by Anna Antonia
“Baby, you amaze me every day. Did you know that?”
“No, but I definitely don’t mind you showing me.”
Gabriel eagerly rolled me beneath him and we started our dance again.
After a late breakfast, my golden boy and I spent another day in Paris sightseeing, but decided jointly to cut our trip short.
“We’ll come back again, Emma, and spend a month in France. What do you say?”
“That will be lovely.”
We flew back on his jet. I nearly brought up the fact that I still had a return ticket but it would be just for show. I didn’t want to spend one more minute away from Gabriel than I had to.
And just like that our lives corrected back into place.
Gabriel spent a lot of time at the office with Rick, presenting his nomination of Lucas as the next CEO, and tying up all the loose ends from his end. I’d yet to see Rick and while I logically understood nothing had really changed between Gabriel and Rick for all these years, I still wasn’t quite ready to see Gabriel’s assistant.
Meanwhile I got myself ready for the transition out of Med-Tech. It was a calculated risk to leave my job and going to work with Gabriel. The logical side of me once would’ve had me run through every scenario and assign a numerical value to each point for easy analysis.
Yes, I was that spreadsheet obsessed.
But as I’d learned, logic couldn’t dominate one’s entire world. There had to allowances for chances and fate.
Gabriel took advantage of my empty apartment to convince me to move all my things over to his penthouse. “Emma, we both know you’re going to move in with me anyways. Why do you think I wanted your input on the place? Besides, I know you’re itching to get your hands on the terrace.”
Arrogant, lovely man.
The days rolled forward until we were faced with my last day and his. After today Gabriel and I were going to be free to pursue whatever may come.
Mr. Jackson and Bobby passed us through like it was any normal day. We entered the empty elevator together. I looked at him and noted Gabriel’s face looked a little pale. “Are you sure you want to go through with this?”
“Hmm? What?”
“Are you sure you want to do this? You can always change your mind.”
“Change my mind.”
“Yes.”
Gabriel pressed the red button and brought the elevator to a stop.
I didn’t expect him to do that! “What’s going on? Do you want to go home? We can do that.”
He looked at me, face serious and still a little pale but didn’t say a word.
“Gabriel, are you okay?” I brushed his hair back and checked the temperature of his forehead with my wrist.
He gently brought my hand down. “I’m okay. I mean, I will be.”
“Why’d you stop the elevator?”
“I have something to tell you before we go up there and start our new careers.”
The intercom came to life. “Mr. Gordon, is everything all right?”
“Yes, it is. I’ve stopped the elevator but will be starting it up soon. I’ll contact you if I have any issues.”
“Very good, sir.”
Gabriel looked back at me and gave a pained smile. “Okay, where was I? Ah yes…”
“We’re due for our last meetings in less than fifteen minutes. We can cancel them and leave right now.”
“Yes, I know. But no.” He paused for a moment. “I tried to think of many ways to do this. I know everything is all about over-the-top gestures and making things viral. People dance and sing and take over the streets with it.”
I followed along, trying to understand where Gabriel was going when it suddenly hit me. My stomach lurched in that familiar mixture of excitement and nervousness.
No. Is this it? Is this the moment?
“You’re absolutely worth all of that, Emma, truly you are. But the more I thought about it, the more it didn’t fit. You’re not the type of woman who values making yourself the center of attention. You care more about substance than flash. You care about me more than you care about what I can pay someone to arrange for you.”
Gabriel, you’re so right. You know me so well.
“I thought about doing it at our school, but there’s so many sad memories attached there. I thought about the apartments and the penthouse, but it didn’t quite click. I thought about Paris but it didn’t seem right after Embry. That left only one place, the place, which is here. Right where it all began again. The elevator. This is where my life started again because I got to be here with you.”
My heartbeat quickened when Gabriel pulled out a velvet box from inside his pocket and sank to one knee.
“Emma Adams, I have loved you from the moment I first saw you. You inspired me to be a better person and gave me strength even when you were no longer in my life. The only time I’ve ever felt fully alive was when I was with you. You are the star I follow, the goddess I worship, and the saint I praise.
“You have seen me at my worst and loved me anyways. You loved me so much you were willing to break your own heart to set me free. I know that as long as I live, I will never love another like I love you. Nor will I ever be loved the way you love me.
“And I want to experience everything with you. I want to watch your belly grow with our children. I want to be with you as we grow old together. I want to leave this world with your name on my lips.”
Gabriel’s gaze glittered with unshed tears as he asked the one question that changed the rest of my life.
“Emma Adams, will you be my wife?”
I felt the burning pressure in my chest as I tried my best not to cry. I knew it was coming and because I knew, I really thought I wouldn’t be surprised or even brought to this amount of emotion because I already knew my answer.
But hearing the words of Gabriel’s heart? Oh! Nothing could’ve prepared me for this.
I sank down to my knees, surely breaking one of the rules pertaining to proposed women. It didn’t seem right to be looking down at him. My gaze moved from his beloved face to the glittering ring nestled in a tiny bed of white satin. It was a large princess cut ruby completely surrounded by diamonds and set in what I assumed was a platinum band.
Gabriel noticed my attention and said, “I know how much you like sparklies and I remember how much you loved the sparklies at the Smithsonian. So I had this commissioned and put a rush job on it. Do you like it? It’s not a traditional diamond and so I can change it if you’d want that instead.”
Gabriel’s uncharacteristically shy expression sent my heart soaring through my chest. “Do I like it? I love it! Oh my God, Gabriel. This is the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen in my life! You can’t change a thing!”
“You’re not just saying that, are you?”
“No! You are so…so…” Words failed me as I broke down in tears.
He enfolded me in his strong arms and stood us both up. “Baby! Don’t cry!”
His reaction would probably be odd to anyone privy to our kink, considering when we were in sessions my tears didn’t move Gabriel one bit from his objectives.
Outside of play, my tears were a no-no and Gabriel would do just about anything to stop them.
“I’m sorry. I’m just so happy!”
“So is that a yes, Emma?”
My hands flew to my mouth. I didn’t answer him yet. “Yes, yes, yes!”
Gabriel gave out a triumphant cry and lifted me off my feet. Spinning us around, he peppered my face with kisses as he said over and over again, “I love you!” He set me down and slipped the ring on my finger. His grin rivaled the precious stones winking back at him.
“Mrs. Gabriel Gordon. Mrs. Emma Gordon. Mrs. Emma Adams-Gordon. My wife.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Gordon. My husband.”
He clasped my face between his hands and kissed me soundly before saying, “Have you ever heard anything more beautiful, Emma, than our married names?”
“No.”
Gabriel
kissed me again and then rested his head against mine. “Thank you for saying yes. I’m going to make you so happy, Emma. You’ll never regret marrying me for as long as you live. You’ll love it so much you’ll even come back for another lifetime with me.”
“Is that so?”
“Absolutely.”
Gabriel lifted my hand to study the beautiful ring and how it looked on my finger. He hummed in happiness. “Can you believe we’re going to start the next part of our lives just like that?”
“Of course I can. You never do anything by half-measures, Gordon.”
“Neither do you, Adams. Oh, excuse me. Adams-Gordon.” Gabriel tipped my chin up for another kiss. “I love you, Mrs. Emma Adams-Gordon.”
“I love you too but I’m still Emma Adams,” I couldn’t help but tease.
“Not as far as I’m concerned. By the way, you do remember what I told Lucas, don’t you? I’m planning on marrying you ASAP.”
His ardent passion flattered me beyond words. “Just name the date and time. I’ll be there.”
“Our engagement will be extremely short. I don’t want to take the chance you’ll decide to leave me again for the greater good. Worse, you might run into one of your ex-boyfriends and fall in love all over again. No way am I taking that chance.”
Gabriel apparently didn’t want to let me go, even to get the elevator going again. He kept his arm wrapped around me the entire ride up. We neared my floor when I suddenly said, “I’ve got an engagement present for you.”
“What is it?” Gabriel looked around me, trying to find the present he assumed I’d physically hid. His gaze rested on my purse.
“No, it’s not there.”
“Hmm. Not there, huh?”
“Nope. It’s more of a verbal present.” I cleared my throat and said, “You know how you were my first?”
He smiled, slow and sexy. “How can I forget?”
“Well, you still are.”
“What do you mean?”
My heartbeat sped up and my palms dampened. It seemed a good idea to tell him in theory but now I wondered if it was stupid, especially because I’d decided never to share that with him.
“Emma?”
“There’s never been anyone but you.”
His smile faded and he froze in place. “Meaning?”
Oh God. He was going to make me spell it out. “Meaning, you’re the only one I’ve ever been with. I’ve never slept with anyone else or had another boyfriend other than you. You’re it for me and always have been.”
He looked shocked. More than shocked. His arm slipped and he let me go. His gorgeous gaze clouded with confusion. “Emma, you’re the most beautiful woman in the world. How’s that possible?”
My gaze flicked to the flashing 29. “It just is.” The doors slid open and I walked through. Turning around, I saw my beautiful man was still frozen in place. “I love you, Gabriel Gordon, and always did. That’s why.”
Just as the doors slid close I heard Gabriel shout, “You’re mine always and forever, Emma Gordon!”
That I was.
I smiled and shook my head. The next fifty years of my life promised never to be dull.
TWENTY-FOUR
Gabriel took my “just name the date and time” very seriously. He set the date for a week and a half later and immediately became a Groomzilla. Nothing was going to ruin his special day. Not venue bookings, not doubling the price of virtually everything to make the date, not backordered napkins.
Nothing.
I was given free reign over my dress. Still, I noticed Gabriel took to trying to get details out of me. Eventually he asked bluntly, “A-line, ball gown, empire, mermaid, sheath—what kind, Emma?”
I finally admitted I was looking at something simple but wasn’t sure what it would be. Basically, anything I could find off the rack that fit. His lips jutted in a tiny pout. “Emma…you know I love you and I know you have wonderful taste. But will you be mad if I make this a surprise for you—”
“Whatever you want, Gabriel.”
His passionate kiss rewarded me for indulging him. It wasn’t that I didn’t care about the wedding, I did, but we could’ve got married in my mom’s backyard and I would’ve been just as happy as getting married at the Smithsonian.
Which didn’t happen because they didn’t permit those kinds of events. All of Gabriel’s incredible charm and budget didn’t make them budge. He even flew there to try to sway their decision but came home defeated. That night I made him a bubble bath while he muttered about “Asshole social directors who obviously are enemies of love.”
Only after he was assured that I was okay with not being married at the best museum system in the world and the site of our first trip together, did he turn his sights on another venue.
And it was perfect for us.
“Emma, this director is truly a champion of love! She’s waiving the 30 day window and letting us have our date! We’ll be exchanging our vows at the Carnegie Institution for Science. Can you imagine anything more perfect for turbo-nerds like us?”
From there it became a whirlwind of color schemes, catering, flowers, and a ton of other details that apparently kept Gabriel and Rick as busy as they were at Gordon Industries.
It wasn’t unusual to see Rick swiftly walking past me in the morning with an arm full of binders and already on the phone. I waved my hellos, grateful I didn’t have to say much to him since I still hadn’t reconciled his past with our current present and future.
And there would be a future. Gabriel had no intention of letting his close friendship with Rick lapse due to their changing working circumstances. Gabriel already shared that Rick would be leaving the country after the wedding to begin his scouting of possible hotel locations.
“I’ll be his angel investor but I don’t see that I’ll be that for long. Rick is wicked smart, you know. He’s going to be making money hand over fist before long. After all, I taught him everything I know.”
Gabriel sounded as proud as any parent.
After our limbs entwined and we began our nightly bedtime whispers, I asked Gabriel if he was going to miss the adrenaline rush of being a high-powered CEO.
“The wedding is keeping you busy now but will you be okay after that’s over?”
“We’re going to be changing the world, Emma. You better enjoy our honeymoon, baby, because it’s liable to be the last vacation we have for a while to come.”
I told him I looked forward to it.
Gabriel planned on wearing a grey tuxedo which didn’t surprise me at all. It was an elegant suit of heather grey paired with a waistcoat, white shirt, and a silver pinstriped tie. I couldn’t wait to see him in it.
Early on my wedding-obsessed Gabriel showed me different color combinations of silver, white, and pink. I preferred something yellow since I associated him with the sun and loved the sun twice as much now.
He frowned, studying the twenty different shades of pink before discarding them all in the trash. “We’ll make yellow work, Emma. It’ll be wonderful. You’re so stylish.” Gabriel then kissed my forehead before disappearing back into his home office.
I spent that time before the wedding taking a break for the first time in a decade. I felt tired all the time, probably because of the emotional turmoil that we’d just went through. So I caught up on the stack of books my fiancé—loved saying that!—had gotten me as I recuperated. I also dived into the romances Marie had given me. I immediately became addicted and ordered tons more online.
Despite the upcoming wedding date and the seemingly millions of pressing details, Gabriel and I took a couple of days to visit my mom and spring our surprise on her.
It didn’t go quite as I expected.
“You got me a house?”
“Yes.”
My mom blinked. “You did that for me?”
I nodded, unsure if she was going to thank me or promptly demand I give it back. She did both.
“Em, I love the sentiment but I don’t want you givi
ng up all your money like that.”
I shot Gabriel a helpless glance. “It’s not a sacrifice. I want to do this for you. Mom, you’re the one who sacrificed for me. You walked away from your family and have struggled so much so that I could have a career and a better future. This is the least I could do.”
She softened. Tears glistened as she wrapped her arms around me. “You were never a sacrifice to me, Emma. I’m the lucky one to have such a sweet girl like you trying to take care of me.”
We both wiped our eyes and then she said, “But I can’t accept the house. It’s too much.”
Just as I was about to launch into an argument, Gabriel stepped in. I knew what he was going to say but hoped his words would work where mine didn’t.
“I have a solution, Ms. Adams. Why don’t you stay in the house and then if by the end of a predetermined length of time you still like it, you stay. Otherwise, you leave and we’ll sell it.”
My mom shook her head and I jumped in with “Mom, this money is for you. I’m not going to do anything with it. After all, I’m marrying a very rich man.” My gaze met Gabriel’s and apologized for pulling out the Rich Man card.
“It’s true, Ms. Adams. Emma’s not even going to be signing a pre-nup. She’s already going to be worth north of 200 million the day we say ‘I do.’”
“Gabriel, that’s highly unorthodox for a man of your net worth.”
He squeezed my shoulders and smiled. “I know.”
My mom looked back and forth between us. Something in our joint expressions must’ve made her sit down. I could tell by the look on her face that there was something big on her mind. “Mom, what is it?”
She took her time in answering. “Em, about the money. Are you serious about not needing it?”
“Yes. It’s yours. Whatever you want. If you want to get a different house or move somewhere else…”
“Actually, I was wondering about school. Maybe I…maybe I could get a student loan from you instead?”
My mom had earned her GED years before but had never felt she had the time or money to start school. She’d always wanted to pursue her original dream of being a lawyer. It was with great joy that she was enrolled for the Fall semester at a satellite university. Her goal was to eventually graduate from Georgetown. I had no doubt she’d make it.
