“Hell yes!” Tawnee laughed. “I’m going upstairs so you two can discuss your entrance dance.” She clapped. “I’m so freaking excited!”
Gabe shot me a look. “Dance?”
I waved Tawnee toward the elevator. “I’ll fill you in.”
Once she was out of sight, I turned back to find Gabe so close I could feel the heat of his skin. He silently took my hand, pulled me down a hall toward a seating area, and pushed my body into a chair before pulling the other one right next to me.
I instantly hopped up. “Wait, uh, we need a reception entrance dance.” Stalling? Oh, yes.
“That’s stupid.”
“Well, no talking unless we have a dance.”
As if a Jazzercize instructor had appeared like magic, Gabe stood in front of me and taught me some moves. Our insta-dance was a mash-up of the Macarena and the Renegade with some of the CitiRokk moves mixed in. I stayed quiet, we got it together, and then he turned to me. “So we’re good with the dance?”
I nodded, realizing the delay of learning a delightful dance that would certainly crush the rest of the wedding party, did not release me from my twenty-minute sentence.
I reluctantly sat in a chair close by.
He plopped down in a chair across from me and leaned forward. “Fern, first of all, thank you for agreeing to speak with me. Well, more like forcing me to become a male stripper sensation. Now that’s a sentence I never thought I’d use.”
“And winner of a five-year supply of Bic razors. Can you even?”
He laughed. “I cannot.”
His smile was so perfect I couldn’t wrap my mind around it. He was all testosterone but seemed tender and sweet as I stared at him with the familiar pull from my inner core.
“We both know about my past. I own it and make no excuses for previous decisions. My bad choices were all mine.” He cleared his throat. “But my past was before we met. Before you decked me in my own kitchen, rode shot gun as we were chased by drug lords, and prior to you being a hula hoop phenomenon that left me standing there like a goofy teenager as I watched the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on blow my mind.”
I knew I was blinking at an alarming rate.
“What I said at the arena wasn’t true. It was stupid bullshit. I’m here before you as the farthest thing from perfection that could be. I’ve been a fuck up in the past, but I’m hoping you’ll give me a shot. I don’t know about you, but what we have when we’re together is something I’ve never known. It makes me feel like Superman one minute and filled with uncertainty the next. Basically, three of the four voices in my head do nothing but talk about you and how amazing you are.”
“And the fourth?” Come on, I had to ask.
He nodded and looked down. “It only talks about the way your body feels next to mine. Yeah, it’s the inappropriate voice.” His eyes peeked at me. “I apologize for that bastard.”
Hyperventilation was on the horizon as I forced myself to release a long breath while his words cocooned me with warmth.
“If you’re able to come with me on whatever blind ride this is, I promise I’ll be on my best non-fuck up behavior. I want to be the man I know I can be all because of you.”
Silence filled the space between us as my heart raced around my chest. To top it off, the English language as I knew it vanished into thin air with a poof of smoke. His eyes searched for an answer I didn’t have. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out but a squeak that I didn’t know what to do with.
As if reading my lack of thoughts on the topic, he took my hand. “Don’t say anything now. I hope I’ve given you something to think about, and if you feel this, I’ll wait to hear from you tomorrow.” He stood first then me. The wind was knocked out of me when he pulled me close and hugged me.
Part of me wanted to yank away, but instead I melted into his chest and never wanted to move again. My arms wrapped around his waist, reminding me of how perfectly I fit in his embrace. My brain was running down the list of things that could go wrong while my heart was searching for the key to give to this imperfectly perfect man.
I pulled away and took a cautious step back. As if being further away would somehow make me smarter.
He nodded. “Think this through.” He inhaled sharply. “If you don’t talk with me tomorrow, I’ll know your answer. If this is the wrong path for you, I will step aside and wish only the best for you, Fern.”
I stood as silent as a mime, and after a moment, he took my hand, walked me to the elevator, and pushed the up button.
“I guess you should go check on Tawnee.” His hand released mine. “I hope to speak with you tomorrow.”
I entered the elevator, turned, and our eyes locked until the door closed.
Chapter 16
