Most of All You: A Love Story(76)

I tilted my head. “I think it’s a good idea. I’d love to go.”

His smile was slight. “Okay, good.” He paused again and his brow creased. I waited for him to speak. “There was an article about Wyatt Geller in the paper this morning. My name was mentioned.”

I blinked. “Mentioned how?”

He shook his head. “Just that I’d been questioned—that there were some similarities in my case and his.”

He made it sound as if it was nothing, but I wondered again if the police would have been as hostile with him if he wasn’t also connected to the Platinum Pearl. To me. I was silent as I considered that, my stomach sinking. I shook my head. God, some part of him must regret the day he ever stepped foot into the Platinum Pearl. Would my relationship with him cause him more problems? Would his already shaky standing in the community get worse, not better, because of his association with me? I picked at my fingernails, a frown creasing my forehead.

“Don’t,” Gabriel said.

I snapped my eyes to his. “Don’t what?”

“Whatever you’re thinking right now, stop it.”

I blew out a breath, a piece of hair flying away from my face. I couldn’t help the small smile that came to my lips. “How did you know—?”

He was smiling at me from where he sat on his work stool. “I know you, Eloise.” There was so much love in his voice, it made my breath catch for a second, and warmth washed through me. Yes, he did know me, and he loved me anyway.

I dropped my hands and nodded in agreement.

He picked up a tool and then paused. “Oh, also, Chloe will be here for a couple of days. She wants to administer some test to me that she says will help support some part of her paper. She didn’t think it was necessary at first, but now she does for whatever reason.” He shrugged.

“Oh, okay. Does she need to travel all the way here to give it to you?”

“She says it has to be administered in person.” He paused for a minute. “I think she likes it here, too. I think she’s gotten attached to the area.”

I wondered if it wasn’t the people she was attached to, namely Gabriel, but I pushed the jealous thought aside. I liked Chloe, and I trusted her. “All right, then. Let’s show those townspeople how amazing you are and how … your bobbing-for-apples skills know no bounds.” I grinned. “If you can win over a hard case like me, you can win anyone over.”

He laughed and my heart felt lighter. Though when I glanced to the spot where William had been just the day before, the sense of loss trickled back in, as if a part of me was gone, too, along with William.





CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO


Don’t lose hope. You never know what tomorrow holds.

Shadow, the Baron of Wishbone

ELLIE

The morning of the Morlea Fall Festival dawned crisp and cold. I hadn’t wanted to pull myself from the warm cocoon of Gabriel’s bed, but I was a little anxious about going into town with him, so instead of lying there worrying about it, I pulled myself from beneath his arms and tiptoed to the shower.

I had just rinsed the shampoo out of my hair when Gabriel pulled the glass door open and joined me. I laughed and sputtered under the water in surprise. But soon my laughter turned to soft moans as he worshiped my body under the warm shower spray, waking me up completely in the most delicious way possible.

I dressed in a pair of jeans with strategically placed rips and pulled on a loose, wine-colored sweater that had a long band of lace at the hem. I took extra care with my hair, blow-drying and curling it in loose waves, the way Gabriel liked it best. “All this hair,” he would whisper in the quiet of the bed we shared. “I could wrap myself in it.” And the way he looked at me when it was left loose and falling over my breasts made me feel like the most beautiful woman on earth.

When I emerged from the bathroom, Gabriel’s smile made me happy I’d put forth the extra effort with my appearance. I knew he thought I was just as beautiful with makeup on as without—and that he might even prefer me without.

“Ready?”

I nodded and took his hand and we left the house, driving the ten minutes into town and parking in the large grassy area that had been designated as a lot for the event.

Couples strolled toward the park where the festival was being held, wearing jeans and sweaters, scarves, and light jackets. The smell of popcorn and caramel wafted on the breeze, and I gripped Gabriel’s hand, feeling a sense of excitement that seemed familiar in some distant way—as if I’d experienced it once upon a time and forgotten the sensation. Happy anticipation, that’s what it was. Had it really been so long since I’d felt it?

I glanced over at Gabriel, who had been looking around at the people passing us. He caught my eye and smiled, though there was a nervous edge to his expression. I squeezed his hand, holding on to the hopefulness dancing through my veins. Maybe this was going to be okay. Please let this be okay.

I heard a female yell of excitement and looked up to see Chloe rushing toward us, a grin on her face, her arms open wide. I laughed out a startled sound as she clasped me in a hug and squealed again and then let go, crushing Gabriel as well as he grinned and hugged her back.

“God, could this day be any more gorgeous?” she asked as she stepped back, her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling, her shiny curls bouncing around her face. She was wearing a pair of dark jeans and a white sweater, with a pair of tall brown boots and a scarf wrapped expertly around her neck in shades of green, orange, and yellow. She looked classy and beautiful, like the cover model on some fall fashion magazine.