“What happened before now is in the past, Mike. I see no reason to revisit it.”
“You treat my little girl with respect, Gabriel.” Mike looked absolutely furious with him and Gabe knew that the man’s anger was completely justifiable. “You’ve both been carrying on doing God knows what for weeks now and she’s clearly been miserable! So you show her the respect she deserves from now on.”
“Yes, sir.” Gabe nodded. “You have my word on that.”
They heard the murmur of Bobbi’s and Billy’s voices outside the door, and after giving him one last warning look, Mike turned to face the door as it swung inward to reveal his two youngest children.
Gabe looked up too and was helpless to prevent the smile that curled his lips when he caught sight of Bobbi. He kept his eyes on her pretty face, not wanting to acknowledge that familiar, ugly dress of hers until he absolutely had to. She looked nervous and when she met his eyes; he winked at her to put her at ease. He made his way to her side and put his arm around her waist, laying an unmistakable claim before he looked up to meet first her father’s and then her brother’s eyes, arranging his expression to show them nothing but absolute possessiveness. His message was unmistakable: Mine.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
He took her to a four-star restaurant at the Hidden Valley wineries in Stellenbosch. Bobbi had heard about the place, of course. It was one of the top ten restaurants in the country, with excellent food, wine, and absolutely incomparable scenery. It was nearly an hour-long drive to the place, but they managed to get there in time to be seated, just before sunset, at a table that overlooked the entire valley.
“It’s so pretty here,” she said reverently, and he reached across the table to cover her hand with his. They sat in silence and watched the sky catch fire and go from gold to scarlet to deep crimson and then fade into shades of pink, purple, and violet. The clouds were daubed in lighter pinks and lavenders and looked like a painter’s palette above the spectacular Helderberg Mountains.
The waitstaff remained at a discreet distance, allowing them to enjoy the sunset and only after twilight had fallen over the valley, did they come and take their order.
Gabe kept staring at her, throughout their starter course of delicious chilled asparagus velouté, and Bobbi self-consciously fiddled with the stem of her wineglass. She took a sip of the refreshing Semillon to calm her nerves and was aware of the fact that her hands were shaky.
“Stop staring,” she whispered, and he grinned.
“I was waiting for you to call me out on that,” he admitted with that irresistible charm that she found so lovable about him.
“Well, why do you keep doing it?” she demanded, keeping her voice low.
“Because you’re so damned gorgeous and I’m still trying to figure out how I never saw it before.” He shook his head in disbelief. She smiled shyly and rolled her eyes at him.
“Maybe because you were always too busy staring at all the beautiful women in the room,” she said pointedly, and he thought about it for a moment before nodding.
“You’re probably right,” he acknowledged, before quite deliberately looking around the room at all the elegant, lovely women seated at the other tables. “Well, none of those present here tonight, so I guess I’m stuck staring at you.”
“You’re such a liar,” she groaned, and his eyes went deadly serious.
“I mean it,” he emphasized. “There’s really no other woman here tonight that I’d rather be looking at.”
“You don’t have to lay it on so thick,” she said, trying to keep the cynicism out of her voice. “I know you’re trying, Gabe. But there’s no need to pretend I’m something that I’m not.”
Gabe bit back a frustrated groan and smiled at her. It was going to take work to convince her of his sincerity, he knew that—but it was worth the effort. He wanted this to succeed. He had honestly thought that her dress and the ugly jewelry and the truly horrific sandals, all of which he had seen on so many other occasions, would bother him. But after that first glance, he had barely given them any other consideration—all he saw was her radiant skin, her luminous amber eyes, and her pink mouth with that plump lower lip. And, of course, that short and messy cap of hair that he always longed to run his fingers through. He wondered how out of line it would be to drag her home with him tonight—mere hours after her father had warned him to treat her with respect. He respected her all right: her mind, her heart, her sexy body, and her ability to drive him crazy in bed.
They finished their starter and for her second course Bobbi had ordered the mushroom vol-au-vent with a pinot noir, and Gabe, who absolutely despised mushrooms, went for the gnocchi, sweetbread, and sage sauté, accompanied by a delicious chenin blanc.
“Chase has become weirdly obsessed with some reality TV show about B- and C-list celebs learning how to ballroom dance.” He remembered what he’d been dying to tell her before. She choked on her wine before looking up at him with wide eyes.
“Seriously?”
“He’s even rooting for some of the contestants. He’s been watching marathons and back seasons.” Bobbi did a slow, disbelieving blink that he found inordinately adorable before she dissolved into unladylike snorts of laughter. Gabe loved watching her laugh, she always put her whole body into it—he used to tickle her when they were kids just to hear it. He especially enjoyed the cute snorts that went with the convulsive giggling. As he watched her erupt, he realized that he hadn’t heard her laugh like this in too long and that it had been wholly his fault.
“I know that show,” she said between gasps. Her giggles were starting to attract glances from the other tables. Some people seemed entertained by her amusement; others looked haughty, and Gabe found that he didn’t give even the slightest damn about what any of them thought. She was a bloody delight to behold, and people could bask in her radiance or go to hell.
“He’s totally hooked,” Gabe said dryly. “I’m pretty sure I’ll come home one of these days to find him practicing the cha-cha-cha with Letty.” That set her off again and this time her laughter was so infectious that Gabe joined in with a few wry chuckles.
“Truth be told, I’m happy he’s found a diversion,” Gabe said after the laughter had faded to just the occasional snicker from Bobbi. “I think he has lacked focus since he’s been home and I’ve been concerned about him going into some kind of depression, but weirdly enough this TV show seems to be the distraction he requires.”
“He needs a break, Gabe, and maybe this is his way of switching off his brain for a bit,” she offered and he nodded.
“That’s exactly what I thought,” Gabe said.
“Still, it’s hard to imagine him watching something so fluffy.” Chase had always been into the hard-hitting news programs and documentaries.
“I prefer it to him watching anything remotely connected to the Middle East right now.”
“You’re terrified he’ll leave again, aren’t you?” she observed, and Gabe sighed. She knew him so well she could almost always read what was on his mind. It was something that he had taken for granted before—just one of the many things about Bobbi he’d never truly appreciated.
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “He’s been telling me a little about what had happened on this last assignment and it’s not pretty. He had lost his objectivity and had gotten too closely involved with a woman and her young daughter. He tried to help them get out and from what I can gather—he finds it difficult to go into too much detail—it ended badly. He’s in such a truly dark place right now, that I don’t think he’d come back alive if he left again in his current frame of mind. So if all he does all day is watch terrible reality TV for the next few weeks or months until he’s figured out what his next step will be, then I’m all for it.”
“Maybe he’ll start taking ballroom dancing lessons,” she said, striving to lighten the mood, despite her own concern for Chase. She forced a laugh that soon became genuine, as she recalled something from their childhood. “Remember that time
your mum forced you guys to go to ballet classes?”
“Funny you should mention that,” he chuckled, before telling her the related story about their former hero participating in the same show Chase was hooked on. The rest of the evening passed swiftly and was filled with good food, banter, and ever-increasing sexual tension as their delightful dinner dawdled to an end. By the time Gabe escorted her to the Jeep, which he preferred driving to her old clunker, she was tipsy and just aglow with happiness. He held out a hand to help her climb into the passenger seat and felt a dart of ever-present awareness when her fingers closed around his. He couldn’t resist tugging her close to plant a quick kiss on her luscious lips before handing her into the car and shutting the door behind her. He took a moment to draw in a calming breath before darting around the front of the car and climbing into the driver’s seat.
The long drive home was conducted mostly in silence, the Jeep’s radio was broken and neither of them seemed inclined to fill the quiet with inane chatter. It was a companionable silence that was both familiar and welcome.
“I’ve never asked you this before,” Bobbi said twenty minutes into that comfortable silence, when they were still quite a distance from home. He spared her a quick glance and noted that she was curled up on her side and facing him.
“What?”
“Why do you rearrange the condiments everywhere we go?” she asked. “I’ve been wondering for years and I can’t believe I never got around to asking you before now.” Gabe watched the road as he considered her question.
“I don’t know . . . I just like to have the bottles lined up according to size, it just looks neater and feels less cluttered. You don’t know this about me, but I have the pens and pencils in my desk organizer at work arranged according to size as well. My shoes and ties according to color . . .”
“You used to alphabetize the toys on your room shelves,” she recalled, and he grinned self-consciously, feeling like a freak. “You went crazy once when Billy put your GI Joe doll next to your Spiderman doll.”
“Firstly they weren’t dolls, they were action figures,” he corrected, and she snorted.
“Whatever floats your boat.” She shrugged.
“And secondly GI Joe was sandwiched between my Frankenstein jigsaw puzzle and my Houdini magic set . . . there were at least eight toys separating GI Joe from Spiderman. There was a clear system and he deliberately messed it up. And thirdly, I didn’t freak out . . . I merely kicked him out of my room and told him to play in Chase’s room if he wanted to mess stuff up.”
“You wouldn’t let him back in for a month!”
“How do you even remember this?” he asked in disbelief. “Weren’t you like five or something?”
“I was six.” The boys had been eleven and had drifted onto more mature interests just a year after that spat.
“Anyway, I like to have everything in its place.”
Bobbi reflected on those words for a moment, remembering what he had said that terrible night at the football game.
How would you fit into my life? he had asked. Where would I even put you?
He needed to have everything in its place and that night he had had the equivalent of a panic attack not knowing where she slotted into his life anymore. And with her standing in front of him, bruised and bleeding, his panic had ratcheted up several notches. It was odd how clearly she could see that now.
“I always figured it had something to do with my father leaving,” he volunteered. Surprised by the additional information, she sat up straight. Gabe, never spoke about his father. Neither did Chase for that matter. Bobbi had known that he had left, of course, but she had never asked for the details. She didn’t press him now, merely sat and waited. “He didn’t say good-bye, you know? Just snuck out like a thief in the night. One day he was there and the next he wasn’t, and Mum spent day after day closeted away in her room crying.
“Chase and I were only eight.” It was the year before the Richmonds had moved in next to the Braddocks. “And our world just fell apart. One day everything made sense and the next it didn’t. Nothing felt permanent or safe and according to my mum, I started rearranging things in the closets and kitchen cupboards a couple of months after that. When it proved too hard to control the communal areas in the house, I focused only on my room. The habit stuck with me. If I don’t maintain complete governance over every minute detail of my surroundings, I feel like things are spiraling out of control.”
“Did you ever hear from him again?” she asked softly, and he flicked her a sideways glance.
“Who? My father?”
“Yes.”
“We get a Christmas card and a birthday card—one between the two of us—from him every year.” Bobbi couldn’t help the surprised sound that emerged from her throat.
“You never mentioned that before,” she said, and he shrugged.
“It’s not important. He’s a narcissist. He never makes any kind of polite inquiry as to how we are, but always assumes that we must be dying to know what his latest adventure is. The reality is that both Chase and I lost interest years ago, but it would never occur to Leighton Braddock that maybe his sons don’t want to know about his awesome trips to far-flung places. I’m sure he imagines we think he’s the coolest dad in the world.” A reluctant laugh huffed from him. “He’s such an arse. I don’t even think he realizes that Mum has divorced him and remarried. I’m pretty sure if he ever swans back here someday he expects to reconcile with his lovely wife and have amazing relationships with his adoring sons.”
“Ooh,” Bobbi said, wincing, keeping her tone light. “It would almost be worth it just to see him get a huge dose of reality smacked in his face.”
They lapsed back into silence for the remainder of the drive as Bobbi reflected upon what she had just learned. She knew Gabe better than most people but had never known how badly his father’s abandonment had affected him. Learning that she didn’t know everything there was to know about him was kind of exciting. It was like listening to a much-loved CD for the hundredth time only to unexpectedly discover a beautiful, hidden track at the end.
She glanced out of the window when the car took a turn and saw that they were on their street. Her heart sank when Gabe bypassed his gate and drove to hers. Security let them in and he didn’t say anything as he maneuvered the Jeep up the long drive toward the house and drew it to a stop in front of the steps leading up to the front door.
“Should I come over later?” she asked in an unsteady voice, and his hands tightened perceptibly on the steering wheel, while he kept his face forward.
“I would love that,” he muttered before turning to face her. “But . . . I don’t want us to rush this.”
“Gabe . . . that cat’s been out of the bag for a while now,” she teased, and his teeth gleamed in the dark as he grinned.
“And what a pretty cat it is. One that I would love to pet and stroke and play with.”
She choked and blushed furiously. “Uh . . .” She was at a complete loss for words.
“But we’re doing it right this time, Bobbi. So you stuff that gorgeous little pussy . . . cat right back in the bag.”
“Enough with the cat analogies,” she groaned.
“You started it,” he pointed out. “I merely ran with it.”
She shook her head and slammed a palm to her face.
“You going to give me a good-night kiss?” he asked huskily, and she dipped her head coyly.
“Only if you walk me to the door,” she retorted.
“It’ll be my pleasure.” He leapt out of the Jeep and hurried around to help her down like she was one of his elegant blondes and Bobbi thrilled at the gentlemanly treatment. He took her hand and placed it in the crook of his elbow before walking her up the short flight of stairs and onto the well-lit porch.
He stopped right in front of the door and turned to face her, maintaining a frustratingly polite distance between their bodies.
“I had a great evening,” he said.
&
nbsp; “Me too.”
“Does that mean you’ll be willing to go out with me again?” he asked, and she rolled her eyes.
“Of course.”
“Good.” His eyes dropped to her mouth and his tongue wet his lips. Her eyes followed the movement hungrily. He stepped closer to her and inhaled deeply, then exhaled on a shuddery breath before cupping her neck with his palms. He used his thumbs to tilt her jaw and she barely had time to reflect upon how much the masterful gesture turned her on before his lips dropped onto hers for a drugging, sucking, gentle kiss that obliterated her thought processes until all she could do was enjoy the sensuality of his expert mouth.
The kiss demanded nothing and left her wanting so much more. When he lifted his mouth, hers followed his blindly until he stood upright and removed the temptation from her reach.
“I’ll pick up my car at lunchtime,” he said, and she was in too much of a daze to do anything other than nod. “And we can have lunch together?”
“Lunch. Yes.” She nodded again.
“Good night, Bobbi mine,” he said, and the endearment had her smiling radiantly and truly feeling like his after the wonderful evening they had just enjoyed together.
“Yes, good night,” she repeated. He stood there unmoving and she gazed up at him dreamily.
“Aren’t you going in?” he asked, and she snapped out of her haze and flushed.
“Uh, yes. Of course!” She fumbled with the lock and opened the door . . . eventually.
“See you tomorrow.” She stepped inside and he nodded. “Good night.” She closed the door before he could respond, quickly reset the alarm, and then stood on tiptoe to peer out of the peephole, wanting to see what he did next. He was smiling as he turned away and when he went down the stairs, he did so with a bounce in his step that she recognized as happiness.
She hugged that knowledge to her chest as she floated up to her room. He was happy. She had done that. Even if this relationship of theirs was doomed, she would not have exchanged tonight for anything else in the world.
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