Page 19 of Gage (Love Under the Lights 1)

“Carl’s it is then,” Gage laughed, squeezing my hand in his as we said our goodbyes to Allie and then left.TenGageThis was the last date I’d be able to take Morgan on before I headed to Georgia, and our meal cost less than twenty dollars. That was less than I usually tipped the valet for bringing my car around, for fuck’s sake. So much for going all out and impressing her, at least when it came to the dinner portion of our date.

Not that Morgan seemed to mind. Hell if she wasn’t just as happy to eat it—fuck, maybe even more so—than she was with dinner the night before. And damn if that didn’t make her hotter to me. She didn’t care how much money I had in my bank account. She didn’t need me to land her a role in the next blockbuster movie. She wasn’t trying to get her picture in the gossip rags because she was on my arm. Morgan went on our dates to be with me. Just me.

Being around someone who wasn’t trying to leverage their connection to me was refreshing . . . and damn addicting, which is probably why I agreed to take her to Carl’s and run the risk of us being spotted there together. And why I found myself oddly disappointed when nobody seemed to notice us. I guessed it was true; people saw what they expected to see, and nobody planned on seeing me at a Carl’s Jr. eating a burger and fried zucchini.

The second part of our evening was on the opposite end of the spectrum from dinner. Expensive and private. And judging by Morgan’s wide blue eyes and parted lips as I led her through the doorway, it was also impressive.

When the doors shut behind us, she twirled around and stared up at me. “You rented out the Spielberg Theater at the Egyptian?”

I grinned at her and nodded.

“How much did all of this cost?” she asked, gesturing around the theater with her hand.

I considered her question, adding up the rental fee, projectionist cost, and deposit. “Enough that I could have bought dinner many times over for everyone at Carl’s Jr. tonight.”

“You’re insane!” she cried, shaking her head. “You did all this so we could watch a movie alone? We could’ve gotten our Carl’s to go and watched a movie at my place instead.”

“Ah, but we’re not going to see just any movie. This one’s a classic more than deserving of the Spielberg Theater.”

I followed after her as she headed toward the middle of the back row of seats. “I love classic movies.”

“I know you do.” Which was exactly why I’d set the whole thing up. “I read somewhere that Casablanca is your all-time favorite movie.”

She stopped and turned toward me. “Is that what we’re going to watch?”

“It is.”

“Wow,” she breathed. “I’m not sure how you manage it, but each time we go out, I think that you can’t possibly top what you’ve done before. And then you go and do something like this? Best date ever.”

I dropped down into the seat behind me and tugged her into the one next to me. “You’re the one who threw down the gauntlet, doubting my ability to be romantic. I’m just the one who picked it up and accepted the challenge, baby.”

The lights dimmed, but I still caught the questioning look in her eyes. “That isn’t the only reason, though. Right?”

“Fuck no!” I slid my arm around her shoulders and bent my head low so she could hear me over the sound from the projector as it turned on. “This thing between us isn’t a game to me. In fact, it’s the opposite; more real than any relationship I’ve ever experienced before.”

“You’re not the only one who reads stuff, and from the articles I’ve seen about you, I’m not sure that’s saying much. You’re not exactly known as a relationship kind of guy.”

“Shit,” I groaned, leaning my head back against my seat.

“I’m just teasing,” she reassured me, lacing her fingers through mine and leaning her head against my shoulder. “Sort of.”

“Morgan—”

She squeezed my hand, and I took it as a sign that she wasn’t done talking.

“It’s no secret that I had concerns about this thing between us, but so far, you’ve been proving me wrong in the most amazing ways.”

It was good to hear since I’d been trying hard to prove to her that I was willing to put effort into what was building between us. “I don’t want you to be worried, especially not when I’m going to be stuck on set in Georgia while you’re here.”

“It isn’t going to be easy,” she admitted softly. “But hearing you refer to this as a relationship makes me a lot less scared than I was even a day ago.”

“I did use the R word, didn’t I?” And I hadn’t stuttered, broken out in a rash, or run screaming from the theater. If I hadn’t already known my reaction to Morgan was unique, that would’ve made it glaringly obvious because I’d long avoided anything that might even hint of a commitment to a woman.

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