“Blah, blah, blah, heard that before,” Sam said dismissively and grinned when Bridget stuck her tongue out at him. “Okay, let’s get on the sleds!”

Maria finally peeked at Gabriel, a hot blush coloring her cheeks. He winked at her, a devilish twinkle in his eyes. He settled himself on the sled, and patted the space in front of him, between his parted thighs. “Don’t worry, there’s enough space here.”

Maria reluctantly settled herself on the sled, trying not to get too close to Gabriel. But the sled, while roomy, was still meant to be ridden with two people sitting close together, so she slowly backed up until she was nestled against him, his legs cradling her on either side. Her bottom was flush against his groin, and she bit her lip, resisting the urge to shift around. His arm came up around her waist, anchoring her against him and she nearly moaned at the how intimate their positions were. Heat was burning her everywhere their bodies were pressed together and she knew he wasn’t immune—she could feel him getting hard against her bottom.

“Are you ready?” he murmured against her ear, and she shivered at the warm puff of air created by his words.

She nodded, just as Sam said, “On your mark, get set, go!”

At once Gabriel pushed off and Maria gasped as they flew down the incline, faster than she’d gone before. It was because she and Gabriel together weighed more and generated more force and speed going down, she thought dimly, as they reached the bottom still going at an alarming speed. She could hear the other sleds behind them and she realized abruptly that they’d won the race. Now if they could only stop the sled before—

Maria cried out as the sled suddenly flipped, and she found herself tumbling into the snow with Gabriel landing on top of her. “Oof!”

“Ria, are you hurt?” Gabriel asked frantically, bracing himself on his arms as he hovered over her.

“No, I’m fine,” she wheezed, still a bit out of breath. “Nothing sprained or broken, don’t worry.”

Gabriel relaxed a bit, and then stiffened. Maria realized that Gabriel was lying between her parted thighs. She locked eyes with him and the desire burning in his gaze left her shaking, her core suddenly molten. Very carefully, still holding her eyes, he settled his lower body on top of hers and she nearly cried out at feeling his heavy weight there. Her legs came up instinctively and she cradled him, her hips lifting a bit, rubbing her mound against his rapidly hardening cock.

“Dad! Miss Maria! Are you both okay?” Elizabeth yelled to them.

The sounds of the children making their way through the snow to where they lay was a huge shock, startling both of them out of the erotic spell they’d fallen under.

Gabriel immediately scrambled off of Maria, desperately hoping that his erection wasn’t visible under the thick denim he wore. My God, he’d never forgotten himself that completely before.

“Don’t worry, we’re fine,” he called out reassuringly. “Maria lost her breath for a moment and I was just checking her over.”

He nearly winced at how suggestive that sounded—he chanced a glance at Maria and she was suppressing a laugh, a mischievous sparkle in her eyes.

“Yes, your father was being very thorough in his examination,” she said with a teasing smile.

“Wow, I can’t believe how fast you two were going,” Sam said in an awestruck tone. “Dad, can we try going that fast together?”

Gabriel chuckled. “I’m not sure if that’ll be possible, but we can definitely try. But first, is anyone ready for some hot chocolate? I see Mrs. Phillips with a tray at the door for us, and I bet she baked cookies too.”

“Awesome! I’m starving—hey, let’s get something to eat.” Sam beckoned for his sisters to follow and they took off for the house.

Gabriel climbed to his feet and offered his hand to Maria. “I feel like some hot chocolate too. Shall we join them?”

Maria took his proffered hand and he pulled her up, feeling the solid strength of his fingers even through their gloves. When she tried to drop his hand, his fingers tightened on her own before he finally let go.

“Ria, about Olivia—”

She pressed a finger lightly to Gabriel’s mouth, stopping his words. “Don’t say anything right now, okay? I’m not quite ready to talk about her, not right at this moment—I just want to enjoy today with you and the children, and not think about anything else.”

At first it seemed as if he wanted to argue, but at the pleading look on Maria’s face, he slowly nodded and caught her hand as she withdrew, pressing a kiss on her gloved palm. “Not right now, but soon then.”

Maria nodded, giving him a grateful smile. “Soon, I promise.”

Together, they walked towards the house and the children.

SEVEN

MARIA PAUSED IN THE GRAND entrance hall—she could hear someone playing the piano in the ballroom. After lunch, Matt had fetched Gabriel for a business call that Gabriel had said might take a while—did he finish his call early?

As she walked closer to the ballroom she heard the familiar notes of Debussy—it was “Clair de lune,” one of the pieces he played the night they met. Her heartbeat quickened and she reached out and pushed the double doors open. Disappointment settled when she realized that it wasn’t Gabriel, it was…Elizabeth?

Elizabeth looked up from the piano when she heard the door open and immediately jumped up from the bench. “Oh, Miss Maria!”

Maria smiled at her, not sure why Elizabeth looked so anxious. “I heard you playing in the hall—that was beautiful, Elizabeth. I thought you were in the media room watching the movie with the others and didn’t realize it was you on the piano. You’re very talented.”

“Thank you, Miss Maria, I haven’t had any lessons for a long time so I’m sure I’m not as good as I once was.” Elizabeth hesitated for a moment then blurted out, “Please don’t tell my father that I was playing the piano in here!”

Maria was startled at Elizabeth’s request. “I don’t understand—are you not allowed to play the piano?”

“No.” Elizabeth shook her head vigorously. “Dad hasn’t wanted anyone to play the piano since Mom died.”

“Not play the piano?” Maria said, shocked. “But why not?”

“It’s because the piano reminds him of Mom. He used to play for her all the time, and he was teaching me how to play too, and we’d play duets together for Mom. But after she was gone, Dad never played the piano again, so I didn’t get any more lessons either. One time I came in here to play and when Dad heard me he got really angry and yelled at me to stop playing, that I was never to touch this piano again.

It was really hard for me because I love playing the piano, so when Dad was away I’d sometimes sneak in here to play, and I’ve been looking at videos online and teaching myself to play.”

Maria’s heart broke, for both Elizabeth and Gabriel. There was no way she’d let Elizabeth go on like this, not if it was up to her. Coming to a decision, she smiled reassuringly at Elizabeth.

“Well since everyone is occupied and elsewhere, why don’t you continue playing? Your father is still in his office, I just checked,” she lied smoothly. “I’ll close the door so you won’t be disturbed.”

Elizabeth’s face brightened. “Oh thank you, Miss Maria! And if you see my father coming this way, can you just give me a quick warning? Thanks so much!”

Maria nodded, feeling a little guilty for lying to her since as far as she was concerned, Gabriel would definitely hear Elizabeth playing.

GABRIEL AND MATT LOOKED UP at the knock on the door. They’d just ended a conference call with a start-up in California looking to expand, and Gabriel was anxious to get back to Maria and the children.

The door opened and Maria poked her head in and smiled. “I hope I’m not disturbing you, Mr. Trentham, but if you’re finished, I have something I need to discuss with you.”

Gabriel completely ignored the amused smirk Matt sent him at Maria’s prim use of “Mr. Trentham.” Obviously, Matt knew theirs was much more complicated than the typical employer/employee relationship. “Of course, I’m actually finished here. Matt, you can take care of the follow-up without me, right?”

“Don’t worry, there isn’t much left, just some emails to send off,” Matt said cheerfully. “I’ll let you know if anything else comes up.”

“Thanks, Matt. I’ll be with the children if you need me.” Gabriel got up from his desk and walked to Maria. “What is it, is something wrong?”

Maria shook her head. “It’s not an emergency, but I want to show you something.”

Gabriel raised a quizzical brow but was silent as Maria led him back to the entrance hall. He noticed that the ballroom doors were slightly ajar and he could hear someone playing the piano inside. He frowned. “What’s that? Who’s playing in there?”

“It’s Elizabeth. That’s what I wanted to show you. Elizabeth says that you don’t want her to play, not since her mother died, and she’s terrified to be caught playing. But she loves it, and she’s very good. It’s evident that she’s inherited your talent.”

Gabriel closed his eyes, remorse for more of his past actions making his heart hurt. He remembered yelling at her to stop playing, telling her never to play again. Elizabeth had been eight when Elle died, old enough to be scarred by his emotional neglect, which was why she’d been the child most wary of him when he’d started to reach out to them. He just hoped he could make it up to her now.

He opened his eyes to find Maria looking at him with both compassion and understanding. He managed a small smile. “Thank you. It seems I still have a lot to answer for.”

He turned to the doors, pausing just outside when he realized what Elizabeth was playing. Of course, it was “Clair de lune”—it had been Elle’s favorite piece and he’d played it for her often. He vividly remembered teaching Elizabeth how to play it and Elle often joining them for the lessons, just to hear them both play.

Very carefully he opened the door, not wanting to alert Elizabeth to his presence yet. He could see her bent over the keyboard, a look of utter concentration on her face as she played from memory. Occasionally she would stumble and she’d mutter under her breath, but she continued playing. Maria was right—Elizabeth was very good, and with practice and the proper lessons, could even become brilliant. His eldest had always loved the piano, even as toddler, and anguish filled him at how he’d denied her this for so long.

Elizabeth came to the final notes and Gabriel clapped slowly, walking into the room.

She whirled around on the bench, alarm clear on her face. “Dad! I can explain, please—“

“Lizzie, there’s nothing to explain,” Gabriel interrupted gently. “But that was wonderful, sweetheart, simply wonderful.”

She blinked at him and Gabriel ached at the doubt and wariness that filled her eyes.

“But aren’t you mad at me? I thought you didn’t want me to touch the piano, ever?”

He sighed, knowing that it was important to have this conversation with her. He walked over to her and sat down on the bench, looking down at his hands, hoping to find the right words.

“Lizzie, after Mom died, I know I made a lot of mistakes with you and your siblings. I pushed you all away, when I should have held you even closer. It wasn’t because I stopped loving you, I swear. It was just—losing Mom just hurt so much, and I couldn’t deal with anything that reminded me of her, and that included you all.”

“Dad, I know,” Elizabeth whispered, tears gathering in her eyes. “We all knew that it was because you loved Mom so much and that being with us reminded you of her. We missed her so much too—and then we missed you as well.”

“Can you forgive me, Lizzie?” Gabriel asked, swallowing a lump. “I’m so sorry for not being here for you. I love you so much, and I swear I’ll never do that to you or the others ever again.”

“Daddy, of course I forgive you!” Elizabeth started sobbing and threw herself into his arms.

Gabriel held her tightly, feeling her slight form trembling, and brushed a kiss on her head. “I love you, pumpkin.”

“I love you, too, Daddy,” she sniffed, and then pulled back. “So you’re really not angry about me playing the piano?”

“No, sweetheart. I never should have stopped your lessons—I denied us both a chance to remember Mom together. She would have hated that we both stopped playing after she was gone. I would love to start your lessons again—would you like that?”

“Oh, Daddy! Yes, I would love if you could teach me again!”

Elizabeth looked like she was going to start crying again, and Gabriel felt a burning sensation at the back of his own eyes. Wanting to distract them both, he tenderly wiped a tear away from her cheek and smiled softly. “Do you want to play with me now?”