Page 34 of His Fantasy Bride (Things To Do Before You Die)

“That was fun,” she said when the tour was over. They were sitting on the wall, watching the other archeologists work, and drinking coffee out of plastic cups—a world away from the Savoy. Occasionally, someone would stop work and come over and say hi.

“You know most of the people here?” she asked.

“It’s a small world.”

“But one that you love?”

“Yes.” That love had been tested over the last year, but it had won through in the end. He’d wanted to share that life with Gabrielle, but how about with Gabby?

If he could just get a handle on the real woman. “Come to Cambridge with me.”

She’d been watching a girl painstakingly unearth a pottery artefact—there were a lot of Roman remains on the site—now she twisted to look at him. She studied his face, no doubt giving herself time to come up with an excuse, but in the end all she said was, “Why?”

“I’d like to show you where I live. Where I work. I can get you back in time for the show tonight.”

…

Two hours later, Vito pulled the door closed behind him. “So did you like the house?”

She’d been curiously silent on the tour, and he had no clue what she was thinking. He loved his home—had bought it five years ago when he’d first moved to Cambridge. It was in the center of a tall Georgian terrace, and far too big for a single man, but he’d liked it on sight.

“It’s beautiful,” she said with a sigh.

Actually, it was in need of some serious work. He’d been completing it as he’d had the time and the funds, though that wasn’t a problem now. While he was giving away the proceeds from his grandfather’s company, he was keeping the private inheritance. He’d certainly never be short of money again.

Maybe he should tell her that. Would it make him seem a little more mercenary? A little more human?

He wanted to ask if she could see herself living here. But something stopped him.

Fear?

But of what?

That she would say no? Or that she’d say yes?

He’d been doing a lot of thinking over the past few days. Gabrielle had been everything he’d believed he wanted in a wife. She’d been the sort of woman he had always dated in the past, but he’d never been able to take things the next step forward. If he was totally honest, when he’d gotten to know those women he’d been…bored. He hadn’t been able to envisage a lifetime with any of them. They offered no surprises, never challenged him. So, he’d always backed out, told them he wasn’t ready to settle down.

Now he could see that he’d been looking for some idealized image of a woman.

Gabrielle had come into his life at a time when he’d been doubting himself. His grandfather had set him up with that deathbed wish, knowing he’d be tempted by the lifestyle. Gabrielle had been his way of rejecting that life. He’d latched onto her as the good woman who would see him through his time of temptation. But maybe there had been more. Had he sensed something else in her? Had he sensed Gabby underneath the prim and proper Gabrielle?

Had she appealed to him on some level he’d never allowed himself to feel before?

On the surface she had been so goddamned right for him.

He gave her a sideways glance—the magenta streaks in her hair stood out in the sunshine, her face was free of makeup, and she was casually dressed. She had a little frown between her eyes that disappeared when she caught him watching her.

“So what next?” she asked.

His house was walking distance to the station. She could be in London in an hour. There was no reason why she couldn’t live here and still continue to work. If she wanted to.

“You want to see where I work?”

She made a quick nod. “I’d love to.”

He took her hand, wanting to touch her, to hold onto her as though she might vanish. Despite her positive comments, she was drawing away from him, and he had no clue how to keep her.

He had a feeling that Gabby was his one chance. He could have everything. These days, a sense of excitement filled him as he woke each morning. And that was down to Gabby. She was fun, and he wanted her desperately; she made him feel alive. At the same time, he knew Gabrielle existed underneath, and she would be good for him, someone to live up to.

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