Women don’t turn my head like this. I’ve long since given up on finding the right person who would be a good match for me. I’m not interested in someone who just wants money or power from being by my side. Almost all of the women who ever try to get close to me are so transparent that it makes me sick. I know what they want, and it’s not my sparkling wit or the chance to curl up next to me in sweatpants on a rainy afternoon. They want the glamor, the lifestyle, the things I can provide for them.
Maybe that’s why I didn’t even bat an eyelash at taking Gabby to an expensive restaurant and ordering everything. Because she didn’t ask. Didn’t expect it. She just thought it would be dinner with her dad’s best friend, a simple meal to welcome her to my country.
And that’s where the problem lies.
Of course, she wouldn’t be clingy and annoying like all the others – she doesn’t see me that way. I’m sure she doesn’t. She’s too innocent, too young. Probably just thinks I’m too old for her, more to the point.
I could change that. Just one night with her, and I could make her see me the way I am. The right man for her. That’s all it would take, and I know she would fall into my arms the way she’s meant to.
But that fierce determination I feel only has me coming back to that same question: why is it that Gabby makes me feel this way? Makes me want to claim her so badly?
She must be special. The only woman like her in the whole world. Maybe that’s why she’s the only one for me, my perfect match. Fate has brought us together so we would be in the right place at the right time, and now all we have to do is take that leap into the dance that will bring us together for good.
Except I just said goodnight to her and walked away instead of making a move, and I didn’t even get her phone number.
Damnit. How can I be so smooth when it comes to matters of business, and yet forget a thing like that?
I find myself pacing up and down across the floor, thinking. I could easily contact her. It’s not like I don’t know her father, after all. That’s all it would take – I could just text him or call him and ask what her number is. I could even come up with some excuse as to why I need it – pretend that I was supposed to give her some materials on my alma mater or so on. But it feels wrong. Not only would I be betraying his trust by lying to him, but it’s also… I don’t know. Juvenile. Calling up a girl’s father to ask for her number. Like I’m still a kid, myself.
Most of all, I don’t want to remind her that the only way we know each other is through her dad. No, she needs to see me as myself, a separate entity. Only then will she be open to anything I might suggest.
And I will suggest it. Good god, will I. I just need to find her first.
I know where she’s going to be this week, the colleges. It probably won’t be hard to track her down. I don’t know what time her tour starts tomorrow or where the meeting point is, but it shouldn’t be difficult to find her. And if it is, I know a person or two on the staff still who might be able to get me the details.
I’m not letting her get away.
Tomorrow, I find Gabby – and I make her mine. And this time, nothing is going to stop me.
Chapter Eleven
Gabby
I take a deep breath, staring at the phone in front of me. Am I really going to do this?
After a hot, long, and restless night, in which I kept waking from dreams of Oz, I woke early knowing exactly what I needed to do. After making sure I was ready for my tour with plenty of time to spare, I sat down on the end of the bed and started searching on my cell phone. Searching for Oz’s name.
I quickly found his company page, and although there were no direct contact details, I did manage to find his company’s reception number. I called into the office and asked to speak with him, hoping he would be at his desk, but he wasn’t. They said he’d taken the day off, which made me nervous.
Firstly, because I had no other way to contact him than this. Or ask my dad for his number, which seemed like a completely cringe worthy way to go about it. The last thing I want is for my dad to catch on that I have the hots for him – or for Oz to be reminded that I’m just his best friend’s daughter.