Page 48 of Fragile

“We’ll take a table on the terrace,” Gabriel said to the maître d'. He nodded and gathered up a couple of menus, leading us over to the far corner of the decking. It was also away from the other guests and felt quite intimate, sitting under some trees. My heart raced in my chest as Gabriel pulled out a seat for me. Smiling my thanks, I lowered myself onto the cushions as he moved to the chair opposite.

As I lifted one of the leather-bound menus, a waiter appeared by our table with lightning speed. I struggled to focus, as I was still processing the fact that Gabriel had pulled out my chair. Another gentleman-like gesture. Maybe this was how he behaved in public; nice and well-mannered and then saved the brooding stuff for indoors? I batted off the mean thought, considering he was being so nice to me. It almost felt romantic, which was rich. I had initially assumed that sweeping women off their feet would not be part of Gabriel’s genetic makeup; maybe I was wrong.

“What can I get you both to drink?” our server questioned. I lowered the menu I had been perusing, my eyes falling on Gabriels from across the table.

Before I could order sparkling mineral water, he took control. “We’re also ready to order,” he replied without having even lifted his menu from the table. I snapped my mouth closed. OK then.

The waitress smiled with a nod and raised the tablet she was holding.

Gabriel drew my gaze as he questioned, “Are you a vegetarian?”

I ate meat but didn’t consume much of it for dietary reasons; protein was heavy to dance on. I shook my head.

“Good,” he replied before turning his attention to our waitress. As he looked up at her, the wattage of his smile increased. The way she was staring at him could have been considered rude if this had been a date. I watched as Gabriel made a joke and she giggled whilst fluffing her hair. I didn’t even catch what he’d said beneath the veil of annoyance I was suddenly trapped under.

Dragging my jealous eyes away, I went to lift the menu again but stopped when Gabriel suddenly said. “We’ll both have the fillet steak, well done with salad and a glass of Chateau Lafite.”

My heart did a tap dance in my chest. I didn’t want steak, especially as I had also had breakfast that morning, but my mouth didn’t appear to be working. I felt overwhelmed by his actions and unsure whether I should contradict him or not. If I said anything, wouldn’t that embarrass the waitress? I bit my lip.

It took me a moment or two to recover but when I did, I realised that it didn’t overly bother me. I was such a ditherer when it came to ordering food and Gabriel had just made the situation easier. And I liked steak, I just didn’t eat it often.

As the waitress took the menus from us, I realised that I’d probably buried that smidge of feminism I had inside me for good.

“We’ll also have mineral water and two glasses.”

“Yes sir,” the flushed girl replied as she thumbed in our order. Gabriel’s face inched back towards mine, his expression giving nothing away. There was no question to check whether I was happy with his choice or apology for what could be considered overbearing behaviour. My thoughts raced, did he do this sort of thing with other women or only the ones who passed out from hunger in his arms?

Pursing my lips, I toyed with what to say. Should I comment on his outlandish act or just accept it and move on? It wasn’t like I was offended, not really.

On autopilot, I shot him a strained smile and Gabriel’s eyes moved to my lips, “Problem?” he questioned.

I knew I had to say something, he was a shrewd man and would have seen I was surprised by his actions, “No, no problem, but what if I didn’t like steak?” I pointed out, my eyes roaming over his chiselled features.

“Nonsense. Everyone likes steak,” he said flippantly. “Plus, you need a good meal inside you. I won’t tolerate you starving yourself Leonie.” His tone left no room for negotiation.

Leaning back in my chair, I drank in the man who sat opposite me. He was so tall and imposing, even though he was sitting down. I liked the fact that he had taken me to lunch, even though I knew I shouldn’t read too much into it. Before I could stop myself, I shifted forward slightly and placed my arms on the table in front of me. I had his full attention now, something I imagined was rare for members of my sex. Oh, don’t get me wrong, Gabriel would probably shower the females in his life with plenty of interest, but I couldn’t imagine that fell outside of the bedroom much. Not if what Ash said was true. Gabriel Knight had one use for women and that was solely sexual.

“You need brain food, once we’ve eaten, I have someone I’d like you to meet. You need to change jobs and I can assist you with that.” Gabriel stated.

“Why are you helping me?” I couldn’t stop the words from leaving my mouth, the thought of Gabriel’s true intentions being ‘getting me in the sack’ at the front of my mind.

He shrugged his large shoulders and then silence fell between us as our infatuated server appeared supposedly to check something with our order. They then full-on flirted for at least two minutes. I batted off the desire to fold my arms across my chest and pout.

“Thank you. Sorry, what’s your name again?” Gabriel questioned the girl. My goodness, the look on her face was priceless. She stared down at him like he was a rockstar or something.

“Eleanor,” she replied with a bright smile. As he nodded his acknowledgement, she walked away, her body language suggesting she’d hit the jackpot and I felt another surge of jealousy. Drat, that emotion needed to do one fast; I couldn’t afford to get all gooey-eyed over this man.

“My apologies, I got distracted. What did you say?”

“A pretty distraction too,” I volleyed back.

“What?” Gabriel said, looking confused.

“The waitress,” I explained with a flick of my head in her direction.

Realisation spread over his face and he shrugged nonchalantly, “If you like that sort of thing.”

“You don’t think she’s pretty?”

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