“I’m so glad,” Kia said with sincerity. She paused, her eyes a little surprised. “You know, Gabrielle. You’re not like we expected.”
Gabrielle grew a little wary, but wasn’t sure why. “I’m not?”
Kia’s lips curved into a smile. “You’re much nicer.” The other woman sent Damien an approving look. “I’m really glad Damien brought you here tonight.”
Gabrielle let out a silent sigh of relief even as she refused to look at Damien. “So am I.” And she meant it. She just wished it hadn’t been because of Damien that she was here.
Then she realized the others were looking at her as if they knew there was more to her and Damien’s relationship, but thankfully talk turned to general things while they worked their way through the rest of the meal.
Just as they were finishing dessert, the housekeeper, Louise, came into the room to tell both women that their babies were growing restless. Kia and Danielle instantly jumped up and so did their husbands, jokingly saying that they wanted to see their daughters, too.
Danielle went to leave the room, then stopped and frowned. She opened her mouth to speak but Damien cut her off, “Don’t worry about us, Danielle. We’ll be fine until you come back.”
“Are you sure?”
Damien gave a slow smile. “What man in his right mind would complain about being left alone with such a beautiful woman?”
Danielle laughed. “Oh, you’re such a smooth talker.” She winked at Gabrielle. “Watch out for him, Gabrielle.”
Gabrielle tried to smile but it felt forced. Her heart was thumping, and not just because she would be alone with Damien. She was so thankful the housekeeper hadn’t brought either of those babies into the dining room. She wasn’t sure she could bear it.
She waited until the others left the room, then put her napkin on the table and stood. “I need some fresh air,” she choked, hurrying toward the patio doors. They were closed to keep the room air-conditioned and she prayed they weren’t locked. They weren’t.
But as she stepped outside onto the well-lit terrace, the humidity that swamped her was as heavy as her heart. She stood there for a moment, letting it overwhelm her, welcoming the pain…the ache of loss.
“You don’t like children?” Damien said from behind her, making her jump.
She schooled her features into a blank mask before slowly turning around. “What makes you say that?”
“Gut instinct. Most women usually fuss over babies and all that motherly stuff.” His eyes pierced the distance between them. “You didn’t.”
She held his gaze. “Perhaps I have other things on my mind.”
“Like what?”
“My father.”
He inclined his head, conceding the point as he came toward her. “For your information, Kia’s baby, Emma, is only a few weeks old. Danielle’s little girl, Alexandra, is about nine months.”
“I’m sure they’re gorgeous,” she said, her heart breaking even as she was surprised he knew the ages of his friends’ children.
“They are.”
She wanted to ask if he liked children. And if he ever planned on having another one day. Only, she couldn’t say that. Not to the man who’d unknowingly fathered one child already. A child who had died.
She swallowed hard and tried not to let him see her anguish. “Your friends are really nice,” she said, pushing aside her heartache.
“Not boring suits at all, eh?”
She winced. “No.” She felt bad now for being so judgmental about them.
“Apology accepted.”
Her eyes widened. “I didn’t apologize.”
“I know,” he said with a slight smile as he came toward her.
She was suddenly too aware of how close he was. Quickly she turned away to look out over the lush landscape. “Um, this is a beautiful house. And this garden is just lovely.”
Desperately she tried to concentrate on the beauty of the well-lit setting. A light breeze dipped palm fronds in the swimming pool, and flowers from the frangipani trees spread a blanket of white over a patch of lawn. Hibiscus provided splashes of red-orange color.
He put his hand on her arm and turned her back to him. Something deep kindled in his eyes. “Not as beautiful as you,” he murmured, pulling her toward him.
Oh God. Five years ago she’d lacked the know-how to control her crazy feelings for him. Now she could feel the same craving for him gnawing beneath the surface.
“What do you want, Damien?” she said huskily, unable to stop herself from savoring the warm, male scent of him rising up in the pocket of air between them. At a subconscious level, it tantalized her senses and turned her legs to jelly.
His gaze dropped to her mouth. “You.”
His head began to lower, and she unwillingly swayed toward him. Dear Lord. Suddenly five years was too long between kisses.
In the space of a heartbeat, he molded her mouth to the fullness of his own. Unable to ignore the taste of warm memories, she groaned and kissed him back, as a wonderful sensation quivered through her. Heat licked at her veins and she needed no further coaxing to let him venture into the hollows of her mouth while she clutched at his shoulders and let him intoxicate her.
Long moments later he broke off the kiss. She watched a pulse beat wildly in his throat, her mind staggered with incredulous wonder. She hadn’t known it until now, but she’d missed this feeling of sharing and being one.
With him.
And then reality hit at the sound of the others coming back into the living room.
He stepped back and gestured for her to precede him through the patio doors. “After you,” he murmured, the huskiness still lingering in his voice, affecting her, making her legs feel shaky as she hurried inside.
After that, the rest of the evening was nerve-racking for Gabrielle. Damien appeared to enjoy his friends’ company, but whenever he looked at her, the desire in his eyes made her heart thud against her ribs.
Yet knowing she’d tapped a raw nerve back there on the patio gave her strength. She was glad their kiss had affected him as much as it had her. It made her feel not so needy. The downside was that it made her vulnerable. How could a woman not feel stirred knowing she’d touched a chord inside a man like Damien?
She breathed easier when he left the room to take a call on his cell phone, but his return sent a flutter of panic through her. There was an odd look in his eyes.