Princess in the Making. Michelle Celmer

chat tomorrow, yes?”

      “Yes.”

      “I love you, my sweet Vanessa.”

      “I love you, too,” she said, then the call disconnected.

      She sighed and set her phone on the desk, hoping there would come a day when she could say those words, and mean them the way that Gabriel did. That there would be a time when the sort of love she felt for him extended past friendship.

      It wasn’t that she didn’t find him attractive. There was no doubt that he was an exceptionally good-looking man. Maybe his jaw wasn’t as tight as it used to be, and there was gray at his temples, and he wasn’t as fit as he’d been in his younger years, but those things didn’t bother her. It was what was on the inside that counted. And her affection for him felt warm and comfortable. What was missing was that … zing.

       Like the one you felt when you took Marcus’s hand?

      She shook away the thought. Yes, Marcus was an attractive man, too, plus he didn’t have the sagging skin, graying hair and expanding waist. He also didn’t have his father’s sweet disposition and generous heart.

      When Gabriel held her, when he’d brushed his lips across her cheek, she felt respected and cherished and safe. And okay, maybe those things didn’t make for steamy hot sex, but she knew from personal experience that sex could be highly overrated. What really mattered was respect, and friendship. That’s what was left when the zing disappeared. And it always did.

      Men like Marcus thrilled, then they bailed. Usually leaving a substantial mess in their wake. She could just imagine the string of broken hearts he’d caused. But Gabriel was dependable and trustworthy, and that’s exactly what she was looking for in a man now. She’d had her thrills, now she wanted a mature, lasting relationship. Gabriel could give her that. That and so much more, if she was smart enough, and strong enough, to let him.