by Anna Antonia
“Then what’s stopping you?”
He cupped my face gently. “I’m saving myself.”
I felt adored, worshipped, and precious. Entranced, I whispered, “For what?”
“For you. For when you’re as crazy about me as I am for you. Don’t keep me waiting for long, Emma. Please.”
I stumbled out of the limo, dazed and on fire for him as he walked me to my door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Emma.” Gabriel kissed my hand and waited for me close the door before leaving.
And now here we were—me half-asleep and still excited because of the glorious man on the other side of the door.
“Emma?”
I opened the door, squinting at Gabriel as he stood on my threshold with bags of food and a carrier with four cups. “Hello, sleepyhead.”
“Hello, Gabriel.” He was dressed in jeans and a finely woven gray sweater. He looked elegant and casual. Beautiful as always. I stepped aside, conscious of my flannel pants and baggy t-shirt. “How can you look so good after so little sleep?”
“Didn’t you know? I don’t sleep more than a few hours at a time.” Gabriel stepped into my small entryway.
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope.”
“How is that possible?”
“I’m too busy to sleep.” He looked between my dining area and kitchen. “Where would you like me to put these?”
I pointed to my round cherry wood table. Gabriel set them down. He dug into the bags, pulling out containers of fruit along with muffins, scrambled eggs, thick slices of bacon, and toast. It smelled heavenly.
“Where’d you get the food?”
“I had it cooked.”
“Lucky. I usually have to do my own cooking.”
“Then maybe one day soon you can teach me.”
I took a couple of steps into my kitchen to grab some plates and utensils. “Why ever would you want to learn now?”
“So I can cook for you.”
I set one plate in front of him and another on the opposite side of the table. “Oh.”
Gabriel winked at me. “You sound so excited.” He took one step toward me.
God, I bet I look awful. Morning breath, natty hair…ugh!
I backed up and mumbled, “Let me get dressed.”
“No need, Emma. I like you as you are.”
“I’ll get freshened up then.”
“Sure.”
I walked back into my room and closed the door. Going quickly through my morning routine, I couldn’t erase the giddy smile that kept curling my lips up. Thoughts of how the last time Gabriel visited me in the afternoon flashed through my mind. It had gone terribly then. It didn’t have to be that way now.
I wouldn’t let it, not when I had a second chance at my first love.
It’s a new day.
In a few minutes I was minty-fresh and had pulled my hair in a high ponytail. I thought about changing my clothes but then decided against it. And not because Gabriel said he liked me as I was.
Definitely not.
When I came back into the dining area, Gabriel had already laid out our feast on our plates and was waiting for me. He stood up and pulled my chair out before returning back to his seat.
“I wasn’t sure which one you preferred so I brought you orange juice and coffee.”
“Juice is more than fine. I don’t really care for coffee.”
“No to the coffee then.” Gabriel plucked a large cup from my side of the table and took it into the kitchen. He returned quickly and sat across from me. “Eat up, buttercup.”
I smiled and picked up my fork. “It looks so good. I’m not sure if I can eat it all.”
“Eat until you’re stuffed.”
“I’m sure I will…wait a minute. Why are you trying to stuff me?” I studied his nonchalant expression. “You’re planning something. What is it?”
“I’m hurt, Emma. I do something nice for you and you look at it with suspicion. It’s a shame, really it is.”
“Gabriel…”
“Yes?”
“Why are you here so early?”
“It’s not early. It’s the afternoon.” He speared a pineapple chunk and popped it into his mouth. “And I wanted to see you. Do I need any other reason?”
“Ah, I guess not. So do you want to hang out here then?”
“I was thinking something all the lines of a trip to the zoo and dinner. After we get your car.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s all that’s planned.” Gabriel held out a forkful of scrambled eggs. “Here.”
I opened my mouth obediently. The eggs were delicious. “My compliments to the chef.”
“I’ll be sure to pass them along. Now eat up, sweetheart. We have a busy day ahead of us.”
It was strange to have Gabriel in my apartment, but I got used to it quickly. He put me at ease, talking about anything and everything. By the time we finished eating and started cleanup, I was easily moving around him in my narrow galley kitchen as if he’d been there forever.
“May I have a showing of your place or is it too early to begin tours?”
He looked so eager I couldn’t help but laugh. “Sure. Come right this way.”
I stepped into the living room. “Here we have the sitting room, guest room, library, and media room. It’s a forward thinking design for the girl on a tiny budget.”
Gabriel nodded his head sagely, examining the white walls and comfy furniture with an inquisitive eye. “Yes, yes. I believe I’ve seen this done in Japan. It’s quite clever to get so much use out of a compact space.”
We took a few more steps and entered the hallway. I gestured to the half-bath on the right. “And here is the guest bathroom. Equipped with all the necessities while using the minimum square footage and still be up to code.”
Gabriel turned on the light and poked his head inside. “Looks quite unused. Toilet seat down. Very good signs. Yes, I think this is how it should be. I’m claiming this bathroom as mine. No one with dangly parts is allowed to use it except me.”
I raised my brow and continued on. “Duly noted. And this is the Master Bedroom and sole bedroom for this floor plan. It’s large, airy, and gets plenty of sun. A walk-in closet is a surprise, the surprisingly roomy bathroom equipped with garden tub is a joy, and the French door leads to the best part of the apartment.”
Gabriel stepped inside my space. His gaze rested on the rumpled bed for an indecent moment. “Nice sheets.”
I couldn’t help but think of him lazing about those very same sheets. The imagery was quite lovely. “Toile is very in with fans of cottage chic.”
“Really? I’ll have to share that with my decorator.” Gabriel ran his hand across the foot of the sleigh bed as he made his way over to the patio door. “May I?”
I loved how formal he could be. I bowed my head and waved him onwards. “Please do so, Sir.”
“Then I shall, my dearest Madam.”
We walked out onto my patio. Gabriel leaned against the metal railing and scanned the area. “It’s very pretty. I can see why you like it here.”
I considered the patio the best part of my apartment and my personal oasis. I’d decorated it with a couple of thickly cushioned oversized chairs and a wrought iron table I’d spray painted ivory. The outdoor rug beneath our feet brought a cheerful tangerine splash of color to the gray concrete. A large fountain gurgled in the corner, accented by over fifty pavers I carried by hand and set in place. Several ferns were scattered throughout, softening the hard lines and bringing much-needed greenery to the utilitarian space.
“Thank you.” I sat down and waved him to the chair next to me. “Take a load off, Gabriel. Enjoy the day.”
“Don’t mind if I do.” He settled his large frame in the powder blue chair. “This actually fits me.”
“Nice, huh?” I wondered if I should share that I got the pair from a thrift store.
Maybe not.
“Very nice, Emma.”
We soaked in
the sun for several minutes, our silence companionable and our hands naturally finding the other. Murmurs of “Forever and always” whispered in my ear. I wondered if they’d ever really left.
Slow down, Ms. Adams. You’re driving way too fast. Somebody’s liable to get hurt.
“I could fall asleep out here,” I murmured. “Maybe I should get a hammock then I can nap all day like a cat.”
“Mmm, I can see why. Speaking of cats, do you have one?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“I usually work ten to twelve hour days. It wouldn’t be fair to Constantine.”
“Constantine? That’s a fine name for a cat.”
“I think so too.” I yawned. “Oh, excuse me. As soon as I cut back on my hours, I’m going to get him. He’s a gray tabby with black stripes and big green eyes.”
“Does he live somewhere now?”
“No, but when the time is ready he’ll be waiting for me.”
Gabriel’s clasp pulsed once. “Why do you work such long hours, Emma?”
The sun loosened my tongue. “Because I’m saving every spare penny I can.”
“For what?”
“To buy a house.”
I heard the surprise in his voice. “Really? What kind of house? Something closer to the city?”
“No, not for me. For my mom.”
“You’re buying a house for your mother. That blows me away. I mean that.”
I soaked up his praise like a sponge. “She’s been so good to me and has worked so hard all her life. This is the least she deserves.”
“Does she know what you’re doing?”
I stretched my legs and crossed them at the ankles. “Nope. It’s a surprise. I have about six months left to go before I have the down payment and a year’s worth of mortgage payments. I’m padding it just in case something happens.”
“Like what?”
“Like I get laid off or something.”
Gabriel’s lips pressed against my cheek for a too-brief moment. “You’re the sweetest girl I’ve ever met. Don’t ever change, Emma.”
I cupped my cheek, startled and ridiculously pleased by his kiss. “I don’t know what to say.”
“A ‘thank you’ would work.”
“Thank you.”
We smiled, self-conscious and shy with one another. I could’ve sworn I saw a light flush on his cheeks but it might’ve been a trick of the eye. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. “Do I have to go get ready?”
“No, not yet. Just lay here longer, my sweet kitty.”
I thought it a great idea and told him so. The occasional sound of a car driving by coupled with the steady drone of landscaping equipment created enough white noise to nearly put me asleep.
Then Gabriel spoke.
“So it looks like the apartment next door is empty.”
“Is it?” I opened one sleepy eye. “I wouldn’t know.”
“Emma, you should know what’s going on around you,” he chided with a concerned frown.
“I keep to myself. That’s hardly a crime.”
“No, but it’s definitely not keeping with Safety 101.”
“Gabriel, no offense, but I probably have a lot more street smarts than you do.”
“That is debatable.”
“We’ll agree to disagree, Mr. Billionaire.”
He cleared his throat and said, “The apartment is a mirror of this one.”
“Which one?”
“The one next door.”
How would he know…wait. No.
I kept my relaxed position, treading very carefully just in case I was jumping to conclusions. “How do you know that, Gabriel?”
“Because I just do.”
Way too nonchalant.
“Right. Why do you know?” The suspicion sunk deeper and deeper. He wouldn’t have done what I was thinking, would he?
Gabriel avoided my probing gaze. Instead, he watched the maintenance workers trimming the bushes across the roadway. “How often do they work, Emma?”
“All the time.”
“Hmm. Really early?”
“Not before nine.”
“That’s good to know.”
“Why?”
He turned to me and smiled. “No one likes to get woken up before they’re ready, do they?”
Okay, there’s too much cat-got-the-canary in that grin.
I sat up. “Gabriel, tell me you didn’t rent the apartment next door.”
“I could tell you that.”
“Okay, so do it.”
“If I told you that, then you’d begin to wonder why I was following you home. I’d rather not have that conversation after a long day at work.”
Shocked at his audacity, I shrieked his name. “Are you crazy?”
“Perfectly sane last time I was checked.”
“What are you thinking? You can’t just move into my complex, Gabriel!”
“Why not? You live here. I like you. You like me. It makes perfect sense.”
“No, it doesn’t. It really, really doesn’t.” I let go his hand so I wouldn’t squeeze the life out of it. Leaning forward, hands gripping the metal armrest until I was white-knuckled, I tried to go the calm route. “You already have somewhere you live.”
“I do.”
“So what’s wrong with it?”
“I don’t like it. I never did. That’s why it’s going on the market immediately.”
“Why’d you buy it if you don’t like it?”
Gabriel leaned his head back and closed his eyes, visually succumbing to the perfect spring afternoon. “It was a terrible error in judgment. I’ve only lived there for a couple of months. In a word, it sucks.”
“Why does it suck? Did the designer pick the wrong shade of blue? Or is it not as big as the other billionaires’ places?”
“Emma, that’s not very nice of you.”
“Sorry, sorry.”
“Besides, I would never let the wrong shade of blue enter my home in the first place. My taste is impeccable. And the rest—such a low blow.”
“You’re right. I’m sorry.” I tried to get my point across again with less bitchiness. “Surely you had an idea that your current place wasn’t going to work for you?”
“I did. I settled because I thought I was being unreasonable with what I really wanted.”
“So your answer to living in a sucky, but surely expensive home, is to put it up for sale and move into a 600 square foot terrace level apartment?”
“Yep.”
“Gabriel, how do you have money if these are the kinds of decisions you make?”
“I’m not always so impulsive. I blame you.”
“Me?” Now I really wanted to smack some sense into him.
“Yes, you. You are the reason why I’m not going to settle. Blame yourself for being so awesome, Emma.”
“You’re trying to charm me into getting your way. It won’t work,” I warned him with a frown. Too bad I couldn’t keep it going.
He shrugged. “I’ve already gotten my way, neighbor.”
“Gabriel!” I poked him in the shoulder.
“Emma!” He poked me back. “I find the highlight of my day is when I get you to sputter and screech. Now I’ll get to do that as your neighbor. I’ll play my music really loud at all hours of the night just that you’ll come over and give me a piece of your mind.”
“Masochist.”
Gabriel eyed me from beneath a sensual stare. “Not quite, baby. I’m just addicted to you and it’s all your fault, Emma. You’ve made me a crazy man, you know. Take some responsibility.”
“Of all the nerve!”
“Emma, ssh! I’m trying to nap here.”
I don’t know what devil prompted me to climb out of my chair and onto his lap. I tilted his face and shoved mine into it. “You are insane, Gabriel Gordon! I cannot believe that you’ve actually leased out the apartment next to me!”
His arms circled my hips. “Believe it, my dear. You are st
uck with me for the moment.”
“Until?”
“Until you come to the point where you can’t live without me. I’m obviously already there so I’m willing to wait for you.” He bounced his knees and jostled me about. “Do hurry up, Emma.”
“Oh, my God!” I clasped my arms around his neck. “How do you know I won’t just put a restraining order on you?”
“I live dangerously.”
“That’s your answer? I’m afraid that won’t hold up in court.”
“All right, let’s see if I can come up with a better one…oh, yes! If you and I had just met for the very first time yesterday, then yes this would probably be right out of the stalker handbook. Except, I don’t think a stalker would move right next door. He’d probably move across the street into that building over there and on the top floor.”
“Gabriel!”
“Right, right. I should stay directly on topic. Where was I? Ah, yes. Our time table.” Gabriel shifted me on his lap, bringing me much closer. “We’ve known each other for years, were quite intimate at one point, and so that makes up for a lot of the silly diddle-daddle that happens in a first time courtship.”
“Diddle-daddle?”
“Emma, don’t laugh. That was my grandmother’s favorite phrase.”
“I’m sorry. Go ahead.”
“Where was I? I’m finding it incredibly hard to concentrate when I have a lapful of saucy vixen.”
I wiggled my hips and made him groan my name. A wicked smile took me. “You were saying, Gabriel?”
“Gabriel? Who’s that? It sounds familiar…” His hands squeezed my thighs. “Wait a minute! I think it’s coming back…do it again...”
I moved my hips in a slow circle. I wasn’t normally this brazen. Honest.
Gabriel clutched me to him. His beautiful face softened with pleasure. “Emma, you’re so good at being bad.”
“I’ve learned from the best.” I bent down and nipped the underside of his chin.
Gabriel tunneled his fingers through the hair at my nape. He gently tugged me away. “You’re distracting me, naughty girl. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were doing it on purpose.”
Was I? “Maybe…”
“You like being here on my lap, don’t you?”
I nodded, hungrily staring at his full kissable lips.
“See, you’re proving my timeline is correct.”
“What? How so?”