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Quinn snorted in agreement.
Know that I am so proud to be the father of the extraordinary woman that you’ve become…with no help from me.
I love you. Always have. Always will.
Dad
He’d drawn a shamrock with heart-shaped leaves after his name, something he’d done on every card he’d ever given her.
A hard, cold knot in her chest melted away, leaving a space filled with lightness and warmth. Was that what forgiveness felt like?
“Quinn?” Gabriel’s smooth rumble came from the doorway. She turned to find him dressed only in gray sweatpants, his hair mussed from sleep.
“I love you,” she said because she couldn’t stop herself.
Joy lit his smile, and he opened his arms wide. “Te adoro, cariño mío.”
She walked into his arms, laying her cheek on the warm olive skin stretched over the muscles of his chest. His arms closed around her, and she could hear his heart beating against her ear.
She had to tell him about her past. Dread wrapped a fist around her heart and squeezed until her breath seemed to stop.
Not yet.
She skimmed one hand between them to cup him through the fleece of his sweats. “Let’s go back to bed.”
Gabriel pulled into the private parking lot behind Mikel’s office. The moment Quinn could get past the lifting door of the Spano, she was out of the car. She was pissed at him because he wanted to talk with Mikel about adding more protection for her.
However, she owed him for letting her delay their conversation about her father and her past. She had pleaded to postpone it until that evening. Curiosity and fear battled in his chest. Quinn believed her revelations would change his feelings. He refused to believe she might be right.
He exited the car and caught up with her as she tapped her employee ID card against the electronic lock pad at the back entrance. “Quinn, you can be angry at me, but you can’t fault me for being worried. Admit that you wouldn’t allow yourself to ask Mikel for extra protection. For me, it is easy.”
She made a gesture of denial but left the door closed. “I carry a gun. I keep my eyes open. I don’t need more bodyguards.”
Now was not the time to tell her how sexy it was to watch her strap on her shoulder holster, even as the need for it drove a blade of panic into his gut.
“Do you think I need bodyguards?” he asked.
Her gaze slid away from his. “It makes me feel better to know you have them. And yours cover me when we’re together.”
He let her admission sit between them until she met his eyes again with a rueful twist of her lips. “You win. But make sure Mikel knows this is all your idea.”
“Lo prometo. I promise.” Even though there had to be a surveillance camera watching, he bent to kiss her warm, soft lips. When she kissed him in return, the tightness in his neck loosened. He hated that she was in danger because of him. He also hated to fight with her.
She tapped the lock pad again, and he pulled the heavy metal door open for her.
“Hasta luego,” she said with a little wave as she ducked into her office a few steps down the carpeted hallway.
Gabriel continued to the reception area, passing the closed door of Mikel’s office.
“Don Gabriel!” Emilia leaped to her feet. “We were not expecting you.”
“I don’t have an appointment.” He waved her concern away with a smile. “Without disrupting his schedule, would Mikel have a few minutes to speak with me?”
She threw a glance toward the hallway. “Let me check with him. But first, may I offer you coffee? Something to eat?”
“No, gracias. I just had breakfast.” A lie. He’d had Quinn, which was better than food. The satisfaction of his release and hers still flooded his veins with relaxed energy. He sat and stretched out his legs while Emilia disappeared down the hall.
He heard a door open and close and open again before Emilia and Mikel walked into the reception area.
