Page 119 of Gabriel's Promise (Gabriel's Inferno 4)

“Such as one of the activities Dr. Rubio expressly and closed-mindedly forbade.” Gabriel brushed his nose against Julia’s. “So let’s dry off and move to the daybed.”

“I—I don’t know if I have another incredible orgasm in me.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed with the focus of a dying man. “I’ll take that as a challenge.”

He lifted her out of the water and carried her up the steps and onto the deck. Then he placed her atop the daybed, wrapped her in a dry towel, and proceeded to best his challenge.

Multiple times.

Chapter Sixty

February 4, 2013

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Julianne hadn’t left the light on.

In itself, her choice was almost inconsequential. There was a night light in the wall nearby. There were lanterns that housed flameless candles in the hall, illuminating the path to the nursery, where Clare was sound asleep in her crib. But Julianne had switched off the lamp on her nightstand when she retired for the evening. By the time Gabriel joined her in bed, after a long evening spent in his home office making his own translations of Dante from Italian into English, the master bedroom was dark.

Gabriel hovered in the doorway, surprised by the sight.

Rebecca was asleep down the hall. She’d been working tirelessly since she arrived from the airport to make the house ready for them. And she’d made lasagne for dinner, which was one of Julianne’s favorite dishes.

Aaron and Rachel had joined them, speaking enthusiastically about their new jobs. Rachel had brought a stack of Dunkin’ Donuts gift cards for Julianne, who accepted them gratefully.

And Leslie, their eagle-eyed neighbor, had greeted them with a homemade apple pie and tales of a very quiet but very alert Foster Place. The upgraded security system on the Emersons’ property seemed to have accomplished its goals.

Nevertheless, Gabriel was surprised that their first night at home after the break-in, Julianne would be sleeping so soundly, in the dark.

He approached her side of the bed and as he did, he nearly tripped over that damn pink flamingo. Julianne had posed it like a guard dog beside her bed and she’d dressed it in an I love Miami T-shirt.

The Professor skirted the lawn ornament with distaste, but he allowed himself a restrained chuckle. If Julianne was making jokes, she wasn’t mired in fear. And that relieved him. Greatly.

He kissed the top of her he

ad and caressed her hair. Then he crossed to his own side of the bed and turned, admiring the repaired painting by Henry Holiday as it hung proudly on the wall opposite the bed.

He placed his glasses and his phone on his nightstand. He opened the drawer, simply to check that the memento mori was still there, after he’d unpacked it that afternoon. He closed the drawer, slipped into bed next to his wife, and succumbed to sleep.

Chapter Sixty-One

April 8, 2013

Magdalen College, Oxford

The wintry days of February and March soon gave way to spring.

Graham Todd emailed the fall schedule of graduate courses being offered at Edinburgh and volunteered once again to speak to Cecilia and the chair at Harvard. Julia assured him she would handle it.

On April 6, the Emersons and Rebecca arrived in London and traveled to Oxford so that Julia could attend the Dante workshop organized by Professor Wodehouse.

Gabriel had to return to London the day Julia was to deliver her paper, on the first day of the workshop. He was to record a series of interviews and commentaries on Dante for the BBC. The producer had indicated he only need be in London for three days, which meant he would return before the end of the workshop.

Even so, Julia missed him and the support his physical presence gave.

As she entered the conference room at Magdalen College, she saw it was empty, save for one person. The man in question was six foot three and had dark eyes and dark hair. He was casually dressed in a button-down shirt and jeans and carrying a jacket that had Saint Michael’s College emblazoned on the back.

“Paul.” Julia greeted him shyly. Although he’d sent a card and a gift when Clare was born, this was the first time they’d seen one another since the last time they’d both been in Oxford.