“It’s good press for the clubs,” Lucy said.
He didn’t break stride until the driver stopped at the limo and opened the door for us to climb in.
Gabe waited until we were enclosed inside before he turned to his sister. “What the hell, Luce? Since when do I want to be ambushed?” he asked in a dangerous tone.
She merely shrugged. “This is the opportunity of a lifetime, Gabe. The club on Eden will be unlike any we’ve built before. I knew reporters would kill to have any tidbit of information, so I leaked the news that we’d be landing after a business trip. Relax and let me do my job.”
He treated her to another scowl, then pulled me closer and stared out the window, his mood clearly soured. The car sped into Manhattan, and I stared out the window, wondering how things would change now that we were back in New York.
Since Lucy shared Gabe’s apartment when she was in town, I expected the car to drop me at my place first. Instead, the limo headed farther uptown.
I cleared my throat. “Gabe, my apartment is downtown.”
Lucy snickered.
Gabe inclined his head. “I’m aware of where you live, Isabelle. Tell me, did you plan to go home alone?” He leaned closer, his lips treacherously close to my ear. “After all we shared, can you really sleep by yourself?”
His deep voice rumbled inside me, and I shivered at the warm breath of air across my skin, my body automatically reacting, my girl parts perking up.
“You’re coming home with me,” he said, as the car came to a halt in front of his building.
And that’s how I moved in with Gabe. Lucy remained in the limo, having conveniently decided to stay with Decklan so she could have time with her other brother before returning to L.A. I knew Gabe well enough by now to know he’d sent her away so we could be alone.
I didn’t feel too bad. Lucy was a woman with her own mind. If she wanted to stay, not even Gabe could drive her away.
I reentered Gabe’s apartment, and to my surprise, though I’d only stayed there for a few days, I felt as if I’d returned home. It helped that the place smelled like Gabe, warm musk and all man, wrapping me in his strength. He paused in the kitchen, and out of habit, if I could form a habit in such a short time, I turned into my old room. At which point I found myself picked up and hauled over Gabe’s shoulder and dumped on his big bed.
This time, it was all I could do not to laugh at his ridiculous overreaction. I sat up and scooted back against the pillows as he strode to the closets and began opening doors. “Your own closet. With all your clothes.”
He gestured to the inside of a mini-room where familiar-looking clothes hung on matching hangers before moving across the room to a larger dresser and opening one drawer after another. “Personal items.” He strode to the nightstand on the right side of the bed. “Your books and things. Want to see the bathroom next?”
I shook my head, mute. I couldn’t think of a thing to say until the reality of how all this had occurred set in. “You sent someone into my apartment and moved out all of my things?”
He met my gaze, his unflinching, but I saw the stiff set of his shoulders, the near certainty I was about to flip out – and probably bolt.
“I moved you where you belong,” he said tightly. “And before you give me a hard time, you should know that there’s been no other woman in this bedroom. Ever.”
I swallowed hard. No, I thought, they’d been in the separate room across the apartment. I knew what it meant that he’d moved me in here, understood the gesture for what it was—even if it had been high-handed and presumptuous.
If I’d been looking for something I could do for him, to let him know just how good he made me feel and how welcome, this was my chance.
I met his gaze, allowing an easy smile to cross my lips. “Did you remember my Tums?” I asked, which I realized I hadn’t needed during my time on the island.
He grinned. “Night table drawer.”
“Then I guess I’ve come home,” I said with a tiny shrug of my shoulders.
His expression softened. “Now that that’s settled, we didn’t have a decent meal today. Are you hungry?”
“As a matter of fact, I am.” I reached for the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head. “Just not for food.”
* * *
Isabelle: In Myself I Trust
Thanks to the waiting reporters, our return from the island had been captured by the New York Post, Page Six. I winced at the unflattering angle of myself in the lone photograph, not used to being the subject of public scrutiny. And thanks to the headline, I would be scrutinized and picked over. There were two mentions on the website, one about Elite, Gabriel Dare to Open Club on Eden?, and the other about his now apparently questionable single status, Is One of New York’s Most Eligible Bachelors No Longer On the Market? And within the article, there was speculation on the curvaceous woman he kept protectively by his side. Yuck. What woman wanted to be referred to by her curves?
I slammed the laptop shut – a brand new laptop since Gabe hadn’t liked the look of the used one I’d purchased on eBay after I started working for Lisa. I wasn’t comfortable taking his gifts and money, still wondered what I could give back, but I accepted that he needed to do these things for me.