Author's Note: First of all I want to say thanks to the few people that do review. I got one that touched my heart in particular. The reviewer noted how they loved that Gabriella was getting back to God and that as a believer they appreciated that. Thank you to that person. I love when people mention that in their reviews. I truly hope that God is speaking to each person that reads this story. Enjoy another chapter! Please review.

Troy drove for about twenty minutes, to a lake that Gabriella had never seen. They got out of the truck and she looked around.

"This place is gorgeous, Troy." Her face lit up saying all that Troy needed to know. She was in awe of the beautiful lake before her.

Troy smiled, proud that he had thought to bring her here. "I thought you would like it here", said standing behind her. "This is one of my favorite places. I come here sometimes when I need to think."

That struck Gabriella and touched her heart. She turned to look at him, laying a hand to his face. "Thank you", she said quietly, with all the emotion she felt in that moment. "Thank you for sharing your special place with me."

Troy could do nothing, but kiss her just then. He was consumed by the moment. He let his emotions pour into that kiss. It was the kind of kiss he wanted to give her earlier at the airport, but knew they needed privacy for a proper welcome home. When he finally pulled away so that they could both breath, he laid his forehead to hers and whispered, "I love you."

She looked up at him with unshed tears pooling in her eyes. She couldn't speak, but he read her thoughts in her eyes. Giving her one more soft, sweet kiss, he left her to admire their surroundings while he set out their dessert.

By the time she turned back to him, Troy had a blanket laid out under a tree with chocolate covered strawberries. Gabriella bit her lip to keep from crying and, when she couldn't stop the tears, she covered her mouth to stop the sobbing.

She was stuck where she stood, by the shore of the lake. He took her hand and kissed her knuckles before leading her to the blanket. Without a word, they sat on the blanket and just stared at each other for a while. He pushed her hair back behind her ear and gave her that bright, gorgeous smile she knew was only for her. They just smiled at each other. Then, taking his hand from her face, Gabriella kissed it, and then his lips before she whispered, "I love you too, Troy, with all my heart."

Now, they were both crying, happy tears of joy, knowing where they stood. It was a perfect moment. They sat together, speaking in hushed voices, neither one making too much noise, quietly enjoying each other's company. Feeding each other and taking in a beautiful sunset, they talked about everything under the sun, the new buildings Troy was asked to design, Gabriella's cases, and anything else they could think of. They just enjoyed an evening together.

When the sun had set and the darkness had begun to gather, Troy reluctantly gathered up their blanket and the container of strawberries and they left. He drove her home, walking her all the way to her door.

"You didn't have to come all the way up here, Troy", Gabriella pointed put unnecessarily, when they got to her door. She turned to look at him and backed up until her back was against the wall.

Troy grinned with a slight blush, but his eyes held an intensity. "I know I didn't", he said once again pushing her hair back behind her ear. "I just wanted to spend a few more minutes with you."

Slowly his lips came down to meet her own, until they were caught in a slow, passion filled kiss. One that told her that Troy missed her as much as Gabriella missed him.

He pulled away and laid his forehead to hers as they each fought to control their breathing. When they did, Troy whispered, "I'll call you tomorrow", and stepped away from her. He stood their and waited for her to unlock the door.

When she opened it, Gabriella stepped inside and turned to look at Troy once more. "Goodnight", she said quietly.

Troy's grin almost stretched off his face. "Goodnight, Beautiful", he said just before she closed the door. When he heard the lock click he made himself walk away.

The next morning, Gabriella, once again, found magnolias waiting for her on her desk. She smiled when she read the card: To my everything. Love, Troy. That man was too much. He knew just how to make her day with little to no effort at all. She dug her phone out of the bottom of her purse as she sat behind her desk and dialed the number that she dialed the most recently.

He picked up on the second ring. "Hello, Beautiful", she heard the smile in his voice right away.

"Hey there, Handsome", she replied giggling between her words. "Thank you for the beautiful flowers I found on my desk this morning."

Troy prended jealousy and asked, "Flowers? I didn't send you flowers."

Gabriella knew he was only playing so she went along with him. "They must be from that other Troy I met in Houston the other day."

She sounded so convincing until Troy answered with, "You met a guy named Troy in Houston?"

She laughed mercilessly and couldn't reply until she calmed down. When she did she reassured Troy. "No, Troy Bolton, you are the only Troy in my life."

Troy smiled and sighed in relief. "Good", he said. "I almost booked the next flight to Houston."

Gabriella laughed again. "And what would you have done", she asked curiously and also loving this possessive side of her man.

"I would told him to back off from my girl", he said confidently.

That made Gabriella smile, but she still replied with, "So, I'm your girl now?"

"Of course you are", he said, his confidence never wavering. "You've been my girl for quite some time now, Gabriella."

Gabriella knew that in her heart, because he had been her her man for quite sometime as well, but it still gave her a chill down her spine to hear him say the words out loud. "I like that", she said after a brief pause.

Troy smiled. "Good", was all he said.

They paused again for a while, both taking that in. They both felt the enormity of that word. They were in this for the long haul, but there was no need for a big commitment just yet. A minute or two passed before anyone said a word.

Finally, Gabriella broke the companionable silence. "I better get off here", she said reluctantly. "I have a full slate of cases today."

Troy sighed as well. "I better get back to work too", he said. "This building won't design itself."

Gabriella laughed at that. She loved his easy humor. "Okay", she finally said. "Have a good day, Love."

Troy felt the air get stuck in his throat. She had called him that a few times and he liked the sound of it. It was kind old-fashioned, but it was sweet. "I will, Baby", he replied. "How does dinner at Casa de la Bolton sound for tonight?"

Gabriella bit her lip to keep from squealing in delight. She loved how he made a night in sound so romantic. "Sounds perfect", she said when she could trust herself not to give away her giddiness.

"Good", Troy said smiling. He could hear her excitement, but decided not to say anything. "See you around 6:30", he said.

"I'll be there", she confirmed. "I love you."

Those last words did something crazy to his stomach. It took him a minute to respond. "I love you too, Baby."

The rest of the day went by in a flurry of paperwork, court appearances and draft after draft that just wasn't good enough. Finally, at 5:30, Gabriella left work and went home to change and freshen up. She chose to go casual wearing a pair of jean shorts, a light, white baby doll blouse, and her black fish head sneakers with light, natural make up. After putting her hair up in a stylish messy bun, she was ready to go.

When she got to the house, she was greeted by Ethan and Bear. "Gabi", the boy cheered happily from the door as his dog barked excitedly. When she got to the door, Ethan hollered into the house, "Daddy! Gabi's here!"

"Hold the door for her", she heard Troy yell back. Gabriella smiled at that, loving that he was teaching his son chivalry.

At his father's instruction, Ethan stepped out of the house and held the door with his back. "Hi Gabi", he greeted with a smile.

As she walked into the house, Gabriella picked him up and squeezed the boy tight. "Hi, Buddy. I missed you", she whispered into his ear as she walked with him in her arms.

"I missed you too", he replied innocently as he squeezed her with all his might in return. When he pulled back, Ethan innocently went on, "Don't leave us anymore, Gabi. Daddy was so sad when you're gone.

The pair had made it to the kitchen just in time for Troy to hear that last part, and he thanked God that he had his back to them while he cooked. He inwardly cringed at his son's words and made a mental note of teaching Ethan that not everything has to be told to others.

Gabriella was taken aback at first, but she recovered quickly. "Is that right", she asked Ethan as she looked at Troy's back.

"Yeah", Ethan went on innocently. "He even set the table for three the other night, and he left it there even after he told me that you were in Texas."

Gabriella smiled at all of this. She loved knowing that he missed her as much as she missed him, but that was enough of making Troy suffer. She put Ethan down and watched him run off to find Bear and then, she went to where Troy stood in front of the stove flipping steaks.

Without a word, she wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him tight as she kissed his muscled back. "I hated being away from you", she confessed quietly.

Troy froze for just a second before he turned off the stove and turned around in her arms. "Good", he said just before he pecked her lips. "Because I'm not letting you out of my sight ever again", he declared.

"That might be difficult, Troy", she pointed out as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "We both have work."

"You might be right", he conceded as he stroked a thumb across her cheek. He pretended to think for a second and came back with, "Then, you aren't leaving the state without me anymore." Her bright smile was all the permission he needed to continue. "Even if I have to leave Ethan with my parents for a week, I'm not gonna be away from you for that long ever again."

The tone of his voice told her that the separation had been just as hard for him as it was for her. Those had been the longest three days of either of their lives, and they did not care to repeat it... EVER!

It struck Gabriella that they had this type of attachment already. Not even in the good days with Martin did she ever miss him this much. She never ached for the sound of his voice. She never craved his touch; never daydreamed about his kiss. All of these feelings were brand new to her and she promised herself she would soak in the moment and examine it all later because, truth be told, the intensity of these feelings terrified her. She pushed all of that aside, because she wanted to be present. To enjoy the evening with Troy and Ethan.

Seeing that she was stuck in her head, Troy leaned forward and laid a gentle kiss to Gabriella's lips. As if that was all it took to snap her out of her daze, she backed away from him and looked around.

"What can I do to help", she asked not wanting to acknowledge the chills she felt when their lips met.

Ever since Troy asked her to be his she no longer felt like she was treated like a guest. She just came in and got straight to work. She and Troy had become a team, sometimes doing things before they were asked.

In no time at all the three of them were sitting down to eat. They held hands around the table and Troy said the blessing: "Lord, thank You for this day and thank You for all that you give us. Thank You for this food, may it be a nurishment to our bodies. Amen."

They ate their meal happily; talking and laughing companionably. After dinner, Ethan went oitside to feed Bear while Troy and Gabriella cleaned up dinner. It didn't take long with the two of them working together. With the kitchen clean, Troy joined Ethan in the yard playing fetch with Bear. When both the boy and the dog were worn out, Troy took Ethan upstairs for his bath, and, when he was all clean and tucked in, Troy went back downstairs to Gabriella.

When he got there, he found her scrolling through her emails, just like that first evening they spent together. Just like that night he quitely sat next to her, but this time, instead of flirting a little, he simply sat and Gabriella shifted to sit underunder his arm and he absentmindedly stroked her arm until she looked up and smiled at him.

He returned the smile and said, "Hi."

"Hi", she replied. She kissed his lips softly for a few minutes before she asked, "did you get Ethan to sleep without a problem?"

"Yep. He's sound asleep."

"Good." She got up and went to her purse. She put her phone away and brought her Bible back when she sat back down next to Troy. They had gotten through John and Luke. Now they were in Acts. Gabriella enjoyed this time they spent studying the word together. She enjoyed learning from him, but the best part was just being together.

When they first started reading together, they sat at tables with their Bibles open following along as one of them read. Now, they sat on couches, usually, with her back against his chest and they only used her Bible. Either she would read or he would read over her shoulder.

They would read for an hour getting through as much as they could before it became too much, and then they would spend the rest of their night just talking about anything. They couldn't get enough of just talking. They loved learning new things about each other, but they never pushed it, prefering to learn organicly, just by listening and paying attention.

Paying attention was easy, because they never took their attention off of each other. Even when Ethan was present, Troy found himself always knowing where Gabriella was and what she was doing.

Gabriella always thought that would be creepy for a man to pay that much attention to her, but she found that she loved that he knew where she was and what she was doing. She loved that, in watching her so much, he was learning the little signs that she, unconsciously, gave. He knew the differnce between a frown of concentration, of saddness, of anger, of being overwhelmed. He even knew the meaning of all of the diffent smiles that she never knew she had. She was finding that Troy knew her better than she knew herself. It was the best feeling in the world to be with a man that took the time to learn her.

Of course she was learning him as well. His likes and dislikes, his schedule. She knew when he needed a quiet night in after a stressful day at work and when they could go out and have a night to themselves. Her favorite thing was watching him with Ethan.

Troy was a man in love with his son. He catered to Ethan's every need. He was an amazing father, but she loved how, even in giving all his attention to his son, Troy made sure the Gabriella always knew that he cared. He would be playing with Ethan, but talking to Gabriella or somehow getting her involved, letting her know that she was becoming a part of their little family. He told her often that before he had walked into her office he had felt broken, but in the four months that he had known her, he felt like she was putting him back together. It was the most wonful, mind blowing feeling for Gabriella to be that for someone, but, then, she felt the same way about him.

Troy pulled her out of her thoughts when he said, "Let's continue with Acts chapter 9."

They read all about how Saul, who had persecuted Christians, was met on the road to Damascus by Jesus. How Jesus blinded him and then sent Ananias to baptize him. It was a great story of redemption and the power of God's forgiving love.

As they read Gabriella cried. She had never persecuted someone for their beliefs, she was once a great believer herself, but she felt like her crimes were too much for God to forgive. This story reminded her that nothing was too much for God to forgive, so she stopped Troy when he got to the end of the story.

"Can we pray", she asked. "I need to ask for forgiveness."

"Ok", Troy agreed.

They held hands as Gabriella spoke weakly at first. "Father, I'm sorry. I was so wrong. I didn't let you heal me when I was hurt. I tried to heal myself, but I'm learning that I can't do it on my own. I need you to help me. I need to let you into my heart and life. Please come into my life and guide me. Amen."

Troy gently turned her to look at him. He could only kiss her after that. "Thank you", he whispered. "Thank you for letting me be here for that." Gabriella could only turn her whole body and sit in his lap as she cried. She stayed like that until she calmed down. Troy wiped away her tears with his thumb and kissed her again. When he pulled away he looked at his watch. It was late. "It's late", he told her. "Why don't you stay here tonight. You can sleep in my room. I'll sleep on the couch."

"No, Troy. You don't need to do that. I can drive home."

"I would feel better if you stayed here", he insisted. "I don't like the idea of you driving so late at night."

Gabriella smiled. She loved that he cared so much. She kissed him once more. "I'll be okay, I promise", she tried when she pulled away. "I'll call you when I get home." This time she was getting up to gather her things.

Troy gave up the fight. They had a great night. He wasn't going to ruin it. "Fine", he said. "But I want a phone call when you get home." He took her hand and walked her to the door.

Gabriella turned to him for one more kiss before she left. "I love you", she whispered before Troy leaned in for a kiss.

He kissed her with all that he had, giving her all of his love. "I love you too", he said quietly when he pulled away and laid his forehead on her own. "I love you so much, Gabriella."

She looked up at him hearing a different note in his voice. It was as if he had discovered a new level of love for her and it showed in his eyes blowing her away. She felt her breath catch in her throat. All she could do was kiss him again.

This time when she pulled away she forced herself to leave. "Goodnight", she whispered as she walked out of his arms, into the warm, New Mexico night.

Troy stood at the door and watched her get into her car and drive away. When she was out of sight he closed the door and fell back against the wall. His heart was so full.

"Thank You, Lord", he prayed with a goofy smile on his face as he went upstairs to bed.