Page 25 of Ravishing Among the Roses
“Gabriel. You love me?”
“Yes.” His heart skipped a beat—what if Edmund didn’t love him back—but he realised that he needed to tell the truth and the truth was simple. He loved his strong gardener who saw him and who didn’t judge him and who cared deeply for the people around him. But Edmund simply joined him on the floor, kneeling with him.
“Thank goodness for that. I thought I was a fool to have fallen in love with you. My brother is going to rise off his death bed and murder me for this.”
Gabby roared with laughter. “No, he isn’t. Together we will thrive without him, and one day he’ll be irrelevant in our lives.”
“Our lives?”
“Yes. I want to build a life with you. I don’t know how that will work as I love the city and you are a country boy, and you need to be with your roses.”
Edmund gasped, then shook his head. “I can learn to love your city and you can learn to enjoy the country and we can have both together.”
“Spoken like someone who is accustomed to wealth.” Gabby made sure Edmund knew he was teasing because he didn’t want to ruin this moment with any of the logistics truths of their situation. Edmund loved him, and nothing was more important than that. He kissed him again, this time, cradling Edmund’s face in his palms.
“Gabriel.” Edmund whispered against his lips, and damned if it wasn’t the most precious thing Gabby had ever heard.
“I love it when you call me Gabriel. Everyone, even myself, calls me Gabby and so it feels special, a name just from you.”
“Because you are my angel. Gabriel.”
“And you are my Edmund, my teddy bear.” Gabby knew from the flash of Edmund’s eyes as they widened, that he’d probably use that nickname again.
Edmund shook his head. “Look at us. An angel and a teddy bear.”
“And what a glorious romance it is going to be.”
“Romance?” Edmund’s mouth flickered in a smile. “People put too much into the notion of romance.”
“Says the rose breeder.”
“Some say that roses are a language for love. From now on, all my roses are dedicated to my love for you.”
“Oh god, your talk. We are late!” Gabby scrambled to his feet. “I have so much to do.”
Edmund rested his palm in the centre of Gabby’s back and reached around him to pick up one of the dance cards from where it had fallen. He gently turned Gabby to face him, and tied the ribbon around Gabby’s wrist, then picked up the pencil. “Tell me what you need to do.”
Gabby couldn’t think, his heart was racing too fast, and all he could think was how much Edmund cared for him. He reached for the dance card and flicked through the tiny pages. The front cover had an angel printed on it, with his name in adelicate scroll – Gabriel’s list – and each page simply had lines. He couldn’t speak, it was too much, too perfect, and oh why hadn’t he thought of this before? He waved his arm helplessly towards the list on the wall, his non-linear list of things to do with messages to himself scribbled all over, and ... Oh. Edmund slowly copied out all the things into his little dance card.
“Now all you have to do is keep checking your wrist, and cross off each item as you go.” Edmund kissed him again, and Gabby pulled him into a hug. His heart was going to burst with the immensity of the moment. Not only did Edmund say that he loved him, he had demonstrated his love by finding a solution to Gabby’s biggest problem. He stroked his fingers over the ribbon tied so nicely around his wrist and suddenly everything seemed possible.
“Thank you.”
Edmund smiled. “Go and conquer.”
“What about you?”
“Oh, I’m going to sit in the main room, and stress about my talk.” A little flicker of Edmund’s brows stripped away all of Gabby’s horniness. His veins were bubbling with energy and usually he’d release it with sex, but the only person he wanted for the rest of his life was nervous about his upcoming speech, and so there was only one thing Gabby could do.
“We’ve already practiced it. You are going to be amazing.”
“And so you are.”
All he wanted to do was undress Edmund and spend hours worshipping him, but he had a show to run and things to organise, and he needed to make sure everything was perfect so Edmund could show everyone how amazing he was. Was this love? Or was it simply being given proper support? And wasn’t that love anyway?
“I love you so damned much, my teddy bear.” He kissed Edmund once more, then danced away, wanting to run or fuck or something with all this energy coursing through his veins.
“Go on with you. Thrive, and then we can celebrate when it’s done.”
