by Nana Malone
* * *
Gabe nestled in closer to Elina’s scent. When he reached over to her side of the bed to pull her close, it was cold. He blinked awake rapidly, then called out for her, “Elina, are you here?”
But there was no answer. Oh hell. She’d left? He sat up in bed and ran his hands through his hair. After last night, she’d actually run away?
His first instinct was to call Adam and Reece and get her number. Not that he was desperate; he was just making sure she was okay... Okay, yeah, that sounded desperate. What is wrong with you? It’s just a girl. And he’d slept with plenty of girls.
But he never made love to one before. He might’ve only just met her, but that’s what it felt like. At the very least, it was one hell of a connection.
He showered quickly before checking in with the captain. He usually split his time between New York and Los Angeles, but his father liked to keep the yacht in the marina here in the Hamptons.
Quickly checking his watch, he hopped in his BMW i8 and made the short drive to Reece and Adam’s hotel. The two of them didn’t leave for another hour, and he hoped he might be able to catch Elina. Sneak-outs happened to everyone. He may have run out of dozens of beds, but he’d never been left behind before.
He eventually found Adam drinking coffee by the pool and helped himself to a seat and a croissant. “Hey, where’s your new wife?”
Adam grinned. “That has a nice flow, doesn’t it?”
“Please, spare me from your sappy, lovey-dovey stuff this morning. I need to find Reece.”
Adam frowned. “Why, what’s up? What do you need?”
Gabe hesitated, but then spit it out. “I’m looking for Elina’s number.”
Adams smile spread slowly from cheek to cheek, quickly replaced by a frown. “I knew it! Once I saw you guys dancing, I knew the old Gabe Alexander would make an appearance. I thought I warned you against that.”
He didn’t have time for this. “You did. And it’s not like that. I like her.”
Adam pinned him with a narrow-eyed glare. “You’ve liked plenty of girls.”
Okay. But Elina was different. “Yeah, but I actually like talking to this one.”
Adam sat back, crossed his arms and studied him shrewdly. “Holy shit, did you get bitten by the bug?”
A tingle of awareness hopped up Gabe’s spine. “I don’t know what you mean by bug. I just thought she was cool. So I’m trying to follow up.”
“Uh-huh. Sure you are. Dude, I thought you were working on funding and focused on that. Not chasing tail.”
“Adam, she’s not tail.”
“I know that, but do you? You have had this habit of being into a girl, then fizzling.”
Gabe clenched his jaw. Maybe Adam had a point. Why was he here, really? Because it sucked to be left. She was great, but he did have stuff to focus on. And at the top of the list wasn’t Elina Sinclair.
It was a night he wouldn’t soon forget, but he was going to have to let her go. He had to. Everything inside him fought against that instinct, but he couldn’t be pulled in two directions. Not now. “She’s special.” He sat back and slouched. “But you’re right, I can’t focus on her right now.”
For now, he’d just have to chalk it up as one of those things and try to put it in the back of his mind.
Chapter 6
On Monday morning, Gabe paced the foyer of D. Donovan Image Consultants as he tried to shake off the residual effect of Elina Sinclair. He’d managed okay the rest of yesterday in the Hamptons, and even this morning. But as soon as he hit the city and parked, he would have sworn he saw Elina somewhere near Soho, walking uptown. Just what he needed right before he had to beg Delilah Donovan to take him on as a client.
“Hiya,” said a pretty redhead. “You must be Gabe. I’m Willow. Come on back. I’ll take you to Delilah.”
He shook hands with the slim woman, and followed her down the hall toward the bank of offices. “It’s nice to meet you. This is a great space.”
“Thanks. It took us about a year and a half to get it just right. But we love it.”
Willow didn’t look like any fixer he’d ever met before. She wore leather pants and plenty of eyeliner, and her tattoos were on full display with her sleeveless top. “How long have you guys been here now?”
“Gosh, it’s been almost two years now. We were at Park & Associates before.” She shrugged. “But it’s better being on our own.”
“How big is the team?”
“We’re a boutique agency, so just three of us. Delilah and I are partners. We also have a junior associate. I know you’re wondering if a small agency can handle your needs, but I promise you, we know what we’re doing.”
“I’m not worried. I was told that Delilah was the best. And I believe it.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Mr. Alexander, because I plan on making you work.”
He turned to find Delilah Donovan in the doorway. She was maybe five feet four inches, but it was hard to tell in her stacked boots. The sunlight behind her made her skin look like a mix of cinnamon and honey. She wore her hair in a sleek bun on top of her head, but her clothing was casual leggings and some kind of tunic. Not fussy.
He shook her hand. “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I appreciate you fitting me in.”
Delilah gave him a warm smile. “Pleased to meet you. I have to admit, you’re different than I thought. I thought I’d get the hard partier, but you look good.”
He shifted on his feet. “In that case I’m happy to disappoint.”
She and Willow took seats across from him. “So, why don’t you tell us what you’re looking for? Your manager called in a favor and I’m happy to help, but I want to know in your own words what you think you need.”
“At this point I’m looking to restart my career, but more on the production development side. I’m not opposed to acting again, but I really want to set myself apart from my father. And to distance myself from that pissed-off kid who was drunk all the time and slept with too many starlets.” The years of fifteen to twenty were pretty much a blur.
Delilah nodded. “Why, though? From what I understand you were smart with your money. It could’ve gone in the opposite direction, given how hard you were going. Why do you want to open yourself back up to that kind of scrutiny?”
It was a good question. “Because I love to create. And I have a story that won’t leave me alone. I just need the financial backing to get it made. And given my history, no one’s exactly lining up to give me money. I can fund some of it myself, but I know I’ll need more money than that.”
She nodded. “You’re right. You will need more money. So why don’t you tell us about your script?”
For the next thirty minutes he walked them through his plan, his cast and the story. They were receptive and thought his idea was good. Delilah leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees, and folded her hands. “Okay, talking to you, I see that you mean this. I rarely sign on entertainment clients anymore. Been burned too many times by people who wanted paparazzi placements as opposed to legitimate media. I think we can work together, but I have a specific set of rules.”
“Okay, I can work with rules.”
“You need to be above reproach when it comes to women. I suggest steering clear of any potential land mines for a while. No sneaking out to starlets’ rooms at night. No going back with some random at a concert or anything like that. Squeaky-clean until you get the funding you need. No perception of impropriety. You had one hell of a rep. We need to make you into a new man. One who is all about the work.”
He nodded. “I can do that. Whatever it takes. I don’t want anything to get in my way. Whether you choose to help me or not.”
She smiled and sat back. “Now that’s the kind of client I’m looking for.” There was a buzz from the front of th
e office that signaled someone was there. And when the door to the conference lounge opened, Gabe knew he was about to break every promise he’d just made.
Delilah smiled. “Hey, Elina. You’re just in time to meet our latest client. This is Gabe Alexander, and we’ll be working with him for the next several months.”
Gabe slid his gaze to Elina and held his breath. Her wide-eyed stare told him everything he needed to know. She’d never intended to see him again.
Chapter 7
How was this her life? Most people never saw their random hookups again. Not Elina. Her hookup was sitting there, in a meeting with her boss. And of course she was supposed to smile and nod at him. Which she barely managed.
As soon as the meeting was over, Elina tried to book it out of the office. “I’m just going to make a quick coffee run. Anyone need anything?”
Willow called out, “I’ll take my usual from the coffee cart off Porter.”
Delilah called, “The same.”
She didn’t really expect Gabe to have a coffee order. She also didn’t expect that he would come with her. “I’ll just go and help carry it all back. Plus, the least I can do is buy you guys coffee.”
Shit. She moved faster. It didn’t matter that she was trying to avoid him; he caught up to her quickly enough. “You don’t have to follow me. Why don’t you just go back to the office and I’ll bring you whatever you need.”
Gabe kept his voice low as she stormed onto the downtown streets. “You are what I need right now, or at least, an answer. Did you know you abandoned me?”
“I didn’t abandon you. I had to catch the jitney back to the city.” Mostly true.
“Are you serious right now?” He glared at her.
Okay, that was a flimsy excuse. But it was all she had at the moment. There was no way she was telling him she ran because she couldn’t handle the connection she’d felt. “Look, these things happen.”
He sputtered. “These things happen? Not to me they don’t.”
“What are you doing here?” she spat. “In case you didn’t know, when you hook up with someone, they’re not supposed to turn up the next day. That’s like a rule or something. Or it should be.”
“Maybe you should stop having random nights out with random dudes.”
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” Exasperated, he threw his hands up.
She stiffened her spine, turning back and marching towards Delilah’s favorite coffee cart. “Look, what happened, happened. The best we can do is to pretend it didn’t. We’re gonna go back and act like we don’t know each other, because we don’t when you think about it.”
He blinked at her. “That’s what you seriously want?”
“Maybe you don’t know Delilah, but she has a full-disclosure policy and she doesn’t mess around with it. From what I just heard in there, you need her. If she finds out that we slept together, she’ll drop you, given your reputation.”
“What will she do to you?”
Elina didn’t want to think about that. “Well, then I can just kiss the career I worked so hard for goodbye. You need your film and I need my job. So we don’t know each other.”
He pulled her into an alley by the coffee cart. “You can do that? Pretend? That Saturday night never happened?”
She tilted her chin up. “Yeah, and given your rep, I know you can.”
His brows snapped down. And then before she knew it, his lips were on hers. Harsh and firm and demanding. His tongue delved into her mouth and demanded she respond. Traitor that her body was, she melted as if today was a continuation of Saturday night and Sunday morning. She knew that when it came to him, she was weak. She wouldn’t be able to stop.
Gabe pulled back. “Still want to pretend we don’t know each other?”
Elina scowled and pushed his broad shoulders back. “Yes. As far as you and I are concerned, we’ve never met.” Now all she needed was to tell her body that.
Chapter 8
After a week of working with Gabe, Elina was ready to lose her mind. Normally clients didn’t post up in the office, but given the urgency to get him in some festivals, he had camped out.
Plus, he had this whole thing about proving his commitment. Willow and Delilah seemed impressed; she, however...was not.
Every time she turned around, he was there. She said his name more times in a day than she said her own. Over the last week, she called all the studio reps in Delilah’s contacts to set up meetings with him. She sent out scripts. She got him coffee. She worked with managers to determine cast availability. Next on her list for tomorrow was to call the film festivals to create some buzz around his project. The closest ones coming were Montreal, Toronto and Sundance.
Sundance was so competitive these days it would be difficult to get into that one, but Montreal and Toronto were good bets.
Long after Delilah and Willow left for the night, she finally snapped her laptop shut only to discover that Gabe was still in the meeting lounge on a call with the West Coast. Damn it, she couldn’t leave without him. She had to close up. She ended up lurking around for another thirty minutes before he was done.
He looked up with an apologetic smile. “Hey, sorry about that. Delilah said I should go ahead and finish the calls here.”
She bit her tongue. “No, it’s fine. Let’s go and I’ll lock up.”
They’d managed to pretend they didn’t know each other well enough. She didn’t think Willow or Delilah had any suspicions. But as the firm’s investigator, Willow had her ways of finding things out, so they needed to be extra careful around her.
They walked out of the building, and Gabe shoved his hands in his jeans and rocked onto his heels while she secured the front door. “So, how do you think we did this week?”
She sighed. “I think it’s fine. Willow is tricky, though. We’ll just have to keep from being too familiar.”
Never mind that instinctual need to reach out and brush his hair or straighten his tie. Which was ridiculous, because she didn’t know him like that. Let’s face it, you like touching him. Yeah, that was the problem. A week ago, she’d been caressing him all over. That won’t help you. Don’t think about that.
Gabe nodded. “Are you getting a cab or taking the subway?”
“Oh, don’t worry. I live about ten blocks that way, in the Village. I’ll be fine. It’s pretty safe.”
He frowned. “You realize you just used the word safe in reference to New York City?”
“Yes, because it is. I make this walk all the time. The trans-hookers three blocks over know me by name.”
He sputtered a laugh. “I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”
“Okay, maybe not, but it’s fine. You don’t have to walk me home or anything. You can check your chivalry card off for the night.”
“Well, it looks like my card will have to remain unchecked for a bit longer as I also live in the Village, on Tenth.”
Seriously? Of course he would live four blocks away from her. Though his place was no doubt more posh than hers. Her apartment was actually Willow’s old apartment. Thanks to the rent-control, she could actually afford it. “I guess you’re going my way, then.”
He chuckled. “Don’t look so happy about it.”
This was harder than she thought. “Look, it’s not that I’m unhappy, I just didn’t expect to see you again, so it’s been a long week. And having to pretend doesn’t make it any easier.”
“You think it’s easy for me to go along with this charade? When all I keep thinking about is how you taste?”
She stopped and glared at him. “You know you can’t say that to me right?”
“Yes, Elina, I know.” He rolled his eyes. They walked in silence for a block before he asked, “Can I ask you a question, though?”
“Why do I get the feeling I’m going to regret this question?”
“It’s a simple question.”
“Okay, shoot.”
“Why did you leave that morning?”
Of course he would ask her that. She chewed on her bottom lip as she figured out her answer. “The truth?” It was easier to talk to him when they were walking and she didn’t have to look directly into his hypnotic eyes.
“Always.”
“I really don’t do relationships, or messy situations. And I liked you. Probably more than I should have. But our best friends just got married. Sleeping with you was the messiest decision I’ve ever made. And I figured a clean break was ideal.”
Gabe turned to her and gave her his lopsided smile. Her heart flipped over. Stupid heart. “I scared the shit out of you?”
Despite herself, she laughed. “Yeah, something like that. We had fun. A lot of fun. It’s just way too complicated.” Elina licked her lips nervously, “So, since we’re being honest?”
Gabe rolled his eyes as he laughed. “Go on, ask me anything you want.”
“You mean besides where you learned that thing with your tongue?”
His bark of laughter bounced off of the buildings around them. “Yeah, you probably don’t want to know the answer to that!”
“No, probably not. But I do want to ask why you were so upset. I mean, now that I know who you are, it’s clear you have a certain reputation. And have access to plenty of women. So why were you so focused on me?” She braced herself for the truth. There was a part of her that wanted to be special, but the rational part of her wanted it to be about the game.
* * *
He considered his answer, and then he opted for the truth. It was easier that way. “At first, it was a little bit about the chase. I’m not used to being told no. But then, at the wedding, when you looked so sad, I just wanted to make you smile. I didn’t plan what happened. That’s not my MO or anything. Meet hot chick, take her down to the bedrooms in the yacht. I just thought we’d have fun. I felt connected to you. And then you were gone.”
