.

wrenched through him. She was leaving?

      When her gaze collided with his, the grip in his stomach tightened a notch. God, she looked cute as a ladybug tonight, too cute to be waltzing around in that dress without making a man sweat.

      Then there were her eyes. Every time she looked up at him with those sky-blue eyes, pain sliced through his chest as though that bullet had actually hit Garrett, instead of her father. He’d never forget that he was living now, breathing now, because Kate’s father had stepped into the line of fire to save him.

      He’d tried to make it up to her. The entire family had. A good education, a roof over her head, help with securing her own place and encouragement so she’d open her catering business. But lately Kate seemed sad and discontent, and Garrett just didn’t know how to resolve that.

      He felt sad and discontent, too.

      “But...she can’t go,” he said.

      Eleanor Gage halted her conversation with Cassandra and turned her unapologetic expression up to his. “She says she can.”

      “To do what? Her whole life is here.”

      His mother raised a perfectly plucked brow that dared him to wonder why, exactly, she would want to leave, and a sudden thought occurred to him. He frowned as he considered it. Kate’s distance would be good for him. He might even finally be able to get some sleep. But no. Hell, no.

      He’d made a promise to her father, years ago, the tragic night of his death. Kate and her little sister, Molly, had become orphans because of Garrett. They would always belong here, with the Gages. This was their home, and Garrett had done everything in his power so that they would feel comfortable, protected and cared for.

      Molly was marrying his younger brother now. But Kate?

      Garrett had always had a weakness for her. He respected her. Protected her. Even from things he himself sometimes felt.

      His whole life he’d ignored the way Kate’s hair fell over her eyes. The way she said Garrett an octave lower than any other word she spoke. He’d ignored the way his chest cramped when she spoke of having a date, and he’d even done his best to try not to count all the freckles on the bridge of her pretty nose.

      It wasn’t easy to force himself to be so damned ignorant. Of that. But he’d done it by force and that was exactly how it would remain.

      Kate was like his sister and best friend. Except she was truly neither....

      No matter.

      He would still do all kinds of things to protect her—and this included making her see that moving to Florida was not a good option. Not an option, period.

      Scowling, he snagged his mother by the elbow and pulled her closer, so that Cassandra didn’t overhear. But the woman took the cue and easily began to mingle—leaving him to talk to his mother in peace. “When did she say she was leaving?”

      “The day after the wedding.”

      “Eight weeks?” His brain almost ached as he tried to think of ways to keep her here. “Long enough to change her mind then.”

      “My darling, if you manage to—” his mother gently patted him on the chest “—you’ll make me a very happy woman. I don’t want Katie anywhere in the world but here.”

      Garrett bleakly agreed and snatched a wine goblet from a passing server. He almost downed the liquid in one gulp, wondering how in the hell one could change the mind of a stubborn little handful like Kate. She could teach old, grumpy men a thing or two about sticking to their guns, and Garrett wasn’t looking forward to being on the opposite end of the field from her. Or then again, maybe he was.

      It was always fun to pick a fight with Kate.

      It seemed the only way he could vent his frustrations sometimes.

      Frustrations that seemed to grow by the minute as he stalked over to Cassandra, who was engaged in a conversation with two other women Garrett knew but couldn’t remember the names of.

      He was interested in securing her family’s company to consolidate the Gages’ grip on Texas media, but he couldn’t even think about that now.

      Kate was packing her bags and flying out of his life in eight weeks, and he was so determined to stop that from happening that, if he had to, he would run to Florida after her on his own two feet, and come back carrying her like a sack of potatoes on his back.

      Which might even be more fun than fighting with her now.

      “Something’s come up,” he apologized as he brought the blonde around to look at him. “I’m afraid I’ll need a rain check on our talk.”

      He smiled down at her to ease the blow, marveling that he could, and he was glad to find there was no hostility in her eyes. She didn’t tell him to go take his apology and shove it where it hurt, but instead she said, sounding alarmed, “When can I see you again?”

      “Soon,” he said with a nod, his mind already on Kate.

      Two

      He spotted her out on the terrace, and his insides twisted painfully tight. Tall and slender, Kate leaned against the balcony railing outside of the French doors, peacefully gazing out at the gardens. Her dress dipped seductively in the back, exposing inches and inches of flawless bare flesh and the small, delicate little rises of her spine. Something feral and dangerous pummeled through him. She’s leaving me....

      She’d been avoiding him tonight. And now he knew why.

      He clenched his hands, hauled in a breath, then yanked the doors open and stepped outside.

      A warm breeze flitted by as he approached her. A slice of moon hung in the sky above her, bathing her with its silvery light. It was the kind of night lovers waited for. A night for whispers, for promising forever...

      “Why?”

      She spun around in a whirl of silk and red hair, her lips slightly parted, her eyes wide and bright. “Don’t tell me,” she said with a disappointed shake of her head. “Your mother told you.”

      “Why, Kate? Why am I always the last to know?”

      For a moment, she didn’t seem to have an answer. She’s leaving you. She’s leaving you and won’t tell you. Won’t look at you.

      Restlessly, she pulled at her small earring as she gazed out at the majestically lit lawns. “I...uh, planned to tell you.”

      “From where? Florida?” he scoffed, unsure whether he was wounded, angry, amused or just plain damn confused.

      “Okay, maybe yes, from Florida,” she admitted. “But you’ve been grumpy lately, Garrett. I can’t handle you right now. I’m too busy.”

      His lips twisted into a cynical smile as he leaned on the balustrade next to her. He eyed the length of her glossy hair, wondering what it would smell like up close. Raspberries in the summer...? Peaches and cream? And why in the hell did he need to know? And what did she mean, he was grumpy? “I don’t need to be handled.”

      With a pointed stare that told him that he really did, Kate studied him with mischievous blue eyes. “You haven’t exactly been easy to be around lately.”

      “Come on, I can’t be that bad!”

      She shot him a wry smile, and Garrett found himself responding to that captivating grin. He nudged her elbow up on the railing. “Kate. What did you think I’d do? Tie you to your kitchen to keep you here? Steal your damn plane ticket?”

      “The fact that you’ve already thought of that makes me wonder about your sanity.”

      “The fact that you’re leaving makes me want to check your head, too. You belong here.”

      He sensed—rather than saw—the smile on her lips, but when she refused to look at him, Garrett wondered why Kate seemed so absorbed