Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 79670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79670 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 398(@200wpm)___ 319(@250wpm)___ 266(@300wpm)
We walk out, and she looks over at me. “I didn’t bring my car.”
“How did you get here?” I ask, stopping and pressing the elevator button.
“Uber.” She steps in when the doors open. I press the button for the lobby, turning to look at her. “Should I order a car?” She pulls out her phone.
“No, I can get one from the hotel.” I turn to her, and she puts the phone back in her pocket.
She steps closer to me, wrapping her arms around my neck. My hands go to her hips. “I’m sorry I freaked out before.”
“It’s okay,” I tell her honestly. “We should have talked about the what-if before we went out.” I take a deep breath. “But to be honest with you, I didn’t really care because I wanted to go out with you.” She is about to say something, and I stop her from talking. “And truthfully, I didn’t think anyone would be watching in Dallas.”
She smiles as she puts her head back. “Well, I shouldn’t have freaked out like that, but I’m glad I did because it made me see that I want this also.”
I smile so big that my cheeks hurt as I bend my head to kiss her lips. “Really?” I swear to God if she never tells me anything else tonight, this will be enough.
“Really,” she confirms, right before I grab her face in my hands and kiss her. My tongue slides into hers as we go around and around. I don’t even notice the ping of the elevator door until someone clears their throat.
I turn my head, seeing a man dressed in a suit waiting to get on the elevator with his briefcase in his hand. “I’m assuming you aren’t going up?” He sort of glares at us.
“Nope,” I say, letting go of her face and sliding my hand into hers. “This is our stop.” I pull her out of the elevator with me. “Have a great day.”
She laughs beside me, her head held high as we walk out toward the valet stand. “Is there any way I can get a car?” I ask the guy who is standing there.
“Yeah, I think we have one,” he says, looking down at something on his screen. He opens the drawer in front of him, grabbing a pair of keys. “It’s an SUV.” He hands me the keys and points over to the G-Wagon.
“Wow,” she says, looking at the car, “apparently, this is what one drives in the war.” She stands beside the tank.
“I don’t know about that. I think the Hummer is much more warlike.” I open the door for her. “This is just me trying to woo you.”
She gets in and smiles at me. “Then let the wooing begin,” she declares, and I step into the door and kiss her lips.
“You haven’t been paying attention,” I tell her, softly kissing her again, “the wooing started already!”
TWENTY-THREE
GABRIELLA
My heart speeds up just a touch when he says, “The wooing started already!” He flashes me his megawatt smile and then steps out to close the door, leaving me with my mouth hanging. I watch him walk around the front of the car, my heart speeding up even more, and I want to kick myself because it’s silly. I’ve been with him, I know him, yet ever since he got into town things have been very different. I just can’t put my finger on it, and I don’t have much time to think about it before he gets into the driver’s seat. “You ready?”
I take a deep inhale. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” I state honestly, turning and looking at him.
He starts the truck and pulls off. “What is the worst that can happen?” He looks over at me, and I can’t help but laugh.
“You’ve been around my family,” I tell him as he makes his way toward the arena, “but you’ve not done it as my date.” I reach out and put my hand on his shoulder before sliding it into his hair. “You are going into the lion’s den.”
“I’ve lived in Hollywood most of my life.” He laughs, and I wish I could say it’s the same, but it’s totally not.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” My fingers rest at the base of his neck before sliding down his arm. He turns his hand over so his palm faces up, and I slide my fingers in with his. He brings our hands to his lips and kisses my fingers, and again my stomach does this weird flip-flop thing. “I made a list,” I blurt out, and I want to fucking take it back.
“You made a list. What do you mean you made a list?” he asks, and I think about changing the subject, but I know he’s going to see right through me. Besides Abigail, he knows me better than anyone.