Page 37 of Embracing Love

Chapter 17

Gabriel spoke politely to everyone, he had that quiet Parisian reserve, and therefore refrained from being too loud or becoming too over-friendly with people he barely knew.

Tanya stole another quick glance at him while he talked to Michael. He was dressed in a casual charcoal gray business suit and wore a pale pink shirt. She couldn’t help but notice how good he looked, even wearing pale pink. It made his hair look even darker.

She’d imagined what it might be like to run her fingers through his hair…

Nadine shifted beside her a little as the growing circle of people expanded. Gabriel stood to her right with Michael, Mitchell and Russell next to him, and Nadine was on her left.

Yet everyone else in the group dimmed in the background, because she could only sense Gabriel next to her. Her heightened senses savoured and absorbed every detail about him, from the fabric of his jacket as it brushed against her arm, to the strong, woody scent she’d come to associate with him. Her legs weakened, and her heart still thrashed with wild abandon. And yet he stood calmly, oblivious to the landslide reaction her body was having to his close proximity.

They must have been talking about the collaboration between the two companies because Michael spoke up a little louder then and looked at her. “Tanya will be covering how our companies have worked together on the new campaign. Her presentation is the first one of the day tomorrow. I think it’s definitely a must-see for both of you.”

“I look forward to it.” Gabriel replied, turning to her. His gaze raked all over her face and she held her breath, conscious that her breathing would run riot if she didn’t.

It had been a while since they’d last met. But, good god, she found herself falling into him, into his gaze, into his space—he held her spellbound, the way he looked at her.

“Thank you for inviting me over, Michael,” he said, and broke the spell as he addressed her boss.

Tanya let out a breath, slowly, then took a gulp of her champagne. She caught the tail end of Michael’s response. “The pleasure is ours and don’t forget, tomorrow evening, once all the hard work is done, we’re having a party. Expect lots of great food and drink.” Everyone laughed and soon the group began to break up a little as people separated unconsciously into little groups of their own.

Nadine left her side and made her way to Dorothy, the Europeans banded together with Mitchell, Russell and Michael broke apart from the group and that just left her and Gabriel staring at one another.

Gabriel turned to face her and his gorgeous eyes, the perfect blend of smooth, rich chocolate and flecks of amber, held her captive. She’d never noticed the amber before. They stood face to face, and it was difficult to look anywhere else but at him. She didn’t want to look anywhere else but at him.

Oh good god, she was in trouble.

Say something.

Say something and don’t just stand there like a mindless moron.

She moistened her lips, only because she hadn’t recovered from the dry mouth, and the breaths she had tried to control, came quick and fast.

“I didn’t know you were coming.” Her voice sounded strangely normal compared to how she felt inside.

“I’m here for your presentation.”

He didn’t really mean that.

“I’m only doing one, but there are quite a few interesting ones this year. I know Nadine is doing three.”

“I only came to see yours.”

“Oh, really?” Oh shit.

She was melting into the secret space between them, the place where some magic was taking place, she couldn’t see it, but she could feel it. And she knew it was there because her body was going crazy just by standing face to face with this man.

How was she expected to deliver her presentation knowing what he had just told her?

Had he really come to see hers and hers alone?

As though she wasn’t nervous enough already. His eyes narrowed and he looked at her strangely, a look she couldn’t quite decipher the intent of. Except that it had been a while since a man had looked at her in that way.

“I look forward to seeing what you’ve put together.” The way he spoke in that sexy accent of his, he could make boring sentences sound like a call to the bedroom.

“I’d better over deliver.” She smiled weakly, and her stomach gurgled like a geyser about to erupt forth. She was now even more acutely aware that she looked like a mess, and especially so compared to the svelte Nadine. Self-conscious and feeling uneasy, Tanya crossed her arm over her stomach, her free hand still clutching her glass of champagne.

“I’m sure you will.” He gave her a relaxed smile but she felt conscious of herself, of the tiredness on her face, in her body, and yet—and yet, just him being so near to her, him just being here, filled her with a level of excitement she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

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