Chapter 39

When I woke up the next morning, Gabriel was gone. I wasn't surprised; it was well past noon on a Monday. I could have gone to work—I still had a week left on my two-week notice—but after my honeymoon in Venice, the bomb that was Lily, and Gabriel assuring me my leave was covered, work was the furthest thing from my mind.

Tons of sunlight streamed through the half-shut blinds, hurting my eyes. My head spun, and a wave of nausea washed over me. I didn't remember the last time I'd had a hangover; not since my teens, and I certainly didn't remember them being this bad. I groaned and reluctantly got out of bed and into the bathroom, forgetting it wasn't mine. I would have brushed my teeth with Gabriel's toothbrush if Luna hadn't knocked softly outside. "Sofia? Are you up?"

I opened the bathroom door, giving her a pleading look. She chuckled, handing me a tablet. "Great for hangovers." I didn't question her, just swallowed it down with a glass of water.

I spent an hour trying to rid myself of the smell of alcohol, and another hour battling nausea. Late afternoon, I saw I had a missed call from Gabriel—an hour old.

Before calling him back, I called James. He'd invited us to dinner, and it had completely slipped my mind. Even if I had remembered, we were in Venice, and now Gabriel had to work. James was perfectly understanding, figuring there wouldn't be any dinner plans since I'd been out of work all week. I ended the call after promising to host him and his boyfriend at our place next weekend.

Next, I called Gabriel back. Last night was a blur, but not so much that I could skip over the embarrassing details. I remembered everything, especially my fixation on the car seat and Lily after I'd dropped the subject. And the fact that he'd said we'd talk about it today when I asked him about his feelings for her.

He picked up on the last ring. "Freckles."

"Gabriel… hi."

"Were you running? You sound a little breathless."

I cleared my throat. "No."

"Okay." A pause. "How's the hangover?"

"Luna gave me a miracle cure. It helped a little." I groaned, my head still throbbing. "Never let me drink again."

He chuckled. "You remember accompanying me to the gala a couple of months ago? There's another one tonight."

Flashes of Anna telling me about something returned. "The charity gala," I remembered. "Yeah, Anna mentioned it."

"Would you like to come with me?"

"Would you want me to come?"

"Why not?"

I gulped. "After last night, I don't know. I thought maybe you wouldn't want me to."

"Nonsense." He dismissed my worries. "I'll be home by six. We'll leave by seven."

I agreed, and he ended the call. I only had a couple of hours to prepare for the gala, and while that would be enough, I still had a lingering headache, a desire for more sleep, and a psychological aversion to the smell of vodka. I groaned, throwing myself back on the bed and closing my eyes. Just for a little while.

That evening, I wore a strapless pastel blue dress with a sweetheart neckline, form-fitting over my chest and flowing freely to the floor with a slit revealing my left leg. I didn't know what my deal was with dresses that had slits, as the last one I'd worn had one too, but this subtle blue was a far cry from the hot pink I'd worn last time.

Laina, a hairstylist Luna had called, put my hair up in a ponytail (she said I looked too tired to do it myself), and a makeup artist—also summoned by Luna—highlighted my brown eyes with blue eyeshadow.

I went downstairs at 7:15. Gabriel wasn't there, which was surprising. He was punctual to a fault.

"Sir's outside," Luna informed me.

Eyebrows furrowed in confusion, I went outside. "Gabriel?"

"Here, Freckles." He stood at the entrance, speaking quietly to the driver.

"Hey," I said, approaching him. "Am I late?"

He turned to me. "No, you're right on time." A small smile touched his lips as his eyes took me in.

My cheeks flushed. Silence fell between us. "You don't do compliments, huh?"

His lips pursed, as if to hide a larger smile. "I don't do compliments, but if I did, there aren't words to describe you."

My cheeks burned even brighter as I looked away, gently biting my lip.

"Shall we?"

"We shall," I mumbled, as he led me to the car the driver had pulled up—not his sports car from yesterday, but a larger black one, I think a Rolls-Royce.

Gabriel opened the door for me, then got in on the other side. The driver drove off.

"Do you like cars?" I asked once we were on the street.

"I do. Why?"

"You have a lot of them."

"I like them."

"What's the charity for?"

He scratched his temple. "I think it's a sea animal… a walrus?"

I rolled my eyes, offering no reply. There was an impending conversation between us, and we both knew it, but this wasn't the time or place. It felt nice to just be in the moment for a bit.

The charity gala welcomed us with a large portrait of a tiger outside.

Tiger. The charity was for endangered tiger species. Not any sea animal, definitely not walruses.

I wanted to roll my eyes again and correct him, but instead, I looped my arm through his. "Stay by my side," he murmured. "I don't think Arthur will show up again, but who knows?"

I nodded, smiling as I spotted Anna approaching, Zach trailing close behind.

"You're finally here!"

I returned her smile as she embraced me.

"Look at them, becoming best friends after one night out," Zach teased, as the two men exchanged a strange hand gesture and look.

"Please," Anna dismissed her husband, flipping her hair behind her shoulder. "Gabriel is finally with a girl I love. I'm going to make the most of it."

I knew this was a reference to our conversation last night about Lily and my insecurities. My cheeks flushed as she linked arms with me. "Now excuse us. I'm going to steal her for girly things."

"No, you're not," Gabriel said, his hand wrapping around my waist. "She's staying with me."

Anna looked at him pointedly, hands on her hips. "You're the one taking her home. You can let her go for a bit, Romeo."

"No."

"Let her go." She scowled. Zach shook his head, whispering something in his wife's ear—probably about what happened with Arthur.

I bit my lip, watching her expression change. "Fine," she told Zach reluctantly. "But we're having a sleepover sometime."

I giggled. "That sounds like a plan."

"I know, right?" Anna gushed, ignoring Zach completely. "Versace introduced its new makeup line and sent me the first set of products as PR, and oh my god, Sof, the dual-tone eyeshadow is to die for!"

My words died in my throat as a foreign voice cut between us, calling my husband's name.

"Gabriel?"

I turned, as did almost everyone else. The girl in a red dress, her blonde hair complementing it, was everything my insecurities were made of, ever since I saw her picture on my laptop. Gabriel's hand slipped from my waist, his eyes fixed on the girl I couldn't look away from either. "Lily."