ChloeThe young woman standing in front of me didn’t have to be introduced to me to know exactly who she was.Her doe-like grey eyes were all too familiar. They were the same as the ones I saw each morning when I woke up, and I would recognize them in a million.“Vanessa,” Gabriel grunted, displeasure in his voice setting on fire the alarms in my body, making me stiff as if facing a beast from my worst nightmare.Breath hitched in my throat as her eyes strayed from mine.“Brother.” Her chest rose as she sighed, the beautiful silver sequined dress glinted under the bright lights. “Introducing your girlfriend to the public before your own family? Really?” She scolded him poisonously. “I expected more from you after what you did last time.”I didn’t know what to do or what to say. Being in the middle of a family feud was not something I wanted. To my surprise, Gabriel turned to me, ignoring his sister completely.“Nessa is delightful, as always.” Sarcasm seeped through his every pore. I
ChloeHm… waking up enveloped in the musky, fresh smell of Gabriel’s cologne was… outworldly? Heavenly?No matter the term, it always affected me the same – it made me feel like I belonged.It was crazy being so entranced by Gabe; I was well aware of that. I didn’t spend enough time with him, that was true. Yet, I felt like I had known him for years. I liked to believe I could read him like an open book, just as he seemed to read me.Too often, I’d catch myself thinking about the future, and each time, in every scenario, I wasn’t alone – Gabriel Miller was by my side. Smiling, hot as hell, supportive, through thick and thin, but also angry and grim, or mad… young and old.I was afraid to say out loud just how far gone I was. He crawled so deep under my skin that I wasn’t sure whether it was possible to be free of him again.“Wake up, sleepyhead.” whisper I adored tickled my earlobe, waking up every cell of my drowsy body. “I got you breakfast.”What? That was the first!I was always t
ChloeIt didn’t take me long to get used to thinking about myself as Gabriel’s girlfriend.On the contrary, it came naturally to me, like hearing him addressing me with the title for the first time wasn’t a surprise at all. Though, it was a surprise because we never really talked about our status. But as the initial ‘shock’ wore off, I found myself enjoying the role of Gabriel Miller’s girlfriend.‘Gonna be stuck in the office late. Should I pick up Tai for dinner?’ my phone lit up with a notification, and I only glanced at it since my hands were covered in butter and flour.Ten minutes later, the croissants were in the oven, my fingertips were clean, so I hurried to send Gabe a confirmation.Maybe it was the aftereffect of the circumstances under which we met, but Gabriel was always up for spending the night at my place. In fact, I couldn’t remember the last time he had slept in his bed. Probably not since the gala when he took me there and gifted me the keys. I didn’t mind our sleep
Chloe“Hey, you’re early!” Getting out of the shower and seeing Gabriel serving dinner was the most pleasant surprise. “I didn’t expect you for another hour at least.”I wanted to relax before he arrived, but I never had a chance to have the drink my tense nerves craved.Gabe placed the plates on the club table before he nonchalantly strolled across the living room, closing the distance between us. His hand found its way around my waist, and he used it to pull me into him. He didn’t need to use much force, though. My body gravitated towards him on its own accord.His lips slammed onto mine, capturing them in a toe-curling kiss. Warm tongue twirled along the rim of my mouth, seeking permission to enter, and I could do nothing but grant all his wishes. We danced with the music our hearts played in unintentional sync, the rhythm making us blind to everything except each other – the entire world could’ve burned down to dust, and we wouldn’t have noticed a thing.“I wrapped things up early
ChloeNervousness about the dinner at Millers tonight took its toll on me, and I had trouble focusing on the pending task of organizing the bachelorette party while I gave my best to maintain the order in the workshop.Residual fumes of yesterday’s uprising were still lurking from the corners, but I paid them no mind. I had too many things on my plate that demanded my attention; sparing a minute for the ungrounded satisfaction of my subordinates was a luxury I couldn’t afford. Nor did I want to.By the end of the working hours, I was quite happy with the results of my hard work. Boothe at our favorite club was reserved; I even convinced the manager to allow a couple of male strippers to perform for us. A package of our preferred drinks was to be shipped to my address. Gina moved in with Ryan after they returned from Paris, so getting ready for the party at her place was out of the question. All her friends were invited, and all she had to do was wait for Friday night.And after a lot
Chloe “Oh, my God! Look at him!” my insides mellowed at the sight of a chubby toddler staring at me from the photo album I had been browsing for the past half an hour alongside Gemma. “Wait until you see him in the school uniform! With disheveled hair during his rebellious phase…” pride rolled off her as she turned the pages, looking for a particular photo, and I soaked up every detail she willingly spilled for me. It was nice to get a different perspective on her son and the times when we didn’t know each other. Watching his development through stages from when he was a baby, a toddler, or a schooler shed new light on my mosaic of him. “Wait!” I exclaimed, recognizing the boy standing next to Gabe in one of the photos. “Is this Ryan Gables?” “Yes!” Vanessa scoffed. “Those two have been inseparable since they were in diapers.” Embarrassing stories lurked in her words, and something told me it wouldn’t be too hard to convince her to share a few. The three of us were sitting on the
ChloeLike the calm before the storm, my life resembled the safe harbor since Gabriel Miller became part of it.And just like a cloudless, sunny day could unexpectedly turn into a dark blizzard that destroyed everything in its way, so did my life veer suddenly, and happiness was replaced by sorrow.Maybe I should’ve seen it coming. Maybe I should’ve known from the beginning that good things cannot last forever, and what Gabe and I had was far beyond good. It was perfect! Therefore, it was doomed from the start.But I was so lulled in the cocoon of love I failed to notice when the clouds began to form. They caught me off guard, unsuspecting of the demise that rolled over the horizon until it was too late.Though, that’s exactly what love is – blinding to everything else but itself.I didn’t want to believe it at first because she had slipped my mind long ago. I’d forgotten entirely about her and the dress I kept hidden until the night she came to claim it back.To say that I was surpri
GabrielIf I were honest with myself, I’d have to admit I never expected to trip and fall into the bottomless pit of love Chloe Danvers represented.Yet, here I was, having the hardest time controlling the goofy smile that crooked my lips while sharing the conference room with a dozen sector managers who needed to keep believing their CEO was a strict boss.But I couldn’t help it. Especially now when I knew with certainty that my feelings were reciprocated. Because being loved by Chloe was a borderline… miracle? Was that the right word? Yes, it was.Disbanding the meeting, I returned to my office in a rush to finish all the pending paperwork before I could return to her. Hmmm. I grunted at the memory of the dark, shiny eyes that trapped me and kept me a prisoner of their depths from the first moment I saw them. Though, I had no intention of escaping their imprisonment. I wanted to be chained to them forever.There were moments when I questioned the pace our relationship was moving for