Page 56 of He Falls First

“Anyway,” Gabrielle says, waving away the subject of Tobias, “let’s not dwell on him. We came here to see you, after all.”

“Right,” I agree, forcing a smile. “What do you say, Harper? Want to see your favorite uncle’s new office?”

“Yay!” she cheers.

I point and we head down the hall, Harper confidently leading the way even though she has no idea where we’re going. This kid never fails to make me smile. Our bond is like nothing else.

After a while of watching Harper turn my office into a playground, Gabrielle stands.

“You don’t have to do that,” I tell her when she starts wiping away the little fingerprints that have appeared all along the floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Oh! I didn’t even realize I was doing it. Old habits.” She laughs. “We should get going, though. Harper, say goodbye to Uncle Hendrix.”

“No, I don’t want to go!” Harper reverts to a tactic that used to work when she was much smaller—wrapping her arms around my legs.

I chuckle and bend down to give her a proper hug. “I’ll see you soon, kiddo,” I tell her, ruffling her hair.

Reluctantly, Harper detaches herself from me. I stand and pull Gabrielle into a long embrace.

“Take care of yourself,” I murmur. “Just let me get settled in here a little more and I promise I’ll be around more, okay?”

She gives me a small, understanding smile as she steps back.

I scoop Harper up into my arms again, making her giggle. “Be good for your mom, okay?”

“Okay,” she agrees cheerfully.

I set her down and watch as she scampers over to take Gabrielle’s hand. With a final wave, the two of them head for the elevators.

My smile fades as they disappear from view. I really do miss having them around. But it’s too risky with Elizabeth in the picture right now.

Securing this company means everything for Harper’s future. My brother’s mistakes did enough damage to her life, and I have to make up for it.

Matt glances up from his lunch as I walk back toward my office. “How’d it go with Gabrielle and the kid?”

“Fine,” I say with a shrug. “I’m just glad they didn’t run into Elizabeth.”

Matt raises an eyebrow. “You really think you can keep them apart forever? From what I remember, Liz and Gabrielle were pretty close before you showed up.”

I frown, standing up straighter. That’s news to me. “What do you mean?”

“Well, Gabrielle was her boss before you came along,” Matt points out. “They spent a lot of time together. Lizzy seemed to spend a lot of time with the kid, too. I’m sure they stayed in touch even after Gabrielle left.”

I drum my fingers on my chin, considering this new information. I’d stupidly assumed Elizabeth was just another employee to Gabrielle. But if they have an actual friendship, then my plan to keep them apart is going to be a lot more difficult to maintain. Somehow, I hadn’t realized just how intertwined their lives were.

“Maybe this wasn’t such a great plan after all,” I mutter.

But it’s too late to back out now.

Somehow, I’ve got to keep my two worlds from colliding, or my fake engagement might blow up in my face.

Chapter 22

Elizabeth

“Don’t look at me like that,” I say to a judgmental-looking pigeon on the sidewalk.

Maybe the pigeon’s not really judgmental. Maybe it just wants some of this cheesecake that I stopped to bite before I go into the office building. I took dessert to-go after the lunch meeting, and I’m feeling a little guilty about it. It was an indulgent move.

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