Page 21 of Vicious Temptation

I take a deep breath, and glance back once more down the hall, towards my father’s office. The door is still closed.

Outside, I hear the sound of the SUV pulling up. It’s time to go.

I gather up all of my nerves, and walk outside to the waiting car.

—

Gabriel is waiting when Derrick and the movers’ van pull into the driveway. He’s dressed more casually than he was for dinner, in dark brown chinos and a sage-green button-down with the sleeves rolled up. His hair is slightly messy, tucked behind his ears, and for a brief moment, I can’t help but notice how handsome he is all over again. And just as quickly, I push the thought away.

Derrick parks the car and glances back at me. “You gonna be alright?” he asks, and I nod, tugging the sleeves of my sweater down over my hands so that I’m holding the fabric in my clenched fists. My nerves are jangling, a jittery feeling just beneath my skin, but I take a deep breath. I can do this. I want to do this.

“I’ll be fine,” I tell him, with more confidence than I actually feel, and slide out of the car.

Gabriel smiles at me as I walk up the driveway towards him. “I’m glad to see you made it alright. I would have sent someone to pick you up, if you needed it.”

“Oh, it was no trouble to have Derrick drop me off.” I’m glad he did, actually—it felt better having someone familiar with me for the ride over.

“I’ll have the movers take your things up to your room. And I’ll show you around in a few minutes, but I thought you might like to meet the children first. And I’ll introduce you to Agnes.”

I nod quickly. “That sounds great,” I tell him, ignoring the fresh flutter of nerves that washes over me.

The moment I follow Gabriel into the house, I’m instantly struck by how homey it feels. The outside of the tall Georgian structure looks very grand, but inside, it feels warm and cozy. I smell vanilla, and something faintly flowery as I walk in. The foyer has warm wood paneling along the lower part of the walls, with dusty blue wallpaper above that. The floor is a light hardwood, and as we walk further into the entryway, that soft flowers-and-vanilla scent grows stronger.

“They’re in the living room,” Gabriel says, and I follow him into a room that has that same soft, cozy feeling. Everything is done in tones of pale wood, dusty blue, and cream, and the furniture looks soft and plush, with chenille throw pillows and knitted throw blankets tossed over the surfaces of the sofa and armchairs. There’s a fireplace on one side, made of whitewashed brick, with candles set on the mantle. Two armchairs are on either side of the fireplace, and there’s a long sofa and a loveseat as well. I see two children perched on the loveseat, a girl and a boy, and an older woman on the sofa next to them, sitting primly and saying something to them in a low voice.

“Agnes,” Gabriel calls out as we walk into the room, and the older woman looks around immediately, a warm smile spreading over her face as she sees him. She looks over to me, and the smile stays on her face, though I see an appraising look in her eyes as she glances up and down. I can’t blame her, but it makes me feel a little as if I’m intruding.

“This must be Bella.” She smiles at me. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Agnes—I keep house for Gabriel. And I help with the children, but I hear that you’re here to help with that.”

“Agnes is being modest,” Gabriel says. “She’s been around since I was a child, working for my parents. I’ve known her all my life, and I don’t know what I’d do without her.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” I glance over towards the two children sitting on the loveseat. The younger one, the boy, is kicking his feet back and forth, a dark lock of hair falling into his face that he keeps blowing away. The girl is sitting stiffly, her expression impassive, her sandy dark blonde hair gathered into a high ponytail that faintly moves behind her.

The boy seems to lose his patience, jumping up from the loveseat and making his way over to us before either of us can say anything else. “I’m Danilo,” he pipes up, looking up at me. “But everybody calls me Danny.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Danny.” I smile at him, and he rocks back on his heels, giving me a brilliant grin.

“Dad says you’re staying here now. Is that true?”

I feel another flicker of nervousness. “Yes,” I tell him, even though I wonder if I should sound quite so sure about it. I have no idea how this is going to go, and if Gabriel is unhappy with me after the first few days?—

I very much don’t want to disappoint this eager little boy who is so excited to meet me. His sister is watching me warily from the loveseat, and I take a deep breath, walking past Danny to go and greet her.

“Hi.” I sit down on the couch where Agnes was a moment ago, smiling at her. “I’m Bella.”

She presses her lips together. “Cecelia.”

“It’s nice to meet you.”

Cecelia gives a quick, sharp nod, as if she’s not sure whether it’s nice to meet me or not, but she doesn’t want to be rude. I hear Gabriel let out a breath from behind me, and I force myself to keep my attention on Cecelia, and not look back at him. I’m anxiously curious to find out what he’s thinking, if he’s pleased with how all of this is going so far, but I can already tell that out of the two children, Cecelia is going to be harder to win over.

“We’ll get to know each other better,” I tell her. “It’s alright if you’re not sure about all this at first. I’m nervous about it, to be honest. But I’m glad to be here.”

She’s still watching me warily, her hazel eyes fixed on me, but I think I see her soften just the slightest bit.

“Danny, Cecelia.” Agnes claps her hands. “Why don’t you come and help me with the first bit of dinner? We’ll get it started while your dad shows Bella around the house.”

Cecelia pushes herself off of the loveseat at that, making a beeline for Agnes, and I turn around just in time to catch the grateful look that Gabriel shoots her. He gives Danny a quick hug, and then glances over at me. “Would you like a tour, Bella? And then I’ll show you your room.”

---