Page 49 of A Lot Like Adiós
Powell was still talking, though, and Gabe reluctantly turned his attention back to his investor. He flashed a smile, since he’d long ago learned that was the best way to make it seem like you were listening. And like Michelle said, it was his moneymaker.
This kind of shit—meetings, schmoozing, cutting deals—wasn’t for him. Fabian was good at this stuff, whereas Gabe preferred to be on the ground, working with regular people. Not movie stars and venture capitalists. But as the business had grown, he’d spent more time behind his desk and less time on the part of it he loved—training clients, teaching classes, or doing bodywork on PT patients.
For so long, Gabe had told himself the business tasks were the trade-off for success. And for the most part, Fabian had carried this particular part of the load.
It’s not forever, Gabe told himself. Soon Fabian’s schedule would free up, and he’d be able to handle the rest of the New York launch.
You think his schedule is going to free up after the twins are born?a little voice in the back of Gabe’s mind nagged at him.
He pushed it aside. It had to. Because aside from Michelle’s hand patting his thigh comfortingly under the table, he was fucking miserable.
And deep down, he knew he couldn’t do this forever.
Chapter 12
Powell was quite impressed with you.”
“Yeah?” Michelle gave Gabe a quick glance as she drove them through Hell’s Kitchen to her apartment. The contractor had texted that morning to let her know the new toilet had been installed. The bathroom was still covered in plastic and there wasn’t a sink, but since the toilet was hooked up, she could be in the apartment if she needed to be. She’d told Gabe she wanted to check it out while they were in the city, but really, she wanted to show him her apartment and see his reaction.
It was a hot August evening, and tons of people were out choosing between the little restaurants and bars that dotted the first stories of many of the buildings in her neighborhood. Michelle was on a quieter side street that was mostly residential, aside from a laundromat and a parking garage.
“Well, I am pretty impressive,” she quipped, in the hopes of making Gabe laugh. It worked, and he let out a low chuckle.
He’d been moody since she arrived at the restaurant. She didn’t know what had happened while she was parking the car, because he’d been laughing and joking with her right beforehand. Not that he’d said or done anything unprofessional. He’dbeen serious, which made sense, considering he was talking with his investor. But it was the sort of serious she remembered from their youth, when she’d seen him around his father. At her house, he’d been silly and fun, but in his own home, he’d been more subdued. Serious Gabe was almost... quietly macho. He stuck to short answers, with fewer flashes of dimples and a slight deepening to his voice.
Not that Michelle had minded that last part. The deep rumble had done things to her while she’d chatted with Rocky, who was unexpectedly down-to-earth. As they’d talked, she’d been hyperaware of Gabe to her left. The low notes of his voice. More enunciation, less of an accent, less slang. He held himself still, his posture unwavering throughout the meal, fully embodying his size and stature.
She’d found it sexy as hell, but she didn’t know why he felt like he had to do all that posturing with Powell. The guy had seemed to like Gabe a lot. He’d been easygoing, informal, and excited about Agility’s growth. In fact, she’d gotten more concrete answers about the gym and the brand from him than she’d gotten from Gabe. Even Rocky had only good things to say about the gym. He seemed to enjoy training there, and said Gabe was a great PT. She could already see how Rocky would be an excellent celebrity spokesperson.
Except none of it jibed with what Gabe had told her about his original vision for the gym.
To help people feel better in their bodies and achieve a full range of motion.
She couldn’t imagine Rocky didn’t already feel good in his body. And she’d seen his movies. There was not a damn thinglacking in his range of motion. The man did all his own stunts, for fuck’s sake.
But at one point he’d turned sideways to show Michelle the line of his neck where it led to his back.
“See how straight that is?” he’d asked, in those lovely clipped vowels. “That’s all Gabe. Whenever I start to hunch, he works on me, gets my muscles and joints moving in harmony again. It’s like magic. Painful, beautiful magic.”
As far as testimonials went, it was perfection, and Michelle had jotted it down on her phone verbatim the second she’d had the chance.
Meeting Rocky had made her wonder something, and now seemed as good a time as any to bring it up.
“So, Rocky...” she began, and Gabe turned a wary look on her.
“Are you going to fangirl over him now?”
“I’m way too cool for that. But I am curious. Did you and he ever...?”
Gabe huffed out a laugh. “No. Not that I didn’t think about it. I mean, you’ve met him.”
“Gorgeous, charming, and not a jerk. Hard to find someone with all three qualities these days.”
“Especially in LA. But he’s a client, and I have rules about that.”
“Don’t shit where you eat?”
“Exactly.”
