Page 43 of The Problem with Dating
“Gideon-”
“What, Echo?” I bit out. “He mistreats you to the point that you divorce him, and he thought it was a good idea to ask you for a favor this big? Hell,anyfavor?”
“Marco always did have a healthy amount of arrogance,” she replied.
I eyed her and told her another truth. “Just so you know, even if we hadn’t been fighting, I still would have kicked his ass for showing up.”
Echo blinked at me, and after long pause, she let out a low chuckled. “Jesus, Gideon. You really are something else.”
I reached out and twirled a strand of her auburn hair around my finger. We had a lot to work out, but there was no way we wouldn’t. “I’m not letting you dump me,” I told her. “This thing with us will never be over, no matter how stubborn you get or how pissed off I get.”
“Oh, really?” But there was no heat behind her words. She sounded tired. She sounded tired and sad. I could deal with the tired part because that was probably just her adrenaline crash, but the sad part I wasn’t okay with.
“Talk to me, baby.”
Her brown eyes were open and honest when she said, “I think I’m in over my head with you, Gideon Hayes.”
“I think you’re right,” I agreed, letting go of her strand of hair. “But if it’s any consolation, I feel the same way about you.”
“Yeah, right,” she scoffed.
I smirked. “I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you, Echo.”
This time, she didn’t scoff.
Chapter 23
Echo~
Jesus Christ.
But, of course, what else would I expect? This day had turned out to be a Saturday for the books. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to look at Saturday the same ever again.
“It’s been only a week,” I blurted out because, well, it’s been a week, and men like Gideon Hayes didn’t fall in love over the span of seven days.
Did they?
Gideon shrugged a shoulder. “Yeah, well, shit happens.”
I couldn’t muffle my laugh, but when that laugh turned into a bit of sobbing, Gideon grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. I started crying, and I wasn’t even really sure why. It could have been because of our argument, Gideon’s fight with Marco, or Gideon’s declaration of love. I just knew I was an emotional mess, and this man was just going to have to deal with it.
Gideon’s big hands ran up and down my back while his chin sat on top of my head. He didn’t say anything as he held me, and that was a good thing. I needed a moment that was probably more like a million moments. And a nap. I needed a nap. An adrenaline crash was no joke.
I also knew I was going to have to call Marco and have a real conversation with him about the mess he’s created for himself. I wanted nothing to do with whatever he had going on in his life, and that included talking with reporters or social media sensationalists. If his current girlfriend wanted to press charges and make a whole circus out of whatever happened between them, that was on him and her. I wouldn’t be talking to anyone, simply because I didn’t need that kind of negative energy in my life. There was a reason I had walked away from Marco with nothing.
Complete freedom.
Talking with the media wouldn’t give me that. Plus, it wouldn’t take the CIA to link me to Gideon, therefore, linking me to Nathan, and I wouldn’t do that to him or his family. That wasn’t how you repaid a baseball legend for fixing your floors.
I wasn’t sure how long I cried for, but I finally pulled out of Gideon’s arms. Looking at him, he winced, and that spoke volumes. I could only imagine what I mess I was.
“That bad?”
“Nah,” he lied. “I’ve seen worse.”
“Causing feminine emotional breakdowns is a hobby for you, then?”
He shook his head. “Nope,” he said, popping the ‘p’. “I’ve just seen Nate have some serious emotional breakdowns before, and they weren’t pretty.”
