All three women stopped to watch Gabriel rise to his feet. His large frame stretched upwards. Powerful. Intimidating. Up close, he was even more good-looking in an undeniably masculine, rugged manner. Next to him, a confused Brooke was about to say something when Gabriel brushed past her as he hurried around his desk toward Bethany.

His deep scowl had given way to a deep dimpled smile as he spread out his long arms to Bethany. "Are you going to come give me a hug?"

"Wh—?" The straw dropped from Christine's open mouth.

Meanwhile, the tall, muscular man swept slender Bethany off her feet and swung her like a rag doll in a tight bear hug. In the years Christine and Brooke had known polished and charismatic Gabriel Blake this was the first time they had ever seen him so unguarded. The adoring way he looked and smiled at the young woman in his arms, made the other two feel like intruders. "God! It's so good to see you!"

"So you two know each other," Christine noted with wry humor. She swallowed back a smile to see Brooke's face red with rage, as she went to stand next to the tall blond woman.

"All her life!" Gabriel announced with another flash of his deep, dimpled smile. Bethany clutched her notebook to her chest like a shield with one hand, cast a shy glance at the other two women. She tried to pull away but he held onto her as he backed away to half sat, half leaned against the edge of his desk. "Bethany's my best friend's little sister. I taught her how to swim."

"I've only drowned twice since," Bethany said with a hint of a smile.

Large, hulking Gabriel scrunched his nose playfully at her. "Well, those long legs are filled with lead."

"Why didn't you tell me you and Gabe are such good friends, Bethany?" Christine asked.

Bethany shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "He gave me this job."

"Of course he did," Brooke muttered through gritted teeth.

Christine gave her a quick nudge and pushed her toward the door. "We'll leave you two to catch up. But come by my desk later, Bethany."

Gabriel hardly noticed the others leaving. He was still looking at Bethany. "Gosh! How long has it been?" he asked once they were alone.

Her face tightened and her eyes dulled a bit. "Not since my mom—"

His smile faded. For a moment neither could find the right words. Time ticked by growing more and more awkward with each passing moment.

He broke the silence first. "I uh — drove by the old house the other day."

"How did it look?" she asked hoarsely.

"The new owners collect garden gnomes. Lots of them!" He dropped his dark head until all that was visible was his brow line under his widow's peak. When he looked up again, he scratched at the dark stubbles on his cheeks and jawline. His movements called her attention to his bloodshot eyes and the lines on his forehead from a sleepless night. And yet his large muscular body seemed to hum with inner energy. Then he noticed the hairs that had fallen over her forehead. "You ‌colored your hair!"

Bethany reached back for her dark brown ponytail and flicked it over one shoulder. "Since I changed my last name, I figured why not make some other changes too? I never felt like a blond. Do you like it?"

He reached for her ponytail and twirled the strands around his long, thick fingers. "You're gorgeous no matter what." It was a statement of fact, not an opinion.

"And you look —" she started to say but then stopped herself. A sound behind her made her dart a quick look over her shoulder toward the doors.

"What were you going to say?" he pressed.

"Is something going on?" she asked gesturing towards the doorway.

"Oh, that." He crossed the wide open and shut the door. "Don't worry about that. Just some house cleaning."

"How's your family?" she asked, answering his dimpled smile with a hesitant one of her own.

That question made him chuckle as he came to reclaim his seat on the edge of his desk. "We're the friggin' Brady Bunch or haven't you been getting the family's Christmas newsletters? But truly, now that we're all on different continents, we're getting along so much better. Sometimes we'll even talk without lawyers."

"Aren't therapists cheaper than lawyers?" she asked with a smile.

He grinned back with a shrug of his broad shoulders. "How's your grandma?"

"She's loving the nursing home. Thanks for stopping by to see her. Her friends are still raving about the basket you brought them."

"Is she feeling better these days?"

"Much! The staff and facilities there are amazing. We can't thank you enough for getting her in —"

There was a loud banging sound that made Bethany spin toward the double doors again. Through the milky white glass, she could see oddly shaped shadows.

"How are you settling in?" he asked to bring her attention back to him.

At that moment, she became aware that ‌she was standing between his spread thighs while he continued to play with her hair. Flustered, she took a quick step back.

"My communications degree didn't prepare me for any of this," she blurted out as she looked up and around. "Christine's going to hate all my stupid questions."

He scratched his forehead with his thumbnail, then gave her a dimpled smile. "If you don't understand something and you don't want to bother Christine, you can always call me."

That made her chuckle in disbelief. "On how to answer the office telephones? Aren't you a little busy for that?"

No sooner had she said that than a monotone voice piped into the room from an invisible speaker. "Gabe, you have a call with the secretary of the Navy in ten minutes. Michael Langdon also returned your call."

Gabriel didn't react to the voice. "I'll always have time for you." He looked from her eyes to her lips, then back again. The tip of his tongue darted out to wet his lips. But then he tore his gaze away and coughed into a fist. So much of what they wanted to say to one another hung in the air between them.

Bethany fanned herself with the flap of her jacket until she realized what she was doing and stopped. "You're busy," she said, at the same time he reached for her. "Listen, Bit-Bit —"

The dull sound of vibration from his pants pocket interrupted both of them.

"I should let you get back to work," she said and took another step back.

He held up an index finger for her to wait as he retrieved his smartphone from his pants pocket. He scanned the screen quickly before setting it on his desk. Then he returned his attention to her again. "So, where are you living now?"

She smiled brightly. "I got a little place in one of those old apartment buildings. It's within walking distance from here."

"How many roommates?"

"It's a one-bedroom."

That took him by surprise. "But you hate being alone."

"I might get a cat."

"Aren't you allergic?" He asked with a chuckle. "To cats and to being alone?"

Her own smile didn't touch her eyes. "A lot's changed."

For a moment, they stood there facing each other. He stared as if mesmerized by her smile. He was the one to break that silence. "We should have dinner soon. Catch up properly"

Bethany turned away to look out the floor-to-ceiling windows that spanned one side of his office. She did it to avoid the heat of his hypnotic gaze more than anything else.

"The view from here is amazing —" Her voice faded. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek. If she turned even a little...

"Well, do you have everything you need? Furniture? More hair dye?"

Before she could answer, she saw that he had already pulled out a money clip. She shook her head, with a hand over his. "Gabriel, you've done more than enough —"

He removed several bills without looking. "Consider it part of your signing bonus."

"At my level, there's no signing bonus."

That didn't keep him from stuffing the bills into her blazer pocket. "Whatever. I'm sure you could use a few things between now and your first paycheck."

She fingered the crinkling bills in her pocket. "You don't need to worry about me."

He looked away to draw in a deep breath that made the air crackle. "Is that why I had to hear from someone else that you needed a job? Because you didn't want to bother me? What happened to us, Bit-Bit? We used to be so close." He meant for his tone to sound lighthearted, but his expressive eyes couldn't hide his hurt.

She swallowed. Nervous. Uncertain. "I — I wanted to call—"

"And?" He reached out to brush back a few strands that had fallen across her forehead.

She looked down. "It's been so long since we talked."

"So?"

She leveled her large gray eyes on him with a look that she knew would have its intended effect. "Grandma is a huge fan of Trisha Earheart, by the way. She calls me every time she sees or reads anything about the two of you."

For a moment, his handsome face turned to stone. Then he scratched at his forehead again to hide his expression from her. "Listen —"

Before he could utter another word, Bethany hurried to tell him. "Thank you so much for this opportunity. I had such a hard time finding anyone to even look at my resume, let alone hire me."

His expressive brows shot up. "It's the least I can do."

"Are you kidding?" She gave him her best smile. "Do you know how many of my classmates would kill to be here?"

"Will you stop that?" Gabriel looked at her with undisguised hurt. "What's the point of having friends if we can't help each other? And I know you're capable of a lot more. At the three-month review, we'll see if you can't find something more challenging than an entry-level assistant."

"No, I —"

He pushed away from the desk and stood up straight. With both hands on her slender shoulders, he dipped down until they were eye to eye. "If you need anything, anything at all, I want you to call me. I mean it."

She shivered and felt her arm hairs stand up to smell his aftershave and feel his radiating warmth. "Then — can I ask for a favor?"

"Sure." Gabriel drew even closer. Dark eyes scanned her face, and he gave her an eager nod. "What's up?"

"Can you stop calling me Bit-Bit from now on? At least here at work? Besides you and Grandma, nobody calls me that anymore."

A little humorless laugh escaped him as he dropped his head. But then he gave her a forbearing look. "Sure. Whatever you want— Bethany."

*************************

Gabriel rubbed a large hand over the back of his stiff neck as he checked the time. He had three minutes before his next conference call. He looked down at his hands and found them surprisingly steady. He didn't feel steady. Not in the least.

Four minutes.

Enough time for him to dial a number on his phone. It was answered on the second ring.

"Yeah, she just left... No. No. She seems fine. Just different, you know?... I guess that's to be expected... Nah, you dick weed. Of course, I didn't tell her... Are you kidding? Why would she suspect anything... No... Fuck, no!... Well. maybe... You know why! The less she knows the better for everyone."