Page 91 of Adored

Apparently.

“Do I? I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Doctor Seville,” he said. “Hey, when we get married, how does that work? Will you be Doyle? Will I be a Seville? Is there a protocol since you’re a Duke.”

Poe was honest.

“I’ll always be the Duke of Gordon, without a mention of my name, but I thought we could take each other’s name. You could be Arthur Seville-Doyle, and I can be Poe Seville-Doyle. I want us to be one, and if we have kids for them to be the same.OURS.”

Truthfully, Gamble had never been loved like that. Storm kept her maiden name, and he’d not fought it, despite it hurting him that she’d rather not carry his name. Yes, she said it was because she didn’t trust men, but shouldn’t she have trusted her husband?

Apparently, not.

That should have been his first sign of trouble.

“I think I’d like that,” Gamble admitted.

Poe was to the point.

“Well, if my man ever proposes,” Poe said. “Anytime in the next week would be nice. I mean, I’m free right now, and there’s a beautiful sunset and a horse. This screams proposal material in the movies.”

He couldn’t help it.

Gamble laughed.

“Someone is bossy. I find that irrationally sexy in a man,” he said, going to kiss him.

Only, that’s when Diablo perked his ears, and then got up on his feet.

FAST.

That put a stop to the kiss. Instead, Gamble listened, and he heard something not far away. It was faint, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

“We’re out of here,” he said, pulling Poe to his feet, placing the blanket on the horse, and then getting Poe into place on his back. “Stay with Diablo, and don’t leave his side,” he said, as he took his hands off of Poe’s waist.

“Gamble,” he said, fear in his eyes.

“I love you, Poe. Diablo, go home,” he said, slapping him on the ass, as Poe had no choice but to hold on for dear life as the horse took off.

Now, Gamble was on his own, and that was the best way for a ghost to work.

Making sure Diablo got the precious cargo the hell out of there, Gamble went into work mode.

It was time to be a Marine.

Stepping backward into the shadows of the apple tree, he scanned the area looking for anything out of place.

He didn’t see anything.

Only, Gamble knew that horse.

Diablo was stubborn, and he didn’t get spooked easily. He picked something up that he hadn’t heard in the distance.

That meant someone was lurking.

For Gamble, that wasn’t a good thing. There would only be one person who would dare send anyone to that estate.

Von Donore.

As he silently moved toward the outer edge of the orchard, there were footprints in the soft dirt by the river.