Gabriel knew Hayley would have questions, but he though she would ask them during lunch. Or the next moment they would be alone. He didn't expect her to text her from the dressing room. Shouldn't she be excited to be trying on expensive lingerie, choosing whatever caught her eye?

Sighing, he texted back: What do you mean?

I thought you wanted us to have lunch by ourselves.

I did?

That's what you told your sister.

Right. I guess I did.

He left it there. He detested texting, and preferred to talk directly later about whatever it was that bothered her. But after a couple of minutes, she texted back:

Well?

Clearly, she wasn't going to let it go.

Petr is a good friend and business partner. Is there something wrong with wanting to have lunch with him and Amandine before they leave for Paris? I see my sister all the time.

Oh. I guess. Sorry, I'm just a little nervous.

About what?

Meeting your friends. As your girlfriend.

You'll be great. I'm not worried. You shouldn't be either.

Okay.

"Your woman is very shy," Petr said.

Gabriel looked up at his friend. "She is," he said, unable to think of something else to say.

"Like a little bird. I was afraid she would fly away any moment." Petr cocked his head questioningly. "Are you sure she does not mind we have lunch together?"

"What's the matter, Petr?" Gabriel said with a grin. "Afraid you finally met one woman oblivious to your charms?"

Petr barked out a laugh. "Nonsense. She and I will be great friends." His raised eyebrow was a challenge. "But do not worry, I will not charm her away from you."

Gabriel snorted. The phone in his hand buzzed again. Another message from Hayley.

They're making me try out everything. Help.

He frowned, then texted back: We have time. What's the problem?

I was just going to get a couple of things.

Get everything you want. Don't worry about it.

Why??

At Gabriel's sigh, Petr chuckled. "Is she buying too many things?" he said.

"Not exactly." Gabriel texted back: If you don't get everything you'll need, we're going to have to come back here.

What???

He smiled as he texted a reply: Yes. Or maybe I'll take you down the street where the other shops are.

Noooooooo

He had to stop himself from laughing.

"Ah, you are missing each other already," Petr said. At Gabriel's questioning look, he nodded toward the phone in Gabriel's hand.

"How do you know I'm texting her?" Gabriel said.

Petr chuckled. "That look on your face."

Gabriel shrugged. She was being funny, but it didn't mean anything. His friend had always been a ridiculous romantic.

Hayley texted again: Their bras are ridiculous.

Let me see.

He didn't realize exactly what he'd done until after he tapped the send button. Quickly, he typed out another message: I'm kidding, Hayley.

But before he could finish, her reply came back: Okay. Gimme a sec.

His eyebrows rose as he stared at his phone. Was she really going to send him a photo of her wearing underwear?

A photo appeared in their text conversation. This time, he couldn't hold back his laughter.

It was a selfie of a fully-clothed Hayley with a white bra wrapped around her head, the barely transluscent cups covering the upper half of her face. She was grinning.

I told you their bras were ridiculous.

I like ridiculous, he texted back. Do they have it in black?

Actually yeah they do.

I want to ask you to show me the panties but I'm afraid of where you'll put them.

Her reply was short:

😝

Two hours later, the chauffeur dropped half a dozen shopping bags full of boxes into the trunk of the car. A visibly exhausted Hayley turned to Gabriel and asked hopefully, "Are we done?"

"For now," Gabriel said. "Let's go get lunch."

After a two-minute drive down the street, the car dropped them off. The restaurant was on the second floor of the building which housed the Tiffany & Co. shop, and the entrance was above a staircase rising from the sidewalk. Hayley gave a start when Gabriel took her hand in his as they walked up the steps. "Relax," he said, stroking the back of her knuckles with a thumb. "I'm just holding your hand."

"Right," she said. Her smile was apologetic. "Sorry."

"Is this too uncomfortable for you?"

She swallowed nervously, then shook her head. "No. I'll get used to it."

They were seated at a table outside close to the entrance. She smiled at the wait staff who handed them the menu cards.

"Do you like this place?" he said, glancing down at the menu.

"I don't think I've been here before," she said.

When he looked up, he found her staring up the building. "What's wrong?" he said, following her gaze.

She grinned, and turned to him . "We're having lunch at Tiffany's."

He smiled back. "I could bring you here for breakfast, if you like."

"Would that be too tourist-y?"

He shrugged. "Who cares?"

"Okay."

"What would you like?"

"A salad?" She read the menu. "Wow these prices are... interesting."

"Don't look at them."

"But—"

"This restaurant was my idea, okay? I'm paying."

She narrowed her eyes. "So if I pick the restaurant, I get to pay for lunch?"

"No."

"I can pay for lunch you know."

"That's not the point."

She was about to reply, but paused as their server arrived with fresh bread and dip. "Are we ready to order?" the man asked.

"Give us a few more minutes," Gabriel said.

The server nodded. "Would you like some water while you decide?"

"Yes, thank you."

"House water for me, please," Hayley said. He was about to say he didn't mind paying for water, but she added, "Bottled water is terrible for the environment."

"Make that two," he said to the waiter.

"Look," she said after the man had gone back inside. "I'm not comfortable with having you pay for everything."

"I see," Gabriel said.

"How about we just split the check?"

His lips twisted in distaste. "Please, no."

She shrugged. "Well, what do you suggest? Rock, paper, scissors?"

He regarded her for a long moment, keeping his expression neutral. "Fine."

"What do you mean?"

He leaned back and held out both hands over the table, his right hand in a fist resting on his left hand held open palm up.

"Are you serious?" she said.

He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

She stared at him incredulously, but finally she held out her hands in the same manner, but with her left hand in a fist.

He held her gaze intently as they tapped their fists on their palms. He revealed paper, she had rock.

"I win," he said, grinning.

She stared at her hands. "Best of three?"

He flashed her a grin. "Fine."

Once again, she played rock. And once again, he played paper.

"Damn it," she muttered.

"Are we interrupting something?" said a female voice.

They both looked up to see Petr and Amandine, both of them staring down with curious expressions.

"Pierre-papier-ciseaux," Amandine said, one eyebrow cocked. "How fun."

Gabriel got to his feet. "Amandine, how are you?" He leaned forward and brushed each of his cheeks against hers.

"I'm good, cheri." She turned toward Hayley. "And you must be Gabriel's new lady love."

"Nice to meet you," Hayley said, holding out her hand.

Amandine shot Gabriel a quick look before shaking Hayley's hand. "Amandine," she said. "Very lovely to meet you."

There was an awkward moment before Hayley's eyes went wide. She shot to her feet, her hand still holding Amandine's. "Sorry. I mean, it's nice to meet you." She paused. "I just said that twice didn't I?"

Amandine gave her a small smile. "Don't worry about it."

"So," Petr said, after they had all settled in their seats. "You have lived long in Los Angeles, Hayley?"

"A few years," Hayley said. "I moved here after college."

"And where did you two meet?" Gently, he rested a large hand over Amandine's slim shoulder. "Amandine and I were introduced by a friend."

"It was a party." Her voice sounded faint, almost a whisper. And she wasn't meeting Petr's eyes.

Gabriel reached over and covered her hand that was resting on the table. When her eyes darted up to meet his, he smiled and gave her hand a small, encouraging squeeze. She hesitated for a long moment before returning his smile.

Like a little bird, Petr had said about her.

Gabriel wished she would relax. There was no way she could convince anyone at the party tonight that she and he were together if she didn't stop looking so nervous. That she had stopped getting startled at the touch of his hand was a minor miracle.

He wished they had more time for her to get into her role. At the very least, she should be able to answer questions about their relationship without shifting her gaze guiltily.

Luckily, Petr was used to dominating most of the conversations he found himself in. He had a large personality, and enjoyed putting people at ease. Amandine, on the other hand, gave him sly looks throughout lunch. The French woman was entirely too perceptive not to guess that something was amiss.

Of course, that was why Gabriel had arranged to run into her and Petr today. If she could somehow believe that Hayley and Gabriel were together, then Gabriel wouldn't have anything to worry about at his cousin's party.

What was he even thinking? Of course Hayley wouldn't pass Amandine's scrutiny. What's more, it looked like Hayley wouldn't fool anyone. Unless somehow she managed to find her footing in the hours they had before the party, which was doubtful.

Unless...

Taking a sip of his wine, he eyed Hayley, who was smiling as over her salad. Petr was regaling them with a story about his childhood. Amandine, of course, was rolling her eyes good-naturedly and shaking her head. She'd clearly already heard that story before.

Hayley's gaze found Gabriel's, and he had to school his features so as not to betray his inner thoughts. Tonight was going to be a disaster. Unless he did something, he would be surprised if she would be able to survive the party. Not with his cousin and their friends around, asking questions. Probing questions. Not to mention the judgment she would be subjected to. That he would be subjecting her to.

But that was the job she'd agreed to, wasn't it? She worked for a living, and she wasn't stupid. There was no reason she would think earning the money he had offered her would be easy. Still, knowing this did nothing to assuage the guilt he felt.

"You want to try some?"

He looked up to see Hayley gesturing at her seafood salad with her fork.

Belatedly, he realized his gaze had drifted to her plate as he ruminated over the impending disaster that was tonight's party. "Thank you, no," he said. "How's your salad?"

She nodded. "Pretty good."

"Good." He smiled. "You'll need your strength." At her raised eyebrow, he added, "We have a few more hours of shopping to do."

"Do we have to?" she said, wrinkling her nose. "I did bring a dress."

"Yup. Sorry."

She gave him an impish grin. "Rock paper scissors?"

"Eat your salad."

She rolled her eyes.

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Hope you enjoyed this episode, loves! Please don't forget to vote 🙏🏽

Next update will be on Wednesday, April 17. If you'd like to read ahead, episode 12 ("Late Expectations") is available now (just type the url below in your browser):

https://anselacorsino.com/rs

Enjoy!