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Gabrielle had officially entered detective mode.

She had spent the entire day keeping a close eye on Matthew, determined to figure out what he was hiding. And while he was very good at deflecting her questions, she knew him too well to be fooled for long.

The real challenge was catching him in the act.

Because whenever she thought she had him cornered, he would find some way to distract her—whether it was by pulling her into a long, lingering kiss or whisking her away on an impromptu date.

The man was infuriatingly smooth.

But Gabrielle wasn’t giving up.

Not when she was so close to figuring this out.

Gabrielle sat curled up on the couch, pretending to be engrossed in a book while subtly watching Matthew out of the corner of her eye.

He was on his phone again.

And this time, she was determined to catch him.

She waited until he wasn’t looking before quietly getting up and creeping closer, trying to catch a glimpse of his screen.

Unfortunately, Matthew had centuries of heightened senses—so the second she got close, he casually locked his phone and turned to her with an amused smirk.

“Darling,” he drawled, “are you snooping?”

Gabrielle froze.

“…No.”

Matthew raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure?”

She huffed, crossing her arms. “You’re hiding something.”

He just chuckled, setting his phone aside and tugging her into his lap. “You’re adorable when you’re suspicious.”

Gabrielle tried to stay annoyed, but it was very difficult when he was looking at her like that.

Still, she wasn’t going to let him off the hook.

She narrowed her eyes. “Matthew, I swear, if you don’t tell me what’s going on—”

But before she could finish, he leaned in and kissed her.

Soft. Slow. Thorough.

And just like every single time before, she completely forgot what she was talking about.

By the time he pulled away, she was breathless and slightly dazed.

Matthew smirked. “What were you saying, love?”

Gabrielle blinked.

…Damn it.

“I hate when you do that,” she muttered.

Matthew chuckled, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “No, you don’t.”

She sighed, burying her face against his shoulder. “Fine. You win this round.”

Matthew pressed a kiss to the top of her head, his voice filled with quiet amusement. “I always do.”

Little did Gabrielle know, by this time tomorrow, she would finally understand exactly what he had been planning.

And it would be better than anything she had imagined.