Island Kisses: A Billionaire Love Story (The Kisses Series Book 9) (14 page)

A
t what point
can I stop counting these rendezvous with Gabe as just casual dates?
I wondered.
Seems like we’ve had at least five so far. Are we actually dating yet?

Gabe was still asleep in his bed, but I had been awake for a while, just relaxing and enjoying the quiet morning in his beautiful house. I had made myself some coffee and a bagel, which I ate out in the living room while casually surfing the Internet and checking on my blog. I was surprised to see how much traffic my website had been getting ever since I started posting about my relationship with Gabe. It seemed that there were plenty of people out there who liked reading about good dates and not just nightmarish ones.

After finishing my coffee, I set my laptop down onto the end table and walked over to open the patio door at the back of his house. From where I stood, I could see the ocean stretched out in front of me. Seagulls flew near the beach, their sounds filling me with nostalgia from a life of growing up near the water. The smell of the salt and sand had already penetrated the air, even though it wasn’t even warm outside yet. The scene was beautiful and I began to fully understand why Gabe had chosen to buy this house out of the others. Nobody else on the island had a view quite like this.

I’m one lucky girl to be here right now,
I thought, as I leaned against the door jam.

I was wearing one of Gabe’s t-shirts as pajamas. It was perfectly worn-in and soft as it caressed my skin. The morning breeze blew gently over me, and I caught of whiff of Gabe’s scent coming from the shirt. It caused me to smile warmly and instantly made me want to be near him. So I slid across the hardwood floors in my socks, making my way back to the bedroom for a morning cuddle.

He even looks sexy when he’s asleep,
I thought as I entered the room.

Gabe was laying on his back in the bed, with his torso exposed. The sun poured into his window, blanketing him with light. I stood there for just a moment, shaking my head in awe that my life was beginning to become so amazing. I thought for sure things wouldn’t ever turn out even close to this, and yet, here I was, looking at the man of my dreams as he slept.

He was amazing to look at, no doubt. But I didn’t want to stand there for more than a few seconds. After that, staring at someone while they sleep begins to register on the creep-o-meter and I refused to be that woman.

I approached the bed and crawled under the covers, snuggling up next to Gabe. He stirred in his sleep and then partially opened his eyes.

“Good morning,” I said.

“Morning, beautiful,” he whispered back.

Then he wrapped his arm over my shoulder and pulled me close. I laid my head on his chest and closed my eyes, immediately soothed by the rhythmic sound of his breathing.

“How long have you been awake?” he asked, his voice hoarse with sleep.

“Not very long,” I said. “The sun woke me up a little while ago and so I made some coffee and messed around on the Internet. I was thinking of trying to get some actual work done, but it felt too good to be lazy.”

“What time is it?” Gabe asked, not bothering to move to even look at his watch.

“A little after nine.”

“You were up before nine on a Sunday?” he replied. “You’re insane.”

“Yeah, I know,” I replied with a chuckle. “I’m an early bird, you know that.”

Gabe kissed the top of my head and began to gently drag his fingers over my back.

Is this what it feels like to be happy?
I wondered.
Like truly, stupidly happy? The kind of happy they talk about in books, where the girl dances around with a smile on her face, excited for every day of her life?

That’s what I was beginning to feel like. I was on cloud nine every day, ever since my first date with Gabe. And each day that I spent with him, things only got better.

I drew imaginary lines over his pecks as we laid in the morning sun, wondering what it would be like to wake up with him
every
day, not just the days after a date.

I think I could seriously get used to this,
I thought with a smile.

Then a sinking feeling filled my gut. It felt like a punch in the stomach.

My blog could put all of this at risk,
I realized.
All those bad dates that I never mentioned. The lie of omission about what I do for work... not to mention if Gabe found out that I’ve been posting everything about our dates online and letting strangers read about it, he'd probably be pissed. I wouldn’t blame him either. I’d be angry if he was doing something like that.

It was the first time I really felt like I had something to lose because of the website. I mean the blog was running well, and that made me happy. But at what expense? It wasn’t easy for me to justify traffic to the website if it took potentially losing the best thing I’ve ever had in my life to get it.

“Did you fall back asleep?” Gabe whispered, distracting me from my thoughts for a moment.

“No, I’m just thinking,” I said, trying to ignore the ball of ice forming in my stomach.

“Did you eat yet?” he asked, still not moving. “We should have breakfast.”

“I had a bagel with my coffee, but that was a while ago,” I murmured, my thoughts still on my blog.

“How does breakfast in bed sound?” he asked.

I lifted my head from his chest and looked up at him.

“You want to have it delivered or something?” I replied.

“No way,” he said, as he slowly sat up.

I sat up with him and watched as he crawled out of bed, still in his glorious nakedness from the night before. He slipped on his white robe and turned to face the bed.

“I’ll make you breakfast,” he said, with a proud smile. “You just lay there and relax. I’ll have it ready in a few minutes.”

The expression that fell across my face must have made me look like a total goof. It was a combination of joy, love, and pure shock. Nobody had ever made me breakfast in bed. In fact, I don’t think even my mother had, even when I was a kid. And now Gabe, the wealthy guy who lived on an island, was going to cook for me? If there was a cloud ten, then I just landed on it.

“You’re the best,” I announced.. “I’d love that.”

“Good,” he replied. “How does scrambled eggs, toast and hash browns sound?”

“Absolutely amazing.” I narrowed my eyes. “Is Bastian coming over? Did you plan this?”

Gabe laughed. “No, I'd thought I'd try it myself,,” he said, as he left the room. “As you know, I may not be the best cook of all time, but I firmly believe that I have it in me not to screw up scrambled eggs. It’s impossible to screw up scrambled eggs, right?”

“I don’t think it would matter even if the scrambled eggs were burnt to a crisp,” I said. “The fact that you’re making them at all is what matters. Thanks, Gabe.”

He disappeared around the corner and a moment later, I listened to the sound of him making breakfast. The clanging of pots and pans, and the occasional curse word, as he did his best, which was good enough for me.

Do I love this guy?
I asked myself, falling back into the pillow.
Can I see myself finally committing to a man? Is he really the one for me?

My mom would have loved to ask me these same questions and I would have probably cringed if she had. But there I was, asking them to myself and desperately wanting to know the answers. I didn’t have the answers, though. I was stuck with only feelings. My heart was quickly taking over and it was a sensation that I wasn’t used to.

Is it possible to truly love someone after just two months of dating?

The logical side of my mind kicked in, trying to squeeze in a question, but the sound of my heart drowned it out.

Of course it’s possible,
I thought.
Why not? Some people get married after just a couple of weeks of knowing each other. Why couldn’t it happen?

A few minutes later, the sound of a crashing pan coming from the kitchen caused me to jump and sit up in the bed, breaking my daydreaming.

“Are you okay out there?” I called out.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Gabe responded. “It just might be a few more minutes on the hash browns. There was a little accident.”

I giggled softly as I pulled the blankets up to my chin, snuggling in the warmth that Gabe had left on the bed.

“Don’t worry about the hash browns!” I said. “Eggs and toast is fine with me.”

A moment later, Gabe popped around the corner with two plates.

“I’m glad you said that,” he told me, looking a little sheepish. “Because I used all of the potatoes I had with the first batch of hash browns, and they just ended up on the floor.”

He looked so darn cute, standing there in his robe with that boyish smile. He was a man in every sense of the word, but sometimes the boy in him shined through. I loved it. I loved absolutely everything about it. There was a sense of innocence in him that only attracted me more.

“I hope you like your toast with butter and strawberry jam,” he said, as he walked over to hand me my plate.

“That’s perfect,” I replied. “It smells great, Gabe. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, walking over to the other side of the bed and crawling next to me.

We sat there, leaning against the headboard and eating breakfast. It wasn’t a five star hotel and we weren’t eating eggs benedict or anything fancy. But it didn’t matter. I wouldn’t have wanted any of those things anyway. I wanted exactly what I had right there; Gabe, some scrambled eggs and burnt toast, and the sound of the ocean coming in through the window.

This is what I call a perfect morning,
I thought.

G
abe
and I had just finished our last bite of breakfast when his cell phone on the nightstand began to ring. He looked over at it and then toward me. “I
really
don’t want to answer that.”

“Well, do you have to?” I asked.

With a sigh, he reached over and pulled the phone off of the charger before looking at the screen.

“I probably should,” he said. “It’s one of the guys I work with and he doesn’t usually call unless there’s a legitimate reason, especially on a Sunday.”

“Go ahead and answer it,” I replied. “I’ll just go hang out in the living room. Maybe I can get a little work done while you’re on your call.”

Gabe leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the lips before getting out of bed. “Okay, I’ll try to make it fast. I don’t want to waste this perfect Sunday morning taking care of business stuff.”

“Take your time, Gabe. It’s no big deal. The Internet is a very big place and there’s plenty there to keep me occupied.”

“You’re the best,” he said, as he lifted the phone to his ear and stepped out of the bedroom.

“Hey buddy, what’s up?” Gabe said, as he walked away.

His voice faded out as he made his way upstairs to have his phone conversation. I got up and went straight to the living room to grab my laptop.

Might as well get some work done,
I thought.
Maybe I’ll go sit outside so that I can enjoy this belly full of breakfast and the morning sunshine at the same time.

I stepped out onto the patio and got comfortable on one of the padded lawn chairs. I was all ready to get some work done. But when I opened my laptop, I noticed that my battery was down to just twelve percent.

Crap. There’s no way that’s enough battery power to allow me to aimlessly peruse the internet for funny cat videos while trying to avoid any actual work,
I thought.

Of course, since I was at Gabe’s house and not my own, I didn’t have my laptop charger with me. It seemed that there would be no work getting accomplished or cat videos getting watched that morning.

Unless…

I set the laptop down on a nearby lounger and then stood up.

Maybe Gabe has a charger in his office. I’m pretty sure he has the kind of laptop that I do,
I thought.

He was still upstairs on his phone call and I could barely hear him talking as I poked my head back into the living room. I wanted to ask him if I could borrow his charger, but I really didn’t want to interrupt him during a business call.

I guess I can at least go try to find it myself,
I thought.
If he has a charger that will work, it will surely be in his office. At least that’s the most likely place I can think of.

Gabe’s home office was located on the main level near the front door. I walked toward it and when I got there, I hesitated. It felt weird going in there without his permission. I mean sure, we were sleeping together and all that, but I didn’t feel like that alone gave me enough leverage to enter his office without him knowing.

I’ll just poke my head in really quick and see if there’s a charger,
I thought to myself, justifying my intrusion.

I turned the handle and walked inside. His office was just as beautiful as the rest of the home, with dark mahogany furniture and beautiful artwork. In the center of the room was a giant desk and on it, was his laptop, which sat opened with the screen saver running.

“Perfect,” I said, as I approached the desk to borrow the charger from his computer.

When I got close, though, I looked down and noticed a piece of paper sitting next to the computer. It caught my eye, and not because I’m a curious person or the type who enjoys snooping. The paper drew my attention, because on it, I saw a smiling picture of Gabe. I recognized it immediately, because it was the same photo he had used in his profile on the dating site where I had first seen him.

If I had had the willpower, I would have turned around and marched straight out of that office without looking at that paper for another second. But I couldn’t. Once I saw something interesting, I couldn’t stop myself.

I slipped around to the other side of his desk and took a seat in the black leather chair. Then I leaned in, taking a closer look. On the paper, there was the picture of Gabe, with a note scribbled underneath it. It said “
Hey, Gabe, do you want to use this same picture for the ad? This is the one you’re using as a profile picture currently. Wasn’t sure if that was a good idea or a bad idea to use the same one. Lemme know. –Bastian
”

“What the hell?” I whispered.

My eyes moved downward on the page, where there were some more notes written in the same handwriting, so I knew that it was Bastian. They read, “
So we’re thinking of running this advertisement on multiple platforms, right? We still need to figure out which photo we’re going to use so that I can get it formatted. Should we have the one with just you or the one with you and Harper? There are some examples on the back of this page. Please let me know which one you like the best and I’ll get this rolling ASAP
.”

When I saw my own name written there, my stomach turned. I wasn’t even entirely sure what I was upset about yet, but I had a feeling I was being betrayed somehow.

What is all this? What is Bastian asking?

I slowly flipped over the paper. On the back of the page, was a picture of Gabe and I standing on his patio with the ocean view as our backdrop. Gabe had taken the selfie of the two of us just a week prior. I remembered it precisely, because I loved the photo so much that I decided to use it as my profile picture on Facebook.

Only this particular version of the picture had been altered slightly from the one that was familiar to me. Written in white letters across the bottom, it read, “If the mathematician behind The Kindling Dating website and the blogger behind Never After can find love here…”

My knees turned to gelatin and I collapsed into the office chair. I felt my heart thud quickly behind my rib cage, causing my blood pressure to rise and a knot of anxiety to build in my stomach.

A little further down the page was a different picture of Gabe and I. This one, Bastian had taken of us while he was making us dinner the first time I visited Gabe’s home. I hadn’t even realized he’d snapped a picture of us that night, but I could tell by my outfit in the photo that this was when it was from. It had Gabe and I sitting on the couch in the living room, laughing while we sipped our wine.

This one had writing on it that read, “The creator of Kindling Dating met the love of his life on his own website. It can do the same for you…”

His own website?

I glanced around the office, feeling a wave of dizziness fill me as the realization of the truth began to sink in. On the wall near the front door, I noticed a plaque with Gabe’s name inscribed on it. Above his name, it read, “Most Successful Internet Entrepreneur of the Year.”

I thought he was a computer programmer. What the hell is going on?

My mind flowed with rapid thoughts and my heart rate continued to increase as rage flowed into my veins.

A picture on the wall was of Gabe and two other men at a ribbon cutting ceremony. One of them was Bastian, but I didn't recognize the other. Behind them was the Kindling Dating building downtown. Beside it was a newspaper article emblazoned:
Three Entrepreneurs Open Kindling Dating and Become Overnight Billionaires!

It was then that I noticed all the Kindling Dating logos on everything.

“Gabe is the creator of Kindling Dating?” I whispered to myself. “This has to be a freaking joke.”

Not only was it starting to become clear that he owned and ran the dating website, but he was also using
our
relationship to create an ad for that website. He was using
us
to garner more business for
himself
.

Any happy thoughts or feelings I had enjoyed that morning were gone just as fast as the fog lifted from the shore of the island. If what I was looking at was to be believed, then Gabe was the founder and creator of the dating site that he had used to meet me. He had created the algorithm in the site, along with all of the questions used to match people up with each other.

I looked back at the photos of us, which now looked more like cheap advertisements than they did loving photos of a potential couple. I didn’t want to believe that what I was seeing was true. But it’s very difficult not to believe something that’s printed in full color on high gloss when you’re still in the soft-focus, smudgy lines of a lazy Sunday morning. The images contrasted so blatantly in my mind that even though I tried to convince myself I was having a bad dream, I knew in my heart that I wasn’t. This was real. This was actually happening.

I read and re-read the advertisements, feeling my stomach turn a little more as the gravity of the situation set in. Just an hour earlier I was thinking I might be in love and then there I was, questioning if I even knew Gabe on any level at all.

Is everything he told me a complete lie? Is he even a computer programmer? I just thought he happened to be wealthy, maybe because he was good with money. I didn’t know he owned the biggest dating site in the world, the same one he used to meet me.

What had me the most upset about learning all of this, though, was that it completely cheapened my thoughts of being in love. It was like all of our time together was for nothing more than the creation of some advertisement.

Was all of this a set-up?

I couldn’t help but to wonder if this had been Gabe’s plan all along. Maybe he had found out about my blog and realized that a website like mine could be great publicity for his own site. Then, when he saw me on Kindling Dating, he knew he had to take the opportunity to meet me in order to make that happen. It was just too perfect.

Of course, this was all complete speculation and I didn’t know for sure what was going on. But it didn’t matter. Whether these advertisements were just a drawn out, conniving plan, or not, it didn’t change anything. The seed of doubt was planted. Now I had seen a glimpse of the truth and there was no turning back. The sunlight had cut through the fog and it couldn’t be undone.

I pushed the paper aside and stood up from Gabe’s office chair. Then I marched toward the door with anger in my steps. Many of the details about what was going on were still unclear, but I knew all that I really needed to know.

It’s over. I’m done with him. As soon as I can get past this crushing feeling in my chest and gather everything for my overnight bag, I’m walking out of his house and never turning back. He just lost the best thing he could have had.

With tears welling in my eyes, I left the office and made my way toward the bedroom to gather my things. Gabe was still upstairs, talking on his phone. The sound of his voice was now much less soothing and only brought with it the emotional pain of being lied to for two whole months.