Silver Dawn (Wishes #4.5) Read Free Page B

temper-mental French princess was jumping the gun when she dragged me down to the beach at six.
    Being early didn’t bother me. I could live at the beach indefinitely, but it was cold and dark and no place for Gabs. I managed to stall her by sitting in the car and refusing to move.
    No woman on earth looked prettier than Gabrielle when she was pouty and cross, which was fortunate because that was her usual demeanour of late. “If you won’t come, I shall go by myself,” she threatened.
    I leaned across and pushed her door open. “Watch your step, babe,” I said casually. “It’s dark out there.”
    A frigid gust of wind swept through the car and she promptly pulled the door closed. “I’ve changed my mind,” she huffed.
    “I thought you might,” I replied, tilting my head to look up through the windscreen. “It’s really black out there.”
    It was actually the perfect morning to showcase a silver dawn. The heavy cloud cover was exactly what I was hoping for.
    “You mustn’t confuse blackness with darkness, Alex.”
    I slipped my arm behind her and tangled my fingers through her hair. “Explain the difference to me.”
    She held out her hand, palm up. “Well, if I had a palette of red paint, and I mixed black paint with it, the red colour would become cloudy and dull.”
    “It would,” I agreed.
    “Darkness doesn’t do that,” she replied smiling. “If I had a red ruby and I added darkness to it, the ruby would stay beautiful and clear. The red colour would get darker, but never cloudy and dull.”
    “You’re brilliant,” I fervently declared. “Beautiful and artistic and brilliant. Teach my son all that you know.”
    Her lovely soft laugh drifted toward me. “Dark refers to the absence of light, while black is our perception of that absence,” she added.
    “I love you, Gabrielle,” I announced. “I love your French brain and your French heart and your French body.” I leaned over and kissed her French lips. “I love everything about you.”
    Truer words had never been spoken. I’d never met anyone like Gabrielle Décarie. She was smart and feisty and beautiful. She was also guarded, complex and stubborn, which meant she was seriously misunderstood by most. I read her perfectly, and for that reason alone, we were meant for each other.
    “Do you know what I love?” she whispered.
    “Custard?”
    She giggled again. “Yes. I love you and I love custard.”
    “Which do you love more?” I leaned back and stared at her, making the question seem deadly serious.
    Gabi pretended to put some serious thought into her reply. “I’d say you, but that’s probably because I don’t have any custard right now.”
    I reached into the back and grabbed a plastic container off the back seat. “I planned ahead and made you some while you were in the shower,” I explained.
    Her bright green eyes lit up as she took it from my grasp. “You did?”
    I handed her a spoon. “I figured it was the least I could do considering you let me knock you up.”
    “I love you, Alex Blake – even more than custard.”
    I probably would’ve believed her if she hadn’t been fumbling with the lid of the container like an addict desperate for her next hit. “Put the spoon down and tell me that.”
    After careful deliberation, Gabi rose to the challenge and set the spoon down on the dashboard. “I love you, Alex Blake. You make wonderful custard.”
    ***
    Unlike my Marseillaise princess, I am not complex. I like things to be simple and calm, and nothing could be calmer than sitting in a car at dawn watching the sun lift over the ocean.
    Thanks to the high vantage point of the car park, talking Gabrielle out of venturing down to the beach wasn’t difficult. Now that she had a belly full of custard and baby, hiking probably wasn’t an option anyway.
    “Why is it called a silver dawn?” she asked, staring out to sea. “I think it’s more grey than silver.”
    “It’s definitely silver,” I insisted. “Has