Page 30 of One Night with Cinderella

He was still annoyed as they all took their leave, but throughout the day, he found it hard to focus on the business proposal to present for board approval for the second CRESS restaurant in Paris.

It was a bitter pill to swallow that his parents held no regard for his happiness.

If nothing else. I’ve been given the freedom to do as I please and I’m grateful for that.

He lowered his hands from the keyboard and sat back in his chair behind his desk as he remembered the occasion those words had been said to him...

Monica lay on her stomach across the middle of her queen-size bed as Gabe rested on his side beside her with the dark gray satin sheets haphazardly strewn over their lower bodies. He trailed his fingers up and down her spine. He aroused tiny goose bumps across her soft skin as she gazed out the window at the stunning view of darkness claiming the Manhattan heavens as light began to fill windows of the towering skyscrapers in the distance.

The view was as beautiful as her new condo, but neither could rival her beauty when he stroked deep inside her and looked down at the satisfaction in her brown eyes.

They’d enjoyed making fiery love. It had been a week since they’d last sought out each other for pleasure. Although an hour had passed, they lingered in bed, still enjoying each other’s presence.

Ding.

He bent to press a kiss to her lower back as she reached to pick up the iPad from the nightstand.

“Room service is on the way,” she said, looking back at him over her shoulder.

Monica had purchased a condominium in one of those buildings that was mainly a hotel but had several floors designated for condos, combining the luxury and amenities of a hostelry with home ownership.

Gabe deeply massaged one fleshy cheek of her bottom before giving it a slap. She playfully scowled and arched a brow.

“Just making up for the slap you gave me earlier,” he said as she climbed from the bed nude.

He watched her, enjoying the sight of her soft buttocks as she bent over to find her robe, tangled with the duvet strewn on the floor. In the months since they’d become lovers, he’d seen more of her shy facade fade. Nearly gone was the skittish woman who’d made it her business to remain in the background of his family’s life. He wasn’t sure if it was her sudden wealth and independence or the confidence brought on by knowing he found her his best lover yet—something he had admitted to her on many occasions before, during and after sex.

“Yes, but I wasn’t in the right state of mind,” she said, pulling on a floor-length white cotton robe that was innocent on a hanger but thrilling on her body.

He loved the way the thin material skimmed her hard nipples and clung to her hips. He was used to lace and silk but found pleasure every time she peeled back her innocence and came alive under his touch. His arousal stirred as she ran her fingers through her disheveled hair and pushed the length behind her shoulders before leaving the room.

Gabe turned to reach for the iPad to turn on the seventy-inch television on the wall above the slate fireplace positioned across from the bed. He flipped through the channels, looking for business news but stopped at the sight of a photo of Monica crossing one of the many busy New York streets. He started to call out to her but stopped, knowing she never talked about the gossip in the press concerning her and her alleged father.

The camera cut to the face of a pretty brown-skinned woman in her seventies with reddish-brown soft curls and a friendly expression who looked very familiar. She and a younger woman were walking the beach as they talked.

“So, Mrs. Maynard, you are confirming the speculation that Monica Darby is in fact your niece by your brother, Brock Maynard?” the entertainment newscaster asked as the woman paused to gaze out at the sun setting above the ocean.

“Absolutely,” Phoebe said, resting her hands on her hips. She wore a linen powder blue shirt and pants. “And she may have one of those gag orders stopping her speaking on it, but I don’t. I am proud to have her as my niece and just wish we’d had the chance to know each other sooner.”

Gabe’s mouth opened a bit at that revelation. He moved to rise from the bed and cross the room to stand before the television. It was then he noticed that Monica favored the woman. A lot.

“And do you care to share the real story of her birth?”

“That is a story I will only share with my niece when she is ready to hear it,” Phoebe said before turning to give the camera a sparkling smile and a wink Gabe believed to be meant for Monica.

He glanced over and found her paused in the doorway with her hands still gripping the white-linen-covered cart, laden with the food they’d ordered à la carte from the restaurant downstairs.

She moved around the cart to reach the bed and turn off the television with the iPad. “Gabriel,” she chided him, facing him with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Why didn’t you just say you signed an NDA?” he asked as he retrieved the cart and removed the warmers from the plates.

She arched a brow.

“Right...because you signed an NDA.”

She remained silent.

“How are you enjoying your new life?”

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