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Gabriel looked at her gravely “Did you stop loving e of one of her fingernails “Of course not”

“If he truly loves you, he’ll love you for a long time Maybe forever”

“Then ouldn’t he want to be friends?” She turned troubled eyes in his direction

“Because it’s too painful” Gabriel cupped her cheek “If I’d lost you to him, I couldn’t be friends with you I’d simply have to love you from a distance”

“I never meant to hurt him,” she whispered

“I’m sure he realizes that”

“Why didn’t he try to talk to me about it ere in Oxford?”

“He didn’t want to upset you before your lecture”

Julia turned suspicious eyes in her husband’s direction “Did you know about this?”

Gabriel hesitated, ever so slightly

“Yes”

“Why didn’t you tellit up We wanted you to be in the best frame of mind at the conference”

She pushed her chair back from the table “So you and Paul discussed this? You discussed me?”

“Briefly, yes”

“You should have told ht he’d change his ain, Paul has surprised me”

“You dole out information like vita about his lips “Vita You and your secrets” She rose to her feet, but he caught her wrist

“I don’t have secrets fro fro forward But if you want full disclosure, I’ll give it to you” He lifted his chin in challenge “And then I’ll ask you for full disclosure For example, did you happen to have a conversation with Paul about dropping out of Harvard?”

“What?”

“He tore a strip offme I had to make sure you didn’t abandon your dreams”

Julia’s eyes widened

“When did he say this?”

“In Oxford, right after your lunch So don’t lecturelunch with old fla the that”

“Well, what do you call it, then?”

She lifted her hands and then let them drop to her sides “It just—came out I orried and needed someone to talk to”

“Did it ever occur to you that you already have sonificantly “Someone infinitely closer?”

“I needed time to think”

“I can understand that I can even support it But ti to sos That was not the right thing to do, Julianne, and you know it” His tone was reproving