stop.” Horrific images had popped into my head while he spoke, and I struggled to get rid of them. Time to change the subject. “How much longer till we’re there?” Gabriel had been able to book us a last minute flight to Paris out of Dulles International Airport, in Sterling, Virginia. It was the closest airport to us, at only an hour away.
“ ’Bout forty minutes.”
Dang, I thought we’d been driving for more than twenty measly minutes. After I put my food back in the cooler, I leaned my chair back and curled up on my side, facing the window.
For the rest of the drive, I pretended I wasn’t crying.
Chapter Fourteen
GABRIEL
“You should get some sleep. We’ve got a long flight ahead of us.”
Emily frowned and crossed her arms. She turned to look out the window next to her as people continued filing onto the plane. The steady stream of humans passed us with curious stares as we sat in our first class seats.
Before I had to turn off my phone for the flight, I dug it out of my pants pocket to send a quick email to Joseph, my personal shopper.
Joseph,
I have a female guest coming to stay with me for the foreseeable future. She’ll need an entire wardrobe, toiletries, the works. She prefers coconut scented shampoo. I’ll also need you to furnish the guest bedroom. Make it…feminine, I guess. As far as her size, she’s maybe a head shorter than me and around 52 kg. Bra size is 95D. No clue what shoe size.
If you can get this done by tonight, there’ll be a generous tip in it for you.
-Gabriel
The bra size was a guess, but I’d be willing to bet my Rolex that it was spot on. It was a hidden talent of mine. Besides, I knew a D cup when I saw one… Or two , as the case usually was.
Em’s quiet voice brought me out of my musings. “I’m scared to go to sleep,” she said, turning back to face me. Her red-rimmed eyes were puffy and watery. “Every time I close my eyes, I see his face.”
My cold, unused heart ached for her. I knew how bad it could be at first. The pain was constant, and followed you like a shadow. You’d be okay for ten minutes, and then your mind would snap back to the unbearable pain, like Oh yeah, my life sucks and I want to die. Silly me, how could I forget?
I had no comforting words for her, so I did the only thing I could: I wrapped my arm around her shoulder, pulling her against me as I kissed the top of her head.
Chapter Fifteen
EMILY
I was in Paris . I still couldn’t believe it. From the back seat of our taxi, I watched in awe as we drove to Gabriel’s place. The sun had set, and the lights of the city cast everything in a warm, orange glow. It was beautiful.
Eventually we stopped in front of a huge, seven-story building. The roof’s dark gray shingles extended down to the top floor, and light gray stone encased the building. The street entrance to the lobby was a giant archway, with a gargoyle on each side. The windows were all arched and little wrought iron terraces sat outside them, some with plants and flowers. The exception was the top floor. It had a terrace that ran the whole length of the building.
I climbed out of the car, staring up in disbelief. “ This is where you live?”
“Yep. Up in the penthouse.”
Oh my…
As my mouth hit the ground, he came to stand next to me, suitcases in hand. “Ready?”
I nodded dumbly, incapable of speech at the moment, and followed him inside. Black streaked the otherwise white marble floors of the lobby, and a large crystal chandelier hung overhead. The walls were mostly windows, giving us a great view of the nighttime streets.
A second later the elevator dinged, its shiny gold doors sliding open to reveal a blood red interior. There was even a velvet bench lining the back wall.
Inside, Gabriel pulled out his keys and slid one into a special slot below the row of buttons. With the key still in place, he pressed the button for the top floor. The doors slid closed and he removed it.
“I don’t