Page 57 of I Dreamt That You Loved Me

He laughed and shook his head. “No, not at all. I was crazy about your mother, but I have to hand it to her. She really knows how to let a guy down gently. She was very polite.”

I nodded. “It’s the accent.”

“Must be. She’s also the reason I’m here tonight,” he said. “She left a message on my machine a while back and told me,very politely, to get my ‘arse’ over to this tiny café and check out the ‘very talented, simply extraordinary, new voice on the rock music scene.’”

I smiled, silently thanking my mom. “And you listened.”

“I trust her judgment,” he said, his eyes narrowing in thought. “But I can’t decide if he burst onto the scene at exactly the right time or the absolute worst. We’re at the height of grunge andthisis not grunge.”

“No, it’s not,” I agreed. “It’s something altogether different. Gabriel is a drop of pure light. Unique, versatile, a risk-taker, an innovative guitarist. He not only has an incredible vocal range but he’s not afraid to use it. And what’s more, he knowshowto use his voice to evoke emotions. His music leaves everyone in the room feeling like they’ve just witnessed something extraordinary. Gabriel Francis is the voice of a generation.”

“Like I said, vested interest,” he said with a smile. “Can I quote you on that?”

“No. Please leave me out of it,” I laughed. “I’m just a fan. His biggest fan.”

By the time I reached Gabriel, his back was turned, and Nose Ring Girl had her arms around his neck.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“You were amazing tonight.We could go back to my place…”

Oh no, you don’t. I moved in and glued myself to Gabriel’s side, wrapping a possessive hand around his arm.

“Sorry,” I said with a smile aimed at her. She was even prettier up close, dammit. “But he’s with me.”

She looked to Gabriel for confirmation, and I really couldn’t blame her. He’d made no move to back up my claim. Which really pissed me off.

Here I was talking him up and singing his praises to a journalist, practicallychasingafter him, and he didn’t even have the common decency to put his arm around me and tell her to take a hike?

“Raincheck,” he told her, when what I would have preferred to hear was,I’m already taken, andno other girl could ever entice me to stray.

When Nose Ring Girl finally sauntered away, miffed, Gabriel looked me up and down, taking me in from head to toe without saying a word.

Not so much as a smile or aThank you for comingorYou’re the girl I’ve been waiting for my whole life.

Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Okay, so my outfit choice could have been better, and I wasn’t having a good hair day after that blow-dryer incident, but he was being so dismissive that it felt like the first time we met all over again.

So, I, of course, planted my hands on my hips and doubled down. “Are you seriously judging me?” I stabbed my finger at him. “I’ll have you know that this is a very cool T-shirt and I put a lot of time and effort into being here tonight so if you think you can just?—”

“Save it, tiger.” He grabbed my hand and charged to the door, dragging me along with him.

As soon as we got outside, he let go of my hand, set down his guitar and glared at me.Glared.

“I’m with you, huh?” He laughed humorlessly and paced in a small area, each footstep angrier than the next.Like a tiger in a cage. “Funny because I haven’t seen you since that day we went to the Kiev when,once again, you took off and left me hanging.”

“I didn’t?—"

“Are you showing up at all my gigs? Nope. Are we drinking our morning coffee together? Nah. Are you in my bed every night? Hellno.” He spun around and got right in my face. “So kindly tell me how the fuck I’mwithyou when I haven’t seen or heard from you in six weeks.”

I lifted my chin and crossed my arms over my chest. “Well, I’m here now.”

“Yeah? For how long? In case you need a reminder, we’ve been here before. So are you really here? Or are you going to take off again and make me?—”

“Have you slept with her?” I blurted.

“How is that any of your damn business?” he shot back.