I rolled my eyes. “Ma, I want to keep a low profile while I’m in town.” I strained to keep my voice low and even.
“You act like he made a reservation at The Pines or something,” she said, mentioning an even more exclusive restaurant where paparazzi regularly hung out to get pictures of celebrities coming and going. “We know after that video of you acting a fool you want to keep quiet, but damn, Lena. How much longer are you trying to act like a nun?”
“A nun?” I asked, sitting up.
“Yes, a nun,” she answered. “You and this low profile. Sneaking off to God knows where, not telling anyone where you are. You need to get back out there.”
“Ma, I’m writing another album,” I reminded her. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Like you can’t do that in the City or out in LA? And how are you doing that without Nate? And your producers? You know you can’t write an entire album on your own.”
“You said the reservation is for six-thirty?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Great,” I said, cutting her off. “I’ll meet you there.”
“And we’ll need a car to pick us up. We’re not going to La Guardia on the damn subway.”
“I bet you do,” I mumbled. “I’ll have Demetria make the arrangements for a car.”
I quickly hung up the phone and tossed it to the side of the bed. No part of me looked forward to dinner with my parents. But I owed them at least a meal together. They were my parents. If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t have been introduced to music at such a young age and allowed to break into the industry so early.
“So, we’re going out to dinner?”
Startled, I turned toward the bathroom door. My breathing stopped.
Gabe stood in the doorframe, one arm raised and propped against one side while leaning his shoulder against the other. He was wrapped in a white towel from the waist down. A few streams of water glided down his chest to his abdomen.
I dutifully watched one droplet glide down his pec muscle, right past his nipple, down to his abs. The skin there was so taut, I didn’t have to wonder if a quarter would bounce off of it. I knew it would.
The moisture in my mouth and throat dried up. It felt as if all of the fluid in my body pooled into my panties. The ones I’d put on again after he ate me like I came straight off of his dinner plate.
“What?” My voice was hoarse and strained.
He pushed away from the doorframe. “It looks like we’re going to dinner,” he said, slowly moving closer to the bed.
I nodded before his words even registered. I blinked. “Wait, no.”
He stopped at the side of the bed with a raised eyebrow.
“I’m going to dinner with my parents.”
“That’s what I said.” He grinned. “Except,we’regoing out to dinner with your parents.”
With a frown on my face, I restated his words in my head. My eyes bulged. Gabriel going to dinner with my parents and me was a horrible idea. I wanted to keep him safe from their craziness for the entire time we were in the City together.
“That expression makes me think you believe this is not such a great idea,” he said, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. He curled his thumb and forefinger around my chin, pulling me to him. He kissed me as if he owned me.
“Too bad it’s not up for debate,” he said when he pulled back.
My brain was a little fuzzy. The thoughts in my mind scrambled from the kiss and the very obvious tent in his towel. All it would take to have him naked would be for me to reach around and undo the towel.
“Don’t even think about it, Cin,” he warned. “Unless you're ready to say the words I want to hear.”
His thumb and finger tightened on my chin.
It took every ounce of strength I had in me, but I shook my head.
