the bedroom upstairs."
Gabriel looked up at her. He had a smudge on his cheek. "You were snooping?"
"It looks lovely. While your own bedroom still has peeling walls and a broken window."
"Wasn’t the door closed?" he asked pointedly.
"First room you worked on, huh?"
"So?"
"It’s a woman’s bedroom."
"Is it?"
"It looks nice, Gabriel." She crossed her arms and tried to look dangerous. "Spill. Who’s moving in?"
"No-one."
"Do you have a girlfriend I don’t know about?"
"It’s a guestroom."
"A guest room doesn’t have a character like this. Who decorated it?"
"I did."
"You have a secret girlfriend," she said. "You have a girlfriend you don’t want to tell me about, and she’s going to move in with you."
"I don’t have a ‘secret girlfriend’, Alice. For God’s sake, I’m not ten years old!"
"So she’s not a secret? Then why haven’t you told me about her?"
Gabriel straightened He pushed the hair away from his face, leaving another smudge on his temple, and looked seriously annoyed. "Alice – whoever that room is for – it is none of your business. Understood?"
Chapter 9
It was a sad day in a copyeditor’s life when she had to look up lay versus lie.
None of her business? Yes – he was probably right about that, damnit. Strictly speaking it was none of her business. She didn’t own Gabriel. She didn’t own so much as a single cell of him.
Alice pushed the keyboard away and covered her face with her hands. She’d struggled to push Gabriel out of her mind. She’d excused herself from the rest of the self-defense course, and Gabriel had let her off the hook after a short test of what she’d learned so far. She’d continued dating her alphabet men. She’d gone through B, C, D and E already, without meeting a single axe murderer. She was up to F, damn it.
She wasn’t past G. Perhaps that was the problem.
And why should she be past him, anyway, she thought, straightening her back. He was interested. He definitely was, despite his protests. Should she let him go, just because he was pushing her away for some obscure reason?
Hell, no!
Not without a fight! She was a woman of the 21st century! She would not let a lovely fish get away just because he thought the water was bluer on the other side.
Or something.
There was that little matter of a girly bedroom in his house. It looked like he had plans.
Or was she just jumping to conclusions?
It could have been just a ruse. After all, he was trying to escape, all because of some silly little-sister concept. And that bedroom didn’t necessarily mean he had a specific occupant in mind. He’d never said he had a girlfriend. How could he have had a secret girlfriend, with the way he reacted towards her and all the time they’d spent together recently? And why would a girlfriend be secret anyway?
Yup, she’d overreacted.
It definitely didn’t look like there was a woman in his life, although he didn’t seem to mind letting her think there was.
Hmmm.
On rare occasions, brothers did have their uses.
Especially when you could use their girlfriend against them.
Susan bit on a pencil. "Peculiar. But if Gabriel has a girlfriend moving in, why would she get her own bedroom? Wouldn’t she move into his bedroom?"
"You wouldn’t ask this if you’d seen his bedroom."
"Still, if a girlfriend were moving in with him, it would be their bedroom."
"He said it was a guestroom. Which suggests he’s hiding something."
Susan shook her head. "Alice, are you sure it isn’t just a guestroom? People do have guestrooms. If it’s for a girlfriend, why wouldn’t he just tell you? I mean – if Gabriel had a girlfriend, Michael would know about it."
Alice smiled broadly. "Right!"
"Oh." Susan said.
"Yup."
"That’s why you’re here. You want me to cross-examine your brother and dig up the dirt on Gabriel’s love life."
"If it’s not too much trouble," Alice answered apologetically.
Susan sighed. "I’ll try. No guarantees – but I’ll
Gabriel looked up at her. He had a smudge on his cheek. "You were snooping?"
"It looks lovely. While your own bedroom still has peeling walls and a broken window."
"Wasn’t the door closed?" he asked pointedly.
"First room you worked on, huh?"
"So?"
"It’s a woman’s bedroom."
"Is it?"
"It looks nice, Gabriel." She crossed her arms and tried to look dangerous. "Spill. Who’s moving in?"
"No-one."
"Do you have a girlfriend I don’t know about?"
"It’s a guestroom."
"A guest room doesn’t have a character like this. Who decorated it?"
"I did."
"You have a secret girlfriend," she said. "You have a girlfriend you don’t want to tell me about, and she’s going to move in with you."
"I don’t have a ‘secret girlfriend’, Alice. For God’s sake, I’m not ten years old!"
"So she’s not a secret? Then why haven’t you told me about her?"
Gabriel straightened He pushed the hair away from his face, leaving another smudge on his temple, and looked seriously annoyed. "Alice – whoever that room is for – it is none of your business. Understood?"
Chapter 9
It was a sad day in a copyeditor’s life when she had to look up lay versus lie.
None of her business? Yes – he was probably right about that, damnit. Strictly speaking it was none of her business. She didn’t own Gabriel. She didn’t own so much as a single cell of him.
Alice pushed the keyboard away and covered her face with her hands. She’d struggled to push Gabriel out of her mind. She’d excused herself from the rest of the self-defense course, and Gabriel had let her off the hook after a short test of what she’d learned so far. She’d continued dating her alphabet men. She’d gone through B, C, D and E already, without meeting a single axe murderer. She was up to F, damn it.
She wasn’t past G. Perhaps that was the problem.
And why should she be past him, anyway, she thought, straightening her back. He was interested. He definitely was, despite his protests. Should she let him go, just because he was pushing her away for some obscure reason?
Hell, no!
Not without a fight! She was a woman of the 21st century! She would not let a lovely fish get away just because he thought the water was bluer on the other side.
Or something.
There was that little matter of a girly bedroom in his house. It looked like he had plans.
Or was she just jumping to conclusions?
It could have been just a ruse. After all, he was trying to escape, all because of some silly little-sister concept. And that bedroom didn’t necessarily mean he had a specific occupant in mind. He’d never said he had a girlfriend. How could he have had a secret girlfriend, with the way he reacted towards her and all the time they’d spent together recently? And why would a girlfriend be secret anyway?
Yup, she’d overreacted.
It definitely didn’t look like there was a woman in his life, although he didn’t seem to mind letting her think there was.
Hmmm.
On rare occasions, brothers did have their uses.
Especially when you could use their girlfriend against them.
Susan bit on a pencil. "Peculiar. But if Gabriel has a girlfriend moving in, why would she get her own bedroom? Wouldn’t she move into his bedroom?"
"You wouldn’t ask this if you’d seen his bedroom."
"Still, if a girlfriend were moving in with him, it would be their bedroom."
"He said it was a guestroom. Which suggests he’s hiding something."
Susan shook her head. "Alice, are you sure it isn’t just a guestroom? People do have guestrooms. If it’s for a girlfriend, why wouldn’t he just tell you? I mean – if Gabriel had a girlfriend, Michael would know about it."
Alice smiled broadly. "Right!"
"Oh." Susan said.
"Yup."
"That’s why you’re here. You want me to cross-examine your brother and dig up the dirt on Gabriel’s love life."
"If it’s not too much trouble," Alice answered apologetically.
Susan sighed. "I’ll try. No guarantees – but I’ll
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