LITMIR.BIZ

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that moment he knew he looked at Gabriella exactly the same way. Looked at her in a way he’d never before looked at a woman, and if he was as lucky as hell, she just might look back at him the same way. He didn’t have to worry about protecting her from him, because she’d turned him into a different man. He didn’t have to worry about exposing her to media rumors, because he was ready to make a commitment to her he’d never dreamed possible until now.

      “I’m in love with her.” He actually said the words out loud he was so shocked. And rocked back onto his heels yet again.

      “What did you say?”

      He blinked to see both his parents looking at him quizzically. “I said I’m in love with her. Gabriella Cain. I’m in love with her, and I’d like to talk to you about it.”

      * * *

      Normally, on a long flight Rafael could get some sleep in the comfortable bed on his family’s jet. But that had proved impossible. He’d read medical journals he needed to catch up on, checked the stock market, and even worked on some crossword puzzles, which he hadn’t done in years. But no matter what he did, his mind was only partly there. Gabriella occupied most of his thoughts, and all of his heart, and every hour that passed before he could tell her how she’d changed him and ask her to be his wife felt like extended torture.

      Finally, the early evening lights of L.A. stretched across the horizon and he found himself wondering which golden light, of the millions of lights switching on at that moment in the city, was the one lighting her cozy living room.

      The jet’s wheels had barely touched the runway when he switched on his cellphone to call her. He saw that he had a voice-mail message from James, and, much as he was desperate to talk to Gabriella, figured he should find out what James wanted, in case it had something to do with her. When he pulled it up to listen to it, he stopped smiling and stopped breathing at the same time.

      Then listened to it again.

      “Rafael, it’s James. Do you happen to know where Gabby went? Give me a call.”

      What the hell? What did James mean?

      He quickly punched in her number, and a cold dread began to seep through his veins when a recorded message said the number was no longer in service. He stared hard at the phone as if, somehow, he could reach inside to conjure Gabriella straight out of it.

      What had he said in his voice-mail message to her? He couldn’t remember exactly, but he didn’t think it was anything that would have made her take off. Was it? Which probably meant, if she’d left L.A., it was because the horrible media story had driven her away.

      If she was hurting and gone, the blame lay squarely at his feet and, damn it, he was going to make it right.

      As the jet taxied down the runway, Rafael called James, cursing when he didn’t answer. It seemed forever before the jet had parked and he could leave it to run to his car, which he’d arranged to have dropped off there for him. If Gabriella had been nervous about the speed he’d driven in the mountains, she’d have closed her eyes for sure if she’d been in the car with him now, taking curves like the devil was on his heels. And he could practically feel it nipping, because a deep sense of foreboding had filled his chest. A feeling that this wasn’t going to be as simple as showing up at her door, sweeping her into his arms and telling her that her past didn’t matter and that he would always be there for her.

      He skidded to a stop in front of her apartment and banged on her door. But of course there was no answer. Was she in there, or had she gone? He should have called James to see if he’d come here looking for her. He banged some more, until her neighbor’s door opened.

      “What’s all the racket out here?” the man asked.

      “Do you know if Gabriella Cain is home?”

      “Saw her leave yesterday. Had a few suitcases with her.”

      Damn it! “Thanks.” Rafael spun on his heel and pushed his car even harder to get to the clinic, parking it practically sideways before he ran inside.

      Desperately hoping that somehow she’d shown back up after James had left his message, he checked her office first but it was quiet and empty. Now it was just a room, with all the life and energy gone from it. He put his hands on her desk and leaned on it, needing that support when he saw that her usual tidy stacks of papers were gone, and so were the few personal items he’d noticed there before.

      “She handed in her resignation.”

      Rafael swung around at the sound of James’s voice. His friend stood there looking grim and angry, rubbing the back of his neck with his palm.

      “When?”

      “Yesterday. That’s why I’m here so late, trying to find a replacement. Not that it’ll be easy to replace someone like Gabby. I’ve been trying like hell to figure out where she went so I could talk her into coming back, but no luck so far.”

      “Why did she leave?”

      “Because the damned news outlets were splashing photos of the two of you everywhere, and along with that some people were running their mouths about her past making her unfit to work here as a midwife. I’m tempted to call the news outlets who’ve run this damned story, but since they’re always looking for a way to throw the media spotlight on me, too, I’m afraid it would just make it worse. Did you warn her this could happen if the two of you spent time together?”

      “Not enough, obviously.” Damn it, this was what he’d wanted to avoid all along, and he should have told her about the grainy photos from that first night together, when she’d fallen asleep at his house. Maybe she’d have been more prepared for this if she’d known they’d been dogging both of them from the start.

      But things were different now. She wasn’t just another fling, she was the woman he loved. He’d be more than happy to have that be headline news, if she loved him back.

      The thought that she might not made it hard to breathe.

      “I’m going to get with some of my people from the palace. See if they can find out where she’s from, where her family is, or who her old friends are. I’ll start there.”

      “All I know is that she’s from Seattle. I’ll keep working on it and let you know. I want her back too. Good luck.”

      James gave Rafael a quick, hard hug, then left and Rafael sat in Gabriella’s chair to get started on the most important hunt of his life.

      * * *

      Gabby sat on the dock near her childhood home and stared out at the Pacific Ocean, pulling her jacket closer around her to keep away the penetrating evening chill. Always, whenever she’d had problems in her life, she’d felt soothed by the sound of the surf. By watching the rhythmic waves slide up and down the sand. By seeing the orange sun gleaming lower in the sky to finally dip below the horizon. All of it usually left her feeling like she was ready to take on whatever challenge she had to face.

      Her current challenge, forgetting about Rafael Moreno, felt pretty impossible. Taking the positive step to begin sending out applications for jobs had helped a little. Maybe once she moved somewhere to start afresh, met new people and didn’t hide away like she had the two years she’d been at The Hollywood Hills Clinic, it would get better. Maybe forgetting him would be easier than she expected.

      And maybe the seagulls would start swimming and fish would fly across the sky.

      A sigh filled her chest. Surprised by a movement next to her, she looked up, and her heart ground to a complete halt.

      “So, querida, you are here.” Rafael dropped down next to her, and in his quiet voice was a note she hadn’t heard before. “Should you ever become a felon, be glad to know you’re very hard to find.”

      “Rafael. How...? Why...? Is your mother okay?” Her heart started up again in lurching thuds against her ribs, and she just stared in disbelief that he was actually there. And why, when he’d given her the brush-off

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