I tapped the watch on my wrist. “You’ve got me for fifteen more minutes. Anything we don’t cover, we can email about while I’m gone.”
He narrowed his eyes at me. “Why do I have the feeling you’re hiding something from me?”
“Would I do something like that?” I flashed him an innocent look.
“We both know you would, you moody bastard. It’d better not be something that comes back to bite us both in the ass,” he muttered before letting the matter drop and moving on to the business we still needed to cover.
True to my word, I bailed on him fifteen minutes later and hit a few stores on Rodeo Drive before it was time to meet Morgan at Il Cielo for dinner. I’d wanted to pick her up, but it was hard to argue with her logic when Mario’s office was only a couple of miles from the restaurant, and I would have been stuck in traffic for at least an hour on the way to her place. But I’d insisted we have an early dinner because I was greedy to squeeze in time with her before I had to leave. That was how I found myself pulling up behind her at the valet stand at the ridiculous hour of a little before six o’clock in the evening. And thank fuck that I got there when I did so I could hop out of my car and help Morgan out of hers while I glared at the valet for the way he was leering at her legs.
“I’ve got her,” I growled, beating him to the side of her car.
His eyes jerked up to my face and recognition dawned. I’d had Shawn book us a private dining room at Il Cielo for the privacy. The last thing I wanted was for our date to get outed because of the damn valet. It galled me to do it, but I slid two crisp hundred-dollar bills into his palm. “You’ll get another one at the end of the night if nobody finds out we’re here.”
“I get it.” The little shit flashed me a knowing grin. “But if Morgan Kelly was mine and I made the kind of money you do, I’d spend more than a couple of hundred to keep the paps away from her.”
“Take what I’m willing to give, keep your mouth shut, and be happy you still have a job,” I muttered before pulling Morgan’s car door open and reaching my hand out to her. I wasn’t sure if the humor in her blue eyes was due to her hearing what I’d said or the way the valet held his hands up in surrender and took a couple of steps backward. It didn’t matter either way, as long as she was smiling.
Her laughter filled the air as the valet handed me two tickets, one for each of our cars. “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I grumbled, lacing my fingers through hers and leading her into the restaurant. “It’s all fun and games until some young punk gets the shit beat out of him for looking at my girl.”
“Your girl, huh?”
It was a stronger claim than I’d ever made toward another woman, but I still found myself agreeing. “You heard me.”
Her smile held a hint of well-deserved feminine satisfaction, but her lips soon parted in shock when we walked into the private dining room. “Holy crap!”
Scanning our surroundings, I realized that her reaction didn’t even begin to cover it. With the fireplace, curved cream couches, and table for two set in the middle, the room was more than romantic. But it didn’t stop there. Rose petals were strewn across every available surface. White lights were hung on the fireplace. Two floor-length candlesticks were situated on either side of the table. It looked like the set for a cheesy romantic movie. The only thing missing from the scene (thankfully) was the dulcet tones of Kenny G.
“I know I gave you a hard time about not being able to be romantic, but I never imagined that it’d push you to do all this.” She swept her arm around the room, and I felt the heat in my cheeks as the impossible happened—I blushed. For real. Not because I was in character. The setting for our date was so over the top that it was embarrassing.
“This’ll teach me to be more specific when I’m asking my assistant to set shit up for our dates,” I sighed.
“Aww, you mean you didn’t arrange this especially for me?” She laughed. “I should take offense to that, but I’ll let you off the hook since I’m your girl and all. Gotta cut my guy some slack, right?”
“Slack?” I protested. “Shawn might’ve taken romantic to a whole new level, but I should earn points for picking the location and menu at least, right?”
“How about I reserve judgment on that until after we’ve eaten?”
“That I can do,” I agreed, feeling confident with the choices I had made. With my hand on the small of her back, I led her to the table and pulled her chair out for her. Once she was settled, I pulled my seat around and sat right next to her. As I was taking her hand into mine, our waiter walked in with an ice bucket. He lifted a bottle out of it for my inspection and went to work on the cork after I nodded.
“Champagne? More of your assistant’s romantic streak?” Morgan asked.
I lifted her glass after the waiter filled it and pressed it into her hand. “No way. These brownie points are all mine.”
She took a small sip and licked her lips as she hummed in appreciation. My gaze focused on her mouth, I heard the waiter say something about being right back with our appetizers. When the door shut behind him, I dipped my head low and traced where her tongue had been only a moment before with mine. When her lips parted, I moaned in need and took the kiss deeper. I wasn’t sure how much time passed as I devoured her mouth, but I would have happily kept at it except for the clearing of the waiter’s throat as he approached the table with several plates of food.
“Your Antipasto del Cielo,” he said as he set down a tray with prosciutto, salami, Mediterranean olives, buffalo mozzarella, grilled eggplant, roasted red peppers, and crostini with pesto and olives. “And the Il Polpo, char-broiled octopus with poached potato and a spicy Sopressata vinaigrette. Two of our most popular appetizers.”
“It all looks delicious. I hope you didn’t order a lot more than this,” Morgan said, looking at with wide eyes, her lips swollen from our kiss.
“The rest of the menu for tonight includes our mushroom risotto, wild boar pappardelle, filet mignon, and flourless chocolate cake,” the waiter answered her before turning his attention back to me. “If you don’t need anything at the moment, I’ll leave you to enjoy the first course.”
I waved him off.
“If you keep ordering the entire menu any time we eat together; I’m going to either have to insist that we never eat out again or else I’ll need to double up on my workouts.”
“The first isn’t an option because I like sharing a meal with you, and the second isn’t necessary because you’ve got an amazing figure. Too many workouts would kill those curves, which would be a damn shame.” I nudged the antipasto plate her way. “Don’t worry about it so much. I’ll eventually get the hang of it, once I know what your favorites are.”
There I went again; not just thinking about a future with her, but talking about it, too. The confirmed bachelor in me should have been running for the door, but I was firmly glued in my seat next to her—and damn if I wasn’t happy about it.
Nine
Morgan
I smiled through my yawn as I picked up my cell phone from my bedside table and saw Gage had sent a text. Our date last night had ended with the most toe-curling kisses I’d ever been fortunate to receive, bar none. He’d been wise to book us into a private room for dinner because it allowed us to remain incognito—and those damn sexy kisses. The way he affected me was almost alarming in its intensity. Had we not been at a restaurant, I’d have begged him to make love to me then and there, which was a bit embarrassing, considering I’d told him he would need to woo me.
I’d never in my life been a first, second, third or even fifth date sex type of girl, but with Gage I’d have thrown caution to the wind in an instant had the opportunity been there. As much as I’d wanted to, I was glad it hadn’t happened. I’d never been wooed before, and that Gage Ryan was the man sweeping me off my feet felt surreal. My grin grew as I read his text.
Gage: Good morning, beautiful.
Me: Morning.
Gage: I read that you’re a classic film fana
tic.
I grinned as I typed out my answer
Me: I’d normally tell you not to trust gossip rags, but for once, they got it right.
Gage: Then you’re really going to love tonight’s date because it’s movie night
Me: What movie?
Gage: That’s for me to know, and you to find out. I’ll pick you up around 5 so we can have dinner first.
Me: Sounds like plan.
Gage: Can’t wait to see you.
I knew I had the goofiest look possible on my face as I traced my finger over the screen and read through our text exchange again. Gage was going the extra mile, and I was loving every minute of it.
I was looking forward to one more date with him before he had to leave town, even though I was dreading him not being around. Without a doubt, I knew I would miss Gage terribly. A part of me was worried that the time apart so early in our relationship would cause him to lose interest in me, but I did my best to keep those insecurities under control. Only time would tell if we’d go the distance—and I wouldn’t be doing myself any favors by borrowing trouble.
* * *
Since it was still rainy and dreary in LA, I dressed for comfort in a pair of black leggings, a cream-colored tunic top, and a pair of black Uggs. My hair I styled up in a messy bun and my makeup was nothing more than some mascara and my favorite lip balm. I’d debated about putting more effort into my appearance but in the end, I decided that I wanted Gage to get the real version of me. Other than red carpet appearances, I tended to dress for comfort, not fashion. I wasn’t ever going to squeeze my curves into a pair of too-tight-to-breathe jeans, I didn’t regularly put my boobs on display, and I was never, ever going to be a size two, or even a four. I was more than okay with that, and anyone who wanted to be in a relationship with me needed to be okay with it, too.
Allie nodded approvingly when I came out of my room. “Looking fine, Morgy.”
I cocked my hip and struck a silly pose. “This meets with your approval?” I asked.
“You look beautiful and not at all like you’re trying to get pounded by Hollywood’s sexiest leading man even though we both know you are.”
I shook my head and stuck my tongue out at her. “Am not.”
“Oh puh-lease,” she laughed. “We both know you’re dying to tell him that you dropped your panties and need his help finding them.”
I wrinkled my nose and made a face at her. “Please promise me that if you ever hear me using lines that bad, you’ll smack me upside the head.”
“Hey! That line isn’t bad. I was just about to put it into my new script.”
I raised a brow. “So you’re writing porn now?”
Allie giggled as she turned toward the fridge to fill a glass with ice. “No, but now I really am tempted to put it into the script just to see if I can get away with it.”
We were still laughing when we heard the doorbell to our condo. Knowing that Gage was on the other side of the door had my heart beating at quadruple its normal rate. I’d wanted to play it cool, but the need to see him overrode that in a big way. I hurried to the door and flung it open, grinning like an idiot when I saw him on the other side.
As I’d discovered over the course of the previous dates, Gage made jeans look good. It didn’t matter that I’d already seen him in a pair before—the effect was still just as powerful as it had been the first time he showed up at my house dressed casually.
I wasn’t surprised when he stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and pulled me in for a kiss because I’d sensed that after the night before, we’d taken a step forward in our relationship. I wound my arms around his shoulders as he cradled me in his arms and kissed me so passionately it was as if we’d been separated for months instead of hours. When he lifted his head minutes later, I’d been thoroughly kissed, and we were both breathless.
He cupped my face between his hands and stared down at me for countless seconds, the two of us grinning at each other like fools. “Goddamn, beautiful,” he rasped. “It just gets better and better.”
I felt myself blush as I bit my lip and looked up at him from beneath my lashes. “It’s definitely something to write home about,” I said.
“I have no idea how I’m going to survive without this while I’m gone. You’ve gotten so damn far under my skin.”
I felt the same way, but hearing him say he felt it too floored me. “I’m going to miss you,” I admitted in a soft voice.
He groaned as he took a few steps forward until I was up against the wall behind the door. “Best fucking thing I’ve heard all day, beautiful.”
And then he kissed me again. And again. We kissed until the sound of Allie wolf-whistling got our attention. Only then did we separate, both laughing as Gage lifted me into his arms and moved us out from behind the door. He set me back down without letting me go as he turned us to face the living room. I was glad he held me since my knees were like jelly from his kisses. I knew I was blushing when my eyes connected with Allie’s. She was openly laughing, her arms crossed over her chest as she shook her head at us in mock-disbelief.
“I thought you guys were going to dinner and the movies.”
I giggled like an idiot as Gage traced my lower lip with his thumb.
“We are,” I said.
“In that case, you might want to get moving. It’s already five forty-five. You’ve been out here macking down on each other for a hella long time. I had no idea you were even still here until I came out to refill my drink.”
The look on Gage’s face before he threw his head back and burst out laughing was one of disbelief. “Like I said”—he chuckled—“you’re under my skin. We’re running behind schedule now, baby. Can you hustle?”
I nodded as I arched up and planted a quick kiss on his lips before I pulled out of his arms and ran for the kitchen where my purse was. When I ran back to the front entry, he and Allie were talking about nearby restaurants where we could eat at quickly since we’d lost almost an hour to kissing.
“There’s an Italian place a few blocks away,” she offered.
“No Italian. Even though I love it, I won’t be able to sit comfortably in a movie theater for a few hours if I’m loaded with carbs and reeking of garlic. How about we go to Carl’s Junior,” I suggested as Gage reached out to take my hand.
“Really?” he asked, seemingly surprised.
“Um, yeah,” I laughed. “I’d eat a western bacon cheeseburger and fried zucchini almost any day of the week.”
“It’s true,” Allie chimed in. “When she’s in a crabby mood, I always know to bring those two things home for her, along with a giant fruit punch. In no time at all, she’s back to her normal, chipper self.”
“Carl’s it is then,” Gage laughed, squeezing my hand in his as we said our goodbyes to Allie and then left.
Ten
Gage
This 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 zucc
hini.
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.”
Gage: A Love Under the Lights Novel Page 5
