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He nodded and she got up to walk away, aware he could hear the first part of her conversation as Rebecca said hello.
“Mommy, I miss you.”
“Hi. What are you doing?” she asked, going into the kitchen. Her heart lurched with love at the sound of her daughter’s voice. She missed Rebecca and wished she could hold her.
“I’m talking to you.”
“I know you’re talking to me. Are you having fun?” Maddie asked softly, assured of the answer, because Rebecca loved to spend time with her grandmother.
Maddie heard a clatter and then her mother said hello.
“Sorry, Maddie, Rebecca got the phone and called while I was running her bath. She knows which number is your one-digit call.”
“That’s all right. I’m eating dinner. Is everything okay?”
“We’re fine. I’m getting her ready for bed. She wanted to talk to you. Now she’s getting out her bath toys.”
“It’s always great to talk.” Maddie checked over her shoulder, hoping Gabe could not hear her now.
“Are you through for today?”
“Yes. I’m out for dinner with Gabe,” she said, avoiding any mention of eating at his ranch.
“Is that wise?”
She wanted to answer no, it wasn’t smart at all, but she would never admit that she hadn’t been able to resist his invitation. Instead, she reported the events of the day to her mother. She glanced back outside at Gabe, who sat relaxed, sipping his drink, his profile clear to her. She turned her back on him.
“I’ll let you tell Rebecca good-night.”
“Night, Mommy. I love you,” Rebecca said.
Maddie smiled. “Night, sweet baby. I love you, too, and I miss you so-o-o much. Oodles of hugs to you,” she added in a low tone.
“Come home.”
“I will soon, I promise,” she said, feeling an ache. Rarely away from Rebecca overnight, she missed her daughter. She switched off her phone and returned to the table, seeing the curious expression on Gabe’s face.
“Call from a close friend?”
“My mother, actually,” she said, sitting to finish her dinner. “She expected to find me alone.”
“Do you live close to your mother?” he asked, and she noticed he was not eating.
“Very close. She’s next door.”
“That makes it easy,” he said.
“I heard your brother married Caitlin Santerre.”
“That’s right. Jake is very happily married as of this past winter. Caitlin is a freelance photographer with her own galleries. She’s very good. And, yes, she is a Santerre.”
“That was a shock. I thought maybe someone got it wrong. A Benton marrying a Santerre. End of the feud.”
“Unless Will Santerre returns to Texas, but he told Jake he never would. He sold the family ranch to Jake and now we’ve got an oil well.”
“Which I’m sure fell into your line of work.”
“Yes, it did. Jake was getting to be a menace to himself at work, he was so crazy in love.”
“Which you’ve always managed to avoid.”
“Maybe I was waiting for you to come home,” he said, leaning closer to run his finger along her cheek again.
She wrinkled her nose at him. “I know better than that, too. There’s really only one person in your life, and that is Gabriel Benton.”
“I’m a bachelor. It goes with the territory.”
“So when you decided to retire from the corporate world and live on the ranch, name the people you consulted about your decision?”
He shook his head. “You got me on that one. I didn’t consult anyone.”
“That’s right. Gabriel Benton is the only one involved. Enough said.”
“I don’t recall you being tough or cynical. I remember someone sweet as sugar.”
“I’ve been out in the real world a while.”
“If you’re through eating, let’s move elsewhere.”
“It was a wonderful dinner. What a good husband you’ll make someday,” she said with amusement.
“I’m glad to hear you admit that,” he answered. “Bring your drink and let me show you something else.”
Perplexed, wondering where they were going, she picked up her iced tea and followed him down the hall. They entered a large billiard room with polished oak floors. A billiard table stood to one side of the room. Gabe switched on a few low lights and turned on music.
He crossed the room to take her drink and set it on a table. “Let’s dance.”
A two-step played. She hadn’t danced one in years, so she faced him and they danced on the open floor beside the billiard table.
He spun her around and pulled her close, his boots scraping on the oak floor.
When the dance ended she laughed. “That was great, Gabe. I haven’t danced a two-step in too long to remember.”
“A polka’s up next.”
Maddie’s cell phone rang and she pulled it out of a pocket and waved it at him. “If you’ll excuse me,” she said, turning and walking into the hall to talk.
When she returned, a ballad was playing. Gabe stepped close. He put one hand on her waist and he held her hand with his other one.
“Sorry about the call,” she said. “Work.”
“That’s fine. Take all the calls you want. I don’t mind.”
“Thanks.” As they danced, she looked up and was mesmerized. She was dancing in Gabe’s arms again. It brought back too many memories.
“Things were good between us, Maddie,” he said solemnly.
“I know they were, until we parted. Then they weren’t. Soon I had left here and you did, too.”
“I remember when you were a little kid. When your dad brought you to our ranch, you’d follow me everywhere I went.”
“Thank heavens I outgrew that!”
He smiled at her. “I’d be happy for you to follow me everywhere now.”
“I don’t think you mean that for one second. It won’t happen anyway, so we’ll never really know.”
He turned a long lock of Maddie’s blond hair in his fingers. “Your hair was probably the envy of all the girls in school.”
“I don’t think so.”
“It’s gorgeous now.”
“Thank you.”
“Remember when we’d meet and have those early morning rides at sunrise—something I haven’t done in years.”
“Neither have I, but that I don’t miss. Life changes, Gabe.”
He pulled her closer and they danced in silence. They had always danced well together. She remembered how easy it had been to follow his lead. Being in his arms, dancing with him, spending time with him—every moment reawakened memories and brought back ties she thought she had severed. Get through the night and tell him goodbye.
When the ballad ended and another began, Gabe looked down at her. Their gazes met and the air between them crackled with electricity. His arm around her waist tightened, and he started to kiss her.
“This is where I need to say no, no, no, although I can’t imagine it would have any effect if I did,” she whispered.
“You don’t really want to say no,” he said, and then kissed her. His arms banded her waist while she wrapped hers around his neck. His tongue went deeply into her mouth, stroking, stirring memories, creating new ones.
Time spun away while they kissed. She wanted him more with each breath, but she knew she couldn’t get involved with him. Her future—Rebecca’s future—depended on avoiding that.
He ran his hand down her back, caressing her bottom lightly. His hand drifted up again while he continued to kiss her senseless.
How long they kissed, she didn’t know. Still kissing her, Gabe picked her up and carried her to the sofa. He sat, cradling her on his lap.
Her heart pounded and she ached inside, deep down. Physically, she wanted him with all her being. But logically, it was the cold, hard truth that getting entangled with Gabe would ruin the life she’d built. She had a secret child to keep from him. Intimacy would only lead him to discover the truth.
Gabe caressed her nape and passion once more consumed her. She wound her fingers in his thick hair and unfastened the buttons of his white shirt with her other hand. In minutes, she’d pushed away the white shirt and toyed with his brown chest hair while they continued kissing.
Gabe’s hand moved to her throat and then slipped lower, following the curve of the neckline of her dress.
She gasped with pleasure and then moaned softly. For a moment, she relished his caresses. She was with the man she had loved all her life. How easy it would be to pick up where they’d left off. And how disastrous. She gripped his wrist, moving his hand.
“This has to stop,” she declared, gasping for breath. “That summer you left—I won’t go through that again.” She sat up, straightening her dress. His blue eyes were filled with fire. Locks of his brown hair tumbled on his forehead.
“It was only a few kisses,” he said quietly. “It’s not the same as that summer. And back then, I needed to leave, for my job.”
“That’s over and done, but I don’t ever want to feel that way again.” She stood and smoothed her dress.
“I was only in Nigeria for eight months. You could have continued your education at Tech, and when I returned, I’d have been there for you.”
“Gabe, it’s ridiculous to argue now, but you would not have ‘been there for me,’“ she said. “You were never into commitment, and you certainly weren’t at that point in your life. And I was.”
“I suppose you’re right on all counts,” he admitted, surprising her. He stood. “I’ll get our drinks. Come sit here and we can talk.”
She returned to the sofa. Gabe picked up his cold bottle of beer and joined her, sitting close. He took a sip and turned to face her.
They sat and talked until almost midnight. She asked about the last rodeo he had participated in, listening and laughing as he talked about his bronc riding. That led to what she had been doing and she told him about her family trip to France and Italy and how much she had enjoyed the cathedrals she had seen. Finally, when she saw it was only minutes until midnight, she said, “I should get home now. I don’t usually stay out late. If my family should call me, they would be in a panic if I’m not home.”
“Your mother surely won’t call at this hour. Besides, she obviously knows to try your cell phone. I remember she kept close track of you, but you’re a grown woman now.”
“She still worries. She wasn’t happy about my plans to stay alone at the ranch. I think she’s forgotten how safe it is here.”
“You know you can stay right here with me.”
“Oh, right. As if that would be a peaceful night’s rest.”
She gave him an exasperated glare.
He threw up his hands. “Okay. I know that look. I’ll take you back to your ranch now.”
She smiled. “I knew you’d do what I asked. Thank you, Gabe,” she said sweetly.
He picked her up and spun her around. She yelped while she clung to his shoulders. “Hey!”
“I’m glad to see you and wanted to do that one more time. I wanted to hold you and have you hold me. I wanted to hear you laugh. Maddie, I’m glad you’re back,” he said, suddenly sounding earnest. Her heart lurched.
“I’m not really back. I left your life a long time ago,” she replied, feeling the tension escalate between them once again.
He inhaled deeply. “I’m going to change your mind about leaving again.” The note of steel in his tone made her heart beat faster. Once, she would have been thrilled to hear those words from him. Now, they threatened her peaceful life.
“Don’t try to make a project of me. Besides, you haven’t missed me.”
“I did miss you,” he said. “I just didn’t realize how much. You’ve been in my life even when we were both kids. When you moved away, you left a void.”
His words wrapped around her, binding her heart to him in ways she wouldn’t be able to forget. In ways she couldn’t deal with now. “Gabe, you don’t mean it. You would have come after me if you’d felt that strongly.”
“It took a long time for me to realize the cause of my dissatisfaction. Even longer to face that my life had changed because you were no longer in it.”
“I need to get home,” she said abruptly. She didn’t want another broken heart. It had taken her years to mend her last one.
He leaned forward to touch her lips with his again, a fiery, possessive kiss that bound her heart as tightly as his words had.
When he raised his head, she looked into determined blue eyes. He set her on her feet and their gazes still held. With an effort, she turned toward the door.
They walked through the house together and out to his car. When they stepped into the cool night, Gabe draped his arm across her shoulders and pulled her close against him.
“Anyone who works for you staying at the house with you?”
“No, there’s no one staying with me.”
“In all seriousness, you could stay here, you know. You can have a separate bedroom, and you’ll have all the peace and quiet and privacy you want.”
“I better stay at my place,” she replied, doing the smart thing. “I’ve always felt safe at home. Besides, I have a direct line to Sol’s house.”
“That’s good to know. He’d come on the run if you needed him.”
At the car, Gabe turned her to face him, keeping his arm around her.
“Let me take you to dinner again tomorrow night. I won’t bring you over here. We’ll go somewhere special.”
“Thanks, Gabe. Tonight was great. You know I had a great time—”
“Maddie, let’s have another few hours together,” he said, interrupting what she had been about to say. “A dinner is harmless. You’ll sell the place soon. You could sell it by the weekend, and then you’ll return to Florida. Let’s go out together again before you leave,” he said, bending his knees so he could look into her eyes.
She argued with herself, a tiny voice screaming to turn him down. That voice was being drowned out by another inner voice shouting yes. And Gabe was looking at her with those sexy blue eyes that spun a magic spell.
“Yes, Gabe. Against all logic and good judgment, I’ll have dinner with you again.”
He gave her a tiny squeeze. “I’m glad. We’ll have a super time.” He leaned forward to brush a kiss on her forehead, then her lips.
He held open the passenger-side door for her, closed it and strode around the car to slide behind the wheel. They talked all the way to her ranch and then sat in the driveway talking for another hour. It was into the early-morning hours when he walked her to the door.
He entered with her and waited while she switched off her alarm and turned on the lights. “It’s been a great evening, Maddie. I’m glad you’re back, even if it’s temporary.” Stepping closer, he brushed another kiss on her lips. His mouth was warm, enticing, coaxing more kisses.
“Gabe,” she said, ending the kiss.
He looked over her head to the room beyond her. “This is a big house out in a remote spot. You’re accustomed to a big city, a house with neighbors, your mother close by. I’ll sleep down here on the couch.”
“Sol is not far away.”
“He’s about four minutes if he comes on a dead run. I can stretch out on the sofa and you’ll never know I’m here.”
“I’m not a little kid any longer. You don’t have to protect me and hover around.”
“I’ll be the one to decide about hovering and I know you are definitely not a little kid any longer. I’ve known that since you were seventeen,” he drawled in a softer tone that caused her belly to flutter.
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