her.

“Aren’t you going to get closer?”

She shook her head. “The owner doesn’t let anyone on the property.” She gestured toward the NO TRESPASSING signs posted every few feet. Charlie scrambled underneath and stood on the other side, prancing in the snow.

“And when has a little sign stopped you before?”

“T.J., I—”

Before she could explain, T.J. pushed down the fence and climbed over it. “Come on, Gabby. Let’s get closer.”

“I can zoom—”

He pushed down the wire fence again with one hand then extended his opposite hand in Gabby’s direction. “Come on. Live dangerously.”

His voice had dropped into a deep, dark range that stirred something inside her. Something that hadn’t been stirred in a really long time, that tempted her to take chances, to step off the path, to climb over the fence and into whatever adventure waited on the other side.

Before Gabby could think twice, she put her hand in T.J.’s and broke a law for the first time in years. Not the one warning people away from the property, but the no trespassing wall she’d been trying to keep around her heart ever since T.J. had shown up on Mr. B’s doorstep.





Chapter Four



They didn’t stop laughing until they reached the interstate again. Even Charlie joined in, yipping and barking his excitement about the adventure. T.J. drove, zipping Gabby’s Toyota down the road. The light mood wrapped them all in a bright cloud. T.J. liked that. A lot. “That was close,” he said.

“I thought they were going to call the cops. I haven’t run that fast…well, since the last time someone called the cops on me.” She laughed, and shook her head. “I never thought I’d say this, but you are a bad influence, T.J. Shepherd.”

“Me? I’m the brainy, sensible one.” He grinned then flicked on the turn signal when he noticed a sign for a rest stop.

“Maybe years ago, but now…”

He glanced over at her. “Now what?”

“Now you’re living on da edge, dude.” She grinned.

Maybe Gabby was seeing him differently now and his plan was working. He wanted to apologize for the past, but worried that if he brought it up, it would burst this happy bubble. Later, he decided. They had miles to go yet. “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, baby. So, are you going to admit I was right? That a little bit of trouble is fun?”

“Okay, a little. But no more.” She wagged a finger at him. “I’m working hard to repair my image, and the last thing I need to do is to get arrested.”

“You? Repair your image? What was wrong with it?” The girl he remembered had broken the rules, yes, but she was that daredevil everyone wished they could be. Especially him. Gabby had tempted him, then and now. It wasn’t just because of how different she was, it was because she still saw the real him—the only person who hadn’t cared about his political connections or his bank balance. For a long time, she’d been just his friend, but now he wanted more. “You were always badass and cool.”

She shook her head and her voice dropped, softer, sadder. “I’m just not who I used to be.”

“Me either, Gabby. Me either.” He sensed she didn’t want to talk about it, so he let the subject drop. T.J. parked the car in the rest stop parking lot then dropped the keys into Gabby’s palm. “Come on, let’s get some fresh air.”

The three of them climbed out of the car. T.J. grabbed the bag of sandwiches and drinks and gestured toward a picnic table sitting under an awning to the right of the main building. No one else was around, and the entire pavilion was covered with a pristine, white, snow blanket. “Lunch al fresco?”

“It’s January.” She shivered in her coat. “We’ll freeze to death.”

“It’ll be an adventure. A more legal one this time.”

She looked dubious, but T.J. trudged up the snowy hill, spread their sandwiches on the wooden surface, and set down their drinks. As soon as he was released from his leash, Charlie bounded off, excited to have some room to run and explore. The dog stayed close, circling out and back around, leaving a trail of tracks peppered into the snow.

“Mr. B would kill me if he knew Charles Osgood was outside without his little wool coat on.”

“He is wearing a coat,” T.J. said. “The one God gave him.”

She laughed. “True. Well, I won’t tell if you don’t.”

He made a motion of zipping his mouth closed. “My lips are sealed.”

That drew her attention to his mouth and to thoughts of kissing him. Damn, he looked good, with the dark hair she remembered, now a little longer and with a wave that swung across his forehead. She had the strangest urge to brush that hair back, to let her hands tangle in the locks, to draw him closer to her, to—

Kiss him.

Instead, she talked, keeping her mouth busy with something other than T.J. “What’s with you and this adventure thing? You used to be the one I had to convince.”