Thrill of the Chase (Dangerous Love) (18 page)

S
cott Morris may have set the stage, but it was up to her to change the tide…a challenge that Gabrielle had been waiting for. She had been patient, waiting for the opportunity to destroy the man she had almost married. And God knows he deserved it. She may have cheated on him, but it was a crime that paled in comparison to what Chase Montclair had done to her. Because of Chase, she would never be able to conceive a child again. She would never know what it felt like to be doted on or fussed over by a man who was bursting with joy because he was going to be a father. Because of Chase, her career had tapered off during her stay in rehab. Because of Chase, she would never desire someone so strongly again. The decision had been made. Chase needed to join her in this living hell he had created.

And from the looks of it, Chase was halfway there already. The scowl he gave her from across the banquet hall spoke volumes. Glorious satisfaction washed over her as she basked in the realization that the first part of her mission had been successful. He appeared not only surprised, but also agitated over her impromptu appearance at his benefit. Gabrielle needed him to feel off balance as opposed to the composed Chase Montclair he usually was—the Chase that was cunning and calculating…her equal.

Gabrielle met his gaze and smiled, an action he did not reciprocate. Instead, he turned and looked over at a round table across the room. It took less than a second to identify Erin Whitley amongst the tabletop of eight. Even without Scott Morris’s detailed description of his ex-girlfriend, Gabrielle would have been able to pick her out immediately. She was stunning, a fact that even Gabrielle could admit. But that was not what confirmed her identity. It was the worried look and the daggers the woman was shooting in Gabrielle’s direction—daggers that only jealousy evoked—that told her she had laid eyes on Erin Whitley.

“You look exquisite, sweetheart,” her mother whispered in her ear as they made their way into the banquet hall.

“Thank you, Mother. I’m so glad I could be here with you and Daddy tonight.” Gabrielle gave her mom’s arm a gentle squeeze. “You’re a survivor. I wouldn’t have missed this for anything.”

Her mother smiled, but it evaporated quickly when she looked over Gabrielle’s shoulder. Gabrielle didn’t need to follow her mother’s gaze. She knew where it fell. “Don’t worry, Mother. Chase visited me in California this week.”

“He what?” she asked, her eyes wide as saucers.

“He came to check on me, to make sure I’m doing okay.”

“Does this mean you two are getting back together?”

Her mother had always been, and apparently was still, a huge fan of Chase Montclair and his millions. Gabrielle’s mother was devastated when her daughter’s engagement to one of the world’s most sought-after men was called off. Gabrielle never shared with her parents the real reason behind their breakup and what actually prompted her stay at the luxurious Loyola Ranch. Gabrielle had strategically omitted pertinent facts. She never mentioned that the baby she had miscarried didn’t belong to Chase. And she never told her mother that she had been caught in the act with her former photographer. Unfortunately, it was impossible to keep her suicide attempt from her parents. She had been foolish to cheat on Chase, a man she knew would leave her if she was caught, a man with the millions she needed to uphold the lifestyle she had always dreamed of. However, it didn’t take much to convince her mother that she had made an attempt on her life due to a bout of depression as a result of her breakup with Chase, or that she was now fully recovered…and ready to make Chase experience true loss.

“The conversation we had was long overdue,” Gabrielle said, escorting her mother, with her father in tow, to their table.

“But Gabby, I believe Chase is with someone now.” Her mother gestured to Erin Whitley’s table.

“Yes. She is lovely. Don’t you think so, Mother?” Gabrielle locked eyes with the beautiful Ms. Whitley.

“She is just a pretty face. You and Chase have history, a past to build upon.” Her mother smiled and then took a sip of champagne, which had been placed in front of her by a very quick and competent waiter.

Gabrielle reached for her own glass of champagne. Clinking her glass with her mother’s, she toasted, “May our past only make us stronger.”

“You didn’t have any idea that Ms. Green was planning to attend?” Steven McConnel asked.

Frustrated, Chase raked his fingers through his hair as he watched the Greens walk toward their table. “I knew her parents were coming, but Gabrielle is definitely a…surprise,” Chase said, keeping his voice low.

“I can ask them to leave, Chase. You know I’ll be discreet.”

“No. This has to play out…for now.”

Steven nodded and moved to the other side of the banquet hall, most likely to be closer to Gabrielle’s table. Chase appreciated the fact that his father’s longtime friend didn’t need a directive. Steven just knew what had to be done and where he was needed the most.

Chase grabbed two glasses of wine from the bar before heading back to his table. He made certain that his eyes didn’t drift and accidently fall anywhere near Gabrielle’s table. When he reached his table it was clear that some damage control was in order. His sudden appearance seemed to put an end to any conversation that was taking place.

His high-profile relationship and eventual breakup with Gabrielle had captured a lot of media attention. It wouldn’t surprise him in the least to learn that many guests were salivating at the opportunity to witness a possible showdown between his ex and the woman he loved. But he didn’t care what the people at his table were thinking or hoping to see. The only opinion he cared about belonged to Erin. And from the troubled look in her eyes, he knew that it would take an Oscar-worthy performance to get through the evening as if nothing was wrong. Later, when they were alone and hopefully in each other’s arms, he would tell her everything.

Smiling, he set her glass of wine on the table and took his seat. Dinner was already being served, which always seemed to promote mindless but easy conversation at a table. Just as he suspected, the couple to his right commented on how tender their filets were and how the particular vintage they were drinking complimented their meal exactly.

He reached under the table and found Erin’s hand in her lap. She tensed when he touched her, a response that was foreign to him. Her body was always so responsive, so willing to reciprocate his touch with either a soft caress or intense passion. But now she seemed to be a million miles away, making Chase question his decision to wait until after the benefit to share his past with her.

“Did you know she was coming?” Erin asked, though her voice was only slightly above a whisper.

There was no reason to be coy. Erin had met the Greens earlier in the week. It wouldn’t be difficult to figure out that the woman sitting between Victoria and Edward was their daughter. “No, I had no idea she would show up here.”

Erin took a sip of her wine and finally looked over at him. “I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel threatened.”

He felt his heart swell as he gazed into her beautiful blue eyes. “I belong to you and you alone.”

She blushed. The sudden color to her face was a relief, as it suggested that her distant demeanor may have come to an end. “I must sound like an insecure…jealous…”

“Stop. I can assure you that if the tables were turned, and your ex was the one who walked through those doors, I would need Steven and half the security team to dissuade me, physically most likely, not to approach him and reiterate to him and anyone who would listen that you are mine.”

She squeezed his hand from beneath the table. “I’m sorry. I was just so surprised and overwhelmed by my own selfish feelings that I didn’t even consider how awkward it must be for you to see her after all this time.”

This was the moment of truth, when he should have excused himself and Erin, taken her to the hotel room he had rented for the night, and told her about his relationship with Gabrielle and his trip to California. But for whatever reason, cowardice most likely, he simply smiled and kissed her, never confirming or denying what she had said.

And it was because of that silence, those few sacred seconds, that he would lose her.

G
abrielle excused herself from the bland conversation that was taking place between her parents and a couple they had recently vacationed with in Italy, and made her way to the terrace. Chase had just concluded his speech about cancer awareness and the foundation and was finally unattended. Erin Whitley was nowhere in sight.

Gabrielle watched as Chase worked his magic with a group of very wealthy donors, though it was not a difficult feat. He could charm the most hardened of individuals, both men and women, into giving him what he wanted. It was one of his most appealing qualities, and again she wondered what had prompted her to stray when she was with him. Gabrielle quickly pushed that thought aside, as it was both unproductive and painful. Rehashing only opened up old wounds, scars that needed to remain firmly intact.

She waited until he was alone to approach. From behind, she said, “Your father would be proud of what you accomplished here tonight.”

Gabrielle saw his back stiffen as he turned around. “You failed to mention in California that you would be coming here tonight.”

His eyes seemed vacant, devoid of the warmth and passion that she had once enjoyed. Gabrielle didn’t like the fact that his apparent lack of enthusiasm severely hurt her pride. She needed to refocus and fixate on the one and only reason that brought her here. Chase deserved to suffer, and Gabrielle was confident that she had the power to bring about the right level of pain.

“I only found out this morning that my photo shoot suddenly got moved to next week. I thought it would be nice to surprise my parents and support my mom at the same time.” Gabrielle put on her best wounded-bird face. Chase stared at her, as if wondering if she was full of shit. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Gabrielle said, “She is lovely, Chase. Even more beautiful than you described.”

Chase glanced around the banquet hall and then moved toward her. “I think it would be best if you two don’t cross paths,” he said. “Let’s give the past the respect it deserves and leave it in the past.”

Gabrielle peered over his shoulder and discovered that a very concerned-looking Erin Whitley was approaching. She waited until Erin was in earshot to respond to Chase. Gabrielle batted her eyelashes and feigned innocence. “Chase, I’m not the one who jumped on a plane for California to discuss our past. You might be surprised to see me here tonight. But that doesn’t even compare to the shock I felt this week when I opened my front door to see you standing on my porch. You ask me why I have come here to this benefit. That’s easy. To support my mother, a breast cancer survivor.” Gabrielle tried desperately to withhold the smirk that truly wanted to spread across her face. Erin looked from Gabrielle to Chase, her eyes already filling up.

“You know why I came to you this week. I…”

“But I don’t,” Erin interrupted.

Gabrielle watched Chase instantly deflate. He closed his eyes as all the color rushed from his face. He turned around to see his girlfriend looking at him, the pain and fear of betrayal clearly evident in those piercing blue eyes of hers. He reached for Erin’s hand, but she stepped back, bumping into a waiter carrying a tray of empty champagne flutes. Several glasses fell to the floor and shattered. Clutching her purse, Erin mumbled something to the embarrassed-looking waiter and hurried to the door.

Gabrielle reached for Chase’s arm. “Chase, wait. Let me talk to her. I can explain to her why you came to California.”

“No, you’ve done enough.” He took her by the arm and pulled her into the hallway, away from prying eyes. Gabrielle was surprised that Chase stayed for a moment and didn’t go running after Erin. “You planned this, didn’t you? Everything you told me in California—that you were happy that I have found someone—that you were sorry for everything that had happened, was bullshit. Wasn’t it?”

There was no need to keep up the charade any longer. The seed of doubt had been planted in Erin’s mind. Erin’s abrupt departure from the benefit told Gabrielle that its roots had already taken hold and would not be withering away anytime soon, if ever. “You think I could have pulled this off all by myself?” she asked, smiling at confused and what appeared to be desperate eyes.

When he didn’t respond, she added, “Seems you have some competition. Erin’s ex-boyfriend is quite determined to get her back, says he will do anything to be with her one last time.”

Within seconds, he had her backed into a corner, her breath leaving her. “What did you say?”

She knew that she shouldn’t be feeling this way, but Gabrielle couldn’t dismiss how incredibly sexy he was at that moment, pressed up against her, his voice gruff and demanding.

“Who is he? Is he here?” he asked, his voice sounding panic-stricken.

Gabrielle watched him and wondered why he appeared so rattled. She had expected him to be pissed, crazed with the idea of pummeling someone Erin used to fuck. But it wasn’t jealousy that seemed to engulf him, it was fear.

His reaction left Gabrielle temporarily paralyzed. She didn’t answer him, even when he grabbed her by both arms and pleaded for her to disclose the name of her accomplice. Chase let go of her and pulled out his cell phone. Seconds later, Gabrielle heard him speaking to a man named Andrew.

“Find her, Andrew…she’s everything to me.” Chase ended the call and looked at Gabrielle.

Again, she pushed her wounded pride aside and allowed her anger to be front and center. “She’s a big girl, Chase,” Gabrielle said.

“You have no idea what you’ve done, do you? Tell me who this ex-boyfriend is.”

“Why don’t you ask Erin about the company she keeps?” Gabrielle straightened her dress and smiled. It had been rumpled as a result of Chase’s inquisition. “Fascinating. She doesn’t come across as his type at all.”

Chase had never wanted to inflict pain on a woman before. Even when he’d found Gabrielle fucking another guy in the bed they used to share, Chase didn’t have the urge to succumb to such savage thoughts and desires. But this time was different. The woman he was in love with was in danger, and if Gabrielle wasn’t going to reveal the ex-boyfriend’s name, there was no use wasting another minute in Gabrielle’s vile presence.

“I used to spend hours wondering what I did, what I lacked, to make you turn away from me and into the arms of someone else. But the anger that I had has morphed and now it resembles something I can only describe as pity.” Chase looked directly at Gabrielle and wondered how he could have ever loved her. Her beauty was only skin deep, whereas Erin’s encompassed her entire body and soul.

Chase had turned and began to walk away from her when he heard the words he had always suspected would come. “You’re a smart man, Chase. Brilliant, some would say. But you never bothered to do the math, did you?” Through gritted teeth, Gabrielle stood erect and said, “The baby wasn’t yours. You were away on one of your business trips when I conceived my child. You were foolish to believe without question that the baby I carried belonged to you.”

Chase maintained his distance. And though he felt enraged, a part of him finally found solace. It wasn’t like he was happy that she had miscarried a baby. No one, not even Gabrielle, should experience such a loss. Although Gabrielle’s affair had made him doubt whether he was the father of her baby, he had never been absolutely certain, and he couldn’t help but feel that he may have played a key role in his son or daughter’s demise. Until now.

The guilt he had been carrying had made him question whether he could be, or even deserved to be, a father. Now he saw his future. And the only person he wanted to share it with was Erin, the woman who had just left him.

Chase wanted to say something scathing and make Gabrielle wince at the words she deserved to hear. But there was no point, and it occurred to Chase that the heated back-and-forth was probably what she wanted. Instead, Chase smiled and said, “Good-bye, Gabrielle.”

Her reaction was priceless, though he wasted no time to savor her stunned silence, let alone the sight of her jaw nearly touching the marble floor. Chase reached for the cell phone that was now buzzing in his pocket, turned away from Gabrielle and walked out of her life once and for all.