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“I doubt fresh fish will get boring for Daisy. You do realize dogs are perfectly content eating store-bought food?”
She waved me off, sneaking Daisy a dog treat that she now kept in a jar on the counter. “Pfft, nobody in this house will eat premade food as long as I work here. Not even the dog.”
After grabbing a mug and filling it to the brim with coffee and creamer, I sat down on what had become my barstool. “Join me for a cup of coffee?”
“Sounds good. Let me just finish your breakfast, and then I have a few minutes before the meat needs to go in.”
She put a stack of pancakes in front of me, loaded with maple syrup and blueberries.
“We’re going to Gabriel’s parents’ for dinner tonight, so I’ll only need lunch today.”
Cleo put her mug down on the counter with a sheepish grin. “Too late. I also made all the meals for tomorrow already.”
Laughing, I shook my head. “Of course you did. Did you enjoy your time off?”
“As you can tell, I can’t sit still for long, so a vacation usually poses a challenge for me. But this time I watched the twins because they were sick. At least it saved me from watching TV for four days straight.” She leaned in, a gleam in her eyes. “But enough about my boring vacation. How was your honeymoon?”
My face heated, and I bit my lip. “It was amazing.”
Cleo stared at me expectantly. “And? Is that all I’m getting?”
“We didn’t do much. But the island was amazing. Beautiful beaches and great food.” I held up my hand. “Of course, not as good as your cooking.”
She pouted at my lack of information. “I’m sure it was boring. That’s why you’re glowing with happiness like you swallowed a disco ball.”
Laughing, I patted Daisy’s head where she was resting it on my leg, hoping I’d share my pancakes with her. “It was the best week of my life, and it’s gone past way too quickly.”
“Better, but still not enough details.”
She spent the rest of the day trying to get more details out of me, but our time in Greece was special, and I didn’t want to share it with anyone. It belonged to Gabriel and me, nobody else.
When it was time to get ready, Cleo helped me select a dress. I was nervous, even though it was only a casual family dinner, and couldn’t decide on what to wear.
Tugging on the green wrap dress, I turned in front of the mirror. “I don’t know about this one. It shows a lot of boob.”
She rolled her eyes, not even hiding her exasperation any longer after having watched me criticize every dress I’d tried on for the past hour. “It does not. It looks as perfect as the one with the flowers. And the black one. And the burnt orange maxi dress that went great with your dark hair.”
I knew why I was so nervous. But I couldn’t tell Cleo that I was spying on my husband and his family and didn’t know how I would survive dinner with everyone. But my insecurity about tonight meant I wanted to at least wear the perfect dress.
“Vanna?” Gabriel called out, and I froze in front of the mirror.Guess I’m going with the green one.“You upstairs?”
His boots sounded on the stairs before he burst into the room with a smile that widened when he set eyes on me. “You look gorgeous.” He wound his arms around me and lifted me, bringing our mouths together in a brief but deep kiss. “I missed you.”
“Missed you too.”
Neither of us seemed in any rush to move, his arms tightening around me. I buried my head in his neck. “How was your day?”
“Long and unbearable without you there.”
A longing sigh from where Cleo was sitting on the edge of the bed caused the bubble we’d been in to burst. Gabriel slid me down his body so I was once again standing on my own two feet. Pity.
Cleo stood up with another sigh. “Hashtag couple goals.”
Gabriel looked at her with a frown, not getting her reference, which made it even funnier. Releasing me, he patted Daisy, who had opened her eyes when he came in, as much excitement as she’d ever show. He then made his way into the closet, taking off his suit jacket on the way.
Cleo left, wildly fanning her face as she walked out of the room.
Laughing at her antics, I watched my husband change into jeans and a T-shirt. When he noticed my avid attention, he gave me a sheepish grin. “After spending a week in comfortable clothes, my suits feel a little stiff.”
