Erin rode her bike through the streets, unaware that she traveled downtown. When she stopped, it was outside the Bayou Ledger. She parked her bicycle and buzzed for entry.
Gabriel stood in the lobby. He didn’t smile when he saw her. “Erin.”
“I read the Ledger this morning,” she offered as she moved toward him. His expression remained impassive, slightly annoyed by her interruption. She tucked her hands into her pockets. “I’ve canceled my subscription to the Chronicle.”
“That’s good.” She looked beautiful, as though she’d finally been able to put Nathan’s specter to rest. He was happy for her. At least, he would be when he could bear to feel again. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I came to talk to you.”
“Let’s go to my office.” Gabriel decided he’d prefer to beg in the sanctity of his own space. Once inside, he engaged the lock and levered the electric blinds to block out the rest of the newsroom. He gestured to a chair, taking a seat on the edge of his desk. “How can I help you?”
“You haven’t returned my calls, Gabriel.”
“Returned your calls?” He said the phrase slowly. “The ones where you thank me?”
She shifted on the cool leather, unable to sit still. “Yes. I wanted you to know how I felt.” I wanted to hear your voice.
“Did you call to tell me you love me?” The question was bland, almost perfunctory.
“I can’t do that, Gabriel.”
“Then we don’t have anything else to discuss.” He stood and marched to the door. “I love you, Erin. I don’t want your gratitude or your friendship. I want you.”
Erin shook her head. “Jessica may be insane, but she was right about one thing. I couldn’t love Nathan.” She met Gabriel’s hooded gray eyes, the color of San Francisco fog. She wanted him to understand. Restless, she crossed the room to stand beside him. When she cut out her heart, she would do it with her head held high. “If I was ever going to be in love with someone, it would have been you and it would have been that night.”
Gabriel nodded in agreement. “But?”
Hollow, beaten, she hung her head. “But I can’t be in love.”
“With me?” His voice was mildly interested.
“With anyone.” She waved off the next question. “Because it’s impossible. I’m impossible. I’m secretive and afraid and never sure I’m good enough. I’m neurotic and controlling.”
“True.” Gabriel quirked an inquiring brow. “But you’re also brilliant and kind and willing to risk your life for others.”
“I’m a freak, Gabriel. An oddly wired brain with an eidetic memory for strange words. Only now I can use my carnival skills to solve murders.”
His teeth snapped together. “Don’t you dare belittle yourself in front of me. You used your empathy, your smarts, and your bravery. You used years of training and teaching. You used your powers of observation to find her. You used your powers of communication to stop her. So don’t give me any bullshit about eidetic memory. You solved this case, Erin. Not Analise. You.”
“But—”
“No. And I’ll tell you something else. You are in love with someone. Me. And it isn’t just that night, when I saved your life.”
“When you saved my life?” she sputtered. “I stopped Jessica—”
“Shut up and listen.” Patience vanished, Gabriel stalked her, forcing her back to the door. “You fell in love with me in a school hallway weeks ago, when I saw through tweed and bravado and saw you. When I fell in love with you. California was one more night, one more hour, of loving you. And tomorrow will be another. Until we have forever.”
“Aren’t you listening to me?” She poked his chest with a warning finger, wanting to believe. “I’ve never been in love before. I can be mean and petty and clumsy.”
“I’ve never been in love before, either. And we both know I’m domineering, driven, and occasionally rash. And I love you, Analise Erin Abbott Glover.”
He swept her into his arms and fastened his mouth to hers.
The torrid kiss drew her in, and she sank into the embrace. His mouth danced over her eyelids, caressed her throat. Hard, reverent hands kneaded and held until she couldn’t breathe. In sensual retaliation, she licked at his bottom lip, enjoying how his breath stuttered.
Fear crumbled, washed away on a tide of possibility. She’d given him an out, and he’d ignored it. Now, she’d made her choice. To stand. To love. Reaching up, she circled her arms around his neck. “I could love you for the rest of my life and never come close to being finished.”
“Say it, Erin.” His mouth floated above hers, refusing to give them both what they’d waited a lifetime to feel. “No more teasers. Give me the headline.”
“I love you, Gabriel Moss. End of story.”
“Erin. It’s okay, honey…”
As the reassuring strength of Gabriel’s hold surrounded her, reality flooded in a rush. Mortified, Erin twisted against him, desperate to escape. Still, the wall at her back and the large man in front of her had her trapped. Sinewy arms held her tight to his body and the melodious baritone crooned in her ear. Warm breath whispered over suddenly fevered skin, and Erin succumbed, too exhausted to fight herself and the comfort he offered. She lifted her arms to wrap them around his waist.
When he felt her capitulate, Gabriel sighed in baffled triumph. Tenderly, he kissed her temple, then her forehead. As she calmed down, he pressed his lips to the crown of her silky black hair.
“Gabriel.”
What she started to say got lost beneath the firm lips that glided over her mouth, careful to taste, but not to take. Erin leaned into the kiss, lulled by its charm. There was no urgency to sink inside, no frantic mating to tie her stomach into knots. But how could she have expected that a first kiss could settle nerves and arouse desires at the same time? Wonderment blossomed and she parted her lips to invite more…
NEVER TELL
Copyright © 2004 by Stacey Y. Abrams.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
St. Martin’s Paperbacks are published by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Cover photo by Herman Estevez.
eISBN 9781429935432
First eBook Edition : May 2011
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition / June 2004
Never Tell Page 28