AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He froze. “You know why I have that opinion.”
“Yes, but I’m not your mother, and you’re not your father.”
“You don’t know that.” He pushed his food away.
“No, I don’t.” She’d have to get Lara to wrap up everything to go. “I do know I needed time to get my head on straight and stretch my wings.”
“San Francisco did that for you?” His features were closed.
“Yes.” How could she make him understand. “It wasn’t that I wanted to date other men. I needed to prove to myself I could stand on my own two feet.” It was more than that, but she wouldn’t talk to him about it. Gabriel would take it the wrong way.
“What about kink?”
“That was an accident.” Her lips turned up. “I happened to be talking with two of the other women who worked in the landscaping company. We got to chatting, and at one point, kink came up. It had been over a year since we’d been together, so I talked with them. They took me to my first munch.”
“And you liked it?”
“I was scared to death, but they introduced me around, and I met some good people.”
“Max mentioned you went through training and the classes at the club.” His fingers began drumming against the table once again.
“Yes. Max was willing to waive them, but I told him not to.”
“Why?”
Dani pulled her soup bowl close and spooned some into her mouth. Ah, not to hot, not too cold. She did this to give herself a minute to gather her thoughts, but also because she was getting hungry. After a few more bites, she looked at him. “Because I wanted to know how Max ran his club.”
“That makes sense. I understand Bennett was your training Dom.”
“He was.” She smiled, thinking about the blond-haired, baby-faced Dom. “Bennett is nice and sweet. He guided me through the classes and helped me in the club.”
“Did you sleep with him?”
Her head jerked up, and she glared at Gabriel. “No, and if this is how this discussion is going to go—” She pushed back her chair.
“No.” Gabriel stood up. “I’m sorry; that was uncalled for. Please sit back down.”
The pain in his eyes struck a nerve, and she retook her seat.
“Thank you,” he said.
“For the record, Bennett and I didn’t play together outside of the club.”
“But he was your trainer?” The astonishment in his voice was loud and clear.
“He was. That’s all he was.” Dani finished her soup before it got ice cold. “Bennett is sweet and helped me a lot, but he’s not my boyfriend. Not that I need to explain myself to you. I don’t sleep around like your mother did. When I’m with someone, there’s no one else. You should already know that about me.”
“I didn’t say you were like her.”
“Right.” Would he ever understand she wasn’t going to jump from man to man. Just like he didn’t jump from woman to woman, at least not that she knew of.
“Everything okay?” Lara asked.
“Fine,” Gabriel snapped.
Dani shook her head. “We’re good, Lara, but I think we might need the food to go.”
“Sure. No problem.” Lara picked up Dani’s wrap and Gabriel’s sandwich. “I’ll get these wrapped up along with dessert.”
