“It was nice to talk to you, Erica. Gabriel just came in, so I’ll let you speak with him.” Gabriel’s brows arched high, and he rolled his eyes and shook his head as he took two strides toward me with an outstretched hand.
“Thanks. Hi, Mom.…Yes. Yes, I know.”
I busied myself in the kitchen, taking out plates, cutlery, and beers from the fridge, but Gabriel had the annoying habit of being a closemouthed bastard when he wanted—no doubt from his police-training as well as years of being a bodyguard when he probably had to be silent but deadly.
“I’m glad.…Uh, you don’t have to.…No, I’m serious.…I’m not. It’s not—okay, okay. If you want, sure.” He raised his eyes to the ceiling. I couldn’t help grinning because even from this one-sided conversation, I knew he’d lost an argument with his mother. And yeah, damn right I had no qualms about standing there and making it obvious I was listening to him. If he’d wanted privacy, he could’ve asked me to leave or gone into his room.
Shameless was my middle name.
He ended the call and tossed his phone aside. “Stuff smells good, right? I’m starving.”
“You know you’re not going to get away with that.” I planted myself in front of him, but my attempt to look intimidating fell short. Gabriel merely sidestepped me and slid onto a barstool.
Sneaky bastard.
“Get away with what? I’m hungry.” He smiled broadly with the sparerib sticking out of his mouth. “Eat while it’s hot.”
Two could play that game, and he’d obviously forgotten I knew some of his weaknesses now, which included a highly erogenous zone right beneath his ear that had left him begging me for mercy only hours earlier. I went in for the attack, and I heard him sigh as my lips latched on to that sweet spot.
“Tell me,” I whispered, loving how he trembled beneath my mouth.
“You don’t play fair.”
I licked the outside of his ear, and he jumped.
“Who said anything about playing?” I slipped my arms around him. My chin rested on his shoulder, and I laid my cheek on his. “Did she mention me?”
“You think?” His smile curved against mine. “She said you sounded very sweet and that she’d love to meet you.”
That wasn’t what I expected, and my arms dropped from holding Gabriel as I pulled away.
“Meet me? Why?” Nerves replaced hunger, and I began to pace. “Why does she want to meet me?”
“Well, you answered my phone, so she assumed we were…close?” He arched a brow, and I stopped my frantic back and forth.
“I mean, yeah, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to meet the parents. I’m a nobody to her.”
Gabriel nodded. “Yeah. But you’re somebody to me. And that makes you important to her.”
The implication of his words cut through my brain fog. “I am? We haven’t really discussed what this means for us, work and personal-wise. I know what I want.”
“Which is what?”
“You. But I’m being honest here—I’ve never had a relationship…a boyfriend, if that’s what you call it. My money made me wary of people in general, never knowing if they liked me for me or for the fact that I paid for their dinners. More likely than not, it was the latter, and I decided I could get sex where and when I wanted, so why bother with anything else?”
“My friend Isaac is like that. He’s got more money than God from acting residuals, and he keeps everyone at arm’s length because he’s afraid they only want him to pay for their dinners and get them into the hot spots.”
“Exactly. It’s been nothing but a curse. I’d have been better off never having the money.”
“You’re perfect with or without.”
I had to laugh. “I’m far from perfect. I’m moody and have nightmares, and I can fly off the handle easily.”
“Damn, you’re a mess.” A glint appeared in Gabriel’s eyes. “But all that doesn’t overshadow the man I see: Someone who’s willing to make sacrifices for the people he loves, to his extreme detriment. A man who’s kind and generous to sick children. An incredible lover. Someone I’m proud to call a friend.”
“You are?” I searched his eyes. “Why? And I’m not asking to puff up my ego. I’m a convicted felon. That can’t be good for your career. I’m not a good risk.”
“The only risk I see is to my heart, nothing else.”
