Gabriel cradled Becca in his arms and inhaled her scent that mixed with his.
He cherishes these moments of silence after lovemaking because skin-to-skin contact feels raw with just the two of them holding each other like there are no secrets and no obstacles and nothing that can come in-between them.
Sometimes he fears that he is dreaming and that he will wake up to a reality where he is still the head of the Long family with Victoria by his side.
How Gabriel sees it, a reality without Becca sounds horrible because as much as his parents and environment chained him, so did Victoria. With Victoria, he always had to watch his behavior and to be the proper heir (and then the head) of the Long family. At that time, Gabriel was always wearing a mask in public, and in private. It was a mask that weighed on him, and only when Steve showed up, Gabriel realized that he didn't want any of that.