‘I’ve got this one covered but, you’re right, I can only stay a few days unless I resign.’ His arm tightened around her shoulder as she tensed in rejection of that idea. ‘I know you want to travel and I don’t want to stop you doing that. So maybe I could come over every couple of weeks. Even for just a few nights. I can meet you wherever.’
Every couple of weeks? She vehemently shook her head. ‘You can’t fly all this way and back again all that often. You’ll get too tired and it costs too much.’
He opened his mouth to argue but she pressed the backs of her fingers against it. Because no way was she being apart from him for that long.
‘Maybe we could travel together for a while when the season ends.’ She smiled when she saw his frown, pushed her fingers more firmly against his lips when she felt them move. ‘I could come back and dance for the rest of the season. Even as just the substitute. I feel bad for running out on Chelsea.’
His eyes widened and the rest of him went very still.
‘I want to come back with you,’ she whispered. ‘I don’t want to do this trip on my own. I want to go to all the fun places, but I want to do thatwithyou. I’m not lettingyougo either.’
He pulled her back into a tight embrace. She felt his face, hot and hard pressed against her neck. He said nothing for a while. Didn’t kiss her. Just held her close. The way she needed to be held. His muscles bunched. What she’d just said meant something to him. As she began to understand that he really meant it. That he loved her and wanted her. And, scared though she was, the beauty and magic of it overruled that fear.
He pulled back and looked in her eyes. ‘You know I’m going to buy the Treehouse.’
‘Oh, Gabe, I can’t let you do that. It’s not worth it.’ Her lawyer had been in touch, the offers from developers had started—an insane amount of money was on the table because of the location.
‘Then you’d better take it off the market and let me use the money I would have spent buying it, fixing it. Itcanbe fixed. I love it and so do you. We’re not letting it go.’
The emotion bursting within her rendered her immobile—so far beyond happy, she was speechless.
His smile just broadened. ‘We’ll get the tree fixed, we can replant the garden and let the hedge grow back.’
She inhaled deeply and managed a nod. He cupped her face with both his hands and drew closer to kiss her. Kiss her and kiss her and kiss her.
Thanks heavens his hotel was a mere five-minute drive from Covent Garden because in those few magic minutes the cab’s windows were fogged and she was frantic to be alone with him.
‘This is a bit flasher than my hostel,’ she said vaguely, blinking as they walked through the gleaming, posh lobby.
‘Wait ’til you see my suite,’ he murmured, guiding her to the lift.
Anticipation shimmied through her veins.
He caught her eye; a wild look entered his. ‘Just give me a chance to unlock the door, okay?’
She skipped alongside him, but once in the room he didn’t stop by the massive bed—instead he led her the twenty steps further into the enormous ensuite. And in the doorway, Roxie stopped—stunned.
The bath was huge, full of steaming water and billions of white, sparkling bubbles. There were soft scented candles lit, there was all indulgence to be had.
He caught her jaw-to-the-floor moment and winked. ‘Know you like your bubbles.’
Indeed there were two champagne flutes on a tray, but Roxie’s eyes were glued to the thing standing beside them.‘That’s not a bottle, that’s practically a keg.’ She walked over to it, touching the dewy glass, the coldness assuring her this was all real—not her mind presenting the most incredible fantasy ever.
‘You get kegs of beer,’ he jeered lightly. ‘That’s a Jeroboam. There are more in the fridge. Formylist.’
His teasing talk kindled her own, easing her through the emotion of seeing the effort he’d gone to for her. ‘Must be a massive fridge.’ She’d never seen such a giant bottle of champagne.
He chuckled. ‘I thought this was a better size for sharing.’
‘Because you’ve invited the whole rugby team here?’ She pretended to look around the room for the crowds. But less than a second later she sobered, because she truly couldn’t believe he’d done all this. For her.
‘How did you get this organized so quickly?’ They’d only been in the hotel a minute.
Gabe reached into his pocket. ‘I don’t know if you’ve come across these things much, Roxie. They’re called mobile phones.’ He pulled out two of them—his and her silver-clad one.
Horrified, she stared at the two gadgets. And then she couldn’t see them any more because her eyes flooded with tears denied too long. Rivers and rivers of tears.
The phones hit the floor with a clatter and in a second she was pressed tight against his hard strength.
