Beauty and Her Boss

His jaw tightened. He knew that she wouldn’t believe him. But then again, why should she?

“No. I’m not lying.” He shook his head. “I knew you wouldn’t believe me.”

“And the delay with the police report?”

“I’ve had my attorney pressing for its release, but without camera footage or an eyewitness account, it complicates matters. Once the police have finalized the report, it must go up the chain of command, ending with the DA’s office. When my attorney checked yesterday, he was told the report should be released soon.” When Gabrielle didn’t say anything, he glanced over at her. “I’m sorry. I know that’s not what you want to hear.”

Her gaze met his and she placed a slight smile on her lips. “It’s the truth and that’s what matters.”

“You believe me?” If she did, she’d be the first person to do so.

“Are you saying I shouldn’t?”

“I’m just surprised is all.”

Gaby paused. “So tell me more about yourself.”

“You don’t really want to hear about me?”

She nodded. “I do.”

“Where do I start?”

“How about at the beginning.”

“Well, I was born on Valentine’s Day. My father died when I was thirteen. My mother finished raising me on her own. I split my time between the fishing boat and watching movies.”

“Fishing and movies. Those are two diverse interests.”

“The fishing wasn’t a hobby. It was my job. I started when I was thirteen, getting paid under the table, in order to help my mother pay the bills.” It hadn’t been an easy life and his schooling had paid the price, but he’d graduated by the sheer willpower of his mother. “The movies were my passion. I drove my mother crazy telling her that one day I would be a movie star. And do you know what she told me?”

Gabrielle shook her head.

“She used to say, ‘Deacon, you’re a smart boy. You can be anything you want to be as long as you work hard and don’t give up.’”

“She sounded like a smart lady.”

“I thought so, too. And then she met my stepfather. In the beginning, he wasn’t so bad. And then they got married. That was when I decided to move to California. I just couldn’t stick around and watch those two argue. I tried to talk my mother in to coming with me, but she insisted that her place was with her husband.”

“I’m sorry. That must have been tough on you.”

“And what’s even worse is that when she first found a lump in her breast, that—that man told her it was her imagination. By the time I talked her in to going to the doctor, the cancer was advanced. I brought her here to California. Oh, they tried to help her, but by then the cancer had spread.”

Gabrielle reached out, taking his hand in hers. She gave a firm squeeze. It shouldn’t, but it meant a lot to him. And it even meant more because she wasn’t supposed to be here giving him support. She was supposed to hate him—hate his very existence. The fact that she didn’t confused him, yet also intrigued him. There was definitely something different about Gabrielle.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

SHE DIDN’T MOVE.

Gabrielle left her hand securely within Deacon’s hold. His hands were large and his fingers long. And his hand fit perfectly around hers. It was as though they were made for one another. Not that she was letting her heart get ahead of her mind. She knew that nothing could ever come of their relationship, whether he’d caused the accident or not.

Because in her father’s mind, Deacon would always be responsible for her aunt’s death. And she highly doubted that anything would change her father’s mind. He was a very stubborn man. She’d inherited his stubborn streak. Or at least that’s what her aunt had told her.

However, Deacon was far from the spoiled movie star that her father and Newton had accused Deacon of being. There was a lot more to this man than anyone would guess. He was like an onion, with layer upon layer, and she had an overwhelming desire to keep peeling back the layers until she reached his heart.

“Maybe we should head back.” Deacon released her hand and got to his feet.

“So soon?”