Bethany nodded solemnly, squinting at the view as I lectured her.
“And did you know that it has the best ice cream in the world?”
“Really?” she asked. “Can we eat some?”
Gelato was definitely on our itinerary. “Sure. We have to make sure your dad tastes some too.”
“And we can play hide-and-seek as well?”
As soon as we’d gotten into the hotel, Bethany’s eyes had lit up with the idea of hiding in all the different nooks and crannies of the hotel. The thought terrified me.
“We gotta make a deal on this, Bethany,” Gabriel said.
“Okay, I can deal,” she replied.
“The deal is, when we come in that door, into our bit of the hotel, we can play hide-and-seek. You and me or you and Autumn. But outside that door, you need to be able to see Autumn or me all the time.”
“Okay,” she said, looking a little confused. “Deal.”
“No playing hide-and-seek until we’re in our suite. Okay?”
She nodded. “So, now we can?”
“Now is good. I’m going to count to twenty-five.”
“Did you lock the suite door?” I said, concerned she wouldn’t know which door led out into the hotel corridor.
“Yeah, and I put the chain on. She’s not getting out of here.”
“This balcony could be a problem,” I said. Rome was going to be exciting, but I was going to worry about Bethany a hundred times more than I did at home.
“Not if your California dew keeps up. We’ll have the doors shut.”
“You have to learn how to dance in the rain, Gabriel. Haven’t you heard? You can’t just wait for the storm to pass.”
“I’m not dancing anywhere,” he replied, his eyebrows furrowed together.
I spun around in the middle of the sitting area. “Well, you’re going to miss out. And I refuse to let you. Let’s go and find your daughter—who by the way, is hiding behind the door of the bathroom on the chair in there. Then let’s go and get gelato.”
“How do you know where’s she’s hiding?” he asked.
I shrugged. I wasn’t about to confess that she’d started on again about playing her favorite game as soon as she’d seen that little seat. “If we find her there, you have empirical evidence that I know what I’m talking about, so you’ll have to come out to eat gelato with us.”
“Are you the second woman today that I find myself making a deal with?”
I grinned at him. “Absolutely.”
He pulled me into his arms and pressed his lips against mine. Instantly I became boneless and forgot everything except the hot press of his skin on mine. It took all my willpower to place my palms on his chest and withdraw from his kiss. “We need to find your daughter.”
“Okay,” he said, before cupping his hands around his mouth. “Coming, ready or not.” We headed to the bathroom to find Bethany. But she wasn’t behind the bathroom door.
Gabriel beckoned me to follow him with a tilt of his head, and we wandered up the corridor toward the bedroom. “I have an idea.”
As we entered the bedroom, I spotted Bethany lying on the bed, having tried to burrow under the pillows and cushions. “Where can she be, Autumn?” Gabriel asked, pretending he hadn’t seen her and her socked feet poking out from the blankets. “Behind the curtains maybe.” He went over and made a show of scooping up the drapes. “Nope. What about under the bed?”
Bethany giggled as he stepped closer to her, and then he pounced, grabbed her, and fell back onto the bed, his daughter in his arms.
They were beautiful together. They always were. They had a bond that seemed to be unbreakable. And I’d been proven wrong—Bethany hadn’t been hiding where I thought she would.
“Looks like I lost our bet,” I said.
“I had an advantage and didn’t tell you.” He tapped his nose. “Historic knowledge.”
He was such a good father. Yes, he worked hard, but he paid attention and gave Bethany all his time at weekends. He was a wonderful man. No wonder Hollie hated all my loser boyfriends if there were men in the world like Gabriel.
He began to tickle Bethany and she giggled and squirmed before he set her on her feet and announced, “Ice cream in the rain is next on the agenda, I believe.”
“But I lost,” I said.
He shrugged and led Bethany out. “Apparently we can’t wait for the storm to pass.”
We headed out in our rainboots and slickers, with directions to the best gelato in Rome. Bethany insisted on walking between us, holding both our hands as we dodged puddles and pedestrians and navigated the narrow streets that led into open square after open square. We managed to squeeze past a moped coming in the opposite direction through a narrow path under some buildings, and then we were out in the open again. This time, surrounded by tourists. “Keep hold of her,” Gabriel said, and I could tell by the dark tone of his voice he was in Sensible Dad mode. I tightened my grip on Bethany’s hand. “We’ll look but won’t stay long.”