Gabriel's Promise (Gabriel's Inferno 4)

This time, he didn’t forget about the important thing he needed to tell her. This time, he simply chose to tell her later.

Chapter Ten

Can I bring the rocking chair in here?” Rachel asked Julia. “Or are you going to bed?”

“Bring the chair. I haven’t had a chance to catch up with you, since we spent most of the day at the hospital.” Julia was holding Clare in her arms. Rachel had just changed the baby and placed her in a clean sleeper before returning her to her mother.

Rachel set the rocking chair near the bed and retrieved her niece. As she rocked slowly, the child stared up at her in silent fascination.

Rachel smiled and gently stroked the baby’s cheek.

Julia paused in front of her dresser, admiring the large wedding portrait of her and Gabriel in Assisi. The picture was positioned next to an older photo of them dancing at Lobby, a club in Toronto. She touched Gabriel’s face, his intense expression. No other man had ever looked at her like that. Gabriel’s attention was fixated and razor sharp. And that had only been the beginning. . . .

With a secret smile, she opened her jewelry box and retrieved her wedding ring and engagement ring. She compared the pair with the ring Gabriel had given her the night before. It was uncanny how the three somehow matched.

“You took your other rings off?” Rachel sounded incredulous.

Julia slid the rings onto her left hand. “My fingers swelled. I was worried they’d get stuck.”

“Really weird things happen to pregnant women.”

“Tell me about it.” Julia plucked at the hem of her blue dress. “Sundresses and yoga pants are so comfortable, I may never wear jeans again.”

“I think Gabriel might have something to say about that.”

Julia flicked her hair over her shoulder. “I do what I want.”

“Sure you do,” Rachel teased. She took a closer look at her friend as she stood by the bed. “Turn sideways.”

“Why?” Julia turned, looking down at her dress. “Is something wrong?”

“Your bump is gone.”

Julia pulled the material taut over her stomach. There was a roundedness to her abdomen, but it was slight. “I’m wearing a band. It covers the incision and helps with the stitches.”

“You’re basically the same size again.”

Julia frowned. “That’s why my obstetrician sent me to the dietitian this afternoon. Breastfeeding burns a lot of calories, apparently.”

“And gives you spectacular cleavage!”

Julia laughed and entered the closet. “Which won’t last forever. But I’ll enjoy it while I can.”

She changed into silk pajamas and a robe and reentered the bedroom. She plumped the pillows on her bed and reclined, facing her daughter and her friend. “How was your day?”

Rachel touched the baby’s head. “Fine. I catalogued all the gifts and flower arrangements for you.”

“Thank you. Gabriel ordered birth announcements with a photo of the three of us. I was going to send them out with thank-you notes.”

“I can help. Gabriel’s sister Kelly sent a silver frame and a piggy bank from Tiffany. I’ve never seen one before.”

“She’s very generous,” Julia mused. “She helped Gabriel connect with other members of his family. Their grandfather was an important professor at Columbia. Every fall they have a special lecture in his memory. We missed it because of Clare’s arrival. But I think Kelly and her husband are coming to Clare’s baptism.”

Rachel’s grin faded.

Her reaction did not go unnoticed. “We wanted to ask you to be Clare’s godmother privately. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot during breakfast.”

Rachel lowered her head, allowing her long blond hair to partially shield her face. “Do you think Dad has been acting weird lately?”