He grabbed my hand and we walked toward the house. Seeing that tree, knowing what Sophia had been feeling as Daniel carved their initials helped me connect with her in a way I never thought imaginable. This journey was taking me down a path I knew was right.
As we climbed the front porch stairs, I spoke, “As you know, my aunt specialized in historical research. I found a note on our genealogy chart that put Daniel and Sophia together like they were married. It was in the part for other spouses.”
He wagged his eyebrows. “So
unds like we could have a scandal on our hands. You know, I believe I won the wager.”
We made it to the door. “What was the wager if I had won?”
“Dinner. It was a win-win situation for me.”
I snickered as he squeezed my hand. He opened the door and we stepped inside. I put my purse on a chair near the front door. Remembering the journal entry, I felt connected to Sophia. A special moment of love had been shared in this house. A love I dreamed about having … one day.
Gael proceeded to give me a tour of the bottom level of his home. The entire time he kept contact with our bodies. The kiss had only stoked my libido. I was attracted to Gael before, but after the kiss, the thoughts were all-consuming. To the left was a living room with a fireplace. The couch was a warm chocolate-brown. A lazy afternoon nap would be perfect on it.
Accents were done in a masculine blue. A stair case was in front of us that would have led to the upstairs where Sophia had left off in the journal. The brazenness of her had me wanting to throw caution to the wind and let my heart lead me.
To the right, the dining room led to the kitchen. The kitchen had been updated with top-of-the-line appliances which made sense, considering Gael was a chef.
Gael left me and moseyed around the bar to take down two wineglasses.
“Do you live here by yourself? I mean, you are single, right? You must think I’m a complete floozy. I know nothing about you. This is embarrassing. I’m rambling.” I was ashamed of myself for not getting more information about Gael. I’d been caught up in something magical and all logic completely left me.
Quickly, Gael came back around and put his hands on each side of my face. “I’m single, live here by myself. There is no way in hell I think you’re a floozy. Don’t even think that. I kissed you. How about we get to know more about each other over a glass of wine and some food? I don’t want you feeling uncomfortable.”
“It’s not you. I’m normally more cautious when it comes to this sort of thing. Well, what am I saying? I haven’t done this sort of thing in a long time.”
Gael dropped his hands and scooted out a bar stool. “Here. You sit while I whip us up something. We’ll talk.”
I took the chair and ran my hands over the silvery-black granite. “I love your house. The kitchen seems newly renovated.”
Gael looked in a wine fridge that was to the right of the refrigerator. “My parents now live in Hilton Head. I inherited the house since I’m an only child. The first thing I did was gut the kitchen. This part of the house is newer. Originally, the house ended right where the table is. Through the years, different family members added on. There are three bedrooms upstairs and an office.”
Gael poured some white wine and set it in front of me. I took a tentative refreshing sip. “This is delicious. I love the crispness of it.”
“It’ll work well with the fruit.” Gael got to work. He was a master in his domain and I loved watching him. “Okay, so here’s a little about me. I’m twenty-nine and single and have been for about six months. Hopefully, that’s going to change soon, though. My last relationship lasted about eight months. I knew she wasn’t the one and I ended it. I couldn’t string someone along when I knew it wasn’t meant to be. I got the love of cooking from my father. We have many family recipes that have been passed down through the generations, like the stew you had in the restaurant. Overall, I’m your average hardworking guy who wants to be happy.”
Hopefully, that’s going to change soon, though. Those words made my insides jump with excitement. I still needed to remind Gael that I was fresh off a long-term relationship.
While he spoke, his muscles flexed under his shirt as he cut up the fruit with ease. I’d never seen a strawberry destemmed and cut into quarter with such proficiency. “I don’t know if I’d use the word average to describe you. Did your previous girlfriend want more?”
He let out a breath. “She did. I’m not the kind of guy who leads people on. I had hoped it would develop into more, but it never did. How about you?”
“Well, I’m twenty-seven. From the bar you know that I’m recently out of a relationship. We had been together for five years. I thought we were happy and were going to get married. About a year ago, Harris inherited a large amount of money. Basically, an empire. His father had groomed him his entire life to take over even though Harris had said he didn’t want the life. However, he changed. Money, power, and control became Harris’ new obsession.”
I gave a tired sigh. “I hoped it was a phase. I became an asset. For the last few months I was ready to leave, but held out hope things would go back to the way they’d been. Because of his position in the company, I’m waiting to see how they want to announce the breakup publicly. Harris is Page Six news in the New York Post. If you Google me, you’ll see what I mean. I don’t pay attention, so I couldn’t tell you what’s all out there. As you know, I love history because of my late aunt. I’m a web designer and love the freeness my job provides me.” I ran my fingers along my glass stem. My past relationship came with baggage.
Gael stopped cutting and I looked at him. “Is he still bothering you?”
“Umm—not really. I think he believes I’m going to come back, but I’m not. Anything we had is gone. He’s Harris and not used to being told no. I think he’ll find a trophy wife and forget about me. Someone who doesn’t mind having Harris as their identity and wanting the things he wants.”
I didn’t know what else to say. The description of my past relationship was dismal.
Gael raised an eyebrow to me. “He’s an idiot for throwing you away like he did. But his loss is my gain.”
Remembering the kiss, I absentmindedly touched my lips, lost in the memory. They still tingled. I didn’t remember ever being affected like that from one of Harris’ kisses. I knew it was wrong to compare, but it reassured me I was done. The last thing I wanted was to treat Gael as a rebound.
Pulling my gaze away from his lips, I saw the man who had rocked my world staring at me. His breathing a tad harder. He shook his head as if he tried to shake some sense into him and walked to the fridge to grab a bowl of white dip. Pushing the dish to me, he said, “Try this.”