The next day on-set was a complete train wreck. I just couldn’t seem to focus and Malcolm got so annoyed at me missing lines or not doing the right thing that he kept yelling at me. Just after he’d shouted something particularly nasty at me, Faith grabbed my arm and dragged me off the set.

“I’m taking her for a coffee break.” The tone of her voice dared him to argue with her.

Malcolm seemed happy to see us go and I let Faith tug me to my trailer.

Inside, she guided me to the seat. “Sit.”

She turned away and took a sparkling water from the small fridge and handed it to me.

“Trouble with lover boy?” The question was gentle rather than flippant.

“What? No. Nothing like that.”

After Viktor had left, I’d felt so lost that Gabe had taken the initiative of running a bath for me. He was a complete gentleman. He laid out some spare clothes for me to sleep in—an old T-shirt that was clean but somehow still smelled of him. A bath had seemed like an indulgent idea because I’d thought there was no way I’d be able to relax, but to my surprise I’d almost fallen asleep. It turned out I was exhausted. When I’d gotten out, Gabe had led me to a guest bedroom but I told him I wanted to lie down on his bed instead. I just wanted to be close to him. The last thing I remembered was him asking me what time I needed to get up in the morning.

Faith sat down beside me. “Whatever’s going on, it can’t be good. If you don’t deal with it, I think Malcolm might fire you.”

I blinked, still lost in my thoughts about how sweet Gabe was. “Seriously?”

Faith grimaced. “That might be a bit extreme, but he’s reached new heights of asshole today due to your lack of focus.”

I swore under my breath and Faith raised an eyebrow. I didn’t usually cuss like her, but since yesterday it felt good.

“Talk to me,” she said.

With a deep sigh, I did my best to relay what had happened—leaving out the bit about telling the band that my brother was gay.

When I was done, Faith sat back. “Yeah, that ought to do it.”

“Sorry?”

“Your lack of focus.”

I smiled weakly. “Yeah.”

“So where are you going to live for the next couple of weeks?” she asked.

“Honestly, I’m still figuring that out.”

“Gabe seems happy to have you there.”

“He is.”

“But?”

I hadn’t meant to sound so uncertain about my situation. “But it’s not the way I would have liked to move in with my boyfriend. Plus, he’s going on tour soon.” Not to mention, we’d only just started going out and he was my first real boyfriend. I didn’t want to rush things or force us to take things too seriously before we were both ready.

“So stay with me until you decide what to do,” Faith said. “We’ll be in France filming soon so the last thing you need is to worry about finding a place before you go. Sort it out after we get back.”

I gaped at her. “You’d do that?”

“Sure. Why not? My place is plenty big enough and it’s not like we’ll be sharing a room. You don’t host crazy parties or anything, do you? Oh wait, that’s me.”

I giggled. It felt good to laugh a little. “Sounds fun.”

“It will be. Roomie.” Faith slung an arm around my shoulders and squeezed me.

It was so unlike Faith to show any sort of personal emotion or affection that I felt my eyes sting with tears. I’d really grown to treasure our friendship. We were so different—except we weren’t, according to Gabe—but we seemed to complement each other.

I sniffed and Faith pretended not to notice. “Are you sure?” I said.

“Do I look like the sort of person who makes offers she can’t keep?”

I smiled. A genuine smile this time. “No. And thank you.”

Faith let go of my shoulders and shrugged. Our moment of closeness was over. “Whatever. You’ll be happy to move out and find your own place when we get back from Europe because I’m such a total bitch.”

“I doubt that.”

“Anyway, we need to talk to Marc about getting you a bodyguard. Oh, and keep your loud animal sex to yourself and do it at Gabe’s place, alright? I don’t need to be reminded I’m single.”

She reached for my hand and pulled me to my feet. “Come on. We have a movie to film. And I’m really enjoying seeing Malcolm in a bad mood. It’s therapeutic.”

*

“SO, I’M GOING TO MOVE in with Faith for a while.” I looked at Gabe from beneath my lashes and let the mug of tea I was holding warm my fingers. He’d made it for me when we got back to his place after he’d picked me up from the studio.

It had been a long day of filming, but fortunately after my conversation with Faith I’d been able to pull myself together enough to get through the rest of the day without Malcolm strangling me. At least, I thought I’d pulled myself together. The sight of Gabe waiting by my trailer at eleven pm to drive me home had nearly undone me. What was it about his quiet confidence that continued to take my breath away? He hadn’t made a big deal about coming to pick me up and it seemed like it was the most natural thing in the world despite all that had happened recently.

In the kitchen, Gabe sat quietly for the longest time, his lip curled like something was amusing. That amusing thing had to be me, but there was tenderness in his eyes, too.

“So it’s you, not me, right?” he said, his lip curving some more.

“Huh?”

“You want to move in with Faith because you’re more comfortable there.”

“Oh, yeah, no, I didn’t mean that I’m not comfortable here, it’s just that I thought . . .” Oh God, what had I been thinking again? I couldn’t think when Gabe was looking at me like that.

He laughed softly. “Relax. I was joking. I think it’s great you’re going to be staying with Faith.”

“You don’t want me here?” I blurted, very nearly pouting.

He laughed louder this time and leaned in and took my hand. “Of course I want you here and I was happy to offer, but I think Faith makes sense for now.”

I wasn’t sure how to take that. While he sounded genuine in his offer, he also seemed happier than he should have been I was going to be staying with Faith.

He squeezed my hand, still smiling. “I’m so glad I’m not a woman. Stop overthinking it. No, I love having you here, but this is the first time you’ve lived out of home.”

“So what? I need to sow my wild oats or something?”

“No. Well, actually if you want to do that with me, that would be nice.” He shot me a disarming grin. “But Chloe, from what I’ve seen of your mother, your entire life has been stage-managed up until now. It will be great for you to have some space to figure out what you want now you’re not living there anymore.”

“No, it wasn’t, not really,” I rushed to reply, not particularly sure why I was trying to defend Mama. “It just made sense to live at the estate. You’ve seen the size of the place and it’s the only chance I get to see Damon, too.”

“I know, but didn’t you say your publicist is your mother’s publicist?” he asked gently.

I frowned and looked down at our hands linked together. “Yeah, she is.”

“And how do you feel about that?”

I met his eyes. An unexpected wave of gratitude washed over me, making me feel all choked up. “I don’t like it,” I admitted.

He shrugged. “Then do something about it.”

I continued to stare at him, close to tears.

“What?” he asked.

I sniffed. “You know, no one has ever asked me that before.”

“What? About whether you like your mom’s publicist?”

“No. About how I feel.” How had I never seen it before? I’d always been so busy running to the next engagement or film set or movie premiere that I’d never really stopped to appreciate how much my life had been determined by others, particularly my mother.

A shadow fell across Gabe’s gray eyes. “Then I think it’s time somebody does, don’t you?”

I nodded, feeling sad. “I do. Thank you.”

“And for what it’s worth, I’d have you here living with me in a heartbeat. But I don’t think that’s what you need right now, is it?”

“No,” I agreed. “Is it that obvious?”

“What?”

“That I don’t have a mind of my own.”

Gabe straightened in his seat, but didn’t let go of my hand. “That’s not what I meant at all. Chloe, you do have a mind of your own. A brilliant one. You just haven’t had the chance to choose how to apply it until now.”

What he said was so true that it scared me. The way my mother had encouraged me to accept certain movies or attend specific events. I’d always thought she was being helpful, that she was on my side. I was sure that’s what she told herself, but if that was the case, why had she never stopped to ask me what I wanted?

Gabe’s simple question also made me reflect on my growing relationship with him. It was strange, the way Gabe and I fit. How we saw each other for what we were. We also saw in each other what we had the potential to be, if we’d only give ourselves the chance.

“Hey.” Gabe squeezed my hand again. “Don’t be sad. This is an exciting time for you. You can start to make your own choices from now on. Trust me. It will be fun.”

Fun. He was right. If I was truly going to make choices for myself, then that needed to involve some pleasure, too.

“You’re right,” I said, feeling butterflies take flight in my stomach. I chose to ignore them because dammit, I knew what I wanted and I had no use for butterflies. “I choose you.”

Gabe smiled. “I’ve got no idea why, but I’m willing to go with that. I choose you, too.”

“No, you don’t understand. Make love to me, Gabe. I want you.”

Gabe’s smile vanished and he swallowed. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure, Gabriel da Silva. Please make love to me.”