My Gift To You

by Tracie Delaney

  The conversation Livvy had had with Gabe all those weeks ago came rushing back. He’d refused any further attempts to discuss his brother and sister, and Heather didn’t mention them, either. In fact, this comment was the first time she’d alluded to having another child. Gabe must have told his mother that Livvy, at least, knew the bare bones.

  “And I can’t wait to have a mum,” Livvy whispered back, her words making Heather’s eyes glisten. Gabe’s mom dug a tissue from her purse and dabbed the corners of her eyes. With a last lingering glance at Livvy, she closed the door behind her.

  “You okay, Liv?” Ches lightly brushed her fingertips down Livvy’s arm. “You’re covered in goose bumps. Are you cold?”

  Livvy shook her head as she swallowed past an enormous lump in her throat. “Tell me honestly, Ches,” she blurted. “Do you think I’m being disloyal to Mark by marrying Gabe?”

  Ches’s eyes widened in surprise at Livvy’s query. “Absolutely not, Livvy. After everything you’ve been through, you deserve to be happy. Mark wouldn’t want you to live out the rest of your life alone. You’re so young, and you have your whole life ahead of you.”

  She put her arms around Livvy, being careful not to brush against her delicately crafted chignon. After hugging her so tightly that Livvy almost passed out, Ches stood back and gave Livvy a no-nonsense shake of the head.

  “It was terrible what happened to Mark and Daniel, Liv, not to mention all the trauma you went through at the time—and since—but you’ve paid your dues. You mourned for them both so deeply. Now it’s your turn to be happy.” Ches paused. “Gabe does make you happy, right?”

  Hot tears brought on by an intense feeling of love welled behind Livvy’s eyes. She nodded. “Ecstatically happy.”

  “Then let yourself feel it, Liv. Every wonderful moment in his company. Every sensation he makes you feel. Every time he touches you.” She winked. “Especially when he touches you.”

  Livvy gave her a mischievous grin. “Yeah, he’s pretty good at that part.”

  “All right,” Ches said with a faux pout. “No one likes a bragger.”

  Livvy laughed as a knock at the door interrupted Ches’s teasing. She went to answer it, but Ches stopped her.

  “I’ll go. It’ll be John. Are you ready?”

  Livvy took one last look in the mirror, patted her hair, and nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”

  As Ches opened the door, she made sure that she blocked John’s view of Livvy.

  “Get ready, Pops,” Ches said. “Tissues at the ready.” Standing back, she dramatically bowed and waved John into the hotel room.

  As he set eyes on Livvy, his hand flew to his mouth and his eyes shone with pride. “Oh, Liv.” He held his arms out to the side. “Let me look at you.” As Livvy did a quick twirl, John walked closer. When she came to a halt, he took her hands in his. “I wish Beth could have been here to see this.” His voice was rough and hoarse, but as Livvy opened her mouth to comfort him, he squeezed her hands and shook his head.

  “Since the day you married my son, I’ve been so proud to call you my daughter, and that’s what you’ll remain. But today is all about you and Gabe, and I, for one, couldn’t be happier.” He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “And so would Mark. You made him so happy, Livvy. But it’s time to move forward, to leave the past behind, where it belongs. Gabe is your future.” He stood back then and blinked away tears before they had a chance to fall. “You chose well.”

  Livvy couldn’t hold her tears back. Praying the waterproof mascara lived up to its name, she let them roll down her cheeks. “I know, John. I know.”

  Livvy hovered outside the hospitality suite where she was due to marry Gabe and took a deep, cleansing breath. The hairdresser made a few last-minute adjustments to her hair, and the beautician Heather had hired was touching up Livvy’s makeup, which was much needed because she’d discovered that waterproof mascara was, in fact, a big, fat lie.

  After they slipped inside and closed the doors behind them, John turned to Livvy. “Ready?”

  She couldn’t trust herself to speak in case more tears fell. Beyond those doors her happily ever after was waiting, yet her mind turned to her first wedding all those years ago. Unlike this one, her previous wedding had been much smaller, but no less happy. She glanced over her shoulder. Ches stuck her thumbs in the air and nodded encouragingly.

  Livvy tilted her head back and looked up. “Goodbye, Mark,” she said so quietly that she knew neither John nor Ches heard her. Turning to John, she gave him a wavering smile. “Okay. Lead the way. I’m ready.”

  John tucked her arm in his and patted the back of her hand. He gave a brief nod to the hotel staff that opened the doors. As Livvy and John stepped inside with Ches close behind, Livvy was met with a sea of people… so many people. Her stomach flipped. Jesus, there must have been at least two hundred guests, most of whom, she speculated, were Gabe’s friends, colleagues, and business associates. Heather had kept all the organization away from Livvy. All she’d asked for was a list of names of people Livvy wanted to invite. It had been a very short list.

  Her eyes swept up the aisle, falling on Gabe standing by the altar, his best man beside him. Gabe smiled softly, an intense expression on his face, appraising and appreciating her. Livvy took a deep breath and straightened her spine.

  The wedding march began, and on shaky legs, Livvy moved forward with John. Vaguely conscious of the scores of people staring at her and whispering what she hoped were kind words, Livvy kept her gaze firmly on the man she was about to marry. Heather was sitting in the front row and caught Livvy’s eye. As they briefly looked at each other, Heather wiped away a tear and reached out to squeeze Livvy’s arm as she passed by.

  When she reached the altar, John removed her arm from his and placed her hand into Gabe’s outstretched one. As John stepped back, Livvy looked into the eyes of the man who was about to become her husband. As the reality of how fast things had gone came crashing down, she wavered on trembling legs, but as Gabe reached out an arm to steady her, all her nerves dissipated.

  He bent down, and as his lips brushed the shell of her ear, a shiver of delight ran through her.

  “You look so beautiful, Livvy. You eclipse every woman in this room. And soon, you’ll be all mine.” His voice was husky and raw. As he moved away, Livvy realized his emotions were as close to the surface as hers.

  “And you’ll be mine,” she whispered.

  Wearing smiles, they both turned to face the preacher as he began the ceremony.

  “Dearest friends…”

  “Almost ready to leave, Mrs. Mitchell?”

  Gabe had his arms around Livvy as they stood in the middle of the packed dance floor, gently swaying together.

  She trembled with delight at her new name. “You read my mind.”

  “Good. Because I can’t wait much longer to make you my wife—in every way possible,” he added seductively.

  Livvy’s insides did a double backflip. She studied his face, then curved her hands around his neck. Standing on tiptoes, even in the four-inch heels, she only just managed to touch her lips to his ear.

  “Then lead the way, cowboy.”

  “You got it.” He placed a warm hand against the small of her back and ushered her through the crowd. But as they headed towards the exit, Livvy spotted Heather and John chatting near the bar.

  She tugged on his arm. “We should say goodbye to your mum and John,” she said, nodding in their direction.

  Gabe groaned. “If we must.”

  As they got closer, Heather looked up with a beaming smile and held out her arms. “You kids okay?” she asked, gripping tightly onto Gabe’s upper arms.

  Gabe leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “We’re going now. I’ll call you in a few days.”

  “Okay, darlin’.” She gave him a squeeze before letting him go. “It’s been a long day. You must be tired.” She winked suggestively at Livvy, who felt a hot flush race to her cheeks.

 
Gabe rolled his eyes. “Very funny, Mother.”

  He shook John’s hand, and as the two men shared a few words, Heather whispered in Livvy’s ear. “My son chose well, Livvy. You and he are made for each other. Be happy, sweat pea.”

  Her kind words brought tears to Livvy’s eyes. As John pulled her close for a hug, she let them fall.

  “Thank you for coming,” she managed to get out between sobs.

  “Now, now.” John dug into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled tissue. He dabbed it against her cheeks. “I wouldn’t have missed it.” He turned to Gabe. “You take good care of my girl, now.”

  Gabe nodded. “Yes, sir.” His arm curved around her waist. “Come on, darlin’. Time to go.”

  With a last glance back at Heather and John, Livvy reluctantly allowed Gabe to lead her towards the exit. As they stepped through the doors, a loud voice called out to them.

  “Hold it right there, Hayes.”

  Livvy turned around and spotted Ches making her way through the throng of people.

  “You’ve got one minute,” Gabe said to Ches. “And it’s Mitchell now.” He wagged his finger at her, making her chuckle.

  “Shit. That’s going to take a bit of time to get used to. Okay, one minute. Now shoo,” she said, directing him elsewhere. “I want to talk to my girl in private.”

  Gabe walked away, giving them room to chat. Ches enveloped Livvy in an enormous hug. “God, I’m going to miss you so much. Call me when you know where you land.”

  “I will. I’ll miss you too. Make sure John gets home okay.”

  “Don’t you worry about a thing. Enjoy the honeymoon. Be happy, Liv.”

  Livvy choked back tears as Gabe returned. He kissed Ches on the cheek. “Safe trip back to England. We’ll be in touch.”

  He put his arm lovingly around Livvy’s waist and ushered her out the door. She glanced over her shoulder and gave Ches a quick wave before her best friend disappeared from sight.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “So, where are we going?” Livvy’s voice had a slight petulance to it, but Gabe loved to surprise her so she hadn’t grilled him too much.

  He peered over the top of the newspaper he was reading and grinned. “On our honeymoon.”

  She laughed. “I know that, idiot.” Trying another tactic, she teased, “What if I haven’t brought the right clothes or shoes for what you have planned?”

  His lips twitched upward. “Oh, Livvy, will you never learn?” He folded the newspaper and placed it on the table in front of him. “Firstly, as you well know, I had Bea pack everything you need, and unlike you, my housekeeper knows our full itinerary. Secondly”—he held up his finger as she began to interrupt—“in the unlikely event we have forgotten anything, there are these amazing places called ‘stores,’ where we can buy whatever we need.”

  “Fine,” she said. “I’ll play along.”

  “Good.” Gabe crossed one ankle over his opposing knee and picked up the newspaper again. “Just as well. You don’t get a choice.”

  Livvy stuck her tongue out, even though he couldn’t see her. With a bored sigh, she removed a book from her carry-on bag, but after flicking through a few pages, she tossed it to one side. She stared out the window, but there was nothing to look at apart from blue sky above and white clouds below.

  After eight hours in the air, Livvy’s ears popped as the plane began to descend. Excited, she glanced out of the window, and as they broke through the clouds, she scanned the ground below for landmarks or anything that would give her a clue where they were headed. Nothing stood out. With a huff, Livvy slumped back in her seat. Her eyes slid over to Gabe, who was sitting with an amused grin on his handsome face.

  “In a mood, Livvy?” he asked, his tone teasing and light.

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “We’re almost there. Surely now you can tell me?”

  He leaned back in his chair and clipped his seat belt into place, nodding for her to do the same. “When we land,” he said in a tone that told her she would be wasting her time if she pressed any further.

  “Mr. Mitchell.” The pilot’s voice came over the intercom. “We’ve been cleared to land, sir. No clouds or mist today, thankfully, so we won’t have to divert.”

  Gabe met Livvy’s gaze, a secretive smile making his lips twitch. “Good news. Thanks.”

  Livvy narrowed her eyes. “We might have had to divert? To where?”

  Gabe tapped the side of his nose. Livvy made a growling noise, which made him laugh.

  She went back to looking out the window. As they got closer to the ground, she saw they were surrounded by mountains so high that the clouds cut off some of the tops. That meant they were at altitude. In the valley below, there were lots of low-rise buildings. So they weren’t traveling to the middle of nowhere, then.

  A thrill ran through her at what was to come. One thing Gabe had been willing to share was that they would be away for eight days. He’d wanted it to be longer, but he’d taken too much time away from work as it was. He was CEO of a large multinational company, and despite having a very capable team, his business needed its leader at the helm. She also had a job to get back to. She’d insisted that starting at the bottom of the marketing department was the right approach. She figured it would be hard enough to convince her colleagues that she hadn’t been given favorable treatment because she was the boss’s wife. If she went straight into a senior position, it would make her situation untenable.

  She was really looking forward to starting work again. Too much time had passed since her last job. Mentally, she hadn’t been in the right place to take on such a commitment, but now she definitely was.

  As the plane landed with a bump and a screech of tires, Livvy grinned across the table at Gabe.

  “We’re here,” she said.

  “We are.” Gabe unclipped his seat belt after the plane came to a halt. He stood and held out his hand for Livvy to take.

  “So?” she prompted as she curled her hand inside his. “Where’s here?”

  Gabe bent his head and brushed his lips against hers. “Peru.”

  With her stomach in knots of excitement, she squeezed his hand. “The Inca Trail,” she whispered. “You remembered.”

  Very early in their relationship, Livvy had mentioned she’d always wanted to hike to Machu Picchu, but neither Mark nor any of her friends had been interested in that type of trip, so she’d put her desire on the back burner and forgotten all about it. When she’d brought the subject up with Gabe, he’d nodded and listened, but she’d gotten the sense that he hadn’t shared her excitement about it.

  “Of course I remembered.” He tapped the side of his skull with his finger. “When it comes to you, Livvy, I never forget a thing.”

  She threw her arms around him. “Thank you. Oh God, thank you so much.”

  Gabe bent his head. “Happy honeymoon, Mrs. Mitchell,” he said against her lips.

  The taxi pulled up outside their hotel in Ollantaytambo, the place where they were staying for a couple of nights while they acclimatized to the altitude. After that, they were heading back to Cusco, where they would begin their hike to Machu Picchu.

  Gabe glanced over at Livvy. He could tell she was exhausted even though she kept assuring him she was all right. The only thing keeping her going was the excitement and the adrenaline.

  “You okay, darlin’?” he asked as they waited for the taxi driver to bring their bags.

  She nodded. “My chest feels heavy, and my muscles are aching, sort of like after a hard gym session. But I’m fine, honestly.”

  “It’s the altitude,” he said. “After a couple of days relaxing, you’ll feel much better.”

  He took her hand as they walked into the hotel. He couldn’t help but steal glances at her, his wife. A shiver crept up his spine as he watched her looking around, taking everything in. How the fuck he’d gotten this lucky was something he questioned regularly. The horrific time with Tabitha and his man-whore rampage following her betrayal se
emed like a different life that had happened to a different guy. With Livvy, he’d found his intellectual equal and his soft place to fall—his soul mate.

  They checked in and went up to their room. Gabe opened the door and ushered Livvy inside. “It’s not exactly the Plaza.”

  “I don’t care,” she said with a wide grin as she rubbed her hands together. “This is going to be the best holiday ever. You’re the best ever.”

  Gabe waggled his eyebrows. “Careful, darlin’. My ego is barely held in check most of the time. You rub it with those talented hands of yours, and you may just unleash it.”

  Livvy laughed. “Don’t worry. If that happens, I’ll think of something suitable to bring you back down to earth.” She drifted over to the window. “Wow, look at that view,” she said, encouraging Gabe to join her.

  He crossed the room and stood behind her. His arms curved around her waist, and he rested his chin on her shoulder as they stared up at the mountains surrounding the hotel. They almost felt close enough to touch.

  Livvy twisted her head for a quick kiss. “Isn’t it gorgeous?”

  “It is very nice. You are gorgeous.”

  Livvy turned in his arms and curved her hands around his neck. Her fingers twisted in his hair, a habit of hers that he loved. Her lips parted, and her skin flushed. Gabe recognized those tells as desire.

  “How tired are you?” she murmured.

  He touched his hand to her cheek, his middle finger playing with her earlobe. “Ask me, Liv.”

  Her breath hitched, and she swallowed. “Take me to bed.”

  His hands curved underneath the ass he couldn’t get enough of, and he hitched her legs over his hips. She bent her head, allowing him to capture her mouth. With a groan, he took her over to the bed and gently laid her down. Their lovemaking the previous night had been hurried, desperate, and passionate. Tonight, he was going to take his time, to savor every inch of his perfect wife’s body. He might have been tired and lethargic because of the thin air that high up, but if she could find the energy to make love, so could he.