“Show me. Please. Before I lose my shit and decide I made a terrible mistake and I should probably never go near him again, which ... sounds like a really awful option right now.”
Monroe’s eyes go wide. “Oh shit. You’re into this guy. Like, for real.”
“Of course she is,” Kelsey says, plopping down on the leather couch beside me. “Did you see the way he moved? If she doesn’t go for it with him, she’s going to break my fucking heart.” She takes one hand in mine and squeezes. “Honey, you’re not just doing this for you. Although we know that you really, really need this, you’re doing this for all womankind. It will be a tragedy if you don’t grab whatever invitation he just threw at you, hold on tight, and enjoy the ride. He’s not just a man. He is alegend.”
Kelsey’s grip tightens on mine until I find myself nodding. “Really? You think I should?”
Harlow slides in on my other side and hands me the phone, which is cued up with the video. “No one say a word until we watch this. Then, we discuss.”
Monroe slips behind the couch to watch over our shoulders, and I tap the screen to play it.
At first it’s dark, then the strobes light us up. I see myself in red, a color that I love but don’t wear enough because of its boldness, and I look ...vibrant.
Then there’s Legend. His dark blond hair is slicked back against his head, and he’s all in black—black shirt, black slacks—and completely devastating. My body moves with his, following his lead and letting him guide me through the rhythm.
It’s seamless. Effortless. And then we both pause. I can hear his voice in my head.
“Hold on.”
My palms go sweaty as I witness him spin me down one arm and then back the other way. Like something out of a romantic movie where the hero is pulling out all the stops to impress the heroine. But that’s not what this is. It’s my life. And watching it replay before me is absolutely surreal.
He pulls me back against him, and for a second, there’s this expression on his face. For the first time, he appears ... content.
He glances up and spies something outside the frame of the camera, and then the expression disappears in an instant. It was so fleeting, that I might never have known what Gabriel Legend looks like when he’s happy.
Part of me wishes I never saw that look.
Another part tells me to forget it and move on. Embrace the moment, be grateful for what it was, but don’t expect ever to feel that kind of magic again.
But then there’s the rest of me—the dreamer who believes all things are possible if you’re willing to work for them—and she can’t unsee that pleasure on his face. She can’t forget what it felt like to be in Gabriel’s arms.
“You guys—” I swallow, afraid of what I’m about to say next because it might change the course of the rest of my life.
“What?” Monroe asks. “Is something wrong?”
“No. But I think Kelsey is right.”
Kelsey straightens beside me. “Wait. What am I right about?”
I rise with the phone still in my hand and turn to face my three friends. “Whatever happened on the dance floor down there? I want it to happen again. With him.”
“What are you saying, Scar?” Monroe asks.
I lose the hesitation and lift my chin as a smile stretches my lips. “I want Gabriel Legend.”
Thirty-Three
Legend
Ishould be relieved Q pulled me away from the floor, because I shouldn’t have been out there in the first place. But I was. And not just with anyone. Withher.
Jesus. I let my guard down. Let her in. How the fuck could I be so goddamn reckless?
I know my rules. I follow them for a reason. But Scarlett makes it all too easy to throw them out the goddamned window whenever she’s around.And I fucking loved every minute of it, no matter how much I’ll beat myself up for it.
I can still feel her as I follow Q’s retreating form into the shadows where he can tell me why the hell he needs me. I can still smell the scent of her on my skin. I can still feel the smooth skin of her palm gripping mine as I pulled out my old standby move.
What was I thinking?