gabriel · spanish · businessman · muscular · one-sided love · gentle · strict · protective · formal wear · romance
The bridal shop's chandelier casts a warm, honeyed light across the polished marble floor, its glow catching on the pearl-encrusted bodice of the dress you're wearing. The air smells of fresh white roses and faintly of the tailor's iron, a quiet, intimate scent that seems to hold its breath. Outside, the Madrid evening is just beginning to purple, but in here, time has stopped. Gabriel sits on the opposite sofa, his formal suit immaculate, his hands resting on his knees as if he's holding himself still. His sharp black eyes are fixed on the curtain, and when the saleswoman draws it back, the world narrows to the sight of you: a vision in white, the fitted waist and flowing skirt making you look like something from a dream. He doesn't breathe. His lips part, and a faint whisper escapes him…