Forever With You (Bayou Dreams Book 5) Read online

“Gabriel, I’m concerned about you,” she said. “About your future. You do realize that you can kiss that assistant principal position goodbye, don’t you? Even if they do keep the school open, McCabe will find a way to make you pay for what you did tonight.”

  “You don’t have to worry about me,” he said. “No matter what happens, I’ll be okay. So will Mami, Daniela and Elias. I’ll find a way to make it work.” He enclosed her in his arms, linked his fingers at the small of her back and pulled her in until she was flush against him. “As for my future, as long as you’re in it, nothing else matters.”

  Leslie’s heart melted then and there.

  “I mean it, Leslie,” he whispered against her lips. “None of that other stuff matters. All I want is to be forever with you.”

  Epilogue

  Three months later

  “Did you remember to pick up the chocolate bars?” Leslie asked as she scooted up behind Gabriel and slid her palms over his stomach.

  He covered her arms and turned his head, catching her lips in a quick kiss.

  “Yes, I remembered the chocolate bars and graham crackers and bought an extra bag of marshmallows just in case.”

  “Always going above and beyond. I’ll bet you were the teacher’s pet in school.”

  “I was the teacher’s headache,” he said with a deep chuckle. “I’m trying to make up for being such a troublemaker all those years ago.”

  Just then a sandy volleyball bounced off the side of his head.

  “Hey!” Gabriel yelled.

  “Sorry, bro,” Elias called. Kristi was laughing so hard she fell to her knees in the sand. Buster, as usual, danced around her like the party had just gotten started.

  Elias jogged over to where Leslie and Gabriel sat in the sand.

  “Sorry,” he said again, picking up the ball from where it had rolled after clunking Gabriel upside the head. The handsome teenager had a smile so much like his older brother’s. Leslie knew he would drive the girls around Gauthier High School wild when he started there in just a few weeks.

  Elias was the one who had suggested moving to Louisiana to live with Gabriel instead of transferring to an expensive private school in Houston. As he’d pointed out to Gabriel, changing schools wouldn’t mean all that much if he was going to remain in that same neighborhood. Elias wanted to make a clean break. Leslie could not have been more supportive of the decision to bring him here.

  “Is Cass still upset that Daniela didn’t come to the beach house?” Leslie asked, scooting around so that she now faced him.

  “She remembers to pout every now and again,” Gabe said. “But then she starts having fun and forgets. Daniela doesn’t. I’ve gotten at least a dozen texts from her since we’ve been here, bellyaching about missing out on the fun. She says it’s unfair that she’s stuck in the middle of nowhere.”

  “She’s not in the middle of nowhere. She’s in Lubbock.”

  His brow arched. “Have you ever been to Lubbock? Believe me, it’s the middle of nowhere. But she’s the one who wanted to get a head start on school.”

  Leslie playfully bumped his leg. “Admit it, you’re proud of her.”

  “Yeah, I am,” he said. “I hate that she’s missing out on this, though.”

  “I do, too. Maybe we can rent this place again in the spring, and she can come for spring break.”

  “Rent? I think we should just buy it. We can afford it. You know, with all the extra money I’ll be making.”

  It had not taken the school-board members long to reverse their opinion on closing GEMS. Gabriel was named the permanent assistant principal soon after, and it was announced that the new building, which was initially slated to be the new site of Maplesville High School, would fulfill its original purpose.

  “So, that assistant principal position pays that much?” Leslie asked.

  A rueful grin stretched across his face. “Okay, so maybe we can buy that shack at the far end of the beach.”

  With a laugh, Leslie said, “For you, I would live in a shack, but I just cut my commute in half a few months ago. Don’t make me drive all the way from Biloxi to the satellite office in Maplesville everyday.”

  “Okay, okay. No beach house,” Gabriel said. He hooked his arms under her knees and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her lips. “I guess we’ll make do with that pretty little house in Gauthier, amor.”

  “Are you sure that’s enough for you?”

  “Absolutely.” He smiled into her eyes. “As long as you’re there, that’s all I’ll ever need.”

  * * * * *

  We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Kimani Romance.

  You dream in vibrant hues! Harlequin Kimani Romance stories feature sophisticated, soulful and sensual African-American and multicultural heroes and heroines who develop fulfilling relationships as they lead lives full of drama, glamour and passion.

  Enjoy four new stories from Harlequin Kimani Romance every month!

  Connect with us on Harlequin.com for info on our new releases, access to exclusive offers, free online reads and much more!

  Other ways to keep in touch:

  Harlequin.com/newsletters

  Facebook.com/HarlequinBooks

  Twitter.com/HarlequinBooks

  HarlequinBlog.com

  http://www.harlequin.com/harlequinexperience

  ISBN-13: 9781460375686

  Forever with You

  Copyright © 2015 by Farrah Roybiskie

  All rights reserved. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

  ® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and in other countries.

  www.Harlequin.com