Page 142 of Angel Eyes

The air shifted behind me, and I could feel her presence without even looking.

“Gabriel.”

Her voice wrapped around every muscle in my body, the sweet texture of it seeping into my skin and imprinting on my soul. I turned, taking in the shimmering red of her dress, the sunset burnishing the brown-gold of her hair. She was as beautiful as the day I first saw her, and I knew with a bone-deep certainty I would have found this woman in any place, in any lifetime.

“Juliet.”

Her sparkling green gaze roamed over me as I approached her slowly. There were so many things I wanted to tell her, but if this moment was all we had, there was only one thing I needed her to know.

“I love you so much more.”

She swallowed, her slender throat bobbing. “More than what?”

“Anything. Everything.” Her breath caught as I lifted a hand to stroke her cheek. “And if you’ll let me, I promise to show you every day for the rest of our lives.” I reached into my jacket pocket, and my mouth twitched in amusement when her eyes fell wide.

“Don’t worry. It’s not a ring.”

Yet.

I extracted a piece of paper, handing it to her, and she unfolded it with trembling fingers. A strangled noise slipped past her lips as she scanned it, and when she looked up again, her eyes were bright with tears. “Are you serious?”

I nodded. I had never been more serious about anything in my life.

“I told you I would do whatever it takes to keep you, and I meant it.” I glanced down at the ticket to New York with my name on it. “If that means following you across the ocean, across the world, then I will. Because I do trust you, Juliet. And I’ll do whatever it takes to prove it.”

“But everything is here.” She released a shaky exhale, clutching the paper tighter. “Your friends and family, your gallery, your whole life—”

“You are my life,” I said, cupping her face between my palms. “And I’m done running from it. I’m not holding anything back this time, I swear. Please believe in me again.”

She pressed her eyelids shut before wrapping her fingers around my wrists. “No. You’re not coming with me to New York.”

All the air seeped from my lungs. “What?”

She didn’t want me to come with her?

“You’re not coming with me,” she repeated, her smile a thing of beauty as her eyes swam with moisture. “Because I’m staying here in Paris. With you.” As soon as the words left her lips, I swore the earth shifted beneath my feet, my entire world igniting with color.

“Are …” I swallowed against a rush of emotion rising in my throat. “Are you sure?”

She nodded as tears slipped from the corners of her eyes, trailing down her cheeks. “I am. I may not know what the future holds, but I believe in you—in us.” Her hands left my wrists to trace my jaw, and a hard shudder moved through me. “I forgive you, Gabriel. And I love you too.”

In a heartbeat, I captured her lips in an earth-shattering kiss, moving over her mouth hard and strong. Our tongues brushed in wild, desperate strokes as I pulled her body flush with mine, swallowing her tiny whimpers and kissing her like the world was ending.

And in a way, it almost had.

Walking away from Juliet was the biggest mistake of my life, and when I thought I’d lost her for good, it was like the stars had fallen straight out of the sky, plunging my world into total darkness. But now that I had her in my arms again, I was never letting go.

Juliet Chandler, my salvation, was mine forever.

Epilogue

Juliet

“You know this is reckless, right?”

I shaded my eyes against the sunlight glinting off the river and squinted up at Gabriel before giving his scarf a playful tug. “Oh, come on, don’t be such a spoilsport. It’ll be fun.”

“And dangerous.” He propped his bike against the bridge parapet, sliding his arms around me and pulling me close as the autumn breeze ruffled his hair. “Remind me why you want a picture of us riding across this bridge together?”

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