Page 70 of A Whiskey River Princess

When she was sure that his eyes were closed, she tiptoed over to the sofa and pulled out the last gift. But this one wasn’t wrapped. She held it out in front of him and smiled. “Open your eyes.”

He did as she asked and his eyes opened in surprise as he looked down at a cross-stitched picture of his cabin, setting in the snow with the woods around, in a gold frame. “Gabby…. This is beautiful. Did you make this?”

She nodded and without warning, he pulled her to him with one arm. “Oh, Gabby,” he breathed as he looked sincerely into her eyes, setting the picture aside. Then his lips descended upon hers as passion filled them both. He wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her across his lap, deepening the kiss as her breath quickened. Then he pulled back and brushed a strand of her hair away from her face as he looked in her eyes. The sincerity in his eyes said it all. “Gabby, I—”

“Shh,” she said as she placed a finger over his lips. “Please, don’t say it. Not now.” Tears filled her eyes, for she knew that hewas going to tell her that he loved her. But she couldn’t hear it. Not yet. Not now… she had responsibilities….

Dirk forced a smile as he let her up. After he moved his arms away, she immediately felt his absence. “I love the books and the picture.”

“I’m glad. Hiding it from you while I worked on it was hard.”

He helped her to her feet. “Thank you.” Even though he was smiling, he was suddenly distant.

She smiled, understanding. Instinctively, she reached up and touched her gold locket. “I love my locket, too, and the jewelry box. Thank you. Where did you find it?”

His smile broadened. “Again, that’s for me to know.” He winked.

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Gabriella objected, the spell of the moment broken. “I told you!”

He looked up, acting like he was thinking for a moment. A sly smile lit his lips as he wagged his eyebrows. “I know.”

“You!” She playfully shoved against his chest.

But Dirk caught her hand, suddenly serious. “The locket belonged to my mother.” He turned away and placed the portrait on the mantle and picked up both books.

“Oh, Dirk. I can’t accept—”

“Shush,” he cooed, taking her hands into his as sincerity touched his eyes. “You can and you will. I want you to have it.” Then he released her hands.

Gabriella nodded. “Thank you.”

He smiled as he walked over to his books.

She started toward the kitchen to put everything away, but Dirk stopped her, giving her a gentle smile. “Just leave it. I’ll put it away.”

Gabriella bit her lower lip as she looked into his eyes. “If you’re certain.”

Dirk nodded. “I am.”

She took a step back, toward her bedroom. It was funny that she already thought of it as hers. “I’ll just say goodnight, then.”

He gave her a small smile as he settled into the rocking chair with his new books. Buster laid on the floor beside him. “Good night.”

She turned and hurried to her room so he wouldn’t see the tears trickling down her cheeks.

Gabriella made it to her room just in time before the tears started to fall. Everything was going fine one minute, and then changed drastically the next… when she stopped him from saying that he loved her.

The truth was, she just couldn’t bear the thought of giving her heart completely to him, and then leaving. No, leaving would be hard enough as it was without that. But one thing was certain. He had stolen her heart, even without her giving it to him. Never before had a man stirred her, made her feel things that she had never felt before. Never before had a man stood up to her the way he had. No matter what happened, when she went back to Monaco, she would have the memories of her time with Dirk in Whiskey River to sustain her for the rest of her life.

She tried to sleep but spent most of the night crying instead. She was almost asleep when Buster started barking from Dirk’s room.

“Dirk?” she asked, her eyes half-open. Suddenly, there was a chill in the air. “Is that you?”

Nothing.

She turned over, settling in as she hugged the pillow to her chest, and tried to close her eyes. Suddenly, a strong hand clamped down over her mouth, and someone held her hands so tightly it hurt. She kicked and tried to scream, but the sound was muffled.

Buster’s barking grew louder, and he started to growl.

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