Page 16 of Cinderella's One-Night Baby

Gabrielle’s deep, abiding love for Lucas and profound terror of losing him had allowed her to ignore her brother’s wisdom. And besides, how, she’d asked herself, could she miss something she’d never had?

It was pointless to wonder. That the Andrés effect was strong was one of only two certainties she had because she knew she wasn’t imagining that the attraction was mutual. She was inexperienced but not naive. With every passing minute she could feel the charge between them growing, a thought that thrilled and terrified her in equal measure.

She’d made a promise. A vow. No relationships. Just her and Lucas. The risks of giving herself to a man were just too strong.

But Andrés’s heaven-sent scent and the pull of those sensuous lips...

‘Tell me about your life,’ Andrés said once the coffees had been poured and they’d both demolished a delicatepetit foureach.

He could watch Gabrielle talk for ever. There was something about the way her mouth and face moved when she spoke that fascinated him. A deep thrum pulsed relentlessly through his thickened veins to imagine what those oversized lips would feel like crushed against his mouth.

As if she could sense the direction of his thoughts, her fingers flew to her mouth and rubbed gently against it. He was quite sure she was unaware of doing it.

‘What do you want to know?’

‘I don’t know... What is a typical day in the life of Gabrielle Breton?’

‘I suppose a typical working day starts with early morning cartoons and breakfast, then a fight with Lucas over wearing more than a pair of pants, then I drop him either at nursery or if my shift’s over the weekend at my mother’s, and work until my shift finishes and then collect him, go back home to throw something together for dinner, kick a ball about in the park—my brother has taught Lucas the joy of soccer and I’m now required to be the goalkeeper and have balls kicked at my face every day—and then I wrestle him into his pyjamas, read him a story and then bed.’ Her nose wrinkled and then her mesmerising eyes gleamed. ‘I bet it’s very different to a typical day in the life of Andrés Morato.’

‘Just a little bit,’ he admitted with a laugh, thinking of the few times his godsons had talked him into playing soccer with them. Another sharp pang pulled at his chest to remember he hadn’t seen them since Christmas.

Gabrielle’s oh-so-interesting, beautiful face lit up with a mischievous smile. ‘Yours is a life of glamour and travel while mine is a life of domestic drudgery and the vain hope on a work shift of actually catching some smug billionaire with a large haul of drugs.’

‘Am I still included in your smug billionaire hit list?’

Her delicious pillowy lips pursed in pretend concentration before she grinned. ‘I think we can safely let you go back to using facial recognition. After all, you’re a very busy and important man who pumps a lot of money into my country’s economy. I would hate to delay you on your important business.’

He adopted a deliberately smug expression. ‘Now you are thinking in the correct way.’

‘One evening with a billionaire and I’m already corrupted.’ Amusement dancing in her eyes, she lazily brought her coffee cup to her mouth. ‘By the time you take me home I’ll be stamping my feet at the unfairness of not having my own staff to help with all the chores.’

‘Tohelpwith the chores?’ He shook his head in faux disappointment. ‘If you are going to employ staff it is to do the chores for you.’

Her left eyebrow rose and wriggled. ‘Allthe chores?’

He raised his right eyebrow in imitation. ‘I am a very busy and important man.’

She put her cup and saucer back on the table without breaking the lock of their eyes. ‘I’m surprised you haven’t already mentioned that.’

‘Modesty forbade it.’

‘I would say you should give classes in modesty but your time is precious. I bet you don’t even have time to make yourself a snack when you’re hungry.’

‘I poured my own bourbon while I waited for you to finish getting ready earlier. Does that count?’

Her laughter whooshed through his ears and seeped into his veins. Gabrielle’s laughter was the definition of sexy.

‘When was the last time you did your own laundry?’ she challenged teasingly.

‘What is laundry?’ he joked, to more of that glorious laughter.

‘The last time you dusted?’

He wondered if she was aware of the lock of hair she was winding around her finger. ‘I have a vague idea of where the cleaning items are stored in all of my homes if that counts?’

Gabrielle was laughing so hard that she didn’t hear the call for the final toast of the evening to the Queen. It was only as fresh champagne flutes were delivered to their table and everyone around them started rising to their feet that she realised what was happening and followed suit.

‘If you stumble again, you are more than welcome to fall into me,’ Andrés’s deep voice murmured close to her ear.

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