“Yes.”
“We spoke earlier about an evening tour,” said the woman. “While we don’t normally do that, I was able to get a waiver. When can I expect you?”
“I need to run this by my…” He peered into Halston’s contact lens-covered eyes. “Wife.”
Shaking her head, Halston chuckled. “Wow, you are insane, you know that?”
“I’ll call you back.” Gabriel hung up.
“You asked me to be a man, not a mouse,” Gabriel said to Halston. “I will always be honest with you. If I go to a showtonight, I will lose my mind. I can’t sit. I’m too pent up, so I contacted three museums for late-night tours.”
“You did not.”
“The International Spy Museum, theSmithsonian American Art Museum & Portrait Gallery, and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History where the dinosaurs are housed.”
She set her napkin on the table, stood, and walked over. He pushed his chair back, and she sat on his lap, put her arms around him and kissed him.
“That is the nicest gift—well, I love the lipstick, the diamond rings are amazing. But you were honest about the theater, so you made other arrangements for us. I’ve never been spoiled, not like this.” She kissed him again. “Thank you.”
“Which one?”
“The Spy Museumandthe dinosaur museum.”
He made three calls, confirming two and canceling one. “Please keep the donation,” he said to the one he canceled.
When he hung up, she laid a searing kiss on him. “You’re treating me like a queen.”
“Every single day,” he replied. “Are you ready to have fun before I strip you bare and have my dirty way with you?”
“Well, if I’d known sex was on the table, I might’ve skipped the museums.” Then, she shot him a smile. “We can have it all.”
“Or we can get down to business right here, right now.”
Teddy walked in, closing the door behind him. “Dessert?”
They flicked their gazes from him to each other.
“I’ll have mine later,” she replied.
“Oh, you’re coming back?” Teddy asked.
“No, we’re not,” Gabriel said. “The salon is ten minutes from being filled with customers.”
“What are you talking about?” Teddy asked.
“I took over the room for two hours, that’s it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Theodore, if you’d looked at the reservation book, you would have seen that and not had a meltdown. Where’s my check?”
“It’s on the house.”
“No handouts.” Gabriel pulled out his credit card. “I got Angelo too.”
Teddy slid the card into the portable payment terminal. When settling up, Gabriel included a generous tip for his brother.
“You didn’t have to do that.” Teddy handed Gabriel his card. “Thanks.”
