Page 48 of Far From Center
Good grief the guy was insane about his clothing. She’d never seen anything so carefully folded before. She was willing to bet he ironed his underwear as well as the sheets and probably the towels. He’d separated the glasses in the kitchen cabinets by exactly one-and-three-eighths inch. He’d neatly stacked the pamphlets and organized them alphabetically. Feeling wicked, she tossed his swim trunks carelessly on the bed, then went into the main room to slide the pamphlets randomly around the table, pull one kitchen towel askew, and tilt a picture slightly off level. Then she did something that she knew drove Terrelle crazy — she opened a book, cracked the spine, and laid it face-down on the coffee table.
Afterward she mixed a batch of margaritas and waited. She didn’t have to wait long. Gabe came through the door less than thirty minutes after she’d left him.
“Put on your swimsuit, drink down one of these, and get ready for fun.”
He took the glass she handed him, his gaze zeroing in on the scattered pamphlets. She could have sworn she saw his eyelid twitch.
“What are we doing?” He took a quick sip of the drink then sat it down, scooping the pamphlets up and shuffling them like cards, placing them neatly back on the table before picking up his drink again.
“Jet skis. How do you feel about skimming insanely fast on top of the ocean waters?”
He straightened the picture above the sofa, then walked into the kitchenette to do the same to the towel. “Walking on water? I’ve done that. Although I’ve never walked insanely fast on top of water.”
“Humans don’t walk on water; they sit on a jet ski. It’s powered by gasoline with an engine. So. Much. Fun. Now, get on your swimsuit.”
He picked up the book. “Nyalla, how could you do this? There’s a crease in the spine. You’ve broken it and now it won’t stay closed. We’ll need to burn it and buy a new one.”
“It’s a paperback, Gabe. They cost ten dollars at the grocery store. Bending pages and breaking the spine means it’s well loved. And you’re not burning my book.”
He scowled that sexy scowl and ran his finger along the crease. “Can you hide it so I can’t see it? It’s going to be hard to focus on anything else with this damaged book flopping open on the table.”
She snatched it out of his hand and plopped it on the table. “I’m not done reading it. Now go get your swimsuit on.”
He glanced into the bedroom, then back at her, shoving his hand in his pocket. “In a minute. I have something for you. It’s a gift because human men give human women gifts. And angels like to give gifts too.” He pulled a box from his pocket and handed it to her.
She took it, sliding the lid off the blue box. Inside was a gold band bracelet with irregular pieces of dark blue sea glass embedded throughout. She gasped, wondering for a second how he’d come up with the money to buy it. This was Gabriel. He clearly hadn’t stolen it. Had he sold a kidney or something?
“It’s sea glass, because you like the sea.” He shifted from side to side, holding his hands awkwardly at his side. “And they’re the color of your eyes — midnight blue with dark gray and azure flecks.”
Men never gave her presents. Well, besides her brother, and he certainly never gave her a present like this.
“I love it,” she proclaimed, then threw herself at him, wrapping him tight in a hug. He relaxed against her, his arms coming around her waist.
“I’m so glad.” His words were said into the top of her head, his breath warm. In fact, his whole body was warm. And it felt wonderful to be wrapped up in him like this. She wanted to stay here forever, but they had an appointment in ten.
Still, they could continue to hug for a few minutes. And he didn’t seem to mind one bit. Finally, she pulled away, looking up at him with a smile. “I can’t wear it while we’re out in the ocean. I’m afraid I’d lose it. But as soon as we come back and I get a shower and cleaned up, I’m putting it on and not taking it off.”
He blinked. “To sleep, even? I think you should take if off when sleeping. Or showering. Or in the pool. Although I’m pleased that you like it so, and I’m honored that you want to wear it all the time.”
“I do want to wear it all the time.” She pulled away and spun him around, smacking him on the rear. “Now hurry up and get your swim trunks on so we can go play.”
Just as he’d done with the sailboat, Gabe had a natural talent when it came to the jet skis. They spent most of the afternoon zooming around, racing each other to the lighthouse point and back. The two hours was up all too soon, but they had work to do to get ready for tonight’s meeting, and Terrelle had promised to bring shrimp and fried plantains for lunch.
Nyalla pushed the wet hair out of her face, grabbing Gabe’s hand as they walked back to their hotel. “That was fun, wasn’t it?”
“It was. Almost as much fun as walking on the water.”
He was teasing. When she’d heard Sam describe this angel, heard the imp rant about how boring and prudish and intractable Gabriel was, Nyalla had assumed the worst. Clearly Sam had never seen this side of Gabe. Either that, or being forced into humanity had changed him.
Would he be different once he became an angel again? Would all this fade away? He’d bought her the bracelet. He’d made love to her. They were best friends. They were more than friends. But how much of that would fall away when he was an angel again? How much of this would he regret?
“Someday I might like to try this scuba diving you’ve talked about. And the snorkeling.” Gabriel reached out his arm around her shoulder and pulled him against him.
They walked down the wet sand, their bodies touching, his hand warm against her skin. It was easy to think that their love was the stuff of romance novels, but it was a human Gabriel she’d fallen in love with. How much of who he was now was Gabriel the archangel, and how much was due to the magical spell?
“I would be happy to teach you scuba diving and snorkeling.” She poked him gently in the ribs with her elbow. “And someday I’d like to try this ‘becoming the ocean’ you’ve talked about.”
He rubbed her shoulder. “When I’m an angel again, I’ll share that with you.”
