The look on Gabrielâs face said he knew I was being diplomatic, and the reason why, but he wasnât going to press me on it. âBut you canât really blame me, not with that whole Special Forces persona he has.â
âSpecial Forces? Ah, you think he is in the military?â
I stopped with my coffee cup halfway to my mouth to see if he was joking. He wasnât. âWell, yeah, I mean the clothes are a dead giveaway, along with the GI Joe buzz cut, but itâs also the way he carries himself.â I hesitated, hoping I wasnât about to put my foot in it. âI half expected him to whip out a grenade launcher from inside his coat,â I finished with a nervous laugh.
Gabriel looked puzzled. âI think he just wears what he feels comfortable in.â
Whoa. He really didnât see it. Perhaps the guy had been dressing that way for so long no one noticed it anymore. Not altogether unheard of, but still a little strange.
âSo heâs not a soldier then?â I asked.
âNo, heâs not.â
âIs he Russian?â
His head nod was accompanied by a slight smile. âYes, he is.â
âFrom Moscow?â It was the only place in Russia I could think of on the spur of the moment.
âNo, heâs from a small town that doesnât exist anymore.â
I wasnât sure what to make of that. A casualty of civil unrest and shifting borders perhaps? âOh, well thatâs a really nasty scar on his face. Do you know how he got it?â
Gabriel picked up his spoon and began to stir his coffee. âWhy all the questions about Aleksei?â
I felt mildly embarrassed, and picked up my own spoon. âWell, heâs not the sort of guy youâre going to forget anytime soon.â
âReally?â
I shrugged. âYeah, really.â Glancing across the table, I saw Gabriel pull his eyebrows together ever so slightly and wondered if he was mistaking my general curiosity for interest of a different kind. And I imagine heâd be quite devastating without the scar.
I didnât realize Iâd spoken that part out loud until the look on Gabrielâs face told me so. It really wasnât a smart thing to talk about one guy while you were out with another, especially not on a date and without your own car.
âSorry,â I apologized. âThat was rude of me.â
âIâm sure if you were to ask him, Aleksei would tell you how it happened.â
I couldnât tell if Gabriel was expecting me to meet up with the big guy again, or if he was offering to set me up. Neither was something I wanted to happen. Silence ensued once more, the air between us becoming thick and heavy, making me positive I had just blown whatever chance might have existed of seeing Gabriel again.
Way to go, Rowan. No wonder youâre sleeping alone.
I could just imagine what Laycee was going to do with this scenario when I told her. The thought prompted me to take a wild stab at damage control. What did I have to lose?
âIâm not interested in him, you know . . . at least not like that. â
âLike what?â
Gabrielâs expression became one of extreme politeness. Putting his hands on the table, he bracketed his coffee cup with his long fingers. I remembered how they had felt resting around my neck. He knew exactly what I meant about Aleksei, but I was being punished. A reprimand to make me feel uncomfortable because it was rude of me to talk so much about another man. Okay, I was woman enough to accept Iâd made a mistake.
âIâm not looking at him as potential boyfriend material,â I said with as much detachment as I could. âI was just curious. Iâve never met anyone like him before.â
Gabriel deliberated over my words. âAnd are you looking at me as potential boyfriend material?â he asked finally.
I shouldnât have been surprised by the question. Iâd kind of opened myself
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