“James, this is a surprise. Have you come bearing good news?” Richard beamed at me.
Fuck, focus, Skye. That was not the time. I was there to tell him that I loved his daughter, not that I wanted to sleep with her.
Speaking of whom, Gabrielle’s shoulders hung slightly, and she ran a frustrated hand through her long hair. “I was just leaving.”
“No, stay. Please stay, Gabbi.” It slipped out, but both she and her father fixed me with shocked eyes. I meant to tell Richard first, then go over to Gabrielle’s, but she was here. I had never been much a believer in fate or destiny or anything like that shit, but if that wasn’t a sign, I wouldn’t know one if it hit me over the head with a cast iron pan.
“Gabbi?” Richard cocked an eyebrow at me, confusion fast giving way to something else. Something significantly less positive than confused.
“I did come with good news,” I said. “At least, I think it’s great news. You two might feel otherwise.” Gabrielle hadn’t moved a muscle. She seemed to have been planted in place again. Richard looked torn between absolute joy and murderous rage. It was quite the combination. He seemed to be waging a world war in his head.
“I want to accept your offer, Richard. I really do. More than I can express to you. My people have looked it over as a formality, and they agree with me. But before I can accept the offer, I need to be straight with you. There’s something you need to know first.” I blew out a deep breath.
Gabrielle’s eyes grew wide, and she shook her head almost imperceptibly at me, her eyes flashing with some kind of warning. Too late to stop now.
“I lied to you yesterday,” I said. “Olivia put me on the spot, and I reacted horribly. The truth is, there is something going on between Gabrielle and me. Or there was, at least. It’s entirely up to her whether there still is or ever will be again.”
The vein in Richard temple throbbed, and his face turned beet red. The muscles in his jaw twitched.
The fact that he hadn’t clocked me yet had to mean something, though. I took it as a sign of encouragement to continue.
Gabbi still hadn’t moved. She looked like I’d dumped a bucket of ice water over her head. Her eyes flicked from me to her father and back again.
Richard’s eyes locked on mine, the challenge in them clear. I met it head on. “I love her, sir. With every damn fiber of my being.”
I hadn’t called him ‘sir’ in years. It brought him back from his frozen state. His jaw dropped. His voice incredulous. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“I’m not. I love her enough that I’m in here, placing my entire future in jeopardy to tell you that I lied. To tell you that I love her more than I ever thought it was possible to love someone.”
Gabrielle’s eyes shone with tears. Richard didn’t look at all convinced. Or on board.
“You’re serious?” The incredulity in his tone rubbed me the wrong way, but I knew better than to let it show. “You fuck a different woman every day of the fucking week, and you want to believe that you’re suddenly in love? With my daughter? Conveniently while waiting for me to make you a better offer?”
Shit. I could see how that looked. I hadn’t thought quite that far when I’d formulated my not-so-master plan.
“I can see how this looks. I give you my word that the two things are completely separate. I’m even willing to pass up on the offer if that’s what you want, but I had to tell you, and I had to tell her, the truth.” I hoped that he would see the sincerity in my eyes.
He went completely silent as he thought about what I’d just offered to do. Gabrielle’s voice spoke up softly. “James is the reason I’m taking the bar, Daddy. We started hanging out after we met here. He made me see that it was my passion as much as it might have been your plan.”
Richard turned to face his daughter, his expression disbelieving. His voice soft. “James is the reason you realized that?”
“Yes, Daddy, honestly. I wasn’t going to do it. I’d packed up my books and was researching other options when I met him. Veterinary sciences, even.” Her eyes locked with mine, a small smile playing on her lips.
Richard moved closer to her, wrapping a hand around hers in a gesture more fatherly than I’d ever seen him make. “You hate blood, baby.”
She squeezed his hand tenderly and fixed her teary gaze on him. “I know. I was desperate to find the place where I belonged, my true calling. I would’ve gone to the ends of the earth to find it, too. James made me see that I’d already found it. Well, he let me see it for myself, actually.”
Richard pulled her into a long hug, whispering to her. I was standing close enough to make out only one sentence. “I only ever wanted you to be happy, Gabbi.”
She whispered something back. It made him shoot out a tired laugh before he released her and turned to me. “You’ve got yourself an incredibly stubborn girl here, James. I hope you’re ready. In the meantime, you don’t have to worry about your contract. I meant it when I said that you were a great asset to the team.”
He stuck his hand out, and I shook it, completely shell-shocked. “I know, sir. I am ready. Thank you. I love this team. I’m going to give it
my all next season. The contract was couriered an hour ago. It should be here any second.”
“You had it couriered before you came here?” His voice was lighter than I’d heard it in a long time.
“Yeah, I told you. The ball was completely in your court on this one.”