Page 16 of Forever Mine

“Oh.”

I study her face, watching as she gets control of her emotions and a mask takes over her expression.

“It was lovely to meet you, Gabriel. I need to get home,” she says as her eyes slip to my chest.

“Come home with me,” I repeat. I don’t know what it is about this girl. But I need to be with her.

“I can’t. I … that guy that just left is my boyfriend, I guess. Well, maybe boyfriend is a strong word to describe him. But whatever it is, or we are, I need to be respectful of him. I can’t go home with you, Gabriel,” she says as she refuses to make eye contact.

“Okay,” I say, obvious disappointment covering my voice. “Can I have your phone number, at least?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” she murmurs.

Striking out all over the place.

“Can I at least see you safely to your car?” I ask. That gets her attention, and her eyes wander to mine.

“No funny business?” she asks, and I chuckle.

“Funny business? No. No funny business,” I tease as I motion for her to walk in front of me toward the door. I reach around her to grab the door. She may have turned me down, but I still have manners. Mymãe, my mother, raised me right.

When we reach Monica’s car, I grab the handle and open the door for her.

“You’re quite the gentleman,” she says softly.

“Always,” I respond. As I look down at Monica’s face, beams of moonlight highlighting her beautiful bone structure, I’m utterly captivated. “May I ask you a question, Monica?”

“Uh, okay?”

“How old are you?”

“Oh. I’m thirty-four.”

Fuck. She’s over a decade younger than me.

“How old are you, Gabriel?”

“I just turned forty-five,” I answer, and her eyes widen with surprise.

“No fucking way!” she exclaims, and I chuckle again.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You certainly don’t look that old.”

“I can assure you it’s what my birth certificate says. And also my knees in the morning,” I say dryly.

“You look great. That’s all I’m saying,” Monica tells me.

“Is that your convoluted way of saying you find me attractive?” I tease.

“Oh, please. You know you’re good-looking. Don’t even act like that,” Monica tells me as she rolls her eyes.

“Monica!” I hear a voice shout from behind us. I turn and see the guy from before jogging toward us. Her maybe-boyfriend. Great. “What the fuck are you doing, Monica?”

I turn toward her and raise one brow. This is how he talks to her? She gives me a shaky smile as she turns to him.

“I was just leaving. Gabriel was seeing me to my car,” she explains.

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