Page 115 of Fierce-Gabe

“And I’m not going to. That isn’t the comment that made me think. It’s that she said we are like merging two dynasties by dating.”

“Huh?”

“That was my reaction too.” She rolled her eyes and laughed. “But it got me thinking. Do you think our parents might have been secretly pushing for us to date?”

He laughed at her. Maybe more than he should have. “Elise. It’s not like they need to do that to get stronger. Or that at some point the businesses are coming to just you and me. You’ve got Royce and I’ve got my siblings. Even if Jayce doesn’t work there, he’ll get part of it.”

“I know that,” she said. “It’s just the whole Fierce matching people up thing came into my head. Our fathers are close. I just wondered if they ever talked about this.”

He took another sip of his drink. “You’ll have to ask your father that,” he said.

Which she did an hour later.

“What’s going on?” her father asked when she walked in with a takeout dessert for him. “Is that for me?”

“It is,” she said. Might as well butter him up.

He opened it up and saw the chocolate cream pie inside. “This is great. But what’s the occasion? You want something. I know that look.”

“Did you and Jim McCarthy ever talk about Gabe and me getting together before we actually did?”

“What?” he asked. He almost looked like a deer in the headlights. Maybe a cartoon character with buggy little eyes.

“Why are you so shocked by this question? It makes me think there is more going on.”

“Nothing going on,” her father said. “I won’t lie and say that maybe we joked about it a time or two. Both of you were single and all, but everyone knew how you two felt about each other.”

That was plausible. “Are you sure?”

“Positive,” her father said. “It was normally followed up with a big laugh.”

She could see that. “Okay. I’ll take your word on it. You wouldn’t lie to me, would you?”

“Never,” her father said.

“We’ve got a problem,”Richard said to Jim.

“What? Are Gabe and Elise fighting?”

“No. But I think Elise is onto us or something.”

“Now?” Jim asked. His buddy’s voice sounded as if it was in a panic. “Why now?”

He explained the conversation he’d just had with his daughter. “Do you understand?”

“Doesn’t sound like you lied.”

That was the last thing he wanted to do to Elise. “Not really,” he said. “Just fibbed some. We did use to laugh at it when it came up.”

“Don’t worry,” Jim said. “I’ll keep the others posted. I’ll mention something to Gabe too. It’s the least I can do.”

“Yeah. Keep him informed. He doesn’t want her to find out any more than the rest of us do.”

“Will do,” Jim said and hung up.

If Elise ever found out, she’d have his head but most likely take Gabe’s off first. That was what he wanted to prevent more than anything.

34

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