she discovered an invitation and a small, slender box wrapped in ribbon. Heart pounding, she opened the envelope and recognized Gabriel’s strong handwriting.
A quiet dinner, just the two of them. In his suite. She clutched the stationery to her chest and breathed deep to calm her sudden attack of nerves. Except for the brief time last night and this morning, they hadn’t been alone together. Did he intend to seduce her? Olivia certainly hoped so, but what did she wear to her deflowering? Something demure that matched her level of experience in all things sexual? Something that bared her skin and invited his touch?
Her fears that he didn’t find her attractive had melted beneath the heat of this morning’s kiss. But he was accustomed to women with far more experience than she possessed. Apprehension made her nerves buzz like a swarm of angry hornets.
Leaving her worries to sort themselves out, she tugged at the ribbon holding the box closed. The pale blue silk fell away. Her fingers brushed the hinged lid as she savored the anticipation of her first gift from Gabriel. From the box’s shape, she knew it was a bracelet.
Olivia took a deep breath and opened the lid. Lying on a bed of black velvet was a stunning free-form emerald an inch and a half wide and almost two inches long that dominated the design. The rest of the band was diamonds, set in a diamond-shaped pattern. Bold and contemporary, it wasn’t the sort of thing she’d wear, being a little too trendy, but she couldn’t fault Gabriel’s taste.
Ignoring a pang of disappointment that he’d chosen something so not her taste, she draped the wide cuff over her wrist. As she admired the sparkle, she couldn’t shake a nagging sense of familiarity. It was a unique piece, something one-of-a-kind, yet she was certain she’d seen it before. But where? The answer eluded her and she set aside her musings as Libby arrived and helped Olivia decide on the perfect outfit to highlight Gabriel’s extravagant gift.
Around midafternoon she went up to the nursery and found the twins eager to visit the stables. But she listened with only half her attention as Bethany chattered on the short walk to the stables. Olivia was having a hard time thinking about anything except her dinner with Gabriel and the hope that they could forget all about Marissa and begin their lives together. Comparing herself to Gabriel’s former lover would only lead to trouble down the road. She’d be smarter to put that energy into keeping Gabriel’s mind fixed on the present.
While a pair of grooms took Bethany and Karina to look at the ponies their father had ordered to be delivered to the stable, Olivia drifted along the barn’s center aisle, stroking a soft nose here and there, lost in a pleasant daydream. The soothing sounds of the barn wrapped her in a cocoon of stillness that allowed her ample privacy to relive the moments in the garden that morning.
Her blood heated and slowed, flowing into the sensitive area between her thighs that Gabriel’s fervent kiss had awakened earlier. She leaned her back against a stall and closed her eyes to better relive the delicious caress of his hands against her back and hips. Her breasts had ached for his possession. She’d never felt anything like the powerful craving his kiss aroused. She’d been seconds away from begging him to touch her everywhere. He’d been her master. Her teacher. And she, a very willing student.
The memories disturbed the smooth rhythm of her breathing. How was it possible that just thinking of Gabriel aroused her?
“Are you okay?”
Olivia’s eyes snapped open. A groom peered at her, concern in his brown eyes.
She offered a weak smile, feeling heat in her cheeks, put there by her sensual daydreams. Had she really been standing in the middle of a barn, imagining how it would feel to have Gabriel’s large, strong hands roaming over her bare skin?
“Fine.” The word came out a little garbled. What magic had he wrought to make her forget her surroundings so completely? “I’m fine.”
From outside came the twins’ high-pitched voices lifted in childish delight. Olivia pushed away from the wall and went in search of them. In the stable yard, beneath the watchful eyes of the grooms who’d taken charge of them, they each stood on a mounting block in order to better acquaint themselves with their new pony.
Olivia fought anxiety as she watched the girls, but soon she calmed down. These ponies had obviously been chosen for their placid demeanor; otherwise the excited movements of the twins would have startled them. The geldings were well matched in size, color and markings. Bethany’s had a long, narrow blaze that stretched from forehead to right between his nostrils. Karina’s had a wider stripe of white that spread out as it reached the nose. Both ponies had two white front socks and one back.
Bethany was the first to notice Olivia. She threw her arms around the pony’s neck and said in an excited voice. “Look at my horse. Her name is Grady.”
Olivia started to correct Bethany on the gender of her new pony, but Karina jumped in before she could speak.
“Peanut.” The quieter twin looked so delighted that Olivia wondered if she would still demand a puppy for her birthday.
“They’re lovely,” Olivia said. “But I think they’re both boys.”
The girls were too excited to listen and went back to petting and chattering to their ponies. The head groom came over to where Olivia stood.
“They will make fine horsewomen.”
“I believe you’re right.”
“Would you like to see the mount His Highness chose for you?”
It had never occurred to Olivia that she would receive a horse as well when she told Gabriel how she loved to ride whenever she spent time at Dansbrooke. The park around the palace wasn’t as extensive as the lands surrounding her family’s country estate, but she welcomed the opportunity to get whatever exercise she could.
“I’d love to see him.” She laughed. “Or her.”
“It’s a mare. A Dutch Warmblood. I heard you’ve done some eventing. You’ll find Arioso is a wonderful jumper and an eager athlete.”
The beautiful chestnut had large, soft eyes and a gentle disposition, but before she had time to do more than stroke the mare’s long neck, the twins had finished with their ponies and joined her at the stall.
Deciding they’d had enough for one day, Olivia gathered them together and bid the grooms goodbye. After depositing them with a pair of maids in the nursery, she returned to her room to bathe and dress.
Olivia took a long time preparing for the evening. She played with hairstyles for an hour before settling on a softly disheveled updo that required only a couple of pins to keep it in place. The gown she’d chosen was a simple black sheath that bared her arms and appeared demure in the front but dipped low in the back.
Anticipation began to dissolve her calm as she zipped up the dress and fastened simple diamond dangles to her earlobes. Boldly eschewing panty hose, she slid her feet into elegant patent leather pumps.
She wanted everything about her to say “touch me.”
And surveying her appearance in the full-length mirror, Olivia felt confident she’d done just that. That left only one more thing to do. Olivia popped the top on the jewelry box and laid the wide bracelet across her wrist. Libby helped by securing the clasp.
“Is this all for my brother’s benefit?” Ariana had slipped into the room after a soft knock.
Olivia felt her cheeks heating. “Do you think he’ll approve?”
Ariana smiled. “How could he not?” Her gaze slipped over Olivia, stopping at the diamond-and-emerald bracelet. She reached for Olivia’s hand, as the color drained from her face. “Where did you get that?”
“Gabriel sent it to me.” Concern rose in Olivia. Why was Ariana looking as if she’d seen a ghost? “Why? Do you recognize it?”
“Gabriel sent it?” Ariana echoed. She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
“You recognize