Page 10 of Say I Do

“You’re just being sweet.”

“I told you that I enjoy the sound of your voice.” My thumb strokes her wrist.

“I enjoy yours too.” Gabriella leans into me, rising on her tiptoes to kiss my cheek. I’m a bastard because I turn my head and claim her mouth. She doesn’t try to stop me. No, Gabriella gives me what I want. Her lips part for me so that I can deepen the kiss.

When I lift my head, we’re both breathing heavily. Gabriella’s cheeks are even more pink; her lips are redder too.

“You’re so fucking beautiful." A smile spreads across her face, giving me her dimples. “Come on, food will be here soon.”

I take her hand, leading her down the hallway and past the living room to the kitchen area. A smaller, less formal dining room is located directly off it, in front of the windows. I never use the formal dining room.

“We can use the formal dining room if you want.”

“Do I look like I need a formal dining room?” She motions to her clothes. Gabriella had put on pajamas. Her red shorts have tiny candy canes on them. The white shirt has a reindeer across the center. Although it's not a matching set, something about it makes it endearing. Everything about her is. "All my meals were consumed in my bed, which was a sofa." She lets out a small giggle.

I know. I've seen her at home, but I can't tell her that. She had so little but still always wore a smile. She was always kind regardless of her situation. “What do you want to drink?” I ask instead.

“Water is fine.”

“You don’t want anything else?” Gabriella shrugs, and I know she’s trying to be polite.

“I have sparkling cranberry juice.”

“Really? That’s my favorite.”

Again, I know. I’d never had it before. It’s why I bought it when I saw her getting it. I paid attention to all the details I could get when Cole would hand over his report on her at the end of each day.

"I'll have one with you." I go to the fridge to pull out our drinks along with some water. "The food should be here any second. I'm not that great of a cook."

"I can cook if you want. It could be part of my job." She sounds excited about it, so I nod in agreement. I don't love the idea of her working for me. Only because I don't want her doing things for that reason, but there is no getting around it right now. I’ll just have to come up with a solution so she can do as little as possible without feeling as though she’s doing so.

"Did you enjoy working at the coffee shop?" I ask, wanting to know more about her. I've gathered a few details from our conversations at the coffee shop, but I still need more.

Always more.

8

GABRIELLA

“I’m not sure I can eat any more.” I let out a sigh, leaning back in my chair. I can’t recall the last time I ate this much. If ever. Caleb ordered a ridiculous amount of food. I also can’t remember the last time I felt this relaxed.

“But there is still dessert.” Caleb lifts a lid off a piece of chocolate cake.

“Oh no.” I lick my lips. “Chocolate cake is my favorite.”

“Is that so?” He smirks as if he already knows that. I might have told him before. I can’t recall. We always talked about random things when he came into the coffee shop. Caleb would ask me questions and let me go on and on. He's the only person on this earth I believe enjoys my rambling.

Caleb puts a bite on his fork and brings it to my mouth. Of course I open it. I let out a small moan with the taste exploding.

“What made you want to be a nanny?” he asks, bringing another bite to my mouth.

Are we going back to this? I kind of skipped over it when he started pushing about the coffee shop and what other jobs I might want. I didn’t love the job, but I do enjoy being around people.

“I like kids.” There. That’s the truth. "Do you?” I try to picture him holding a baby. He's always in a suit, except for now. This is the first time I have ever seen him not in one. He appears more relaxed.

“Like kids?” He takes a bite for himself. “Pretty good.”

“Yeah, do you like kids?” I stare at him, really wanting to know the answer. It shouldn't matter to me, but it does. And I think I know why. I just can't let my mind go there. That's way too soon.

---