Gabriel would be at his hotel. It was Friday, but he’d finished most of his business or handed it over to Ryan. Gabriel had a day off and planned to work out in the hotel gym. Without stopping to call him, she headed straight for the Tube station and took the first train to his hotel.
Hopefully, in going to Gabriel she was making the right choice. And not the biggest mistake of her life.
He ran, man against machine. Boring as hell. Staring at the monitor on the treadmill, challenging himself to beat the record set by someone who’d been here before him at the hotel gym. Why he needed to win, he couldn’t say. Habit maybe? Gabriel had always been motivated to win, even when he wasn’t sure why he was running a particular race.
In business, he was often competing with himself rather than a competitor. There was often no need to push himself so hard. He slowed his pace a fraction. Now he’d organised to slow down the usually frenetic pace of his life, he worried he might be bored, or drive himself crazy. But he had to try.
He’d been running for fifty minutes when he heard someone call his name. A woman’s voice. He was in the zone and didn’t look up immediately. Until she was right in his face, standing in front of the treadmill.
“Kitty.” He lifted his head and acknowledged her but continued to jog.
What did she want now? He’d met with her and answered hundreds of questions already.
“Gabriel, so glad I caught you.” She tilted her head and her lips stretched out tight, smiling without humour.
He didn’t miss the inflection in her voice, as if she’d caught him doing something dirty. The way her eyes roved over his chest, partially exposed by the athletic singlet he wore, made him feel like a piece of meat. The rumour around town said Kitty was shopping for husband number three.
Oh, shit.
He might have made it to the top of her shopping list. Not somewhere he aspired to be. Both of her previous husbands were dead, for one thing. They’d been older businessmen and loaded. She was probably changing her specs, looking for a younger model. Pity for her, Gabriel didn’t find her style of cold, manufactured beauty attractive.
Sinead’s image flashed in his mind, the way she’d looked that morning, all bare creamy skin, soft and sleepy in bed. No comparison. Sinead was the one he wanted, the only woman he’d ever wanted to wake up next to.
He wiped sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. “Can I help you with something? I’m not actually working today.”
“I need your help with a few last-minute decisions about the cocktail party tomorrow night. I tried to talk to Ryan but his assistant said he was unavailable.” She rolled her eyes, apparently finding it unbelievable Ryan, or anyone, would be unavailable to her.
He raised his eyebrows as he continued a slow jog. “Is this going to take long? I’ve got things to do today.”
Not entirely true, but she didn’t need to know. He had a few errands to run, including picking up a gift he’d bought for Sinead a few days ago. He didn’t want to go back to Melbourne without her, but a gift might help to show her he was serious about continuing their relationship, even long-distance. He’d found something he thought she’d like. Something special.
Kitty crossed her arms over her chest, looking impatient. “I only need half an hour. Do you think you could stop running?”
“Okay, fine. But give me a few minutes to shower. I’ll meet you in the café.”
She titled her head, smiling with one side of her mouth. “Can’t we go up to your suite? There’s some budget figures I’d like to show you. You have a laptop upstairs with a secure company login, don’t you?”
The request was reasonable enough, seeing as Gabriel often held meetings in his hotel suites whenever he was travelling. But the way her eyes had widened, overly innocent, made him wonder if she had ulterior motives, trying to get him alone. No matter, he was a big boy. There was no way anything was going to happen with her. The sooner he got the meeting over with, the sooner she could leave.
“Fine, come upstairs. We can walk and talk.” He hopped off the treadmill and grabbed his gym towel. He slung it over his shoulders, wiping his face and chest.
Kitty watched the action, her gaze lingering on his biceps. He rubbed at his skin, feeling suddenly filthy. Not in a good way, like Sinead meant it. He ushered her out towards the elevators.
Kitty’s smile was genuine this time, but it was all teeth, like a predatory animal.
Sinead knocked on the door to Gabriel’s hotel suite, not sure whether he’d be in. He might be down in the gym or he could have gone out, seeing as he had a day off. After a few seconds, the lock clicked and the door swung inwards.
Sinead jumped. A woman stood in the doorway with a smug expression on her face. Kitty’s red-slicked lips quirked upwards as she leaned against the doorframe, casually hoiking up her cleavage in her low-cut top. Then the woman made a show of running one of her long talon-like fingertips along her lower lip, wiping away lipstick like congealed blood.
Smudged lipstick.
It didn’t take a genius to do some basic maths. A messed-up Kitty plus Gabriel’s private hotel room equalled bad news.
Kitty tossed her black hair back. “Hello again. Sinead, isn’t it? Look at you in your little hostess outfit. So cute.”
The blatant condescension in Kitty’s voice was enough to make Sinead want to either slap the woman’s face, or burst into tears and run away. But she wouldn’t give the cow the satisfaction. Sinead ignored her, refusing to speak to Kitty.
“Gabriel?” Sinead called his name, loudly, peering over Kitty’s shoulder into the suite.
She couldn’t see him anywhere. Please don’t be in the bedroom or the shower.
Sinead didn’t want to believe Gabriel would betray her, not after the night they’d shared, but she’d been disappointed before. Her judgement had sometimes been way off when it came to men she cared about. Men she loved.
“Sinead?”
Hearing his voice was a relief, but when he stepped into view in the living area, she had to take a deep breath. He was wearing a fluffy white bathrobe and apparently nothing underneath. His golden hair was wet, slicked back from his face and his feet were bare. Why were his feet so sexy? He was freshly showered and delicious. If they were alone, she would’ve jumped on him. But it looked as if Kitty had beaten her to it.
Her heart dropped like a lucky penny in the gutter. Yet another man had taken her in, treated her like a possession – one he was apparently ready to dispose of as easily as a dirty pair of socks at the end of the day.
Sinead rubbed her own arms, suddenly cold. “How could you? After last night? You said you wanted me. You wanted us to be together, always.”
The short-lived satisfaction of seeing Kitty eyes widen in shock, didn’t make up for the look on Gabriel’s face. Pure outrage.
Gabriel marched across the room towards the door, thunder in his expression, furiously shaking his head. He was going to deny it. Sinead may have been gullible, but she wasn’t a glutton for punishment. No, if he wanted Kitty, he could have her.
She was out of there so fast, she was already inside the lift before he made it out into the corridor. The tears came quickly, rolling down her face, not stopping when she heard Gabriel yelling for her to wait, or when he shouted at Kitty to get out of his way.
The lift doors closed and Sinead couldn’t help feeling they closed a chapter of her life.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done? What the hell do you want, Kitty?”
Gabriel couldn’t contain his rage, not this time. He slammed his fist against the wall next to the door. His hand smarted, so he shook it. Breathing hard, he leaned his forehead against the cool plaster.
Kitty had probably ruined his chances with Sinead once and for all, and for what? So Kitty could try to bag and tag him? He’d made it clear he wasn’t interested every time she’d come onto him.
Kitty had managed to wrangle an invitation up to his room, then he’d set her up with hi
s laptop on the dining table. He’d excused himself to shower after his workout and expected her to access the budget files and get to work, or grab a coffee while she waited.
But she busted into the bathroom when he stepped out of the shower, laying a sloppy kiss on him. He’d pushed her away and told her to get out, but not before she’d copped an eye-full of him naked. And then Sinead had arrived.
God, he was as angry at himself as he was with Kitty. He knew what she was like and he was stupid enough to have taken her at her word.
Her voice came too close to his ear. “I thought you’d be sick of the air hostess by now and you’d be ready to move on to a real woman.”
Gabriel clenched his fists by his sides and moved slowly to face her. Kitty stood with hands on hips, defiant and challenging him to take her on.
He’d take her on, but not the way she intended. If she put him to the test, she’d lose. He raked his hands through his hair and looked her dead in the eye.
“So help me, Kitty, if you don’t get out of here … I’m going to ruin you. I’ve told Ryan he shouldn’t work with you because you’re unprofessional and underhand, but I could go much further. Your business is built on a good reputation. I have a lot of contacts who’d be interested to know you’ve been sexually harassing me.”
He paused and stared Kitty down, letting his words sink in. The male and female roles were reversed from the usual situation, but it was still harassment. Her eyes widened and she gasped. Finally, he was getting through to her.
“I’ve told you more than once, I’m not interested in you. But you kept coming onto me. In fact, you knew I was seeing Sinead. She’s my girlfriend. Get it into your head. You and me? It was business. Now we’re done. After tomorrow night I never want anything to do with you.” He only wished he didn’t have to attend the cocktail party at all.
Kitty narrowed her eyes. It was probably supposed to be threatening, but he wasn’t buying it.
He pointed at the door. “Get out.”
To his utter relief, Kitty spun on her towering heels and scurried out, slamming the door behind her. He didn’t give her another moment of his attention. He had to focus on getting Sinead back, to explain.
I love Sinead.
The words had been in the back of his mind lately, and again when he told off Kitty. In the heat of the moment, the truth. He had to convince Sinead of his feelings, but he knew it would be tough.
The men in her life had treated Sinead like dirt and she probably expected the same from him. He’d disappointed her, badly.
Now it was time to make sure she’d never doubt him again. Because if the incident with Kitty had proven anything, it was this – Sinead’s feelings, her love, were the most important things in the world to him. He wouldn’t give her up without a fight.
Sinead stomped down the street, blindly sloshing through puddles. She hadn’t wanted to go home, if you could call the place home anymore. Her flat was no longer a safe haven. In less than twenty-four hours, she’d discovered her home had been invaded, her sister had stolen from her, and it was likely her stalker ex had been in her flat and touched her personal possessions. Now he could be coming after her. It sickened her. All of it.
She’d most likely have to move again. It had been a pattern of her life for the last five years, running from Padraig, finding a new life and getting settled, only to have him come breathing down her neck again. She’d thought it was all over. This thing with Gabriel, the rush of emotions, it had made her forget for a while. But that couldn’t last.
Now Gabriel had gone and cheated on her with Kitty, a creature she’d known was trouble from the first second she’d laid eyes on her. Her insides were raw, like she’d swallowed acid, and the tears wouldn’t stop falling.
Her legs carried her a few streets over to one of her favourite London cafés, not far from Gabriel’s hotel. She glanced up at the sign. Nude Espresso in Soho Square.
She’d settled into a black leather banquette seat with a café latte, before she realised this was the place she’d mentioned to Gabriel on the flight to London. Before they’d been diverted to Singapore, when they first spoke. Nude Espresso. Teasing and flirting, both aware of the frisson of attraction. They’d butted heads but still clicked right from the beginning. Within a day, he’d crept into the empty space in her heart.
Sinead wouldn’t ever feel it again. No one would take his place. Pain ripped through her stomach and caused another sob to escape her throat.
“Can I get you anything else?” A young woman barista with a sleek bob of black hair stood by Sinead’s table and gazed at her, forehead creased with concern.
“Oh, a new heart. Mine seems to be broken.” Sinead wiped her wet cheeks and tried for a happy face. It hurt.
“You poor thing, I know how it goes. How about some chocolate mud cake?”
“Now you’re talking. Bring cake. Stat.”
The woman nodded. “On the house. Have a trashy magazine too.”
Sinead blinked and accepted the copy of Hello magazine the woman thrust at her. She sat flipping through it, grateful for a distraction. In the background, the barista greeted a customer. Only she wasn’t expecting him to sit right beside her. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second.
She wasn’t sure whether he was real or a figment of her deranged and emotional state of mind. Still, when she rubbed her eyes, there he was in all his glory, wearing faded blue jeans and a battered old leather jacket. A sombre, pinched expression on his face. So handsome it nearly made her cry again. Why did he have to be here?
“Any interesting news in there?” Gabriel asked, frowning at her magazine.
She squinted, tears blurring her vision. “Prince Harry in Brazil, the usual goings-on. How did you find me here?”
“I didn’t find you exactly. I wasn’t sure where to start looking, but I walked this way out of habit. Ever since a stunning flight attendant recommended it, this is my favourite café in London.”
“Don’t flirt with me, not this time. You hurt me. What you did with her – I don’t think I can forgive you.”
She focused on the table and her coffee, avoiding his clear, crystal eyes. Forgiving him was the least of her worries. She could barely forgive herself for trusting him.
“I didn’t do anything with her, please believe me. I told her to never come near me again. You’ve seen what she’s like.” Gabriel paused, resting his forearms on the table. His jacket had disappeared and he rolled up his shirt sleeves. “She showed up in the gym and convinced me she needed to meet about work. I was an idiot for listening, but I let her use my laptop in my suite and asked her to wait while I showered. I’d been running for nearly an hour and I needed one.” He shrugged his shoulders, looking embarrassed.
She wasn’t sure she wanted to know what came next. She stirred her coffee furiously with a teaspoon.
Gabriel’s hand landed on top of hers, stilling her stirring. A little whirlpool still swirled in the milky liquid. “Kitty walked right into the bathroom and tried to kiss me. I pushed her away and told her to get out. Of course, that’s when you arrived. I never did anything to intentionally hurt you, I swear.”
Sinead didn’t know what to make of his explanation. She wanted to believe him and she knew what Kitty was like, true enough. Sinead wouldn’t trust Kitty as far as she could throw her. But could she trust Gabriel? She wanted to, more than anything.
“Was that really what happened? If you had sex with Kitty and I find out you lied to me, it’s over between us. You won’t ever see me again. Do you hear me?”
“I swear, she barged in and tried it on. But I turned her down flat. Sinead, I want to be with you, not her. Not anyone else. I told her to leave and stay away, or I’d tell all my contacts she’s been sexually harassing me.”
Sinead was still stuck on the first part of his statement. He wanted her and no one else. She so wanted it to be true. This had to be more than a one-sided longing on her part.
“One slice of medicinal ch
ocolate cake.” A waitress deposited the cake in front of Sinead. “Uh, sorry to interrupt. Is this man bothering you?” It was a different waitress than before, but Sinead realised she’d been watching her and Gabriel from behind the counter.
“No, he’s not bothering me. He’s apologising. So far he’s doing a pretty decent job of it,” Sinead said.
“Good. I mean, I’ll leave you to it.” Backing away, the waitress gave them some privacy.
“Pretty decent? Thanks, I’ll take it.” Gabriel reached over and took her hand, threading their fingers together. She let him, craving the contact between them, which always seemed so right.
Sinead shot a sideways glance at him. “Did you really call her out for sexual harassment?”
“I did. If she bothers me, us, again I’ll make sure everyone hears about it. She’d be ruined.”
He’d called them an “us”. An “us” had a future. Surely he meant what he said. “I wouldn’t want to get on your bad side, Mr Bigtime Businessman.”
“I don’t have a bad side when it comes to you. You’re most welcome to get on all of my sides.”
Sinead laughed, great heaving breaths coming out in sputters, not quite normal. But she was getting there. She kissed him then, the gentlest brush of her lips against his cheek. He sucked in a breath. She’d surprised him.
“I’m so glad I found you,” he said.
She wasn’t sure if he meant finding her in the café, or on the flight when they first met. It didn’t matter. Squishy lovey-dovey emotions warmed her from the inside.
Gabriel glanced up at the blackboard on the wall. “What else is there to eat on the ‘Nudelicious’ menu? I’ll need my energy if I’m taking you back to my hotel.”
She snorted at his arrogance but didn’t correct him. Sinead needed to completely obliterate Kitty from both of their minds and she had a few wicked ideas on how to do it.
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