Page 13 of If You Stayed

“Sorry. I had to find something different to wear.” I smoothed my slightly shaky hands over my gown as my eyes glanced around the room, searching for Gabriel. When my stare returned to Henry’s, I allowed a small fake smile to slip out. “How do I look?”

“Like you aren’t even trying,” he whispered before linking my arm with his. “Let’s try this one more time. And I’d prefer if you didn’t make such a scene this go-around.”

“Yes, dear,” I sarcastically remarked. “I’ll be your perfect little robot.”

Henry pinched my arm slightly in response to my remark, and I yipped quietly, but I didn’t say another word. He ledus over to where Gabriel and his redhead were situated. My stomach instantly began to twist once more as we stood in front of the two.

“Let’s try this introduction again,” Henry smiled, nodding toward Gabriel. It was unsettling how quickly my husband could seemingly shift his whole mood when others were around. It was as if his perfect mask was always in place except when he and I were alone together.

“Sweetheart, this is Gabriel Sinclair of GS Architecture, and Ramona, his associate,” Henry said.

Associate?

Not his girlfriend?

The way my stomach slightly unknotted from that news should’ve been a big warning sign.

“And this is my beautiful, brilliant, successful wife, Kierra,” Henry continued.

“I could get used to that kind of introduction,” I half-joked. If Henry always treated me the way he did in front of others, I would’ve been head over heels for the man. It was the private conversations that made me despise him. The hardest thing about my husband was how he looked at me in front of others compared to how he acted toward me in the privacy of our lives. I’d never met another man who acted like heaven in public but in the shadows felt so painfully like hell. He was the definition of a handsome devil.

I held my hand out toward Ramona first. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

“The pleasure is all ours,” Gabriel said as he reached hishand for me. As his palm linked with mine, a pool of heat gathered in my stomach and I worked like heck to keep tears from falling from my eyes. I probably held on to his grip too long. I probably left his hand moist from how much my own had been sweating. I’d probably appeared like a deer in headlights as our eyes locked together. Still, I couldn’t look away.

He dropped my hand.

I instantly missed his warmth.

I rubbed my sweaty palm against the side of my dress and forced another smile. “And how do you three know one another?”

“I told you,” Henry said. “He’s the head architect on the build.”

My jaw slackened. “You mean he’stheGabriel?” I asked, stunned. I turned back to Gabriel. “Henry says you’re one of the top three greatest architects in the whole world.”

Gabriel laughed the kind of laugh that made his left dimple deepen as if it had been carved out by Michelangelo himself. “I’d hate to know who the other two are. I’m a jealous man and would turn it into a competition to be first.”

“My wife didn’t mean any harm by the comment,” Henry urged. “Sometimes she speaks without thinking.”

Oh, screw you, Henry.

I smiled. “Yes. I didn’t mean anything bad by it. It’s very impressive.”

Gabriel’s hand brushed against his slight beard. “I took no offense. I’m not that sensitive. And thank you. That means alot to me. I’m surprised we haven’t met yet. Henry has spoken so highly of you.”

I wasn’t surprised that we hadn’t met. Henry left me out of many things. I didn’t even know the building plan for the new property was ready to go until a week ago. A construction team showed up to clear the land of trees, rocks, and debris. I had to force Ava to stay out of the way because she was so intrigued by construction and architecture. Buildings fascinated her even more than novels—which was saying a lot.

Gosh, Gabriel looked remarkable. So grown up. I’d never envisioned him with facial hair when I was younger, but it worked well for him. He looked so…adult. A handsome adult with a full beard. I bet someone was in love with him. How could they not fall in love with a face and stature like that? He was tall, dark, and handsome. And he definitely no longer dressed like a toad.

Armani now, it appeared.

“An architect,” I muttered, amazed. “You always wanted to be an architect.” The three looked at me confused. I shook my head. “Sorry. I meant that as a question. Did you always want to be an architect?”

I knew the answer because I knew him.

The answer was yes.

Just like his father.

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