Gabe

I get behind the wheel and wait until she scrambles around the car and climbs into the passenger seat. I put the car in gear and start backing down the drive while she struggles to fasten her seat belt.

"That's not what I am. I have a very exciting life. I have great friends. I go out and party sometimes. I teach my music students and I perform. My life is not boring."

I pull out onto the main road. She's still staring at me from her side of the car and I can feel it.

"Don't be mad. I'm not trying to insult your life. I'm sure there are many interesting things around you but they're all things you've been doing for years. And maybe that's okay for some areas of your life but a woman like you, no, you can't settle when it comes to your personal life."

She finally relaxes against the seat. "No, I can't. Not anymore."

"I've seen you in action and I've seen that fire inside you. You want excitement. You want adventure. You want to wake up every day and wonder what new and glorious thing is going to happen. You want passion and until you get it, you'll be bored. I should know. I'm bored, too. But we're going to fix that."

"We are? How?" She looks over at me with interest.

"By being friends." I grin at her and then gun the engine.

Chapter seven

SASHA

This is a business meeting, not a date. I repeat the words to myself as I prepare to meet Gabe for lunch two days later.

I hold up a basic black dress and then switch arms to hold up a maroon sheath adorned with festive gold designs. My love of texture and willingness to experiment with color is one of the mainstays of my personal style. But I'm trying to turn over a new leaf and be a businesswoman so I might have to tone things down a little.

After Gabe drove me home Saturday night, he came back the next day to return my car, Zack following him in his Audi. Before they left, he told me to plan for lunch on Monday so we could go over my budget.

Apparently he's decided that since we're friends now that he's going to help me with my business plan. This is a business meeting. I know that I should just tell him that I'll find another mentor. I'm only torturing myself by continuing to lust after a guy that I know isn't the staying kind. But I can't help it. There's something that draws me to him and I can't seem to cut that invisible tie.

I hold up the black dress again and make a face at the mirror. It works but it's so plain. I don't want Gabe to see me like that even if it's not a date. Then I remember that I was planning to do some cleaning today. I can't be too cute because I have work to do. I settle on a satin blouse in different shades of rose paired with my favorite jeans.

He suggested meeting at one of the nicer restaurants in town but I asked to meet at The Rush. Not only because I feel more comfortable keeping things casual but also because it's so close to the club. After our meeting, I have to go wait for my first furniture delivery.

Luckily Gabe didn't seem to care about the change. I remember the way he looked at me that night under the stars. The things he told me about his past.  He didn't have to do any of that. I think he really does want to help me.

Which he can't do if I'm not prepared.

I focus on the task at hand. Most of my paperwork and notes for the business are in this big, purple file folder I've been using to compile everything. But I can't show up to a business meeting with that. Gabe would probably laugh in my face.

I transfer everything into a plain manila folder and then fasten the notes together with a binder clip. If I'd had more time, I would have typed up all my handwritten scribblings. But I’ll just have to make do.

I don't have time to think about it anymore because my cell phone reminder goes off, which tells me that I'm about to be late. I step into my favorite pair of four-inch nude heels and then grab the manila folder. I tuck the folder, my notes and my phone into an oversized tote bag and head out the door.

Just as I open my car door, my eyes stop on something across the street. There's a guy walking toward me on the opposite side.  He's wearing a leather jacket and a ball cap pulled low over his eyes but despite his relaxed pace, he doesn't seem to be out for a friendly stroll. He's not doing anything but something about the way he's walking sets my instincts ringing.  He looks tense, like he's walking with a purpose but trying to look like he's wandering aimlessly. It's how I imagine it would look when someone was casing a place before they come back to rob it.

After all those safety lectures from Eli, I'm probably paranoid. There are definitely benefits to being someone he considers a friend, such as the amazing security system he installed here that I couldn't have afforded on my own. But he tends to view everyone as a potential criminal and clearly his warped viewpoint has started to rub off on me. This poor guy is just taking a stroll, minding his own business and I've got him pegged as a felony in progress.

This is a pretty safe neighborhood but still, it doesn't hurt to be mindful. I climb into the front seat of my car and watch his progress behind me in the rearview mirror. Once he's out of sight, I start the car and back out of the driveway carefully.

The entire drive over, I mentally review what I plan to accomplish today. If Gabe can review my operating budget, then at least I'll know if I'm on the right track. Then I can move to the second stage of my plan today which is to start tackling some of the items on my action list. Cleaning is the number one thing on the list I can do without help.