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“Okay,” I squeaked, and he laughed.
“You’re so agreeable, Suzanne.”
I shrugged. “What’s there to argue about?” Was I going to turn down spending the weekend with him? Not bloody likely.
He straightened, and I immediately missed his nearness.
“I hope you don’t mind - I used your shower.” He started taking an assortment of items out of the forbidden bag.
I noticed his duffle bag on the couch. “You came prepared?”
Shouldn’t I have been irritated by that? Did he think I was easy? Or was I? Or in this modern world, are people even considered “easy” anymore? I’m no virgin, nor do I have any rules about how soon to sleep with someone after meeting them, but frankly, the opportunity hadn’t presented itself in a while. I was just too picky to go that far this soon.
Until now. I didn’t plan on balking when Gabriel made his move. I probably wouldn’t have stopped him in the car last weekend either, but I was touched that he wanted that first time between us to be more memorable.
Gabriel didn’t answer me right away. He took the plates from my hand and started to fill mine. “How do you want yours?”
I looked at the little tubs of toppings he’d set on the small amount of available space on my countertop. “With the cream cheese, please. You can keep the fishies.”
He laughed again and God, did I love his laugh - warm velvet on a cool day - welcoming, inviting, making me want to curl up and spend an afternoon snuggled in his arms.
“One loxless bagel coming up.” He started spreading the cream cheese with the plastic knife the coffee shop had provided.
“I can do it,” I offered, but he raised his hand.
“No. This is the least I can do after barging in on you last night.”
“I didn’t mind,” I whispered.
He stopped spreading the cheese. “I know you didn’t. But I shouldn’t have reacted that way, regardless. And no, I didn’t come prepared to spend the night. I’d say I was out of my mind, but I knew why I was here, and I won’t make it sound like I was incapable of making a decision.” He handed me the plate with the bagel on it. “I carry that bag for emergencies. I never know when I’m going to get stuck in bad weather or have to spend the night at the office.”
“Do you have to do that a lot?”
“No, but often enough to know better.”
Gabriel joined me at the bistro table. The fit was tight. I was immediately embarrassed about not having a proper dining table.
“We haven’t talked about you much,” I said. “Exactly what do you do that makes you need to occasionally spend the night at the office?”
“A complicated mixture of things. I own a nightclub in downtown Bridgeport, and I run a software development company that focuses on cyber security. And I have a hand in a few other random investments. It’s all boring.”
“Wow. You’re a busy man.”
“It comes in waves. The software gets most of my time. I have a good team of managers who run the nightclub. Unfortunately, this week was one of those occasions when multiple projects came to a head at the same time. That’s why I didn’t call you sooner. We had a few setbacks. I wanted to make sure I’d be free this weekend, but I shouldn’t have waited as late as I did. I’m sorry.”
My body tingled at the warmth in his tone. “You don’t have to apologize. I said I wouldn’t put you on a schedule and I won’t...as long as you realize I’m not going to sit around the house and wait for you to call.”
He shook his head. “Fair enough. I don’t want that either. I should have handled last night differently. I should have waited for you to call me back.”
I put down my bagel and slipped my hand over his where it rested on the table. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
He raised my hand to his lips. “So am I.
“I promised you something better than the backseat, Suzanne, but that’s not all I’m here for. I know I don’t deserve it after this week, but I’m asking you for another chance.”
