Awe-Struck, Book 2 (6 page)

Gabe’s legs no longer able to hold them up collapsed underneath him. They landed in a heap on the floor, Gabe on his back to break Sunny’s fall. They lay on the floor for a few minutes to catch their breaths.

“Wow! I guess it was worth the wait.” Sunny breathed into his still clothed chest.

“Yes it was. Though, I never wanna go that long again. Hell, we were so desperate that we didn’t even take our clothes off. Not that you needed to, considering there is nothing to that dress of yours.” Gabe raised a black winged eyebrow when Sunny peeked at him from under her lashes.

“What? I bought it for you.” Sunny smiled innocently at him.

“Yeah, and it better stay that way. You are not allowed to wear that anywhere but here. You almost gave me a coronary when I walked around the corner. Just thinking about you standing there all sex-incarnate, makes me want to take you again on this floor.” Gabe growled and lifted her onto him.

She straddled his hips, laid her arms on his chest and rested her chin on top of her good arm. She stared into his eyes for a moment before saying anything.

“Do you realize that you have the most stunning blue eyes that I’ve ever seen? I mean…it’s quite ridiculous.” She smiled sweetly at him.

“Thanks. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but all you have to do is look at me the right way and those honey browns would get me to do anything.” He grinned back at her.

“Hmm…good to know. I’ll have to remember that. But for now, I made you a nice dinner to celebrate no more stitches and lots of wild rabbit sex.” Sunny stood up over him and extended her good hand to him to help him up. “So let’s get moving handsome, before the steaks dry out in the warmer.”

“I knew I smelled steaks. I love you.” Gabe said jokingly as he stood up, but meaning every word.

“Eh. You just love me for my cooking.” Sunny let the dress fall back into place as she walked over to the oven, and removed two plates filled with giant steaks, double-baked potatoes and grilled asparagus.

Gabe just stood there, once again speechless. There stood the most beautiful and sexy woman that he had ever met wrapped in a dress that barely concealed the body he craved on a daily basis, holding one of his all-time favorite meals. He didn’t know what he wanted to do first, make love to her until she couldn’t walk or devour the amazing meal she had made and then do the former anyway.

“How did you know that that was my favorite meal?”

“Really?! I had no idea. I just made something that I thought you’d like. Sweet, it’s usually you that instinctively knows things that I love.” Sunny radiated joy at the thought of making him happy.

“Well let’s eat before I jump your bones again for being so damn amazing.” Gabe said, smacking her ass firmly.

~~~

Sunny beamed at Gabe from across the kitchen table. She watched as he devoured his meal with gusto. He moaned and groaned at almost every other bite. She had never gotten such pleasure from cooking for a man, especially since her ex criticized every meal she’d made for him, to the point of her not wanting to cook for anyone ever again. It was nice to feel appreciated for once.

“What did you season the steaks with?” Gabe asked as he chewed the last bite.

“Oh, I just mixed a few things together and rubbed the mix into the steak and let it marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours. The key is rubbing.” Sunny gave Gabe a sassy smile.

“Hmm…rubbing huh? Well just for that ridiculously good meal, you deserve a little rub down yourself.” Gabe gazed at her slyly.

“Yes, please.”

“Okay, but before we do I need to talk to you about something.” Gabe broached nervously, putting Sunny on edge.

“Okay…”

“Well, through all of our drama with the media, the accident and the public’s response to us or mainly you; I thought that I could handle it on my own. That everything would die down after a while. But it hasn’t and it’s taken its toll on you, and I don’t like it.” Gabe frowned thoughtfully looking at her cast.

“So what do you propose?”

“Well I finally contacted my publicist, Kimberly Armstrong, who’s been trying to get in touch with me through all of this. And we brainstormed a little bit on the perfect avenues to take to curb the appetite of the media and public’s curiosity.”

“And what were those exactly?” Sunny asked apprehensively. She just knew it was going to involve something very public.

“Okay, so hear me out. I can tell you’re already ready to freak out.” Gabe looked at Sunny anxiously.

“I’m listening.”

“Okay. Well, we figured the best way would be to go on one of the numerous talk shows that are on T.V. One that reaches the most people, but at the same time one you’d feel comfortable being on. So we chose The Chat.” Gabe appeared to brace himself for Sunny’s reaction.

“Oh, ‘The Chat’.” Sunny said with mock levity. “Oh, just the most popular morning talk show ever, that’s been on for a billion years and that every housewife and stay-at-home mom watches every day.” Sunny sarcastically waved her good hand in the air, like it was all no big deal.

“Come on Sunny, don’t be like that. We have to do
something.
Hell, the majority of the country still thinks that I cheated on you and the rest think we have an ‘open’ relationship. Not to mention that you were almost killed because you practically got pushed out into on-coming traffic!” Gabe’s voice rose to a shout by the end of his tirade.

“Fine. But if I say something stupid or have a case of foot-in-mouth disease, it’s all on you.” Sunny sighed in resignation.

“You’ll do fine. Everyone will love you, just like normal. The world just needs a chance to get to know you, even as unfair as that sounds. I know our relationship is no one’s business, but unfortunately this is the world I’m involved in. A world I’m seriously thinking about giving up if things don’t get better.” Gabe said in complete seriousness.

“What?! Gabe, you can’t give up your life for me! That’s not what I want.” Sunny cried out.

“It was something I was thinking about even before I met you. Now it’s just for a different reason.” Gabe stood up and came to stand in front of Sunny’s seat. “And I have a mind to take you away and keep you to myself forever.” Gabe pulled her up and tipped up her chin to give her a firm kiss. “But until then, we have to do something about all this craziness, before I end up killing someone.”

“Okay, so when are we going on the show?” Sunny sighed heavily, finally completely giving in.

“So you’ll do it?!” Gabe asked obviously happy.

“Yes. You’ve been involved in this world for way longer than I have, so I figure you and your publicist know what you’re talking about. But I don’t have to like it.” Sunny pouted, folding her arms under her chest, emphasizing her breasts.

Gabe closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to get back the focus that Sunny’s nearly bare breasts took away. “I know getting on national T.V. scares you, but it’s for the best and the ladies on The Chat are fun and welcoming. I always have a great time when I’m on the show. And I talked to them and let them know that you’re a little camera shy, and they said that they’d be on their best behavior.”

“Okay, so you’ve sold me on it. I think I can handle it.” Sunny took a deep fortifying breath.

“Oh and there’s one more thing.” Gabe gave her a sheepish look before he finished. “Liz the conservative one and Emma the main host will be gone on that day. So they invited us to guest host with the other three; Winnie, Hope and Kerry. And it’ll be next Wednesday.”

Sunny’s mouth dropped open and her eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets. “Wait! What?! Do you mean to tell me that not only do we have to go on national television for an ‘interview’, but now we’re going to be
co-hosting with them for the full hour
live
show?! And four days from now? I think I’m gonna puke.” Sunny sat back down and laid her head on the table, overwhelmed.

“I know it’s overwhelming, but they want to have enough time with us to discuss everything. And the producers and both Kim and I think that the extra time would also give the country a chance to get to know you and see us together as a couple.” Gabe reached over and rubbed her back soothingly.

“Okay okay. When do we leave? And are they going to let us know in advance what we’ll be doing on the show?” Sunny sat up and rubbed her left hand down her face.

“Well the producers were waiting for me to call with the “go ahead” after talking it out with you. Then they’ll let us know about the subjects of the “Trending Topics” and the segments they plan to do. And we’ll fly to New York Monday night after I’m done shooting for the day. I figure we can spend a little time checking out the city
on Tuesday.”

“Alright. Go ahead and call them. I’d like to know what I’m getting myself into in advance.” Sunny continued to take deep calming breaths to soothe her nerves as Gabe made the call.

“Okay, so here’s the scoop.” Gabe said after getting off the phone. “For the “Trending Topics” portion of the show, we’ll be discussing the intrusive nature of the media on celebrities and cyber-bullying. Then they’ll do a regular interview with us; about our relationship and how we met, stuff like that and maybe my most recent movie if there’s time. And last they want to do a fashion segment. They noticed that when you’ve been caught on camera, you’re always well dressed and have great fashion sense. So they want to have a plus-sized runway segment, showcasing different outfits for different occasions. Though I don’t know why they call it plus-size, when it should be called perfect-size. But anyway, does all that sound okay to you?

“Yeah, I can work with that. It may even be fun, if I can get the bats to stop flapping around in my stomach.” Sunny said clutching her stomach.

“Here, come on. I know what will take your mind off of things. I have a little surprise for you.” Gabe grabbed Sunny’s hand and pulled her out of her seat.

“Oh boy, what now?”

“Well, when we unpacked your stuff and organized all your movies, I noticed something was missing.” Gabe smiled down at her.

“What could be missing? I have all of your movies.” Sunny winked at him.

“Oh, it’s not one of mine.” Gabe went around the corner into the den and came back a few moments later with a DVD case in his hand, that he held up to show Sunny the front.

“Oh my God!
Ghost
?! It’s one of my favorite movies, but I can never find it to buy! How did you know?” Sunny squealed in excitement, jumping up and down, giving Gabe quite a show in her revealing dress.

“First, you might want to stop bouncing around in that dress before I forget about the movie and take you to bed. And second, I know how much you love Patrick Swayze and you’ve mentioned a pottery wheel, yet I didn’t see the movie in your extensive collection. So I figured that was something you’d like to have.”

“You’re damn tootin’! Thank you so much Gabriel.” Sunny stood on her tiptoes to give him a soft kiss on the lips. “Now can we watch it?”

“I really shouldn’t fuel your infatuation with another man. God, I’m jealous of a deceased man. You make me total irrational.” Gabe said as he shook his head in amazement.

“Don’t worry; it’s just his dance moves that got me hooked. When I was seven, I might add. You’ve got my heart.” Sunny smiled happily walking towards the den.

“I’ll have you know that I’ve got talents you’ve never seen before.”

“I know you do, and I plan on experiencing every one of them later tonight. But for now, I want to watch some sexy pottery wheel action.”

~~~

The final strains of
Unchained Melod
y played as Molly said goodbye to Sam, when Gabe looked down at Sunny who was cuddled up on his chest. Tears were streaming down her face, as she was wrapped up in the bittersweet ending of the movie. And in that moment, Gabe knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman, if only just to watch her cry at sappy movies. He’d known way before that he wanted to live his life with her, but something about this moment solidified it for him.

He had no idea how he survived without her sweetness and joy before he met her. But whoever was responsible for bringing her into his life; he would be thankful to till the day he died. And to make sure she knew his intentions he started to devise a plan and made a mental note to start making some phone calls the next day.

“Do you know how adorable you are?” Gabe asked Sunny, as she wiped at her wet face in embarrassment.

“Don’t make fun. I can’t help it. It happens every time I watch this movie. Ugh…brutal!” Sunny moaned exasperated.

“I’m not making fun of you. I think it’s sweet how involved you get in movies, which works out for me since I act in them. Now, let’s go to bed so I can get
involved
with you.” Gabe said as he bit his bottom lip and nuzzled her soft fragrant neck.

“You are too much!” Sunny giggled.

Gabe sat up, forcing Sunny up as well. “Come on Sweet Girl.” He said as he stood up and began pulling her along behind him.

Once he got her to the bedroom, he walked her over to the bed and laid her down in the middle.