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He squeezes my hand. “Look, I know it’s probably weird to have me here with you. I get the sense you don’t bring many men home.”
“What gave you that idea? My twenty-nine-year-old V-card?” The one that I still have in my pocket despite having had several sensational, heady orgasms at his hands, his mouth. Not to mention my mouth on him…
Turned on by the memory, I shift in my seat.
He gives a laugh. “Something like that. And the fact that you work a lot. And just… I don’t know. I just get that feeling. And I wanted you to know, I’ll be… discreet. About our arrangement.”
He looks away.
Have I offended him? Guilt whisks its way into my heart. Here is this great guy, literally hanging the moon for me and all I can do is doubt him, his intentions.
Maybe he is perfect. For real. And for once in my life I should just let go and trust.
I slide my hand over his cheek, turning his face towards me, and tell him the honest truth. “You know what? I never brought a guy home because I’d never met one quite like you.”
Something shifts in his eyes. Hope? Happiness? I lean in, kissing his lips, wanting to make him feel whatever he’s feeling just a little bit more.
Because damn… I haven’t ever been with a man like him. And I should be more than proud to bring him home and show him off.
He pulls away. Gives me a soft smile. “I’ve never met anyone like you, either, Miranda Montague.”
The limo pulls into Mom’s driveway, taking up almost the whole thing. The garage door is open, and my sister’s little Fiat is parked inside. Funny, I don’t see my mom’s Camry.
Maybe it’s in the shop?
The driver opens my door. I thank him, wiping damp palms on my dress. I’m worried what state my mother will be in. What I’m about to find.
Gabriel is by my side. Sliding a reassuring arm around my shoulders, a silent declaration that all will be well. And I love that.
We reach the front stoop. The porch light is on and the soft glow covers our faces. I turn to him, wanting to say something before we step into this other world, but I don’t know what I want to say.
The door bursts open, erasing my thoughts.
“Miranda!” My sister’s face lights up. She’s in her classic cardigan and skinny jeans. Her gaze leaves me, roving over the man beside me. Her jaw drops, her cheeks go crimson. “Oh. Hello.”
I give her a secret smile. Yes, sis. He is that good looking.
“Lexi, meet Gabriel.” I grab her in a tight hug, so happy to see her. She smells of vanilla and soap and home.
She pulls me close whispering into my ear. “I didn’t know you were dating him. Why didn’t you tell me?”
I didn’t give her any details of my date because I didn’t want her questioning me and finding out it was really just a booking with a client. Now, with him here, meeting my family, it feels like so much more than a paid date. But it’s not and I’m grateful he’s promised me his discretion.
We go into the house, my sister ogling all the way.
Lexi says, “I know it's late, but when she heard you were coming she wanted to stay up to see you.”
My mother sits in a recliner chair in the living room. She holds a book, staring at the pages, but her eyes aren’t moving across the pages. I cross the room, leaning down and kissing her soft cheek. “Hi, Mom.”
She looks up, her eyes graze mine, then land on Gabriel. “Miranda! You’ve found your father!”
I blink in surprise as my heart sinks. It’s worse than I thought. Gabriel and my father look nothing alike. Even if her timeline is screwed up in her mind, she should at least recognize he’s a stranger. I want to burst into tears. But I can’t. I need to be strong for Lexi, for Mom.
I smile. “Mom, this is my friend Gabriel. He helped me get here from Vegas.”
Her brow furrows, her gaze clouding. “Why was dad in Vegas? He’s not gambling, is he? Charles, were you gambling?” She gives Gabriel a hard look. “You look... different.”
Twisting churning emotions overtake me, making my head dizzy, my stomach sick. What do I do? And why have I let him get dragged into this? I look to Gabriel, to apologize, to send him home.
But he’s smiling. Slipping out of his suit jacket. Crossing the room to the open chair beside my mother. He folds his coat neatly over the back of the chair, taking a seat. He reaches out, taking her hand in his. “Mrs. Montague. It’s so lovely to meet you. I’m Gabriel, a friend of Miranda’s.”
There’s a beat where Mom’s brow furrows. Then, it relaxes, a slow smile rising on her lips. “A boy? Miranda, you’ve brought a boy home?”
