Page 13 of Sal Gabrini: Man on Fire

“Neither have you.”

“Now that’s a lie,” Gemma said, and they laughed.

“Okay, you’re right. You’ve changed,” Mason said, “but in a good way. You’ve filled out nicely, let me just put it that way,” he said and they both laughed again. He loved the way Gemma leaned over the table laughing just like she used to do when they would go to Jerry’s for dinner and stay for hours.

Gemma still didn’t know what to make of Mason’s sudden appearance in her life. Sal had taught her to never, not ever believe in coincidences, and most times he was absolutely right. But back in the day, when she knew Mason Curry, there wasn’t a devious bone in his body.

The waiter took their drink orders, and then they both settled back. “I’m so glad you agreed to have dinner with me,” Mason said. “You don’t even know.”

“Remember when we used to eat every night at Jerry’s?”

Mason smiled and nodded. “I remember it well. We would stay for hours at that table and those waitresses wanted so bad to get rid of us.”

“Where did we get the money?” Gemma asked. “I mean we were at that place every single night from our freshmen year on.”

“The owner of Jerry’s liked you remember? He would let us eat for free a lot of times. You forgot that?”

Gemma laughed. “I sure did! Especially the liking me part. I just remember how good the food was.”

“I know! It was our happy place. The last time I saw you, before today, was at Jerry’s. Because the next thing I knew you were out of there. And I never saw you again.”

“I know it was sudden,” said Gemma. “But I just needed to move on. But enough about the past. How have you been, Mister Rock Star? I looked up your band on the internet. Not bad.”

“Don’t even go there. We were a one-hit wonder who did live shows based on that one hit. Then we began all of that infighting like cats and dogs and that was the end of my musical career. And then I became an agent and started making the big bucks.”

Gemma smiled. “At least you landed on your feet.”

“I know you did, Mrs. Sal Gabrini. I looked you up too. And you have a baby no less.”

“Two actually,” said Gemma.

That did surprise Mason. “Two? For real? They only mentioned one boy, Salvatore Luciano Gabrini, Junior.”

“That’s the son I had with Sal. But I had a daughter before I met Sal.”

“Oh. Okay. Who with?”

Gemma wasn’t about to go into that horror story. “What about you? Are you married? Have kids?”

“No and no. Kidd Curry with a kid just wouldn’t work,” he said and Gemma laughed. “And by the way, please don’t call me Kidd.”

“Why not?”

“I’m a grown-ass man now. That’s why not!”

Gemma laughed. “You used to hate the name Mason in college.”

“It was all I had in college. Now I have options. Which means I prefer to go back to the beginning. I can get what I want now.” He was staring at Gemma.

Gemma saw his stare and leaned forward. To make the boundaries clear, not only to him, but to herself. “This may sound presumptuous of me,” she said, “but I’m going to say it anyway. I’m not available. Not in any way, shape, or form. I’m not one of your options.”

Mason stared his handsome face at her. “How could you think I would . . . Gemma, I know better than that. Come on now! You think that little of me?”

“You kept calling my parents’ home and calling my friends and doing everything you could do after we broke up. Had I not known you better, it would have bordered on obsession. But I knew you better than that.”

“Thank you! I’m not that guy then and I’m not that guy now, Gem. I was just concerned about you back then. You didn’t tell me anything.”

Gemma had told him plenty, but he wasn’t listening. He had cheated on her. And once for her was all it took. But he didn’t want to believe her.

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