Dangerous for You (7 page)

“Who? Security?”

“Yes.”

“Always. Don’t worry—they’ve already cleared the hotel and approved its usage.”

That was surprising and not at all what I expected him to say. “Is the hotel not where you’d usually stay?”

Gabriel gave a quick shake of his head. “No. I stayed in town whenever I’ve had to come here.”

“Really? Then why are we here?”

“I thought you’d like it better. There’s more to see and it’s not as stuffy as the Mandarin Oriental.” Gabriel said it smoothly. Too smoothly.

He thinks I’d feel uncomfortable with being around and seeing so much wealth.

I couldn’t keep my heart from beating harder. Gabriel always thought of me and my comfort, even at possible risk to his safety and well-being. “You’re the nicest man I’ve ever known.”

“Good. I hope it stays that way.”

“And you didn’t have to do that.”

“What do you mean? I wanted to do it.”

“I know you did and I really appreciate it. But—”

“No buts.”

“We don’t have to stay at the hotel we’re at. We can go to your usual one if you want.”

“You don’t like it?”

He’s always so worried about how I’ll react to his decisions. I did that to him…a long time ago. It’s past time I fix this.

“I like it fine. More than fine. It’s the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed in.” Even admitting that truth reminded me that it was several steps down from his usual accommodations. It was just another in a long list of reminders of how different our stations in life were…

“Then what’s the problem, Emma?”

Looking away from him, I focused my gaze on the buildings far across the river. “You’re insanely wealthy.”

“Yes, I suppose.”

“And you shouldn’t have to keep changing yourself to fit into my life.”

“Emma, it’s not a hardship—”

“So it’s about time I become accustomed to it, to how you live. Don’t you think?”

Gabriel tugged me so that we stood further out of the way of the streaming crowd. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying? Are you making peace with my dirty,
dirty
money?”

I lightly punched him in the arm. “Your money isn’t dirty!” I lowered my voice to a whisper. “Is it?”

“No!” His brow rose in thought. “A little gray around the edges, perhaps, but not dirty.”

“Gabriel…”

“I kid! I kid!”

“I hope so.” I cleared my throat and explained, “All I’m saying that you don’t have to hide how rich you are from me anymore.”

Gabriel drew me closer to him. “So many men in my position would be crying right now. Whereas, I’m so happy I could dance!”

“You want to spend your money on me that badly?” I loved pleasing him and loved hearing him laugh even more.

“Well, yes. But that’s not why I’m so happy. I’m happy because I know how big of a step this is for you. This means you’re accepting me—all of me.”

I arched up on tiptoe and whispered in his ear. “I thought I already did that when I accepted your need to dominate and do rough, naughty things to me.”

Gabriel’s hand rested high on my thigh. He squeezed it hard. “How can you hate something that makes you feel so good, Emma? You can’t. It would be silly and you’re not silly.”

“Not even a little?”

“Not even a little. You’ve always been too serious for silly.”

“Then it’s time for me to learn to be a little less serious.”

“You could do worse than me as a teacher.”

I kissed him quickly. Once. Then twice. “Well, then. Maybe one day I’ll be half as good as you at doing the silly.”

“Maybe.” Gabriel slid his finger down my cheek. Although he still smiled, his gaze became serious. “You’ve always hated rich people, Emma. Not that I blame you. We can be an insufferable lot.”

I played with the belt of his coat, suddenly shy and unable to look at him. “I never hated you.”

“I thought you did, especially after our first night.”

Although his voice remained warm, I could hear the old pain in his tone. More than ever I wish I had been braver all those years ago. I couldn’t help but wonder how different and how much happier our lives would’ve been if I had just stayed in his bed. What if I had fallen asleep and woken up next to my beautiful boy instead of sneaking out like a thief?

Sometimes I knew myself to be very stupid and cowardly.

“I’m sorry for that, Gabriel. I really am. I wish I could take it back. I wished I could’ve done it differently. I wished I’d been more honest with myself and you.”

Gabriel hugged me, his arms anchoring me firmly to him. “I know you do, baby,” he murmured gently in my ear. “I know. So do I. ‘If only’ are the two saddest words out there, aren’t they?”

We stood that way for a while before he inhaled deeply. “We’re here to have fun, not to brood over things that have passed. We’re together now and that’s what matters, right?”

Sunk in my regret, I didn’t want to smile but I did it for him. Because he wanted me to. “Right!”

“Let’s look around a bit more before we head into the city, Emma.”

“Before we do that—do you want to change hotels? I mean, if you can still get a room at your usual place.”

“Emma, I can always get a room wherever I want.”

I rolled my eyes. “Braggart.”

“Among other things. I want to stay here.”

“Really?”

“Really, really. Besides I like this hotel. The colors make me happy.”

“I like you happy.”

“I like you happy too.”

Despite our banter, shared memories of our painful past dampened our spirits, but our clasped hands comforted the other with the message that we were in this together. I couldn’t change the past but I could definitely take care of our future.

And my future is with Gabriel—no matter what.

We continued our walk over the bumpy cobblestone sidewalk peacefully, only stubbing our feet a time or two. Gabriel was very careful of making sure I wouldn’t get jostled by the thick, fast-moving crowd. He was also conscientious about using the crosswalk properly, even if the road was free of oncoming traffic.

“I’m not taking any chances, Emma. I don’t want either of us to go
splat
just because we couldn’t wait one more minute. Safety first, my dear.”

Eventually, we arrived at the Metro Station. We got our fare cards and joined the other people going up the escalator. In all my time living in a city, I’d never used public transportation so this was a novel experience for me. We stood on the platform, thankful the electronic board informed us we only had to wait two minutes.

“Have you ever used the Metro before, Gabriel?”

“No. I haven’t.”

I nudged him with my shoulder. “You seemed like an expert.”

“Only because I had flawless instruction and direction.”

“You studied for this trip?”

“Of course. I didn’t want us to get lost and then miss out on showing you whatever you wanted to see.”

The only reason I didn’t kiss Gabriel thoroughly was because of the crowd on the platform. Instead, I squeezed his arm. “You’re so unbelievably sweet.”

Gabriel arched a brow and sniffed, “You’re just realizing that, baby?”

“I guess I am.”

He kissed me, pecking my lips again for good measure. “As long as you realize it now.”

On the ride into the city, I kept my attention on the world speeding by us. I got excited when I soon saw the Washington Monument off in the distance. “Do you see it?” I turned to him excitedly.

Gabriel’s attention was focused on me and not on the faraway obelisk. “Yes.”

“You’re not looking at it,” I pointed out, suddenly embarrassed at how focused he was on me.

“I’m looking.” Gabriel’s gaze cut away and then came back. “See?”

“I’m acting like a tourist, aren’t I?”

“A little bit. That’s okay. I want to be a tourist with you. We’ll be the most touristy-tourists together.”

How can someone be so in love like this? I didn’t know but I felt so alive being next to him—just like I did back in high school. The only difference was that I accepted it now versus then. Spontaneously, I hugged Gabriel, giddy and unafraid to show it. “You’re the best!”

“And don’t you forget it, baby.”

A short twenty minutes later we exited the train. Another minute after that, we hopped onto the escalator and were deposited at the sunny National Mall. Joggers ran along the dirt paths, deftly avoiding the slow-moving crowds that sprawled everywhere.

Gabriel knew exactly where he was going. He tugged me across the greenway, his feet moving at a fast clip. “Let’s go turbo-nerd on this, Emma! I want to see all the paintings, all the exhibits. Everything!”

Caught up in his infectious excitement, I laughingly asked, “Where are we going?”

“To the National Gallery of Art! There’s a da Vinci in residence, Emma. A da Vinci!”

I wasn’t nearly as excited to see the da Vinci as I was to see Gabriel happy. Art wasn’t exactly a strong interest of mine, but I was still eager to experience being so close to historical masterpieces. And truthfully, I didn’t care where we went as long as Gabriel remained this happy. So we climbed up a hill of stairs and passed through security before touring two floors filled with priceless artwork.

The da Vinci was divine as expected from a master. Gabriel remarked however that “It’s much smaller than I thought it would be.” I agreed. My favorite piece was the Sir Peter Paul Rubens. “You have the same regal bearing as Marchesa Doria,” Gabriel whispered. I didn’t agree but I was flattered.

Although when he contemplated having a painting done of me in my Grecian gown standing on top of my pillar, well, I wasn’t sure what to say to that. It would’ve been taken as a joke coming from anyone else.

Coming from Gabriel…well, it would’ve been dangerous to automatically assume he was anything
but
serious.

I found two postcards at the gift shop I wanted to send. We sat on the steps together while I penned a quick message to my mom and then to Gretchen. With the help of a kindly stranger, I was able to track down a couple of stamps and mailed them off.

We didn’t get to visit every single Smithsonian museum, but we did make it to several. I especially loved seeing Julia Child’s kitchen at the American History Museum. Gabriel loved the trains and cars. We took tons of pictures before breaking for a delicious high-calorie lunch of burger and fries.

“You know I rarely eat food like this, Emma.”

“Really? I eat it all the time.”

“But it’s not the healthiest for you, baby.”

“I know.”

“Then why do you do it?”

“Because it’s cheap.”

Later I practically drooled over the Hope Diamond and all the magnificent gems on display at the National Museum of Natural History. “I didn’t think you were into jewelry, Emma,” Gabriel crooned in my ear while winding his arms around my waist.

Leaning back against his chest, I looked up at him and denied it. “I’m not.” My gaze strayed lustfully back to Marie Antoinette’s earrings. “Not really.”

“Mmm. I’ll keep that in mind.”

We stayed until closing, both wishing the museums stayed open much later, and then hopped back onto the Metro. Surprised, I expected Gabriel to have picked a five star restaurant in the city. Instead, we got off at Rock City and walked a few blocks until we found a national chain. Dinner was tasty, Gabriel was relaxed, and I was more enamored than ever.

Although I can’t say Gabriel didn’t draw admiring looks everywhere we went, no one pulled at him or tried to schmooze him. He was just another anonymous yet handsome face in the crowd and I could tell how much he loved it.

Gabriel wanted to share the wonders of his world and I wanted to share the wonders of mine. Maybe we’d finally meet in the middle. I smiled at the thought and sincerely hoped so.

Once we got back to Old Town Alexandria, Gabriel had us stop at the Dunkin’ Donuts for hot chocolate and donuts. Despite our full bellies, he claimed it as our new tradition. I didn’t bother pointing out that we’d be gone by the next night.

Maybe we’ll keep it going at home.

We leisurely walked the mile back to the hotel, chatting about all the magnificent treasures we’d seen that day. Gabriel abruptly said, “I’ve never had this much fun in D.C. before. I didn’t know it could be like this.”

“What do you usually do here?”

“Boring business. That sort of thing.”

“Lobbying maybe?”

He took a long sip of his drink. “Maybe. And maybe being lobbied.”

When he didn’t go into further detail I filled in the empty silence by saying, “I’m glad you’re having fun going…what did you call it again?”

Gabriel knew exactly what I was asking. “Turbo-nerd.”

“That’s right. I’m glad you had so much fun going turbo-nerd with me.”