Page 17 of Husband Material
I wanted to take all of his sad onto my shoulders. I wanted to have Gage look at me with those blinding blue eyes daily. I wanted what I could not have.
Never forget.
Shit.
6
Five hours later.
On the fourth knock, she answered the door wearing a sexy garment that could've been a dress or a slip for all I knew, but she looked fucking hot in it. As I'd hoped, she also wore a very surprised look on her beautiful face.
"What are you doing here, Gage?"
"I'm here for our date, Giselle, and to bring you these." I held out the sketchpads I'd bought from Elysium. "I thought you could put them to good use."
"Thank you, how very kind." Her voice softened as she accepted the sketchpads, but then she pursed her lips, looking past me to see my convertible parked in front of her house. "And if I have plans?"
I leaned against the door frame. "I can wait."
Another one of our cheeky staring contests commenced for about a minute before a smile finally graced her face. "Fine. Give me ten minutes."
And, ten minutes later, she emerged from her house sporting the biggest sunhat I'd ever seen. As she settled in the Jag next to me, I took in her headwear's impressive contours. "At least we'll be covered, rain or shine."
With a giggle, Giselle held up her chin at a tilt. "We will see about that." As I pulled onto the road I could feel her stare. "Do I want to know how you got my address, Gage?"
I turned down the radio—Every Womanby The Doors—so I could hear and answer her better. "The art shop," I admitted. "But don't get pissed at the owner. My friend Reid is a real wheeler-dealer."
"Hmm," she said with a brisk nod. "And do I get to find out what exactly our date is for?"
I grinned.
I hadn't even had time to say what we were doing. This whole experience ofher—her reaction to me showing up at her doorstep, the incredible dress she had on, the fact she'd readily agreed to come with me, had thrown my whole plan into disarray. My original idea had been to make my pitch at her door: a drive to Magnolia Gardens in my convertible for a picnic.
"How long have you been here again?" I asked.
She tucked a section of flickering hair behind her ear. "Not very polite to answer a question with a question, you know, but…for months now."
"So you've probably heard of Magnolia Gardens then?"
She visibly brightened. "Really?"
I winked before reaching over to tug on her hat. "You're wearing just the attire for it too. We won't need to find a tree to sit under."
Giggling, she turned away, happily admiring the landscape.
Once we were outside of the city and the traffic cleared to basically empty, I opened up the Jag for some real speed. As my foot dug into the gas, the wind picked up. So much so that it threatened to rip off her straw hat completely. Reaching over, I carefully removed it and tucked it under her legs. She smiled at me in thanks.
Feeling the full force of the breeze, she threw her head back and let out a laugh at the sea-blue sky above. "Your car, it's so—"
As the wind whipped her hair behind her, she exhaled on a sigh, "Fantastique."
Once again, the sound of her speaking to me in her native French did something to my insides. "So my car is "fantastique", huh? I'm guessing that means—"
"Silver." Giselle offered helpfully.
For half a second I frowned before seeing her head fall back in that carefree laughter. I shook my head at her.Every damn time with her.
"I could not help it." She smiled wide, showcasing a slight space in between her two front teeth, and then sighed dramatically. "Who am I kidding? I'm not sorry, Gage. Your gullibility is too cute."
