Page 48 of House of Scarlett
“You bought them?” One of his eyebrows goes up, and I bite my lip to keep from laughing.Because I’m being interrogated about salt and pepper shakers, and I freaking love this.
“No. Not exactly.”
“Then you stole them.”
“Flynn stole them to cheer me up after the night at the club.”
His brows dart together this time. “Because of me.”
I shrug. “I needed cheering up for a few reasons.” Reaching for Dolly, I then tap some pepper on the eggs. “Besides, if she hadn’t stolen them, I was seriously thinking about asking the waitress if I could buy them.”
Gabriel crosses his arms over his chest. “And if she’d said no?”
I bare my teeth, grimacing guiltily. “I might have encouraged Flynn to make sure they came home with us, but we’ll never know, will we?”
That flirty lopsided grin comes back to his scruffy face.
“It’s now my mission in life to find you every restaurant with cool salt and pepper shakers to test your willpower and haggling skills.”
Oh my God!Inside, I’m squealing, because he’s talking abouta future together.And one in which wego places so I can lust over salt and pepper shakers.
“I’d be okay with that.”Be cool, Scarlett. This isn’t junior high. Don’t scare him away the first time he shows you this side of himself.“But I have high standards when it comes to shakers. Only the coolest and most unique make the cut.”
Gabriel tilts his head to the side in the sexiest way imaginable. “I saw the lovebirds you have in there. I can do better than that. Just wait.”
I fork up a bite of the eggs and pop it into my mouth. “Delicious too. I guess that means it’s game on, Gabriel.”
“While you eat, you’re going to tell me how this started. Because I recognize an obsession when I see one.” He shifts on the side of my bed, one leg propped beside me atop my plush duvet.
I take another bite of eggs and pause. “How did you make them so fluffy? Mine always turn out flat and either chewy or too runny.”
“I’ll teach you when you feel better. Now spill.”
He leans over on his elbow and watches me eat while he waits for his answer. I’m enjoying how comfortable he appears and how well he fits here.
“I gave them to my mom as a kid, because my allowance would only stretch so far for the holidays, and she always made a big deal about them. It became an annual thing, and sometimes even more often. The lovebirds were for Mother’s Day. The giraffes were from the first trip I ever took to Africa. She loved them, or at least she said she did.”
Gabriel’s hand wanders to the top of my feet next to him, and he gives them a squeeze. “She wasn’t pretending, ladybug. She loved them. It’d be impossible not to.”
The yogurt is calling to me, and I reach for the spoon to dig into it. “I like to think she did too. And when she passed away, they all came back to me, along with this building. About a year later, Curated was born. Every time I find cool salt and pepper shakers, I snag them for myself. I can’t help it. And you’re right—it’s becoming an obsession.”
“It’s a good one. You can have that come right after your obsession with me.”
I gape at him, but because I’m hoping he’ll tell me something about himself if I’m honest with him, I confess without hesitation.
“I only watched a few videos. And stalked your social media.A little. You’ve barely made it into obsession territory.” My teasing sounds weaker the more words I speak, so I trail off to find Gabriel’s expression shifting into something I’ve never seen before.
Joy.
It’s followed by booming laughter that fills my room.
The yogurt on my spoon hangs suspended in midair while I soak him in.God, that’s a good look for him.His head thrown back, his hair swaying, the tendons of his throat flexing.
Perfection.
When Gabriel finally stops, he smiles at me, and I know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do to see him laugh like that again. Every. Single. Day.
“You should do that more,” I whisper before eating the bite of yogurt.
