Page 44 of Gabriela and His Grace (The Luna Sisters #3)

So instead of words, Sebastian tossed his cane aside and stepped forward to drag his palms along her jaw to tangle his fingers in the silky strands of her hair.

Staring deep into her wide eyes, noting with satisfaction how her pulse fluttered at the base of her throat, Sebastian slowly pressed his lips to hers.

Would he ever tire of this simple pleasure?

Of the chaste yet erotic slide of her lips against his own?

Perhaps Gabriela shared his whimsical thoughts, because to his delight and infinite sadness, she twined her arms around his neck and rose up on her toes to deepen the kiss.

A small moan escaped her, and Sebastian dared to hold her a little tighter.

Their affair had come to a close, but Sebastian’s desire for her would be unending.

Sebastian slid his hand down her back to hitch her closer, unable to get enough of her.

A sharp gasp somehow broke through the roaring in Sebastian’s ears—or perhaps it was Gabriela stiffening in his arms—but he jerked his head up.

Over her shoulder, his gaze landed upon two older, well-dressed women staring at him with mouths agape, uncaring for the crowd of passengers stumbling to a halt behind them.

The older of the two women looked familiar, and Sebastian frowned as his memory searched for a name.

“It’s Lady Ambrose,” Gabriela hissed, breaking from his embrace and darting around the stack of crates to hide. “Did you know she was a passenger?”

“Of course not,” he bit out. He was infuriated with his own lack of circumspection. How had he not known they were passengers on the ship? How had Brodie missed them?

“They must have boarded in Nassau,” she murmured.

“Maybe,” he allowed. Sebastian pushed those thoughts from his mind when he saw Gabriela covering her face with her hands. His heart instantly moved from his chest to his throat.

“Ella, don’t worry—”

“I am going to worry,” she snapped. Dropping her arms, Gabby stared at him. “Do you honestly think Lady Ambrose is going to hold her silence? All of London will know by the end of the day.”

Sebastian opened his mouth to argue, but instead shut it with a snap. She was right. The older woman, and whoever her friend was, would spread word of their kiss far and wide. It would be a scandal of dreadful proportions.

“I’m sorry, darling,” he murmured, reaching to grab her hands, but she jerked back from him.

“I know,” she sighed, her brownish-green eyes roving his face before she clenched them closed. “But let’s not make things worse for ourselves.”

“Right. Of course.” Sebastian flexed his hands, and then turned to peer around the crates. “Your sister and Fox are waiting not far away. I’ll escort you to them.”

Her eyes flew open. “You can’t escort me! We can’t be seen together.”

Sebastian snorted. “We’ve already been seen together, so we may as well raise our chins and disembark as if we’re not embarrassed. I’m certainly not.”

“You’re not?” she whispered, her brows stitched together.

He shook his head. “I wish we weren’t spotted, and scandal is no doubt brewing, but I’m not embarrassed .

And I refuse to skulk off this ship as if I’m not a goddamn bloody duke.

” Sebastian arched a brow. “And I was under the impression you were Gabriela Luna, who’s never been intimidated by the ton. ”

“You’re right,” Gabriela murmured, glancing toward the docks. “This wasn’t the homecoming I was hoping for, but I refuse to return to British shores and slink about as if I’m a pariah. If they want me to wear a scarlet letter, they’re going to have to pin it on my sleeve themselves.”

“I do enjoy a good literary reference,” he quipped. Sebastian cupped her cheek. “Now lift that chin and walk down that gangplank like you’re a duchess.”

Because you will be soon enough …

To his relief, Gabriela exhaled deeply and then squared her shoulders. Looping her arm around his, she flashed him a jaunty look. “Let’s go put on a show.”

Her fierceness of spirit would be needed in the days to come, and Sebastian patted her hand. Whatever happened, they would brave it together.

· · ·

“Well, hermanita,” Ana María said, “your return to London was done in the most dramatic way possible.”

“Are you surprised, though?” Gideon huffed a laugh. “Between her and Whitfield, how would it not be dramatic?”

Gabby glared at her brother-in-law before she pointedly turned back to baby Estella. She cuddled with her niece on a velvet love seat in the private drawing room in Ana and Gideon’s home, trying to grasp some quiet time after her dramatic arrival in London that morning.

“Querida,” Ana María began, pausing until Gabby reluctantly met her eyes. “You know there will be a scandal.”

Her sister hadn’t phrased it as a question, so an answer didn’t seem warranted. Instead, Gabby blew a raspberry on her niece’s cheek, laughing when Estella shrieked in delight.

“Perhaps Lady Ambrose will hold her silence—” Gideon began.

“Impossible,” Gabby and Ana said in unison, exchanging an amused look.

“I didn’t want to say anything, because I selfishly wanted to enjoy your company,” Ana said, her dark eyes large as she stared at Gabby holding her daughter, “but Lady Yardley has sent around a note. Apparently, word of your kiss with the duke has already begun to spread.”

Somehow Gabby managed not to cringe. What a fine pickle she and Sebastian had found themselves in.

They had been so careful the entire voyage to keep their affair a secret…

until the very end. When her own grief over saying goodbye had caused her to act recklessly and disembark with Sebastian instead of doing so discreetly.

Gabby knew she was risking not just her good name, but her independence, if they were discovered.

And he knew how important it was for her to maintain her autonomy, so she’d assumed Sebastian and his title could protect them from any scandal. But now scandal had come to call…

Acid touched the back of her tongue, and she pressed her cheek to Estella’s chubby one and inhaled deeply of her sweet baby scent. It calmed her, but only just so.

Gabby could imagine the gossip. The acrimony that had existed between her and Sebastian was well known throughout the ton, and she should have anticipated how the news that they’d been seen engaged in a passionate kiss would spread like an inferno.

But after they had left the ship, acting to all the world as if nothing were amiss, Gabby had almost believed they could out muster their critics.

Sebastian had promptly escorted her to Ana María and Gideon’s carriage, and before he’d departed, he’d squeezed her hand and kissed it, whispering that he would visit the following day.

And then they were rumbling down the streets toward Mayfair, Ana María holding her close and peppering her with questions.

She’d still not given her sister any answers.

Bless Ana María, for she had not pushed.

Instead, when they arrived at her home, her sister had promptly ordered a coffee tray, invited Gabby to sit on her cozy love seat, and delivered Estella into her arms. Ana María seemed to understand that Gabby needed comfort, and she was only too eager to soak up her sister’s gentle caretaking.

Her eldest sister was so very good to her, and Gabby had missed her terribly.

Gideon cleared his throat as he set his newspaper aside. “I think, darling, that we should give your sister today to rest from her long journey, and tomorrow we can ponder this unfolding situation. I’m sure between the three of us, we can strategize an effective way to manage it.”

Ana María nodded in agreement, but Gabby said, “Sebastian—” She paused to lick her lips. “ Whitfield said he would visit tomorrow.”

“Bien,” her sister murmured, but Gideon just nodded curtly. Gabby wondered at that, but didn’t have a chance to ask, for Estella’s lips began to quiver as she glanced around the room for her mother.

“Estoy aquí, mi corazón,” Ana María crooned, rising to her feet and reaching for the baby. Plopping Estella onto her hip, Ana María smiled down at Gabby. “I’ll return after I feed her and put her down to nap.”

Gabby watched them leave, marveling at how her sister was a natural at motherhood. She had no doubt that one day if Estella needed her mother’s support, Ana María would give it unreservedly—

“Gabby, I have something to ask you, and I hope you will be truthful with me.”

Blinking, Gabby swung her gaze to Gideon, who had moved to the edge of his seat and was considering her with a deep pucker between his brows.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, concern raising the hair on her arms.

“I hope not.” Wringing his hands together, Gideon stared at the floor, his jaw working. “Did Whitfield take advantage of you?”

“Uhh.” Gabby pulled her chin back. “Of course not.”

Her brother by marriage visibly deflated, color rushing into his cheeks.

Gabby leaned forward. “Why would you think the duke took advantage of me?”

“Truly, I didn’t want to think he did, but I had to ask.” Gideon scrubbed a hand down his face. “The two of you have always been at odds, and now you’ve returned unexpectedly and were seen in an intimate embrace…and I just had to be certain he didn’t prey on your vulnerability.”

“He didn’t,” she said quietly but firmly.

“I’m glad, because I asked Whitfield to care for you and ensure your safety.”

Her forehead crinkled. “You did?”

A frown darkened his expression. “Of course. I was concerned for you and wanted to assure your sister, as well as myself, that you were safe and secure.”

Overcome by his thoughtfulness, Gabby dropped her gaze. She’d never had an older brother to look after her, and she suddenly realized that she now had two in Gideon and Sirius. The thought wedged a knot tight in her throat.

Gideon rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m relieved my faith in him was warranted.”

“Your faith in him was more than warranted, because he did care for me. He did see to my safety.” A fond smile curved her lips. “The duke showed me, many times over, that I had misjudged him.”

“Not completely.” Gideon chuckled when Gabby narrowed her eyes. “We humans are not black-and-white, but I agree there is more to Whitfield than the jaded, droll facade he projects to the world.”

As she had come to understand. “That’s why you’re friends with him, isn’t it?”

Gideon nodded. “Please know that I care deeply about your well-being, and despite what happens in the days to come, your sister and I will abide by whatever choices you make.”

She knotted her hands in her lap and looked away.

Gabby knew she had difficult decisions to make, but her feelings were too raw, her frustration and anger too potent, to allow her mind to continue to linger on the changes that were soon to be thrust upon her because of her own lack of circumspection.

Yet knowing Ana María and Gideon would support her, no matter what, was a comfort.

“Thank you,” she murmured simply.

Her brother-in-law inclined his head and then picked up his cup of coffee. Gideon had said his piece, and his words had brought her a sense of relief and more than a little dose of confidence.