"Can you get me a water please? Sparkling," Gabriel's sister said, brushing past Hayley. "Thanks." She took off her black Jimmy Choo pumps, nudged them against the wall, and walked barefoot into the living room.

"Uhm. Okay," Hayley said, staring after the woman. One sparking water. That should be in the fridge, right? "Gabriel's in the shower. Should I tell him you're here?"

The woman glanced at her, one eyebrow raised.

Hayley bit her lower lip. Did she say something wrong?

After a long awkward pause, the woman said, "I can wait."

As Hayley made her way into the kitchen, it dawned on her that Gabriel's sister never asked for her name. She winced inwardly. Maybe she was used to seeing random women in his apartment and just didn't care to know any of them. Sighing, Hayley looked around until she spotted the fridge. Looking inside it, she found it only held bottles of water. After reading the labels, she found the water she was looking for.The woman was on the couch facing the fireplace, texting on her phone. When Hayley handed her the bottle, the woman stared at it before raising her eyes to Hayley's face. "You got a glass?"

"Oh sorry!" A flush spread over Hayley's face. "Uhm." She hesitated. The woman made no move to take the bottle from her. "Give me a sec." She set the water on the coffee table.

"Hey!" The woman picked up the bottle and held it up with an outstretched hand. "Maybe you should put a coaster under this?"

"Sorry. Sorry." Hayley took the bottle from her. "I'll be back."

She felt like some kind of hillbilly. She and Jenna never bothered with coasters — their furniture wasn't really worth the effort. Gabriel's coffee table, on the other hand, probably cost more than her apartment. In the kitchen, the glass was easy enough to find, but it took her five minutes of rummaging through the kitchen cupboards before she finally found the coasters.

"Here you go," she said, carefully setting the bottle and glass on top of two coasters on the coffee table.

Gabriel's sister didn't reply. She didn't even bother looking up from her phone.

Hayley remained standing, not sure exactly what to do. Should she introduce herself? Make conversation?

But the woman didn't seem interested in speaking to her. So Hayley made a mental shrug and left. At least she was spared the awkwardness of having to explain who she was because that meant lying about her relationship to Gabriel. Not knowing what to do, she went upstairs. Her phone was in her gym bag. She promised Jenna she'd check in as soon as she was settled, and now was as good a time as any.

She didn't see Gabriel in his room, so she assumed he was still in the shower. So she headed directly to the walk-in closet and took out her phone from her gym bag. She texted Jenna a message:

I'm in Gabriel's. We're going to a party tonight.

Jenna's reply came in less than a minute later:

OMG. Is his place amazing? Can I come over?

Hayley smiled.

Sure. Not this weekend tho. We'll be at his cousin's party.

The party is the whole weekend? Shit. Let me know if there's anyone famous.

OK. I'll send pix.

I bet Reinheart will be there.

I guess?

Can't I come 😭

You want me to ask Gabriel?

Nah. Reinheart will probably be bringing a date. I don't want to see him with another girl.

Sorry.

***

Gabriel wrapped a towel around his waist. He picked up another towel and ran it over his hair as he walked into the closet adjoining the bathroom.

Hayley stood there hunched over her phone, a smile playing on her lips. When she noticed he was there, she looked up, her eyes wide. Then her gaze dropped to his chest.

For his part, he had never meant to keep meeting her half-dressed. He wasn't expecting her until after his morning swim, after he had showered and put on clothes. The last thing he wanted was for her to think he was seducing her. The deal didn't include sex, and he had no intention of breaking it. Besides, she was nowhere near his type.

"Sorry, I—" she started to say.

"It's all right," he said. This was her room, too, after all. He was the one who insisted they share the bedroom.

"I'll wait downstairs. Although you should know your sister is here." She started toward the door to bedroom.

"Emmanuelle?" His mother hadn't wasted any time. He was sure she had sent Emmanuelle to check on his new girlfriend. Apparently, she couldn't even wait until the party tonight.

Hayley stopped and turned his way. "I guess?" She shrugged. "She didn't introduce herself."

"Did she ask you who you were?"

"No."

Odd. Knowing his sister, he expected her to have started grilling Hayley by now. "I'll be with her in a few minutes."

Hayley nodded and left.

After he'd gotten dressed, he went downstairs and found Emmanuelle in the living room, engrossed with her phone. "I didn't expect you today," he said.

"Good morning to you too, bro." She made a couple more of swipes on her phone screen before looking up. "I thought we'd go out to lunch."

"I already made plans." He looked around. "Where's Hayley?"

"She's here?"

He frowned. "Didn't you meet her when you came in?"

There was a look of confusion on Emmanuelle face, then horror. "Shit. That was her?"

He sighed. "Yes. You didn't say anything stupid, did you?"

His sister was laughing now, one hand on her mouth. "Are you serious? I thought she was the maid."

His jaw twitched in annoyance. "Why would you think that?" He knew why. Goddamn it. Why couldn't Emmanuelle have waited until the party, after he'd prepared her to meet the wolves. It was precisely why he was taking her to the shops today.

Emmanuelle gave him a look. "Oh come on. My laundry woman dresses better." She wrinkled her nose. "And that hair..." She shook her head. "Seriously, gege. Did you pick her off the street or something?"

"No, I did not pick her off the street." He stepped in front of his sister, and took her elbow. "You should go. Hayley and I are on our way out."

Emmanuelle stood up. "But aren't you going to introduce us?"

"You can meet her at the party."

"Why? She's here now— " She stopped, then looked over his shoulder with a smile. "Oh hello!"

He turned to see Hayley coming down the stairs. "Hi," she said.

"This is my sister, Emmanuelle," he said. "She was just leaving."

"Actually," Emmanuelle said, a grin on her face that he could only describe as mischievous. "I'm joining you for lunch."

"Oh," Hayley said.

There was a resigned tone in her voice. Gabriel wondered if his sister had said something rude to her earlier. "Em, Hayley and I are having lunch alone. Maybe you could join us another time," he said.

"But—" Emmanuelle began to protest, but he cut her off with a look. She rolled her eyes. "Fine." She picked up her purse. "It's nice to meet you, Hayley," she said. "I'll see you at the party tonight?"

"Likewise," Hayley said, her smile not quite reaching her eyes. "See you at the party."

***

Hayley's eyes widened in surprise when Gabriel led her toward the black Bentley Mulsanne parked in front of the building. "I thought we were driving," she said.

"Not in the mood for it today," he said. His car didn't have nearly enough space for what he planned to purchase today, either.

The chauffeur greeted them a good morning as he opened the car to the back seat. The corner of Gabriel's mouth quirked when he saw her smile and say thanks before getting inside. He appreciated the way she was always very gracious toward service staff, something he'd noticed even during their dinner two nights earlier.

He nodded to the chauffeur — Hector was his usual driver whenever he hired a vehicle from his favorite car service— and slid into the seat next to her. "You have the itinerary?" he asked Hector.

"Yes, sir."

During the first few minutes, Hayley was quiet. Gabriel was almost sure his sister had said something to her. Emmanuelle had always been a good kid, far better than he ever was, especially when they were growing up. But she could be thoughtless sometimes.

"Thanks for not inviting your sister for lunch," she said, finally breaking the silence. "I'm not sure I was ready for..." She paused, clearly thinking of a way to explain.

"I know," he said. "I get it."

"She doesn't like me."

He took a deep breath. "Emmanuelle takes a while to warm up to people. Especially the women I..." He cleared his throat. "The women I date. Siblings are like that."

"Did she like Tallah?"

Emmanuelle adored Tallah. In fact, they were still friends, the kind who met for lunch sometimes. Probably talking about him over dessert. But Hayley didn't need to know that. "She did, eventually," he said carefully. The truth was, Emmanuelle and Tallah had taken to each other within two minutes of meeting.

"I don't think she believes we're dating."

"We'll just have to convince her, don't we?" He gave her a grin.

Their first stop was at La Perla on Rodeo Drive. He heard her catch her breath when they walked up to the entrance.

He had one foot on the the first step when he looked behind him to see her standing uncertainly on the sidewalk. "What's wrong?"

She replied in such a low voice, he barely heard her, "Can't we go somewhere else?"

"You don't like their stuff?" He stepped down and moved closer to her. "There's an Agent Provocateur down the street. We could—"

She shook her head. "They're both too expensive."

"You won't be paying for it, I am."

"I don't really need any new underwear, I brought my own things." She looked alarmed when he took her hand. "What are you doing?" she whispered.

"Taking my girlfriend shopping." He led her up the steps. "Don't argue."

As soon as they stepped inside the shop, a petite brunette walked up to them. "Mr. Sin," she said. "It's so nice to see you again."

Ignoring Hayley's raised eyebrows, he smiled at the shop manager. "Hello, Gayle," he said. "This is Hayley." He clasped Hayley's hand in both of his. "I'd like you to show her the most beautiful things you have."

"Of course." Gayle beamed. "It will be my pleasure." She cleared her throat. "Did you want something for a special occasion?"

He had to resist a smile as he looked down into Hayley's panic-stricken eyes. "I'd just like her to have anything in here she wants," he said. He glanced at Gayle. "I trust that won't be a problem?"

The woman grinned, and he could practically see the dollar signs in her eyes. "Not at all, Mr. Sin. Please come this way."

"Gabriel!" said a deep, accented voice.

He turned toward the man who spoke. Petr Kuznetsov, a tall, silver-blond man rose from the couch and walked toward him. "Petr," Gabriel said, feigning surprise. He had checked Petr's current mistress's social media accounts, and knew the man would be here. He extended a hand which Petr shook heartily. "Good to see you."

"And you!" Petr said. He gaze fell on Hayley. "I don't believe I've met your girlfriend."

"This is Hayley Denton," Gabriel said, putting an arm around her waist. She stiffened at his sudden embrace, although she didn't pull away. "Hayley, darling, this is my good friend Petr Kuznetsov."

"Enchanté," Petr said, his blue eyes assessing her. He was in his forties, but lean and fit under his suit.

"Hi," she squeaked.

"Petr and I are partners in a business venture in Russia," Gabriel said, then turned to the man. "How is Amandine?"

"She's good, good," Petr said. "She's back there picking out a few things before we fly back to Paris. God knows why. I myself prefer French lingerie on a woman, but Amandine is crazy about this shop." He smiled. "But we must give our women what they want, n'est-ce pas?"

"You speak French," Hayley said. Thank God, Gabriel thought in relief. He thought she would never say anything more than "hi".

"My maman is from Provence," Petr explained. "Perhaps we should all take a trip there in the summer?"

"Perhaps," Gabriel said. He turned to Hayley. "We could discuss it over lunch. What do you think, darling?"

She hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

He and Petr sat in the couch as they waited for the women to do their fittings. It hadn't been two minutes before Gabriel received a text. To his surprise, it was from Hayley.

What was that about?

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