April's Promise (Forever Love Series) (4 page)

April
drove through the town and turned into the parking lot of an office building. 
Gabe's complex of offices was located on the third floor.  With three stores open
now throughout Virginia, he'd needed a central headquarters from which he could
oversee and coordinate.  After she parked, she locked Vanessa's car, and took
her niece's hand as they crossed to the glass door and rode in the elevator to
the third floor.

Everything
from the plush sand-colored carpeting to the cream and chocolate leather chairs
in the small reception area shouted quality and success.  April had never seen
Gabe's offices before.

Going
to the middle-aged woman seated behind a huge desk, April kept Stephie's small
hand in hers.  "We're here to see Gabe Chronister."

"Do
you have an appointment?" the woman asked as she peered over her reading
glasses.

With a
pleasant smile, April returned, "Does his daughter
need
an
appointment?"

The
receptionist glanced down at Stephie.  "Uh, no, I suppose not.  Let me
buzz him."  Picking up the phone, she announced to Gabe that he had
visitors.  A few moments later, he came down the hall to the desk and saw them.

April's
heart raced.  He was even more handsome and powerful-looking in a suit than
jeans.  The cut of his navy jacket seemed to emphasize his broad shoulders.

Scooping
Stephie up into his arms, he said, "I didn't expect to see you quite
yet."

"She
missed you," April explained, wondering if she'd done the right thing by
bringing Stephie here.

But
Gabe didn't seem disturbed about it.  "Let's go to my office.  Mrs.
Canton, hold all my calls."

Gabe's
office was a masculine domain.  Book shelves filled with manuals and binders
lined one wall.  His L-shaped desk faced a sitting area with a leather couch
and chair.  A painting of a rustic farmhouse and a scene of horses grazing hung
on the wall.

He took
Stephie to the couch and sat her on his knee.  "So you missed me?"

Stephie
bobbed her head and clutched a waxy white bag in her hand.

"I
suppose you miss Evelyn, too?"

Again Stephie
nodded.

"Did
you have fun with April this morning?"

His
daughter looked at April and grinned.  "We colored.  An' we played
outside."

"What
did you bring?"  Gabe tapped Stephie's bag but his gaze slid over April in
her turquoise blouse and slacks.

"Cookies. 
I tol' April you like chocolate chip."

He
laughed, a deep rumble that vibrated through April.  "And maybe you want
to split one?"

Stephie
grinned.  Then she asked, "Are you comin' home soon?"

"Pumpkin,
I have to work until supper.  But after supper you and I can play ball till
dark.  Okay?"

Stephie
hopped off his lap and opened the bag of cookies.  "Okay."

Rising
to his feet, he took April's elbow and guided her across the room to the
picture window.  "Is everything all right?"

"I
think so.  She's used to you...and Evelyn.  But I'll keep her busy.  I wasn't
sure if I should bring her here."

Gabe
leaned closer to her.  "Don't hesitate to call me or bring her by."

His
hand was still on her arm, his head so close to hers that she could smell his
cologne.

There
was a quick rap on the door and then it opened.  A man with close-cropped gray
hair and tortoise-shell glasses barged in.  "Gabe, the latest set of
numbers is good.  Damn good.  We should—"  Seeing April and Gabe's hand on
her arm, he blushed.  "Oh, I'm sorry.  I didn't mean to interrupt."

Gabe
took a step away.  "It's okay, Jim.  You're not interrupting.  April is
Vanessa's sister.  She's taking care of my daughter until I find a new
sitter."

Finally
catching a glimpse of Stephie quietly eating a cookie on the sofa, Gabe's associate
looked relieved.  "This can wait.  Give me a buzz when you're free."

April
watched the man leave the office, Gabe's words still ringing in her ears.
 
April is Vanessa's sister
.

Was
that
all
she was to him?  Could she be more?  Could she compete with
Vanessa's memory?

"April?"

Gabe
must have asked her a question.  "I'm sorry.  What did you say?"

"Is
something wrong?"

How
could she tell him she still had feelings for him?  Vanessa had only been gone
for eight months...  "No.  Nothing's wrong.  I was just thinking I should
get back so I can start supper."

His
gaze was probing until Stephie came running to him with his half of a very
large cookie.  He took it from her with a wry smile that almost broke April's
heart.  As he wiped a few crumbs from Stephie's mouth so gently, she prayed
she'd make the right decision for all of them.

****

Gabe
threw the big red ball to Stephie and she scrambled after it.  He wondered what
April was doing.  She'd been very quiet during dinner, talking to Stephie more
than him.

When
the kitchen door opened, he did a double take.  April was wearing a jogging
suit.  Bright blue.  It fit her like...a second skin.  Every curve was
defined.  And they were all very tempting.

Forget
it, Chronister.

Why
wouldn't his body listen to his good sense?

As she
approached him, he noted the sweatband holding her hair.

She
smiled at Stephie, then said to him, "I'm going for a jog.  It usually
takes me about an hour."

He
couldn't keep his gaze away from the fit of her top over her breasts, her leggings
hugging her hips.  "It will be dark soon.  Be careful you don't slip on
the leaves."  The whole yard was covered with them, and he'd have to rake
soon.

"I'll
be fine.  I'm used to leaves.  We have them in Boston," she teased, then
took off under the trellis, along the flagstone path that led to the front
yard.

He
watched until she was out of sight.

After
he put Stephie to bed, Gabe took a shower.  Back in his bedroom, he reached for
his sweat suit, looked out his bedroom window and forgot about getting
dressed.  Having finished her run, April was stretching on the front lawn. 
Fascinated, he marveled at the flexibility of her body, the beautiful long
contours of her arms and legs.  When a sleek black sports car purred down the
street and pulled into his driveway, he saw her slowly come to her feet and
pull the headband from her hair.

Nicholas
Chandler was one of Gabe's best friends.  He and Nicholas had hung around
together in high school, and they still did.  April had met and spoken with Nicholas
over the years.  Now as Nicholas strode up the walk, the post light threw beams
on his black hair.  He'd tugged his tie down and turned back his white shirt
cuffs.  The smile that spread across his friend's face made Gabe wish April was
wearing something other than that jogging suit!  Nicholas had a reputation with
women and was dubbed in Cedar Corners' scuttlebutt as its most eligible wealthy
"hunk."

Gabe
dressed quickly and went downstairs.  Sitting together on the sofa, April and Nicholas
were talking as if they were old friends.

As if
they want to be new friends?

April's
hair was loose and waved around her face as it sometimes did when the weather
was damp.  Her cheeks were rosy.  From the night chill, her run, or from
talking to Nicholas?  She was turned toward his friend, one leg curled up on
the sofa and Nicholas' arm rested along the back, his hand very near her
shoulder.

When
Gabe moved into the room and crossed to them, their conversation stopped and he
felt as if he'd interrupted.

"April's
been telling me how much she enjoyed Singapore," Nicholas said with a
smile.

Gabe
wondered if his friend had been charming April or simply listening to her. 
"You were there last year, weren't you?" Gabe asked casually.

"That's
what I was telling her.  We were comparing notes."

They'd
have a lot of notes to compare if Nicholas was interested in April.  In a flash
Gabe realized he didn't
want
Nicholas to be interested in
April.  Or April interested in him.

"April
is taking a vacation and filling in for Evelyn," Gabe explained.

His
friend glanced at April again.  "I've advised her to do her exercises in
the backyard for the rest of her stay.  The intriguing sight of her stretching
could stop an ambulance...or every man who drives by."

April
blushed and Gabe's gut clenched.  Maybe Nicholas was teasing, but maybe he was
trying to score points.  From the look on April's face, he'd succeeded.

"Thank
you," she murmured and avoided Gabe's gaze.

"You're
welcome," Nicholas replied with a twinkle in his blue eyes.

April
straightened on the sofa.  "Nicholas just got back from Chicago."

"Another
buyout," Nicholas explained.

"Hostile?" 
Gabe asked, all too aware of successful business strategies.

"Nope. 
This one was friendly," Nicholas said with a sly smile.

April
looked from one man to the other, then stood.  "I'll let you two
visit."

But Nicholas
stood, too.  "I can't stay.  I'm on my way to an appointment with my real
estate agent.  I've decided to put a contract on a house."

The
fact that Nicholas had stopped by to deliver the news in person meant he was
excited about it.  If he was going to buy a house, maybe he was finally going
to settle down.  "Where is it?" Gabe asked.

"Out
Country Mill Road."

"The
old Falworth estate?"

"That's
it.  Never thought I'd give up the convenience of the condo, but...I don't
know.  I want more permanence than that."

"Are
you ready for permanence?"  Gabe wondered what had brought Nicholas to
this decision.

His
friend shrugged.  "I guess I discovered I need roots...though I never
thought I'd want them."  He checked his watch.  "I've got to get
going.  April, it was good to see you again.  If you stick around, stop in at
Constellation Enterprises.  You've never seen my offices.  I'll show you around
the financial department and you can give me your opinion on the numbers of a
few of my more speculative ventures."  Clapping Gabe on the shoulder, he
asked, "Are we still on for basketball next Saturday?"

Gabe
glanced at April.  "I think I'll pass this month."

"Don't
change your plans because of me," April said.

"I
told you, I won't take advantage of you.  You should do what you want on
weekends."

"I'm
here, Gabe.  I don't mind."

When Nicholas'
brows arched at their interchange, Gabe told him, "I'll let you
know."

Nicholas
crossed to the foyer.  "You know where to reach me."  After a final
wave, he closed the door behind him.

The
silence lasted until Nicholas backed his car out of the driveway.

"I'm
going to get a shower," April said.

She
would have passed him but Gabe caught her arm.  "Are you going to visit Nicholas
at Constellation?"  He didn't know why he was asking.  Maybe because he'd
rather she'd visit
his
offices again rather than Nicholas Chandler's.

"I
might."

Gold
lights danced in her brown eyes and he wondered if his friend had put them
there.  "Be careful, April.  Nicholas can make the phone book sound like
the best-seller you're dying to read."

Her
brows arched.  "I don't know what you mean."

"Nicholas
has money and looks and knows how to use both."

"He's
your friend!"

"It's
because he's my friend that I know he's lethal with women."

"You
think I can't tell practiced charm from sincerity?"  Her voice was
indignant.

"I
don't know.  What was Nicholas using on you?"

She
blinked, and then asked, "Why do you care
what
he was using?"

The
pulse of tension between them threatened Gabe's self control, as did the scent
of April, the spirit in her eyes, and the sweet curve of her lips.  Without
thinking of consequences or the past or the future, he pulled her into his
arms, and his lips came down on hers.

All
hell broke loose...or was it all heaven?

A fire
rose in Gabe so high, so hot, so huge, that it burned his reservations and
resolve to red sparks that reignited and added to the inferno.  Yet the height
of his desire was dizzying, almost euphoric.  The touch of April's lips was as
inflaming as her taste was sweet.  Lips on lips wasn't enough.  His tongue
laved her lower lip until she opened her mouth, until she wrapped her arms
around his neck, until her soft breasts pressed against his chest.  His hands
explored her back and as she reached up to him, her top bared her midriff.  Her
skin was like hot satin and he could almost imagine burying himself inside her.