Page 119 of The Bonus

“Well…” He’s flustered and searching for words. He drags his hands through his dark hair. “Those sheets smell like you and…” He widens his eyes as if searching for divine guidance. “I am only human, you know?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Come off it, Gracie, stop acting naïve.” He rolls his eyes.

Gracie…

Hearing him call me Gracie brings back a sea of memories and I stare at him as my brain malfunctions.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Gabriel, I have zero attraction to you.”

That I’ll ever admit to.

“We are very alike,” he whispers angrily.

“We are nothing alike,” I fire back. “You think you’re God and I know you’re the devil.”

He finds that amusing and gives me a slow sexy smile. “A little difference in religion never hurt anyone.”

I feel the heat from his gaze all the way to my toes.

No…

Get him out of here, right now.

“Listen, just…” I throw my hands up in the air in defeat, I have no idea how to deal with this situation. “You really need to stop being so Gabriel Ferrara and start being more goodbye children. Go and say goodbye and leave.”

He exhales heavily before marching out of the room, and I hear him stomp down the stairs.

I stare after him to the sound of my heart pumping so hard that it’s nearly beating out of my chest.

This is my worst frigging nightmare.

Twenty minutes and ten panic attacks later, I make my way downstairs.

Calm, keep calm…everything is perfectly fine and I am totally calm.

“Are you coming to Dominic’s game?” I hear Lucy ask Gabriel.

No.

“Ahhh…” I hear Gabriel pause. “Would you like me to?”

“Yes,” Lucy says excitedly. “We can sit together.

Just fuck off back to New York already.

“Are we ready to go?” I call as I collect my car keys and handbag.

“Ready, Mom.”

“Go get in the car, guys.” I pass the car keys to Dom. They bounce out the front door and Gabriel appears out of the kitchen. He’s dressed in different clothes now, where did he get those? Is Mark in Greenville too, did he bring them? He’s wearing a gray T-shirt and jeans; his black hair has a messed-up wave to it and as his dark eyes hold mine, I feel my stomach flutter for the first time in a long time.

Russel and I broke up over a year ago and since then I’ve been on two dates with two losers. My flutters have been few and far between.

“What are you doing?” he says in his deep voice. “Go and get ready.”

“I am ready.”

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