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.
She frowned and her eyes ran the length of him. “Um, Gage…what are you wearing?”
He glanced down the front of himself. “Scrubs.”
“Uh-huh.” She looked him over again.
“What? You’re not into the doctor look?”
A small smile broke her lips. “You look like a GI Joe dressed up to play doctor, right after you jump out of a helicopter and meet the A-Team for a rendezvous at headquarters.”
Well, that was better than her telling him he looked like a jackass. Because he felt like one.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I would have dressed up. I really am so sorry, and I just needed to get here. I would have been here sooner, but I—”
“Have a job. People to save. I know. I get it. And I’m not mad about it.”
“Actually, I was going to say I had to make this…” He slid the dish toward her again, and she opened it.
“Crab cakes?” she asked.
“A few days ago Natalie said you were struggling, so she gave me the recipe. I don’t know if they’re exactly like your mom’s, but maybe they’re close?”
Chloe stared into the dish and covered her mouth with her palm. “They look exactly the same. Thank you.” That look in her eye softened. “They’re raw.”
“Well yeah, I put them together, but you are going to cook them.”
“I can’t,” she said.
“Yes, you can.”
“Gage, don’t. I can’t do this with you right now. I have people here and—”
“How much time do you have?”
She shrugged. “Twenty minutes maybe.”
“That’s plenty to cook these. You don’t have to forgive me yet, but these need to be made. Let’s go.”
“I don’t know,” she whispered. There was pain in her voice, and Gage wanted to make it better. The scary thing was, he didn’t know if this would work either. Didn’t know if she’d actually forgive him when this was all done. Didn’t know where they stood or if they had any kind of future at all.
All he knew how to do was to stick to the mission. But now the mission was more than going out into the field. It was about more than saving strangers. When it came to him and Chloe, it was about saving them.
He heated up the skillet in the restaurant’s industrial kitchen. For the moment, they were alone. The faint sounds of the bustling people wafted past them.
“Slow burn,” he said, putting the oil in the pan. “You just have to maintain the steady heat.”
She looked at him, and he saw something sad in her expression. Was this the look she’d described seeing in her mother’s eyes? It was soul shattering. And he’d put that look on her face. He had to fix it. Had to try.
“It’s ready,” he said, gesturing to the pan.
She tentatively reached for one of the crab cakes. He put his hand on top of hers, stilling her for a moment.
“Remember, Chloe. Don’t force it. Just love it.”
She looked at him, and for a moment he thought she was going to cry, but then she gently set the crab cake in the oil. Her eyes widened as she watched the appetizer slowly brown.
“Flip it,” he instructed.
She did.
The golden color was perfect and in a few moments, it was done.
She scooped it out and placed it on a serve tray.
“It looks perfect,” she said. She made the next, then the next, while Gage watched her. She was doing it. On her own. The question was, would Chloe want to be on her own in everything from here on out?
Before he could voice that one question, that one fear, Natalie stepped in and said it was time for Chloe’s speech.
With the last crab cake finished, Gage couldn’t give her a reason to delay going out there.