Page 38 of Forbidden Sins
“They were very nice to me, more welcoming than almost anyone else has been since I’ve arrived in Vegas.”
Her father’s cook chose that moment to come into the room with their dinner. They sat back and she placed their plates in front of them. When they were alone, he took a bite of his steak and turned back to her. “I just don’t want you falling in with a bad crowd again, like before.”
“Like before? Goddammit, I was a teenager. I’m an adult now. I’m not the same person I was back then.”
“A leopard can’t always change their spots that easily.”
She gaped at her father. “Unbelievable. Sure, I was a mess. I made a lot of stupid mistakes and you helped me out. I cleaned up my act, I went to college, I pay my bills, I got a job.”
“At my law firm,” he needlessly reminded her. “And I don’t need any more of the embarrassment that you caused me when you were younger. I’ll ask you to not get involved withthose people, not while you’re representing me or my firm.”
Something in her father’s words rubbed her the wrong way. Her skin crawled, and she wanted nothing more than to leave and go to Gabe, fall into his bed, his arms, and spend the rest of her life wrapped up in him. “Is this why you invited me here today?”
“No, I thought we could have a nice meal together without you acting like a child.”
“And you think this is a nice meal?” she asked. She couldn’t stand to look the man. She didn’t know why she bothered. Sure, he had paid for her education, had given her a job. But that didn’t mean the old asshole owned her. She stood. “You know, thanks for the invite, but I’m leaving.”
“Ellie, stop being so dramatic. Sit down and eat your food.”
“Pardon me if I don’t feel so hungry anymore,” she said, throwing her napkin on the table and walking out of the room, leaving her food untouched.
Back in her car, Ellie blinked back tears of frustration and disappointment.If Charles thought that she was such an embarrassment, then why did he invite her back into his life? Why had he given her the impression that he was at all interested in starting over with her? Was it all just so he could control her?
She started to drive with no destination in mind. But she knew that there was only one person she wanted to see.Gabe.
Pushing a button on her dashboard, she called him. He answered after only one ring. “Ellie, hey,” he said. As his smooth voice filled the interior of her car, she could picture his lazy smile as he said her name. She closed her eyes, savoring the sound of her name on his lips. Only a couple of weeks had passed since she’d met him, but already she was starting to feel as if she couldn’t live without him. She didn’t know if it was love, but at this time in her life, she needed him. His presence reassured her.
“Hey,” she responded, so filled with relief at hearing him say her name, she tried to keep her voice from cracking.
He must have heard the emotion that she’d tried to cover. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” she said, shaking her head, knowing he couldn’t see her. “I just want to see you. Are you busy?”
“Never too busy for you. Where do you want me?”
“Can you meet me at Di Terrestres?”
“Ellie, you don’t sound good. Where are you? Let me come to you.”
“Meet me at the club,” she insisted.
“Okay. I can be there in,” he paused and she pictured him consulting his expensive watch, “fifteen minutes. I’ve put you on the list, so you can just go on inside.”
“See you there.”
Ellie disconnected the call and drove straight to the downtown building that housed Di Terrestres. While a valet parked her car, she walked to the door. Gabe had been right; the doorman let her on inside. She saw Alana, speaking with some of the servers. When the other woman looked up, she waved and made her way over to her.
“Ellie, hello,” she said. “What brings you by?”
“I’m meeting Gabe here.”
“It’s only seven. Pretty early for him to come by.”
Ellie shrugged. “Yes, I needed to see him.”
Alana smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. Ellie could hold her own, but next to Alana’s critical gaze, she felt like a small child. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Yeah, sure.” After her ill-fated dinner with her father, and now whatever was causing her chilly reception with Gabe’s closest friend, Ellie needed a little fortification. They took a seat at a nearby table and a server came by to take their order.