“Physically, yeah. She’s almost completely healed. And to anyone else, the rest of her seems to be moving on just fine, too. But I know that woman. So does my wife. Jenna’s hurting, Adrian. And you’re the only person who can make it stop.”
“I can’t face her, Dawson.” He rested his hands on his hips and shook his head. “I wouldn’t even know what to say.”
“Hello, tends to get the conversation going.”
Smartass.
“How could she ever look at me the same again?” It was a question he’d asked himself over and over again since he found her in that damn basement. “Every time she sees my face, she’s going to remember what happened to her…and why.”
“Or.” Gabe rubbed the muscles at the back of his neck. “She’ll look at you and see the man who was willing to put his own life on the line in order to save hers. A man who, for reasons I will probably never understand, she fell madly in love with despite his violent past and perceived flaws.”
In a rare moment of vulnerability, Adrian let his guard down enough to ask, “What if she can’t see me like that?”
“Then at least you’ll know. You’ll be free to come back here and waste the rest of your life drinking imported beer on a fucking beach with no one but a male server to talk to.”
Maybe it was the alcohol still in his system, but Adrian felt himself huffing out a chuckled breath.
“Let me guess. Ellena sent you down here after me?”
“No, actually.” Gabe licked his lips and looked out over the water. “She thinks I’m on a job. Coming here was all my idea.”
“Yours?” That bit of news shocked him. “Why?”
The other man brought his lens-covered eyes back around. “Because I’ve been exactly where you are now. I blamed myself when Elle was hurt by a former teammate who wanted me to suffer. He came after her a few years back because he was pissed at me. She, uh…she ended up having a miscarriage as a result.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
Adrian waited a beat before asking, “What did you do?”
“I left.” He stared back at him. “Walked away, just like you did. And I spent the next three years miserable and alone before I finally came to my senses.”
He hadn’t known that part of Gabe and Elle’s story. Or how much he and the man who’d once been his enemy had in common.
“What made you go back to her?”
A muscle in the other man’s jaw twitched. “I almost lost her for good.”
Just like I almost lost Jenna.
“I don’t get it. You were pissed as hell when you found out she and I had gotten close. Why the sudden change in heart?”
“She loves you, dumbass,” Gabe growled. “Why the fuck she chose you will forever remain a mystery to me. But for whatever reason she did, and she deserves to be happy.” He huffed a breath. “Never thought I’d say it, but so do you.”
Drawing in a cleansing breath, Adrian pretended to be interested in a bird flying across the blue sky before returning his focus back to Gabe. “You really think she’ll take me back?”
“Only one way to find out.” The other man smirked. “Although, if I were you, I’d plan on doing a shit ton of groveling. You do know how to grovel, right?”
Not really.“Can’t be that hard. Besides, I’ve got the entire flight from here to California to figure it out.”
Dawson’s smirk turned into a full-blown smile. “There’s the cocky fucker I know. Come on.” He slapped a hand to Adrian’s shoulder. “Let’s go get your shit packed up and get the hell home.”
Home.
It wasn’t a word he’d ever truly known. Not even when he was a kid.
But if Gabe was right, and Jenna somehow found it in that big heart of hers to forgive him for being such a jackass, Adrian thought he might just be ready to have a home—and a life—of his own.