Page 55 of Captivated By You

Christ.

I padded over to the window to close the drapes, lingering to take in the view. The restaurant obviously faced the same direction as this room, as the Golden Gate Bridge stood proudly beneath me. I checked the time. Eleven thirty. That meant it was two thirty in the morning in New York. Lucky for me, Gia was a night owl, a necessity for her job as a sous-chef in an Italian restaurant in Manhattan. She often took a while to come down after a busy service, so when I FaceTimed her and she answered, I wasn’t surprised.

What did surprise me was the view. Gia greeted me wearing a full face mask, and one of her eyes still had a slice of cucumber over it.

I snorted a laugh. “What if I’d been Christian Bale calling to ask you on a date, and that’s how you answered?”

Gia had been crushing on Christian Bale for years. She was convinced that one day they’d meet, and he’d fall madly in love with her, despite their vast age difference, and the not-insignificant issue that he’d been married for almost as long as she’d been alive. None of those things stopped Gia from her certainty that they were meant to be.

“There’s such a thing as caller ID, Kee.” She peeled off the remaining cucumber and set it on the nightstand. “And you’re up way past your bedtime. What gives?”

“Guess where I am?” I gestured wildly. “Forget it. You’ll never guess. But try. Try to guess.”

She rolled her eyes. “So am I guessing or not?”

“Guessing.”

“Um, okay. Well, you’re wearing a nightgown that shows the girls off to their best, so I’m going to go for… in bed with Mr. Hotness. Finally.”

“Not exactly.” I turned the phone around and showed her the view from my window. “San Francisco. I came here on aprivate jet. And right now, I’m in an amazing suite and that’s my view. Can you believe it?”

“So you are with the delicious Asher Kingcaid?”

“I am.”

“But he’s not in bed with you?”

“No.”

“And so that glow isn’t postcoital?”

“Postcoital?” I laughed. “Have you time-traveled back to the eighteen hundreds?”

“Stop deflecting. Why are you wearing a nightgown designed for seduction, yet sleeping alone?”

I gave her theCliffs Notesversion of the evening’s events. I could tell from her expression that my response to Asher kissing me in the store hadn’t impressed her. In fact, she looked positively growly.

“Jesus, Kee. Get some before you’re too old to enjoy it.”

“I’m twenty-four.”

“Exactly. You’re in your prime.” She sniffed. “I really don’t understand why you’re making such a big deal out of this.”

“Because—”

She cut me off by slicing her hand through the air. “I know. I know. Your experience with Fuckface. I get it. But not every man in a position of power is like him. Ask yourself honestly: In the same situation, how would Asher react?”

I rubbed my forehead. “I don’t know.”

“Then figure it out. Have you even told him why you’re playing hardball?”

“No.”

“Then you should.”

I dragged my teeth over my bottom lip. “Maybe.”

“There’s no ‘maybe’ about it. Tell him, gauge his reaction, and then you’ll have your answer.”

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