“Here.” He shook her coat open and held it out.
No man had ever held out her coat. What was she supposed to do with her arms? Moving slowly, she raised one arm then the other… and he slipped it on as effortlessly as if he did this every day for her, his fingers brushing her shoulders before he reached into the closet for his own coat. She’d hunted it up earlier that day, along with his suit jacket. Whichever suit he wore, the jacket never stayed on during the day, but he needed it unwrinkled for meetings.
Leaving the jacket in there, he shrugged into his coat as she picked up her purse. She wasn’t surprised when he walked into his office and returned with a black briefcase—Charlotte wasn’t sure the man ever stopped working. Except, of course, when he took home the women who received red roses the next day.
Hand tightening on the strap of her handbag, she nodded when he said, “Ready?”
The elevator felt tiny with him in it, his sheer presence taking it over. She wasn’t sure she’d survive the drive to her house—she’d been in the car with him before, but tonight, with the night enclosing them in a dark cocoon, everything felt different, felt strangely intimate.
Red-rose women, she reminded herself before she could get too stupid. Unless you plan to grow a foot and magically sprout bigger breasts, there’s zero risk of him actually having any interest in you.
The thought made her eyes narrow as they stepped out into the cavernous underground garage and Gabriel led her to the gleaming black all-wheel drive parked in the CEO’s spot. A crouching beast of an SUV that meant Charlotte always had to use the step at the side to get into the passenger seat, it wasn’t the usual CEO-type car, but he probably wasn’t comfortable in a smaller car. This one suited him.
It probably suited his leggy dates as well.
Stop it, Charlotte, she ordered herself.
“Ms. Baird.” A penetrating glance as he unlocked the car with a remote and opened the passenger-side door. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” She gasped as he gripped her by the waist and hitched her into her seat.
“You sure?” he asked, hands still on her and expression incisive.
She nodded, sucking in a rushed breath when he finally released her and shut the door. Then he was in the driver’s seat, handling the large vehicle with ease as they left the garage. Using the controls on the steering wheel, he turned on the radio, jazz pouring out of the speakers at a soft volume. “You okay with jazz?”
“I haven’t listened to it much,” she admitted, “but I like this sound.” Smoky and sensual and slightly cynical.
“There’s a small club up north that has the occasional jazz musician play a live set,” he told her, turning left to go up a hilly street. “I’ll take you sometime.”
Guessing he was simply making conversation, she said, “I’ve never really seen live music. Molly says it’s amazing.”
Gabriel shifted gears, the car smooth as a cloud on the city streets. “Do you plan to visit her?”
“If my boss ever permits me a vacation.”
That boss grinned. “I just can’t live without you, Ms. Baird.”
Not wanting to think too hard about the way her stomach fluttered at those playful words, she said, “How about you? Do you have a best friend?”
“My brothers and I are all close, and I have a few mates who might as well be blood. We met playing rugby in high school.”
“Do you miss it?” she asked softly. “Playing professional rugby?” Charlotte would’ve never brought up the subject if she’d thought it would make him sad, but he still seemed to find pleasure in the game.
Two weeks ago, he’d called her into the office to show her a replay of his brother Daniel’s maiden test try, his pride in the twenty-one-year-old apparent. Then there was his coaching, and the fact he sometimes mentioned staying up late or waking predawn to catch the live feed of an international match.
“No,” he said now. “Not saying it didn’t hurt like a bitch when I realized I’d never play again for my country. I was twenty-five and my body refused to heal right. It didn’t matter what I did, I couldn’t control it.”
That would’ve been intensely frustrating for a man like Gabriel, used to being the master of his own destiny. “How did you end up in business?”
“My parents always drummed it into my skull that playing sports was a career with a limited lifespan. Unless I wanted to go into professional coaching or sports commentary afterward, I sure as hell better have a backup plan.”
“Wow, this is some backup plan.” Gabriel owned the boardroom.