Page 33 of Forbidden Sins
“The Brotherhood. Sounds like one of those secret societies, with the robes and rituals.”
He laughed. “Not quite. We don’t have nearly enough robes and rituals,” he told her. “Brett and Alex are real estate developers, Rafael is the politician, Alana runs Di Terrestres, Thalia, our new hotel and the rest of the entertainment properties.”
“And you?”
“I’m the lawyer.”
“You put out all the fires.”
“We all work together to put out the fires. We did everything together.” He artfully flipped the omelet, with a flick of the pan.
“Did?”
“One by one—first Brett, then Rafael, then Alex—they fell in love with amazing women. They’re better for it, of course. These women challenge them, love them. I’ve never seen any of them happier or more complete. It wasn’t what I thought I wanted, but...” He trailed off, as if searching for the words. “Sometimes I wonder if that’s what I’ve been missing.”
Ellie heard the words he was saying and wondered if that was the reason he’d drunkenly suggested they head to the wedding chapel.
He turned back to face the stove where the omelet cooked. “I can’t believe I said all that,” he told her, with a shake of his head. “My friends are great, kind of jerks sometimes. You’ll meet them officially tomorrow. They’re coming into the office for our monthly briefing.”
Gabe plated their omelets and put hers in front of her, and they ate in near silence. She hadn’t eaten since lunch, and just realized that she was starving. Ellie watched Gabe as he ate. It was the quiet moments they shared—not just when they were having sex—that she enjoyed. Just talking about his friends, sharing a meal with him, getting to know him. It was those moments when a small amount of hope told her that she and Gabe might have a future between them. But more than once, he’d laid out the temporary, inappropriate nature of their relationship. Especially once he became partner, they would never be able to see each other.
Ellie frowned. And if her father found out, there would be no chance of them reconciling. There was no happy ending for her and Gabe. Watching him eat, she pushed her plate back, no longer hungry.
Gabe must have noticed her shift in mood. He put his fork down and looked up at her. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” she lied. “I’m just full.”
Gabe ate the last forkful on his plate. She could tell from the way he looked at her that he wasn’t convinced. But he didn’t say anything. Instead, he took her hand and stood. “Come on,” he told her. “Let’s go to bed.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
ONLYADAYafter he and Ellie had had sex in the very chair where he was sitting, Gabe looked around the conference room at Brett, Alex, Rafael and Alana. The Brotherhood had gathered, as they did every month, to discuss their business interests and to brainstorm ideas for new revenue streams. The group went through their joint portfolios, analyzing their profits and deciding where to allocate funds and reinvest in the business.
There was a knock on the door. Gabe hit the switch that turned the glass wall clear, and he could see Ellie standing on the other side.
He smiled, as he found himself doing when she was near, and waved her to come in. “Gabe, I just wanted to let you know that Charles just got off the phone with Hong Kong and he wanted to let you know that Tsai and the board came to an agreement. They’re going through with the acquisition. It’s all because of your work last night.”
Gabe could have kissed her. He put another big client in the win column, and it would definitely ensure he was brought aboard as a partner. He could almost picture himself sitting behind his new desk in the office next to Charles’s that his father had vacated the year before. “That’s amazing! And it wasourwork. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
He heard a throat clear behind them. He’d completely forgotten his friends were there. He turned and saw four amused smiles. “You going to introduce us?” Rafael asked.
He sighed. “Yeah, Ellie, take a seat. These are my friends—” he went around the table “—guys, this is Ellie.”
“The new Mrs. Foster,” the bigger one, Alex, said, extending his hand across the table.
“Stop,” Gabe warned him.
“You told them?” she asked Gabe. “I thought we agreed to keep it secret.”
He shrugged. “Of course, I told them. We share everything. These people are my closest friends. You didn’t tell your closest friends?”
She thought back to the conversation she’d had with Rachel. “Yeah, I told Rachel, my best friend,” she explained. “You met her the night we met, if you can remember.”
He heard a snicker and he wasn’t sure who it came from—hell, it could have been any of them, as a look around the table told him that they were all enjoying the show.
“Ah, yes,” he said, recalling the woman who’d snapped a picture of his ID. “I told you that these guys are my business partners, too. My business is their business. But a few nights ago, they had explicitly promised that they’d be nice,” Gabe said. “Although I don’t really believe that.”
“That was Jessica who said that,” Brett retorted. “But we’ll behave,” he added, winking at Ellie.