Page 22 of The Prodigal Son

“There, I texted myself, so I have yours too.”

He hands it back to me, and our fingers brush. A phantom tingle echoes on my skin long after the contact is made.

Then he says his goodbyes to each of us before being dragged out by the bassist. Once Gabby and I are alone, I still feel like I’m reeling. Turning toward her, I notice that she has less excitement on her face. She seems almost annoyed.

“Can you believe that just happened?” I ask as I guide her toward the door.

“He was very nice,” she says with less enthusiasm.

“So down-to-earth. That was amazing.”

“He really seemed to like you,” she says under her breath, but I ignore it. Maybe she’s just jealous that Theo preferred to talk to me more.

We catch a taxi in front of the theater and ride to the hotel in silence. I’m still in shock that that happened, replaying everything we said over and over in my head.

It takes me by surprise when Gabby leans on me in the back seat. Her shoulder is pressed to my arm and her knuckles skate delicately over mine. I tense immediately as everything inside me turns to stone.

Now it’s time to pay the piper, I guess. I had my fun with Theo, but now I have to put my energy and attention where it belongs. Where itshouldbe.

I rub her knuckles back to show that I acknowledge her. She intertwines our fingers and gazes up at me with something warm and excited in her eyes.

Then, the distance between us starts to close, and I brace myself. If I try hard enough, I could enjoy this.

As her lips brush mine, I imagine Theo’s pouty lips. I remember the way his tongue darted out to wet them. When I softly run my tongue into her mouth, I picture his.

There’s a quiet rumble in my chest as I kiss her deeper. There’s even a stirring of heat in my pants. But when I touch her jaw and it’s soft skin instead of rough stubble, the heat extinguishes.

I pull away and drop my hand. Her eyes are dilated with arousal as she gazes up at me.

We’re about to share a hotel room for the evening, and I hate myself for dreading it. When we reach the hotel, I keep her hand in mine as we make our way up the elevator. The entire time I’m debating on what I’ll do.

I could tell Gabby that it’s too soon to be intimate. As a pastor, it’s wrong of me to be with a woman I’m not married to. I could tell her that I think we should just be friends. I could suck it up and take her to bed anyway.

When I press the key card against the lock, it opens with a beep. Once inside, I still haven’t decided on my next move, but Gabby hasn’t released my hand yet either.

She tugs gently on it, and I pull her into my arms. “I have a secret,” she says.

“What’s that?”

“I didn’t come here to see Theo Virgil. I came here to spend time with you.”

“Oh,” I reply in a deep tone. “That’s nice.”

Damn, I’m so bad at this.

“I wanted to spend time with you too,” I say, but even I hear how unconvincing it is.

She giggles before tugging me down toward her. “Just kiss me again, please.”

With a deep breath, I do. Her lips are too soft. Her skin is too soft. Her kiss is too soft.

After the kiss ends, she breathes a sigh and relaxes against my chest. “I know you’re not the kind of man to take a woman to bed on the first date, but I was thinking we could at least share the bed tonight. We don’t have to do anything.”

Everything she’s saying grates on my nerves. I’m forty fucking years old. I don’t need to share a bed with another adultlike a teenager. I need another consenting adult to fuck. And I don’t like being patronized.

Taking her chin in my hands, I force her gaze up to my face. “I’m not the man you think I am, Gabby.”

Her eyes go wide. Then I take her mouth in a punishing kiss, and she lets out a yelp as she clings to my neck to keep from falling over.

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