Beauty and Her Boss

This was Deacon’s chance to pay her back for all the generous things she’d done for him. And he knew exactly what he must do.

When he looked at Gabrielle, he knew he didn’t have any other choice. “Go to your father.”

Her head jerked around until her puzzled gaze met his. “But our agreement—”

“I know about our agreement and I don’t care. I won’t stop you. Go to your father. Make sure he’s okay.”

“Really?” Immediately her face lit up. “You don’t mind?”

“No.” He was lying.

He knew that once she passed beyond the estate gates that she would not return. Why should she? She had a life that had nothing to do with him. She had a father that loved her. Friends to do things with. She had a full life.

And what did he have to offer her? He struggled to come up with any reason for her to return. The memory of their kisses passed through his mind. But he knew that had been a fleeting thing—a moment of pity on her part for a man who looked and sounded like some sort of beast.

“Do you mind if I go now?” She looked radiant, like Dorothy about to click her red heels.

He, however, didn’t feel like the Wizard. “No. Go.”

She ran over to him and hugged him. The moment passed much too quickly and then she pulled back.

He refused to let her see how much her departure bothered him.

Without another word, Gabrielle rushed away. He wasn’t even sure that her feet touched the ground, she was so happy to get away from there. How could he take that happiness away from her? He sighed in resignation.

He was happy for her, but he was sad for himself. He just couldn’t believe in the short amount of time that they’d been together that she’d come to mean so much to him.

And now he was on his own again.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

IT HAD BEEN a lovely visit.

The weekend had flown by. It had been so good to see her father. The time with him had been exactly what she’d needed. And best of all, Newton had been out of the house. Everything had gone smoothly so long as she stayed away from the subject of Deacon.

She’d tried a couple of times to let her father know that Deacon was treating her really well, but her father hadn’t wanted to hear any of it. All he’d wanted to hear regarding Deacon was if she’d gained any information to help move along the legal process. He was still convinced that Deacon had paid off people to bury the accident report. In the end, Gaby had given up because she didn’t want to spend the short amount of time she had with her father arguing. Though she didn’t believe Deacon was a monster, she couldn’t confidently claim his innocence, either. They still didn’t know exactly what had happened in the accident. To say she was confused was putting it mildly.

While she was home, she’d cooked for her father. She’d spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen preparing healthy meals. By the time she left, the fridge was full. The freezer was stuffed with meals that just needed reheating. And her father’s prescriptions were refilled.

Her father begged her not to return to Deacon’s estate, saying that he could take whatever punishment the judge was likely to throw at him. But Gaby told him this was about more than just him. She was doing important work with the fund-raiser and she needed to see it through until the end. And that soon she would be back home. With a hug and a kiss, she’d left for the long drive back to Malibu, knowing her father was doing quite well on his own. Perhaps she did fuss over him more than necessary.

Thanks to Deacon, both she and her father were finding that they didn’t need each other quite so much. When her time was over at the estate perhaps she could stick her foot back in the dating pool. But as soon as she thought of dating, Deacon’s image came to mind.

She tried to imagine him with his hair cut and his face shaved. He’d look like a whole new man and perhaps he’d feel like one, too. Maybe it was time to see how he felt about a makeover.

Monday morning, she opened the door to the guesthouse of Deacon’s estate and paused to look around

. After waking up for the past week to find a yellow rose at her door, today there was none. It saddened her, but she knew eventually they had to stop. Still, she’d come to look forward to them. And now she tried not to read in too much to their absence.

It wasn’t until later that morning, with a check in hand for his signature, that she went in search of him. At that hour of the morning, Deacon was usually tending to the roses. But when she went to the garden, there was no sign of him and it didn’t look as though he’d been there that morning. That was odd.

She went to his office, thinking he was working on an important project, but the office was empty and the lights were off. Concern started pumping through her veins.

In the kitchen, she tracked down Mrs. Kupps. “Do you know where Deacon is?” The woman nodded, but her face said that something was definitely amiss. “You’re worrying me. Where is he?”

“He’s closed in his rooms.”

“His rooms. But why?”