Strangely, Gage becoming a father had been the tipping point. She could trust that he’d stick around this time because she’d seen what he was capable of with Robbie. What it looked like when he loved someone. She knew it was possible and could finally believe it was happening to her.
A smile split his face and when he kissed her, he nearly split her heart, as well. Good thing. All the emotion inside was too big to be contained in that little bitty organ. Looked like she was getting her happily-ever-after.
Epilogue
Phillip Edgewood threw a hell of party. His status as one of the nation’s most eligible bachelors coupled with his deep Texas roots afforded him a wide circle of acquaintances. Gage had never socialized with his cousin. Shame it had taken him so long to reach out to a man he’d known since childhood. They’d had lunch a couple of times since that day Gage had shown up out of the blue to ask for help, and they might even be on the way to becoming friends.
But tonight, Gage only had eyes for his date. Cassandra Claremont put the Hollywood celebs, Texas oil royalty and glittery society wives in attendance at Phillip’s fundraiser to shame.
And Gage had been apart from his fiancée for five long minutes. He crossed the crowded ballroom to the bar, where Cass laughed over something Alex had said. That was a welcome sight. Cass had mentioned she and Alex were at odds over Fyra’s strategy and that Alex had been the main one speaking out against Cass’s leadership.
Whatever had happened to cause the rift appeared to be repaired, which Gage knew was a load off Cass’s mind.
“Ladies,” he murmured as he came up behind the most gorgeous woman in the room, wrapping his arm around her.
He couldn’t touch her enough. Sometimes he did it just to assure himself he hadn’t invented this fantasy out of thin air. But every time he reached out, she reached back. Commitment had its perks. Lots of them.
“Alex, you look fantastic,” he commented truthfully as Cass’s arm circled his waist in kind. “Did you do something different?”
Cass smacked him playfully. “Spoken like a true man. Of course she did. It’s a formal party and we spent two days getting ready for it.”
The two women exchanged smiles and piqued Gage’s interest. “Sounds like there’s a story there.”
He’d been privy to nothing as Cass had told him to butt out. Repeatedly.
“A boring one,” Alex assured him with a careful nod, likely in deference to the gravity-defying swept-up hairdo that drew attention to her lovely face. “Cass volunteered to give me a makeover, that’s all.”
“That’s all?” Cass squealed incredulously. To Gage, she said, “The woman works for a cosmetics company and never wears the stuff. So I taught her a few tricks and voilà.”
Alex blushed becomingly. “It’s not that I didn’t want to wear makeup. But every time I did, I felt like I was trying too hard.”
Phillip appeared at Alex’s side, which was the most likely cause of her blush. They made a cute couple and Phillip deserved some happiness after the untimely death of his wife several years before. Of course, the senator and the CFO both brushed off their association as “working together” to secure Fyra’s FDA approval. They weren’t fooling anyone.
As their host whisked Alex off to the dance floor, Gage nestled his fiancée closer.
“So things are good between you now?” he asked.
Cass nodded. “Yeah. We had a heart-to-heart and she admitted she was feeling left out. I have a tendency to deal with issues on my own, and apparently that comes across as...cold.”
Gage stuck his tongue in his cheek. “You don’t say.”
“No, really,” she insisted, oblivious to Gage’s sarcasm. “I was acting like the title of CEO meant I had to do it all with no help and as if letting anyone see that I was uncertain was like some big crime. I ended up confessing that to all the girls when I told them I hadn’t found the leak and you weren’t involved. It was a real turning point and now we’re 100 percent united. I have you to thank for helping me learn that.”
“Me?” That was a genuine surprise. “You’re the one who’s been mentoring me in how to do this long-term thing. What did I teach you?”
“That it’s okay to use your head and your heart.” She smiled. “In all things. I couldn’t have fathomed becoming a mother otherwise.”