Change of Heart

by T. J. Kline

  Leah had somehow reached inside him and grasped hold of the honorable man he’d once believed himself to be, a man who would protect innocents and do the right thing. A man who would right wrongs, including his own. When he was with her, he could forget that he was fallible, capable of making million dollar mistakes because he’d been too concerned with investor pressure instead of his scruples. The more he got to know her, the more attracted he was, but after what she’d confessed last night, a kiss was the last thing he’d imagined happening between them, the last thing she needed. Leah made him feel like a superhero, and he wanted to be that man. That meant thinking about her needs, even over his own burning desires. A kiss was something he couldn’t allow to continue.

  Gage drew back, running his hand over the back of her hair and pressing a chaste kiss to her forehead. His heart throbbed painfully against his chest at the denial, and he ignored the other body parts aching for release. He wouldn’t be another man who hurt her and betrayed her trust.

  “Leah,” he whispered, laying his cheek at the top of her head and inhaling the honeyed scent of her, letting it flow through him. Her hand slid down to rest against his chest, and he tried to ignore his body’s needful yearning. “I should probably go home.”

  He felt her stiffen in his arms and wondered if it was from the kiss or his suggestion.

  “Why?”

  Gage closed his eyes. He didn’t dare hope that she’d want him to stay. He wanted nothing more than to remain on her couch with her in his arms all day. Lynx moved along the back of the couch, bumping his arm with her head, and he lifted his wrist to look at his watch.

  “It’s nearly six a.m. Doesn’t Jessie have a group coming this morning?”

  She sighed and nodded against his chest. He hoped that sigh encompassed the same disappointment he felt. Just when they’d started to make some progress, the real world would be butting in. Now he wouldn’t have her undivided attention. He couldn’t just stop by, unannounced, to steal her away. She would have sessions and cases. Plus, she had her car again, so she had little need for him at all. Other than helping with the kittens. He ran his hand over Lynx, who attempted to climb onto Leah’s shoulder and curl up.

  Gage knew he should apologize to Leah, but try as he might, the words wouldn’t come. He wasn’t sorry he kissed her. He would only be sorry if it drove a wedge between them.

  “What time are they coming?” he asked when she made no attempt to move away from him.

  Her breath fanned over his chest, heating more than his skin. He ached with need, and he prayed she wouldn’t notice the distinctive bulge in his jeans as he tried to convince his body to behave.

  “Chase is supposed to bring them around nine.”

  Gage traced the line of her cheekbone with his thumb, not wanting to let her go but knowing it was inevitable. Leah tipped her head up, looking him in the face, her eyes questioning but not filled with the regret he expected to see. Even with her hair mussed, her makeup slightly smeared under her eyes, and her cheeks flushed, there was a vulnerability in her face he’d never seen before. She’d never looked more beautiful to him.

  Her lips parted slightly just before she bit the corner of her lower lip, and Gage couldn’t help himself. He slid his hand through her hair, cupping the back of her head and drawing her closer so he could brush his lips over hers again. Her hand moved up his neck, sending his senses reeling and his hunger into hyperdrive as she pressed herself into his embrace. He swept his tongue against hers, teasing.

  If their first kiss had been like heaven, this was pure ecstasy. Leah tasted like honey, a delicate sweetness he hadn’t expected from someone as indifferent as she’d tried to act, and he wanted to hold onto everything she would offer.

  But he wouldn’t let himself accept it, not yet. Not until she was ready to let go of all her secrets, not until he’d told her his own.

  Gage heard his cell phone vibrate on the side table where he’d left it during the movie. Reality reared its head as he realized there were only three people who would call him this early—any of his three partners demanding he make a decision about his share of the company he was single-handedly dragging through the mud. Gage ended the kiss slowly, wanting it to last as long as possible but knowing it couldn’t. Leah gave a slight whimper as he pulled away, her fingers curling against the back of his neck in protest.

  He pressed his forehead against hers. “I have to take this,” he said against her lips. “I’ll be right back.”

  Gage knew he could ignore the call, like he’d been doing most of the week, but if he didn’t put some space between him and Leah now, he was going to forget his commitment to be her friend and move too close to being her lover. He was drowning in enough regrets without hurting her.

  Chapter Twelve

  GAGE HURRIED OUT the front door, answering the phone as he looked up to see Jessie watching him curiously from the corral where she was tossing hay to several horses inside. He turned his back on her questioning scrutiny. He didn’t have any more answers for her than he did for his partners.

  “Hey, Georgie.”

  “Don’t Georgie me, Gage. We’ve got real trouble brewing here. You need to get in touch with Cooper. He’s calling for an emergency meeting of all the stockholders. Since he can’t do anything about the shares you own, he’s going to push for them to call for your resignation.”

  “What? If not for me, we would never even have had a product.”

  “Yeah, well the last one isn’t exactly doing anything good for our bottom line. It’s going to cost us even more than we thought. We just had three more banks claim our system resulted in a major loss. This is costing us millions.”

  Gage pinched the bridge of his nose and inhaled slowly. “How soon?”

  “He’s trying to get everyone together two weeks from today, in the San Francisco office. The corporate bigwigs are all gung-ho to see the new office, and I think he’s trying to use the opportunity to schmooze them and make sure you don’t have any excuses as to why you can’t show up.”

  Gage didn’t miss the accusation in George’s voice. In reality, he deserved every bit of it. For the first time, it was likely that the company would end the year in the red.

  “I’ll be there.”

  “Screw being there. What if you just make a decision and let us know, Gage? We’re all waiting on you. You know what Cooper’s going to do to this company if he can get your resignation, right?”

  “Yeah, I do.” Gage rubbed his hand over his eyes as he made his way down Leah’s porch, pacing along the walkway between her place and Jessie’s, the gravel crunching loudly in the quiet morning. “And the other shareholders will be happy about it because he’ll make them a huge profit.”

  “This isn’t just about profit. This is our company. We started it, together. They only joined us because they had the money to back us. Without our ideas . . . ” George sighed into the receiver. “They’re going to lay off four hundred people, Gage, all because they can hire kids out of college cheaper. These are people who have worked for us for years. Are you seriously going to just roll over and let all this happen? That’s not like you. You know we can’t let them do that.”

  The pleading note in George’s voice tugged at Gage. George had known him since college. They’d written code together, graduated together, and created their first security program together. George had also been the first to warn him about the potential problems with Titanium, their latest security flop, but he’d ignored George and signed off on it anyway. He owed it to George to at least commit to showing up for the meeting.

  “I’ll call Cooper. If there’s a meeting, I’ll be there. I promise.”

  “Gage, man, what is up with you? It was a mistake. Move on before you bury yourself and the rest of us in this.”

  He knew George was right. He should just forget about it, move on to the next program, and immerse himself in code and their next project instead of dwelling on this one error. It happened to everyone. Except
it didn’t happen to him. It never had.

  Growing up, he’d owed it to his mother and Dylan to be perfect. He’d made the choice to never let anyone to see what how much that precision cost him. Gage buried his concerns into a deep well, letting everyone see only the confident, successful super-human he wanted them to believe he was.

  “I’m fine, Georgie. I just wanted to spend some time with my brother and my new niece.” It wasn’t a total lie. “Give me a few more days and I’ll call Cooper and straighten this out. I’ll call our lawyers, too.”

  “I hope so, Gage, because I wouldn’t want to try to handle those two without you. We started this together. I want to finish it that way.”

  George didn’t give him a chance to say anything as he disconnected the call. Gage wondered if George realized that it was just as likely as not that Iconics was finished, that Gage might not be returning at all.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  Jessie’s voice snapped Gage from his concerns about Iconics and his partners. He looked up to see her storming toward him with some kind of whip-like object in her hand. She looked like a woman on a mission, and he was afraid that he’d just become her target.

  “Nothing?”

  The skeptical arch of her brow didn’t leave any question as to whether she believed him. “You come strolling out of my new therapist’s house before six-thirty in the morning and I’m supposed to buy that load of crap?” She poked a finger into his chest. “Let me make myself crystal clear to you, Gage. I like your brother and I like you, but don’t think that means I’m going to let you screw around and chase off the person I’ve worked my tail off to find for Heart Fire. She is going to make this place into what I’ve dreamed it could become. If you ruin this—”

  Gage crossed his arms over his chest, taking a deep breath. “I’m not going to ruin anything, Jessie. Nothing happened. We were taking care of the kittens and fell asleep watching a movie. It was completely PG, okay? Relax.”

  “Gage,” Jessie said, her tone a warning. “I need her here.”

  “I get it, Jessie. Leah is going to take Heart Fire to the next level. Regardless of what everyone thinks, I’m not some player just out for a piece of ass.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “You kind of implied it.” He cocked his head to one side, slid his phone into his pocket, and turned back to Leah’s place.

  “Where are you going?” Jessie called.

  Gage took a step closer to Jessie and lowered his voice. “Look, I don’t know what you know about her, but that woman in there needs a friend.”

  Jessie glared at him. “Do you think I don’t run background checks? Nathan’s father was a politician, remember? If anyone knows how to dig up dirt, it’s Nathan’s guys.” She pointed the short whip at him. “Just make sure friendship is all you have in mind.”

  As she pivoted on her heel and walked away, Gage realized he couldn’t make that promise, even if he’d wanted to. His heart had already taken his friendship with Leah to the next level, in spite of his reminders to himself to keep it platonic. He was already a goner.

  WHAT IN THE hell are you doing?

  Leah couldn’t believe she’d kissed Gage, not once but twice. She had never, ever, been so driven to be near a man. In fact, she’d always gone out of her way to avoid any sort of intimacy unless it was absolutely necessary. She couldn’t even blame it on being half-asleep since he’d caught her staring at him. Who knows what might have happened if he hadn’t taken that phone call. She’d let her emotions take over, lost control, and she didn’t like this feeling of helpless vulnerability.

  She peered out the kitchen window to see him pacing the walkway with the phone to his ear. He didn’t look happy, and she was curious about the early morning phone call, but she wasn’t about to pry. He hadn’t pressed her for information last night when she’d opened up about her past, and she would extend him the same courtesy of privacy. She saw him disconnect the call as Jessie made her way to him.

  Icy dread slid through her veins as she prayed her boss didn’t see him come out of her house. Jessie glanced at the house and Gage followed her gaze.

  “Crap,” Leah muttered. They had to be talking about her, and from the looks of it, Jessie wasn’t happy. She debated going out and clearing up any misunderstanding Jessie might have but wasn’t sure what she could say.

  Fat chance, her mind whispered. There is no misunderstanding. You spent the night with the guy, and the way you lost your head, you would have slept with him.

  Leah turned away from the window and ran a hand through her hair before heading to fill the coffeepot. Jessie had every right to fire her. Even if Gage was only family by marriage, Leah was a new employee. She’d very nearly crossed a line that would’ve been career suicide.

  “Are you making coffee?”

  His voice was husky. She turned and caught her breath. Between his voice and the stubble shadowing his jaw, Leah was having a hard time keeping herself from being drawn closer to the early morning seduction standing in her kitchen. His gaze caressed her and Leah had no doubt from the heat she could see in his eyes, he would burn her. She couldn’t handle any more scars.

  “I am. Have a seat and I can make some pancakes if you want.” She reached into the cupboard for two mugs. “Cream and sugar?”

  “Just sugar.” She slid the box of small packets toward him across the counter, waiting for the coffee to brew. “Don’t worry about the pancakes. I need to get to work.”

  She tried to ignore the stab of rejection, reminding herself that this was exactly what she wanted. There was no room for any sort of relationship.

  “Leah, about earlier—”

  She quickly raised her hand. “Don’t even. I shouldn’t have kissed you, especially after the things I said. Let’s just pretend it never happened, okay?” Gage snapped his jaw closed and she saw the flicker of indecision in his eyes. “We can be friends, but I don’t think either of us has time or inclination for anything more than that.”

  He took a step closer, letting one hand fall gently on her shoulder and slide down her arm. “Are you sure about that?”

  Goose bumps broke out over her arms, and Leah fought back the shiver of response to his touch. She wanted to lean into him, to go back to that moment on the couch, where he stoked the passion smoldering in her. He was intoxicating.

  “This is my job. I can’t jeopardize it.” The words slipped out before she could stop them.

  One side of Gage’s mouth curved up in a sad smile. “You saw Jessie.”

  His comment didn’t tell her anything. It didn’t tell her if Jessie was angry or appalled. It didn’t tell her what he’d said.

  “Yes.” Her brain yelled at her to push him away, but her body ached for his touch, her blood pounding in her veins.

  “Leah, I won’t do anything to put you at risk. You are one-hundred-percent safe with me. I promise you.” He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, letting his hand fall away from her as he took a step back. “Friends.”

  Gage poured himself a cup of coffee and took a sip. She wondered if he was aware of the sigh of pleasure that slipped from his lips. When he opened his eyes and met her gaze again, she recognized the desire she’d seen in them on the couch.

  “For now,” he amended.

  Chapter Thirteen

  LEAH WAS HAVING a difficult time standing still as the truck came down the driveway. She’d been fidgeting since Jessie pointed out Chase’s truck, loaded down with four teenage boys he was bringing for the weekend. She’d worked with plenty of teen boys at her old clinic, but this would be the first time she was responsible for every aspect of the sessions. There were no guidelines, no requirements, and no paperwork. The freedom was as exhilarating as it was frightening. She was completely on her own to decide what would be best for each young man after meeting with him.

  “Relax,” Jessie said with a chuckle. “You look like you’re about to throw up.”

  I th
ink I might.

  Leah didn’t trust herself to speak. As the truck pulled to a stop at the corral, she saw a tall man slip from driver’s seat, turning to open the back door for a large black shepherd. “Hey, knock it off, Cody, or I’m going to sic Gracie on you.”

  He pointed at the boys in the truck, and the dog barked happily as he moved around the front bumper. The four boys—young men, Leah corrected herself—poured out of the truck amid a cacophony of noise.

  “Morning, ladies. I’m Chase,” he said, holding his hand out to Leah.

  She shook it firmly, eyeing the dog who sat at his feet. “Leah McCarran.”

  She wanted these young men to see nothing but confidence from her at the get-go.

  “Our new therapist,” Jessie added. She pointed to the cabin to the right of Gage’s and addressed the boys. “Hey, guys, you’ll be sharing that cabin right there.”

  Chase arched a brow and his mouth quirked into a quick grin. “You’re trusting these guys to stay in the cabin alone? I hope you don’t plan on it staying in one piece?”

  “It had better.” She leaned closer. “Gage already told me he’d keep an eye on them since he’s next door.”

  Leah’s heart immediately picked up its pace at the mention of Gage’s name.

  Stupid pulse, she thought, cursing the way her body betrayed her.

  “Well, they should be fairly quiet. All four of these guys are in the same foster home, so it’s not like they aren’t with one another all the time. They’re friends. Melody runs a pretty tight ship at her house, from what the boys have said.” He turned to Leah. “Jessie gave you their files, right?” Leah nodded and Chase lowered his voice. “Then you know about Miguel and Hector’s abuse, and that Jude is the usually the mastermind of any trouble they get into.”