As if he"d forget. He"d hauled her off to Vegas, his brother and sister in tow, and married her three months after they"d gotten engaged. Waiting wasn"t his style or in his vocabulary.
"Happy anniversary." He nuzzled her neck, enjoying the coconut scent of suntan lotion and Isabelle. "How are you feeling?" He gingerly palmed her stomach.
"So-so. I"ll be glad when this opening"s over. Nerves and all that."
He bit back a grin. "Everything ready for tonight?" he asked.
She nodded. "Nothing out of place, no stone unturned."
"Will Lucy notice if you"re a no-show?" He slid his hand down the front of her bikini bottoms, gliding his fingers over her damp lower lips.
She moaned her appreciation. "Yes, and so will I. I worked too hard for this to miss the main event."
"Knew that," he muttered. "And I want to be by your side when you collect all the accolades for how the club turned out." He continued to play with her p.u.s.s.y, knowing he could give her one good o.r.g.a.s.m before she had to shower and get ready for the night. He"d get his treats later on.
"It"s Lucy"s baby," Isabelle reminded him, still thinking about the club, but she began rocking her hips against his hand.
Another thing Gabe loved about Isabelle, her lack of ego or need to brag. That was fine; he could brag enough for them both. And Lucy planned to share credit.
"It"s good that you know that," he told her. "Because you"re going to be too busy with our baby to worry about club openings." He hadn"t planned on telling her, but now seemed as good a time as any. He slid his hand from her bottoms and waited for the reaction.
Her mouth opened then closed again. "What are you talking about?" she finally asked.
"I think you"re pregnant, kitten."
"I can"t be!"
"No? Queasy? Check. Sore b.o.o.bs?" He gently rubbed his finger over her nipple, and she squirmed out of reach. "Check. Where are your pills? Or should I ask, when was the last time you took one?"
The ocean waves were the only sound as she thought back. "Oh my G.o.d."
He enclosed his hand protectively around her belly.
"Oh my G.o.d," she said again. "I"m... We"re... Are you...?"
"Ecstatic, baby. You?" Suddenly he was the nervous one. Maybe she loved the job so much that kids weren"t something on her radar now. Maybe she no longer wanted the family she"d thought she did. What if- "Oh my G.o.d!" she exclaimed yet again, and before he knew what was happening, she was in his arms, legs wrapped around him, peppering kisses all over him.
The twisting around his heart eased. Nothing had changed, after all. She was still a woman with an unloved little girl inside her, who wanted nothing more than a family to call her own.
He wanted nothing more than to give it to her, and he hoped that he had.
"Do you think they have home pregnancy tests on this island?" she asked.
"To hear the stories, some pretty amazing things have happened here. I think one phone call can get you anything you need."
"Rumor has it it"s the Bermuda Triangle nearby that makes the island experience so different for everyone."
He laughed. "Every time I wonder how the h.e.l.l we"re so alone and isolated with my entire family supposedly nearby, I think the same thing."
Isabelle rolled her eyes. "Let"s go make that phone call. I want to know for sure."
"Doesn"t matter. If you"re not pregnant yet, I"ll just spend all my free time making sure that you are." Now that he knew what it felt like to hope, to want their child, to know she did as well, on the off chance he was wrong, he was d.a.m.ned determined to make it happen.
He started for the room, Isabelle still in his arms.
"About that little comment you made? The one about me not having time for club openings because of our baby?" She tipped her head back, looking at him.
He nearly tripped. The last thing he needed was her flipping out on him, thinking he wanted to take everything she"d worked for away from her. "I was joking, Iz. You can work if that"s what you want."
Although he"d love it if she stayed home with the baby. His mom had done that. But he knew how important Isabelle"s independence was to her. It was the one thing she"d fought him for-the only thing. And he wouldn"t risk losing her by putting that at risk.
She bit down on her lower lip, and he slowed to a stop, keeping her close to him. "What if I don"t?" she asked.
"What?"
"Want to work? What if I want to be home for the baby? I mean, I can do some consulting work with Lucy, I guess, to keep my hand in things so I have something for me ... but..." She drew a deep breath.
He waited. Everything he was-everything he cared about-was tied up in this woman. He"d give her the moon if that"s what she wanted.
Her eyes grew gla.s.sy. "All I ever dreamed of was having a family that was mine. People who loved me, who I loved, who appreciated one another, including their kids. Everything I never had growing up."
She placed a hand over her stomach, and he covered her hand with his.
"That"s why I gave up everything for Lance, and when that turned out to be an illusion, like my childhood was, I was determined to know I could stand on my own. You gave me that." Her smile lit up his world. "And even though it"s the ant.i.thesis of everything I told myself I needed, I just want to be home with any kids that we have. Because I love you, but more important, I trust you."
d.a.m.n, but she undid him.
He lowered her to her feet, slid his hand behind her neck, and pulled her in for a long kiss. "I love you, Iz."
"I love you too. Now let"s go see if we can"t get me one of those tests."
He grabbed her hand, and together they made their way back to the suite, the same one they"d stayed in the first time. And there, on the baby grand piano, was a bucket of apple cider and, beside it, an early home pregnancy test.
The note read: Welcome to Eden, where reality is whatever you wish it to be.
Book 1 in the Dare to Love series, Riley & Ian"s story, DARE TO LOVE and book 2, DARE TO DESIRE are available NOW!
Dare to Touch Olivia Dare"s story will be available sometime in Fall 2014.
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For more information about the island of Eden, check out our website!
Have you read Invitations to Eden"s other July releases?.
Ivy in Bloom (Hothouse #2) by Vivi Anna writing as Tawny Stokes.
After getting out of a bad relationship and dropping out of university, Ivy Watts decides she needs some much needed stress therapy. So when she discovers her parents have been invited to a luxury private island resort called Eden, she manages to finagle herself her own invitation. She expects to laze around on the beach with a drink in her hand and figure out what she wants to do with the rest of her life, but what she doesn"t expect is to learn a few life lessons from the tall, dark, older handsome man in the penthouse suite.
Second Glances (The Springs series) by Elena Aitken.
When Kylie Wilson receives a mysterious invitation for an all expenses paid trip to a tropical, all inclusive resort, there"s no doubt in her mind who it came from-Marcus Stone, the only man she"s ever really loved. The same man who"d promised her forever and then promptly left town to pursue his dream without so much as a backward glance. Kylie owes it to herself to take a chance, and despite her conflicted feelings, she decides to risk her heart again and is soon jetting toward the island of Eden and the man she hopes will finally fill the void in her life. But when she arrives, all is not as she expected it to be. More to the point, he is not who she expected him to be. And on an island that is supposed to "know exactly what you need", can Kylie open her body, mind, and more importantly-her heart to someone and something, she"s never considered?
ALL EDEN RELEASES:..
March.
Master of the Island by Lauren Hawkeye.
April.
Random Acts of Fantasy by Julia Kent Yours Truly, Taddy by Avery Aster Escape From Reality by Adriana Hunter
May
Hydrotherapy by Suzanne Rock Fight For Me by Sharon Page
June
Breaking Free by Cathryn Fox Hold Me Close by Eliza Gayle Queen"s Knight by Sara Fawkes
July
Dare to Surrender by Carly Phillips Ivy in Bloom by Vivi Anna writing as Tawny Stokes Second Glances (The Springs) by Elena Aitken
August
Rough Draft by Mari Carr Blurring The Lines by Roni Loren Return to Sender by Steena Holmes
September
Pleasure Point by Eden Bradley Wild Ride by Opal Carew Master of Pleasure by Lauren Hawkeye
October