“Hey, there was spotty service and she hung up and rushed over here before I could tell her it was just your leg. Besides, I figured you’d want her to know.”

Yeah, he did. But he didn’t know she’d react that way. Now he was on the brink of losing her for good. Maybe he already had— No. He wasn’t giving up on his mission. It was his most important one yet.

“I’ll make it work,” Gage said.

“Uh-huh. Because you know what’s best, and surely you can waltz in and out and Chloe will fall in line.”

Gage glared at him. It’d already been a long day, and now East was pulling this shit again. “What’s your problem?”

But East came back with his own glare. “Watching you screw this up from day one is getting annoying. Chloe doesn’t do commitment. She doesn’t wait around. And you want both from her just on the promise that you can make it work.”

“Yes!” Gage slammed his hand on the bed. “I have to make it work, East.” He took a deep breath. “I love her.”

East’s eyes shot wide. “Well, hell. That puts you in a big shit storm then.”

“I have to talk to her. She’s mad I was going to go back out. Now I’m not since the parents were found, so problem solved.”

“Man, you are thick,” East said. “If you think that’s your problem, you’re in bigger trouble than I thought.”

“She’ll understand I couldn’t have sat around and done nothing while people were in trouble.”

“Oh, I agree. She’ll understand—in fact, I bet she already does understand. But it doesn’t change that you fucked up. You put the need to be there for others before taking care of yourself. You know you shouldn’t have gone back out. You would’ve told any of us if we were injured to not go because we’d put everyone at risk going out with an injury. You’ve got something way worse than hero syndrome. This is bordering on suicidal. And the worst part is that you’ve got a woman screaming at you with a reason to wake up and see what you’re doing, and you don’t give a shit.”

Gage scowled. “Yes I do!”

“Then stop putting yourself before her. Fuck, stop putting yourself before both of you. If you want to be a couple, you have to stop thinking about what you need. This is about more than you. It’s about both of you now. It has nothing to do with your job. You’re showing her she can’t trust you to make a smart decision.”

East’s words hit really fucking deep and Gage almost choked on the realization. He was right. Chloe was terrified of commitment, yet she’d dropped everything that mattered to her to be here for him. And all he’d told her was to wait.

“I really fucked up,” Gage said.

East clapped his hands together. “Ding, ding, ding! Now you’re getting it.”

Only now, Gage had to do something about it.

Chapter Twelve

“Damn!” Chloe threw the wooden spoon across the room. She wasn’t one for dramatics, but she couldn’t take any more. The event was in twenty minutes and she was on her final attempt of crab cakes—and it was more burned than the last batch because she’d left it to run to the hospital only to have her heart broken.

She looked around her restaurant’s kitchen. Guests were arriving downstairs and she’d have to welcome them soon. Without crab cakes, success, or Gage. She was alone.

The place was quiet and smelled like burned crab cakes and failure. And the stupid part was that she was still waiting.

Waiting for him to come back.

Waiting for him to make it better.

It hurt just thinking of him, because a part of her had been waiting this whole time.

Was this what it had been like for her mom? She’d always assumed her dad had been a jerk who never deserved her mom’s love. But maybe there’d been something more there. Gage was the man who’d broken down her walls and made her greatest dreams and fears come true.

And I told him I couldn’t take this…

Someone knocked on the door, and she bit back the sob. She ran to the door and opened it, unable to snuff out the spark of hope that it might be Gage.

It wasn’t. Why would it be? He was gone. She’d made sure of that.

“Hey,” Natalie said.

“Hi,” Chloe whispered back.

“Everything okay?”

“Nope,” she answered honestly. “I still can’t make these right.”

Natalie pulled her into a hug. “You know, the food is covered and everything is all ready to go. The chef nailed all of your mom’s other appetizers, and the new menu items are set. If you don’t have the crab cakes, no one will notice.”

“That’s not the point,” she whispered.

“I know.”

Natalie was trying to help, but Chloe just felt worse. She wanted to make something, feel that connection again with her mother, but she couldn’t. The dish had beaten her. The reality was Chloe didn’t have anything in common with her mother other than getting too attached to people who didn’t want her back.

“This was going to be my one thing,” she said against Natalie’s shoulder.

“I know.”

Chloe shook her head, wiped her eyes, and stepped back. “I’m going to go down there. Everyone is waiting.”

She also needed a break from thinking. And failing. And reality.

“I just need a sec to freshen my makeup.”

“Okay,” Natalie whispered. “I’ll be right down there with you if you need me.”

She nodded and shut the door behind her friend. Everything was geared up to go without a problem. Except Chloe was still alone and had accomplished nothing.

Chapter Thirteen

Gage went through the back door of the restaurant and snuck around to the kitchen. He’d technically committed robbery tonight. Though he was calling it “borrowing a set of clean scrubs that were left out at the hospital.” But he’d been dirty and his pants were muddy and ripped, and he couldn’t show up to Chloe’s restaurant like that. He also couldn’t spare much time. So blue scrubs it was! He didn’t exactly look the part of “the good doctor,” but at least he was clean.

He’d come as quickly as he could. Tonight was important to Chloe. Not only would he be here, he’d set right what he should have two weeks ago.

He hoped he wasn’t too late since he’d made a stop on the way, but he needed to do something big if he wanted to make up for confirming every one of Chloe’s worst fears. Better to be late and get it right than on time and ruin it forever.

Everyone looked to be having a good time and chatting. Technically the place had been open for the event for the past hour, so maybe fashionably late would be okay. Point was, he’d made it. And the stop beforehand would be worth it…he hoped.

He stayed in the shadows between the bar and kitchen. Everyone was on the main floor, and that’s when he spotted her.

Chloe.

She was beautiful. Her dress, hair, face—she was the loveliest woman he’d ever seen. She spoke with everyone, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes. In fact, her gaze looked a little glossy.

And it was his fault.

She moved through the crowd so gracefully it made his heart jump, but she didn’t see him. Not yet.

Didn’t matter. She was his—always had been. And he had to make this work.

Finally, she headed toward the kitchen…

“Sweetheart,” he said as soon as she stepped inside.

Chloe jumped. “What are you doing here?”

He slid the small covered dish he’d brought toward her. “This is for you.”

She frowned at the dish and shook her head. “Are you okay?” She covered her mouth. “Is the family okay? Did you find her parents?”

“The parents are fine. They’re all together again.”

She nodded. “So you did your job.”

“Actually, I didn’t go back out. The team I trained found the parents.”

He watched her chest rise and fall on a heavy breath. She cared about him. Worried about him. And he’d made her worry more.