Trish knocks on the door and walks straight into the office.
“Sorry, Kat, but I heard your husband was here and I just wanted to come and introduce myself.” Trish steps back and appraises my husband. “Wow, you’re tall.”
Gabriel breaks out his Robert Redford grin and shakes her hand.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you…” He waits for her response.
She catches her breath. “Trish! I’m Trish the assistant. I must have stepped away when you entered or I would have escorted you to Kat’s office. But I wasn’t at my desk. So I couldn’t greet you.” She’s babbling. Clearly overtaken by the blues.
I roll my eyes at her gushing. I used to be that girl.
I take the moment to look down at my desk. The card from Asher is sticking out from under the box. I pull it out farther and swipe it into the trashcan beneath the desk.
Gabriel finally releases her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Trish. Kat has told me a lot about you.”
He’s such a charmer. I haven’t told him a thing about my job at all… except for the concerts and my office. But the people? Nothing. That’s so rude of me. I love Trish. I have so much to tell Gabriel about her.
Trish absentmindedly grabs her braid and looks toward my desk. “The Twinkies.” She laughs. “Isn’t it funny that the Hostess people would send you a box full of cake?”
Oh, Trish.
“Very.” I grab the box and hold it out to her. “Why don’t you leave these at reception so everyone can enjoy them?”
A light goes off in Trish’s head. Crap, I know where this is going.
“Did you see the flowers in reception?” Trish asks.
The flowers! Trish thinks they’re from Gabriel. Well, she thinks the first set was and that Asher has been supplementing them.
I look over to Trish. “Will you please make my husband a cappuccino?”
Gabriel turns to me, confused by my abrupt command. The good thing is he doesn’t think twice about Trish’s question nor does he attempt to answer it.
“No, Kat, that’s fine. I’m just leaving,” he says.
“So soon?” A twinge of disenchantment resonates in my throat.
“Yes, I was just stopping by. I have a meeting a few blocks from here.” He looks just as disappointed to go as I am to see him leave.
“I’ll walk you out.” I lead Gabriel out the door and down the concrete hallway with the box of Twinkies still in my hand. Trish makes her way toward Heather’s office.
“Thank you for coming to visit.” I truly am happy Gabriel is here.
“Absolutely. I’ll try and do it more when this trial is over.” Once we’re at the elevator, I hit the call button and stand with Gabriel, waiting for the car to arrive.
As the elevator doors open, I lean up and give him a good-bye kiss on the lips. The kiss is sweet and appropriate for the office. Still, I hold on to it entirely too long. His tender, velvety lips feel so good against mine.
“Ahem.” We are interrupted by the sound of someone clearing his throat. And it’s not Trish.
Inside the elevator is a pair of golden eyes. Gabriel and I unlock our lips and the three of us make eye contact. Gold to green to blue. We’re like the Crux Gemmata of early Christian art. Jeweled crosses in precious metal that hang above altars with the alpha and omega signs hanging in juxtaposition.
A symbol of the beginning and the end.
You can cut the tension with a knife. At least I can. I wonder if Gabriel can feel it.
Asher exits the elevator, holding the door open with his arm.
“Going down?” He’s being snarky.
“Mr. Asher, this is my husband, Gabriel Monroe. Gabriel, this is my boss, Alexander Asher.”
For the first time, I am able to appraise the men properly. Gabriel is a touch taller than Asher, yet the men are equally as handsome in entirely different ways. Gabriel with his fit frame and all-American good looks, slick dark waves of hair, fair skin, and navy-blue eyes. Asher is exotic with bronzed skin and a rock-hard physique, but his blond highlights and citrine eyes make him mesmerizing for all the wrong reasons. Gabriel’s nose is a little straighter, Asher’s jaw a little more square and manly. Gabriel’s eyes are bigger and brighter; Asher’s lips are fuller, his smile broader. They are the black and white, the yin and yang of my life.
Alpha and omega in the flesh.
But which is which, I don’t know.
Asher holds his hand out to Gabriel. “Mr. Monroe. I have heard a lot about you. It’s a pleasure to finally meet the husband.” Asher puts an emphasis around the term. It doesn’t help my story of me hardly ever seeing Asher. Nevertheless, I don’t think Gabriel notices.
Gabriel shakes Asher’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you.” Gabriel quickly removes his hand and places his arm around my waist, marking his territory. “I was just paying a surprise visit to my wife.” He puts emphasis on the word wife.
Yup, it’s a pissing match.
Asher laughs it off. “Well, I hope you do stop by more often.” He eyes the box in my hand, lifts the lid, and takes out a package. “Twinkie?” he offers Gabriel.
The jerk!
Gabriel turns to me and places another kiss on my lips. “I have to go. I’ll be home late tonight. Don’t wait up, okay?”
I nod in understanding and watch as my beautiful husband gets into the elevator.
As soon as the doors close, I hit Asher in the arm.
“Ass!” I say as I storm down to my office, thankful there is no one in the front reception area. I can hear his chuckle over the sound of my heels pounding down the concrete hallway.
I arrive home to a partially empty house. Gwen is at dinner with friends and Carmen leaves as soon as I get home. Jackson and I play with his building blocks for a while.
Build them up. Knock them down. Repeat. We partake in our nighttime ritual of bed, bath, and bottle. Even the lioness knows of this.
No, Kat, don’t go there!
No is right. Not my husband. My beautiful, blue-eyed, jealous husband.
Once Jackson is snug in bed, I glance at the clock. It’s nine o’clock. It’s early, but if I want to get into work early again, I’ll need to get a good night’s sleep.
My eyes open to the sound of shuffling feet. Gabriel is home.
Making his way into the walk-in closet, he kicks off his shoes and sheds himself of his suit jacket, hanging it up carefully on the hanger. I sit up in bed and watch as he carefully unknots his tie and hangs it on the tie rack before his long fingers unbutton his shirt from collar to hip. My eyes watch as he slowly peels his shirt back, revealing his exquisite build. There is no sweeter sight than a man shirtless in dress pants with the top button undone. As if he knows I’m watching, he peels off his pants, revealing his incredible physique. Tall and strong, yet not bulky. He’s toned in all the right areas and has incredible definition. His arms and chest are his best features. Looks like he’s been keeping up with his pushups in the park.
When he’s shed of his suit, wearing nothing but boxer briefs, I’m reminded of our first night together.
Gabe kneeled down next to the bed in front of me and looked deep into my eyes. Even in the dark, I could see his piercing blues glowing in the night.
“Are you sure you want to do this? You had a lot to drink.”
I smiled at his compassion; it was so unexpected. It made me want him even more. “Yes.”
Standing up slowly, Gabe removed his baseball cap, revealing his long dark waves that were hiding underneath. He threw the cap on his desk and turned on his iPod. “Crash.” Dave Matthews had no idea he wrote that song about this very moment.
In a slowed perfection, he rolled his shoulders forward and grabbed the hem of his shirt, lifting it over his head. His breath hissed when I leaned forward and softly touched his chest. It was soft and smooth and creamy, like silk. My hand trembled ever so slightly.