“Gabriel,” she yelped. “What is wrong with you?” she growled as I carried her and our two bags in the direction of my car.
“Stop wiggling before I drop you,” I instructed.
“You wouldn’t have to worry about dropping me if you would just put me down, you big tyrant.”
I grinned. “I like that title.” I spotted my car at the far end of the parking lot.
“I’m not going back to New York,” Lena said, sounding exasperated. “It was a joke. Put me down.”
I stopped, and set her on her feet, then laughed when she punched my shoulder.
“That’s assault,” I said.
“You just tried to kidnap me, so we’re even.”
We made it to my car with Lena still bickering about my picking her up. I heard the laughter in her voice, though, so I wasn’t too concerned.
We had a forty-five minute drive back to Harlington. Lena found that Alicia Keys song that she’d sung on the plane for me.
“I liked your version better,” I said.
She rolled her eyes. “You’re biased.”
“Guilty as charged. Your version is still better.”
She laughed. “Let me play something else for you.”
“One of your new songs?”
She shook her head. “I told you. They’re not ready yet.”
“Not ready, or are you hiding them from me?” I asked. “As your muse, shouldn’t I be entitled to be the first one to hear them?”
She gave me a sideways look. “You’re unfair. Trying to guilt me into singing them for you.”
“All is fair in love and war, baby.”
She sucked in her bottom lip.
I hated that I had to take my eyes off her to watch the road as I was still driving. But when I did, that was when I realized the words I said.All is fair in love and war.
Love. I used the word love. Could that be the truth after only a few months?
I shook my head because, of course it was. The second night I met this woman, I declared that she was my future wife. I still meant those words.
About ten minutes before we arrived at Lena’s, she pressed a button on her phone, and a new song I didn’t recognize streamed through my speakers.
“I haven’t recorded any of my new stuff yet. When I do, you’ll be the first to hear it. I promise,” she said, wearing a smile. “But this is one of the songs fromBroken Kisses. I remixed it as well.”
“‘Wild Thing’?” I asked, glancing over at her. It was one of the songs from that album. I recognized the lyrics, but the melody was different from the original. The pace of the song was slower and more somber.
“What do you think?” Her face remained neutral, but I could see the uncertainty in her eyes.
As successful as she was in her career, there remained shadows of doubt. The sight of them grated on me. I knew she didn’t have a reason to doubt her talent or skills. But I thought back to the past few days we’d spent together in New York.
At dinner, her parents took every opportunity to throw small jabs at Lena, telling her what they deemed to be her shortcomings. Growing up with parents like that and a douchebag of an ex would be hell on anyone’s self-esteem.
I knew how painful the insults of others could bury themselves inside of our psyche. The closer I grew to Lena, the more I recognized how I used my wholenever let’em see ya sweatmottoto keep people at arm’s length for that exact reason.
