He was going along too easily. Something was up.
He dealt the last card.
She received an ace of spades; he received an ace of hearts.
“What are the odds I would win with a royal flush?” he mused.
She closed her eyes. God, she was dumb, knowing how her luck had been. Letting him in had been a mistake. Still, she picked up her first card and couldn’t help but groan. Jack of clubs. She officially had nothing.
“Go on,” she said, waving toward his hand. “Prove to me how you never lose.”
He folded his cards and put them in the deck.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
“I’m folding. You win.”
“What? That’s not how you play this game.”
“It doesn’t matter where the queen of hearts is, Rachel. I know where the queen of my heart is. She’s sitting right across from me. Every other queen? Absolutely, totally, irrevocably irrelevant.” A sad smile played at the corners of his mouth, but he was so serious. “Ask your first truth, Rachel.”
“Did you lie to me? About Ireland. Did you take me because you wanted to or because you knew Date Me was filing suit?”
“Two questions, but I’ll answer both. First, I never lied to you.” He met, and held, her gaze. “Not once. I took you to Ireland because I was desperate to spend the weekend with you.”
“Why?” she asked, hating that her voice cracked, hating that she was showing such weakness in front of him and yet unable to stop herself. “Why me?”
This time, the smile that spread across his face was warm. “Have you seen yourself? My God, Rachel. You’re incredible. Amazing. Wonderful. Funny, warm and caring. Charming. Smart as hell. A vixen between the sheets. A powerhouse mind who can hold her own in any conversation. You’re the whole package, Rach. The real deal.”
Her face flushed and, despite her fierce admonition that she would not cry, a single tear broke free. She swiped at it, angry he’d reduced her to the weepy woman. She was stronger than that, and he needed to know it. “I hate you for that—that single tear. Just so you know.”
He nodded. “You have every reason to hate me. I acted like a complete ass. But I realized something when I was at your firm and it was Casey, not you, who walked through that door. I wanted to rage that I wasn’t getting to see you just one more time. And that’s when it hit me. One more time would never, ever be enough.”
He moved to her slowly and held out a hand, waiting for her to come to him.
“I’m scared,” she admitted, voice thick with emotion as she took his hand.
“So am I. It’s part of the thrill, I think.”
She laughed a nervous laugh, the sound escaping before she could swallow it down.
He just looked at her with undisguised affection, running one hand through her hair and working out the tangles with tender attention. “I need you, Rachel. There’s a difference between want and need. I definitely want you. History proved that repeatedly.” And he had the grace to blush. “But I need you even more than I want you.” He pulled her close then, wrapping her in the warm safety of his arms. “I’m asking you to trust me,” he said with his lips against her temple. “Give me a chance to prove that I’m the man who will fight for you, who will go to bat for you, who will always have your back.”
“What about the lawsuit? I’m still liable to be called into that mess.”
He shook his head. “I pulled the funding on the project and made an offer to settle out of court.”
“Isaac!” she said, pulling away. “You can’t do that to your brother!”
“I can, and I did. I won’t expose you to any additional risk or put your career in jeopardy.”
“I don’t have a career. I was, well...they tried to fire me. But I quit.”
“That’s my girl,” he said, pride saturating every word.
“Wait. You’re proud of me?” She was so confused she didn’t know which way to turn.
“No one gets to treat my woman like I hear they treated you.”