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“What were you expecting?”
“Someone more…”
He drew a circle in the air with one hand while looking for the right word, and I tried to help him out. “Suave and sophisticated? Older? More refined? Successful? Someone like you, basically?”
“I suppose that’s exactly what I expected.”
“But instead you got a poor twenty-three-year-old ex-junkie who quite obviously isn’t good enough for a man like Gabriel.” He frowned a little, and I continued, “That’s what you were thinking, right? I look like a bum, so that’s what I must be. No way could someone with tattoos and thrift shop clothes turn out to be a good person who fully intends to treat Gabriel like the absolute treasure he is.”
“You’re making me feel like an arsehole for judging you based on appearance.”
“Good. It’s a shitty thing to do,” I said. “Also, please stop showing up with groceries and chocolate croissants and trying to worm your way into Gabriel’s good graces. Put yourself in my shoes. How would you feel if you were totally crazy about someone, and his giant, British, well-dressed ex kept coming around and doing things for him you couldn’t afford, like paying for a car service?”
He grinned and tried to lighten the mood with, “Thanks for noticing I’m well-dressed.”
“I hate the fact that your suit costs more than my car.”
“What do you drive?”
“A rusted-out vintage VW bug.”
“Fucking hell, mate, those things are collectibles now. You might be sitting on a gold mine.”
“Yeah, no. I managed to find one so shitty that nobody in their right mind would want it.” I drank some more coffee, and after a moment I asked, “How long did you and Gabriel date?”
“About seven months in all, but I was gone for a lot of that. It was right when Sawyer and Alastair were scouting locations to expand the coffee house chain, and I was still traveling with them at that point. Looking back, it was a huge mistake not to make Gabriel a priority.”
“Why aren’t you with your employers on this trip to the UK?”
He said, “After my relationship with Gabriel crashed and burned, I realized I had to make some changes if I was ever going to build a life for myself. I ended up hiring a team of four men to replace me as Alastair and Sawyer’s bodyguards, which should tell you something about the hours I used to work. Of course, it was too late for Gabriel and me by then. He’d moved on, literally and figuratively, and taken that job on Catalina.”
I studied Roger for a few moments before asking, “Are you still in love with him?”
“It wasn’t love. I think it could have grown into that, given a chance, but we never got there. I have a great deal of affection for him, and I always will. But that’s not the same thing.”
“Are you going to try to steal him from me while he’s in San Francisco for the next six weeks?”
Roger chuckled and said, “You’re extremely direct. I like that.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m not immoral enough to actively try to sabotage your relationship. But if you fuck it up and Gabriel dumps you, I might ask him to give me another chance.”
“I don’t have a problem with that. Know why?” When he shook his head, I grinned and said, “Because I have no intention of fucking this up.”
Roger grinned too and got to his feet. “I’m finally starting to understand what he sees in you.” As he made his way to the door, he added, “Take care of him for me and remember, I meant what I said about beating the hell out of you if you hurt him.”
“Taking care of him has always been the plan.”
Once he was gone, I exhaled slowly and relaxed a little. I actually liked Roger, despite myself, but he was definitely intimidating.
Chapter 5
The rest of that afternoon was pretty uneventful. The cast and crew managed to film all three of the outdoor scenes, while I sat through take after take and did occasional touch-ups to Will’s makeup. Shortly after five, we were back in Phoenix’s SUV and once again rolling through traffic. The cat’s back feet dug into my thigh as she stood up and looked out the passenger window, and Lorenzo asked, “Would you guys like to have dinner with us? We’re thinking about heading to North Beach for some Italian food.”
Phoenix made some excuse, probably because he didn’t want to feel like a third wheel, and I said, “Thanks for the offer, but I’m taking Gabriel on a date tonight. I’m not sure where we should go, though. I looked online during my break and couldn’t find a restaurant that was both romantic and actually affordable.”
“Maybe a restaurant isn’t the way to go,” Will said. “You’re a creative guy, so I’m sure you can think of a fun alternative.”
