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“I had a female problem to attend to”
After a moment, realization passed over his features “Oh Are you feeling all right?”
“I’ht you seehosted a hand over her brsts
She grabbed his hand, stilling it
“I’ the light off Then he slipped under the sheet next to her
She could hear hi his jaw
“Do you really think it’s a htmare?”
“Sometimes I can’t tell,” he admitted
“Has it happened before?”
“On occasion It’s been a while”
“You never said anything”
“It isn’t so I like to discuss, Julianne My ue at best And what I reet”
“Have you told Dr Townsend about the his fingertips over her back “I know very little about er at your parents But it isn’t a healthy thing to hold on to”
“I know that” He stopped touching her and rolled to his side, facing her “There ht be terrible skeletons in my family’s closet Could you love me in spite of the, Gabriel I just love you”
He captured her mouth, but only for an instant They relaxed into the bed, spooning under the covers
Just as she was about to drift into sleep, Gabriel’s voice sounded in her ear
“Thank you”
The next rew too ware sun hat and a very small blue bikini Gabriel had persuaded her to purchase the bikini during their trip to Belize before they were ht back to the previous evening and Gabriel’s nightmare It had disturbed them both She couldn’t help but envision what he’d described—hisafter the man who fathered her child and abandoned her Perhaps that ienerated Gabriel’s intense antipathy to the sight of Julia on her knees Even now, several e, that was one position he couldn’t countenance
Perhaps it’s because of Paulina
Julia winced She didn’t like thinking of Gabriel’s former lover and theso, he hadn’t heard fros lie
A shadow fell over her legs and she looked through her sunglasses to see hi trunks and was carrying a towel
Hisher before placing the towel on a chair and diving into the pool The water arht U himself in the almost-silence of the water Back and forth and back and forth During physical exercise, as during sex, he could relieve hisonly on his ht or reflection on his nightmare An intuition had taken hold that told hi had been able to persuade hi else—the feel of the sun and the water against his flesh, the sound of splashing in his ears, the taste of chlorine, the glorious burn in hislaps, flip turn upon flip turn, when the peacefulness of hissas broken by a sudden cry
He surfaced i for Julia She was still in her chair, but she’d swung her legs over the side of the lounge and was holding her iPhone to her ear
“She’s what?” Julia’s voice was unusually shrill
Gabriel wiped his eyes so he could see her better