Chapter 33- Wedding Vows

"I need a bath." Valerie told Gabriel who dropped their bags upon the edge of his bed.

He smiled, running his fingers over her arm, "I'll make us some tea."

"Thanks." She made her way into his bathroom and turned on the tab to his sunk in bath tub, letting the warm water fill it up while she unpacked their bags. She was putting everything away, listening to Gabriel's footsteps approaching her, "Could you check the water?"

He was about to respond when his phone rang, causing both of them to tense up. Gabriel reached for his phone, answering it while he walked into the bathroom. Her eyes trailed to the bedside table where Gabriel had placed their cups down. Steam was curling up, as she approached it she smelled the sweet scent of cinnamon. It had to be one her favorite teas, caramelized pear with cinnamon. She couldn't wait to take a sip, but she knew she'd burn her mouth so she forced herself to wait.

"You're sure about this?" She jumped, realizing Gabriel was standing close to her, "That means someone is embezzling money, Ethan. After the whole ordeal with Daniel misusing his power, we can't have another scandal on our hands. Trust is a fragile thing-"

She watched as Gabriel was pacing his bedroom, looking exasperated. It sounded serious whatever he was discussing with Ethan. It was their company so they rarely stopped working, even in their spare time they made themselves available to deal with problems such as this one. She let him handle it and focused on getting herself comfy. Not wanting to distract Gabriel when he was dealing with a serious issue she moved to the bathroom and undressed, covering her body up with a silk, white robe. Pulling her hair up in a bun she splashed some peppermint bath oil into the hot water and strolled into the bedroom again to grab her cup of tea. She gestured to Gabriel she'd be in the bathroom, he nodded while continuing his conversation with Ethan.

She was of mind to question Gabriel about his meeting with Rachel's persistent ex, but that just had to wait. Dealing with Declan was like walking through the park considering the urgent matter that came up now. She dropped her robe to the floor, clutching her cup of tea while she carefully lowered herself into the hot water. Comfortably soaking in the water, Valerie placed her cup of tea beside her and leaned back, closing her eyes while she tried to clear her head. In the background she heard Gabriel's smooth voice, asking questions while telling Ethan how to deal with things. People always figured Ethan was the brain behind it all, well in reality it was Gabriel who came up with everything and Ethan was more or less the face of the company. It is how they dealt with things for years and it worked for them.

"You got it?" She heard footsteps coming closer to her, so she opened her eyes and smiled realizing her fiancé was watching her carefully, "Yeah, I'm rushing because I have a naked Valerie waiting for me-"

"Gabriel!"

He chuckled, she knew it wasn't because she scolded him though. No doubt in mind that Ethan said something dirty which her fiancé found hilarious.

"We'll meet up with the lawyers in the morning, let them deal with it."

She raised an eyebrow when she noticed Gabriel tilting his head to the side. That was not a good sign, he was planning something and she prepared herself for it.

"We have an early morning tomorrow." She reminded him, not even caring that he didn't end the call with Ethan yet. That man was now more or less part of their lives, no secrets whatsoever.

He smiled at her, but didn't respond, "I understand, we'll deal with it tomorrow. Goodnight." He ended the call and stepped closer to the tub, "You got comfortable without me."

"It sounded like it would take a while."

He sighed, "Ethan isn't good with situations like these."

"I know." She leaned to the edge of the tub, "Why don't you grab your tea and join me? The water is still warm."

He didn't look convinced, but he did nod his head in agreement, "Yeah, sounds like a plan."

"Okay." She whispered, "We'll just relax, no talk about work or family. We'll deal with everything tomorrow morning."

He moved, doing what she suggested even though he didn't look like his usual confident self. Whatever happened was still causing him to ponder over it, driving himself crazy. He kept calm to help Ethan deal with things with a clear head. Gabriel was their rock, they just never gave him credit for it. She'd help him relax, that was the only thing she could do for him right now.

***

Valerie stood in front of Gabriel, doing up his buttons and fixing his tie while he was once again on the phone. A lot of phone calls had to be made, meetings with lawyers being set up. He was so into his element she felt the need to organize him. He was still Gabriel Starr and couldn't walk into his building looking like a mess. She straightened his shirt and flattened down his tie, appreciating her work.

"Thanks." He whispered to her once she finished her task.

She leaned in pressing a kiss to his cheek, "You're welcome."

She walked away from him, heading to the kitchen to get their travel mugs ready. It was seven in the morning yet they were already in full work mode, at least Gabriel was. She was just there to hand him things or listen to him when he needed to get things off his chest. It made her realize just how mundane they were behaving. When Gabriel walked in, phone in hand looking ready to down a cup of coffee she couldn't help but to giggle.

"We're practically married." She told him.

He shrugged his jacket on, his eyes gleaming with amusement, "Are we now?" He asked her, "I suppose you're the one who deserves the compliments." He moved to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her in, "You're pretty good with ties, actually."

She ran her fingers down the navy piece of fabric, "I am, aren't I?" She leaned into him, savoring their last moment of peace and quiet, "It's going to be a long day for you." She stated.

"It will." He agreed.

"If you need anything let me know."

He wrapped her up in his arms and held her tightly to him, it was as if he was afraid she'd suddenly disappear from sight. He leaned his chin upon her head, taking a deep breath.

"Okay."

She ran her hands down his back, feeling him relax underneath her touches, "You're not alone in this Gabriel. I'm here for you through the good and the bad times."

He chuckled, the sound resonating through her body as well, "Valerie, are you saying your vows already? You're in a rush to get married?" He kissed her head, "Is there something you'd like to share with me perhaps?"

She gave his chest a hard shove and glared at him, "I'm being serious here, Gabriel."

He reached for his travel mug, "I know, but I'm good. Guess your peppermint bath really did help me clear my mind."

Her lips curled up to a smirk, "That could be it." She muttered under her breath, also reaching for her travel mug.

His eyebrows rose up, "You don't agree?"

She strolled out of the kitchen, collecting her things so they could meet up with Gabriel's driver. It was about time to leave, she knew Gabriel would want to go in early to get things in order before he and Ethan met up with their lawyers.

"Ah, you did help me relax as well." He wasn't letting go of their talk about their bath time yet, she knew exactly why which caused her cheeks to heat up, "But you've always been able to help me relax when it comes to that, Valerie. You're gifted with your mouth-"

"Don't!" She warned him, "I don't have coffee in my system yet to have that conversation so early in the morning."

The tension that lingered from some douchebag stealing money from Ethan and Gabriel was now put to the back burner. It had nothing to do with her trying to be supportive and more with the fact that she was able to make him laugh through it all without even making an effort. It hadn't been her intension to be funny, but apparently he was having a great time this morning. The fact that he could smile and laugh made her less angry and more playful.

"We should head out, your driver is already here." She told him, lifting her bag and moving to the door.

"You look great, by the way." Gabriel called after her, "That dress does wonders to your ass!"

"Shut up!"

His laughter travelled to her, even though she didn't want to smile it still happened. It was going to be a very long day for him, a dreadful week and probably months filled with exhaustion. They needed all the peaceful moments filled with laughter they could get.

***

It was nearing ten in the evening and Valerie already went home, well Gabriel's apartment to freshen up and have dinner before she returned back to the office. She rode the elevator up to Ethan and Gabriel's floor and stalked to his office with determined steps. She held a paper bag in one hand and a tray with drinks in another, knowing those guys probably didn't have dinner on mind considering the circumstances. The door to Gabriel's office was ajar, light streaming into the hallway. She used her hip to push the door open and strolled in with a smile upon her face.

"Dinner and coffee." She announced.

Ethan turned around and faced her with a smile of his own, "You're an angel."

Chuckling she approached the desk which Gabriel was sitting behind. He didn't look up, but the softness around his eyes told her he appreciated her being there.

"I think Gabriel has a thing or two to say about that."

She provoked him, trying to get his mind off things so he'd at least eat. She gave herself a mental shoulder pat when he did roll away from the desk and rose to his feet.

"I'd refer to her as my wife considering she already made her vows this morning."

She sighed, lowering her head and trying to avoid looking at them, "It wasn't a vow I made, but I did mean every word of it."

Gabriel approached her, she could tell since his shiny Italian leather shoes were in her line of vision. She slowly trailed her eyes up, meeting his amused gaze.

"Through the good and bad times." He repeated, "Sounds like a vow to me."

"Valerie is so forward these days." Ethan reached for the paper bag and took out the boxes of noodles and chopsticks, "But doesn't that make things easier, you don't have to go through months of wedding stress and just sign a wedding license since you've been through the vows already?"

Valerie shared a look with Gabriel and then approached his friend, she knew Ethan was only joking but the idea was rather appealing to her. She was different from Rachel, unlike her sister she didn't wish for big weddings and being the center of attention. She liked things low key and intimate. Only sharing her vows with Gabriel was as low key and intimate as things could get.

"I think you're onto something Ethan Hunter." She told him, handing him his chopsticks.

"I was joking."

She smiled and trailed her eyes back to her fiancé, "Well, I'm not."

Gabriel also grabbed his dinner and walked around his desk again, taking a seat in his chair, "It sounds like a plan to me, we should look into that."

"No!" He told them, "You already skipped the whole normal engagement part." He pointed at Valerie's empty finger, "No ring and no big emotional scene about how you want to spend the rest of your lives together. If you're skipping that then there has to be a wedding." He glared at her and then shifted his glare to Gabriel, "It's a rule."

She laughed, "It's not."

"I object." He told them straight out.

"Object to what?" She asked, "I don't like to make a big deal out of things and I'm actually glad that Gabriel agrees with me on that." Her lips curled to a wide smirk, "Aren't we perfect for each other?"

Ethan sighed, "Yeah, the perfect couple." He muttered, then pointed his chopsticks at her, "You have a lot of explaining to do to your mother, Valerie. Eloping is not something Amanda would appreciate."

Her smile dropped as she realized how true Ethan's words were, then annoyance hit her because of how close Ethan actually was to her mother. Besties with her mother, that thought made her shiver visibly.

"You've been replaced, Gabriel." She pointed out, "By my mom."

Gabriel closed his laptop and leaned back in his chair, a subtle smile playing on his lips, "So it seems."

Work was forgotten for a few minutes, the guys ate their dinner while joking around about her upcoming wedding. There had been a lot of excitement going on over the weekend and then the whole betrayal thing happened with their financial director. The wedding had been the least of their concerns. She didn't want it to become one of her concerns so she'd discuss things with her mother. She believed Amanda would agree with her idea, because mothers always wanted what was best for their children. If signing a wedding license while having a little dinner party afterwards was what made her happy she was certain her mother wouldn't oppose.