AUTHORS POV
SYDNEY TIED HER HAIR into a ponytail and left some strands to fall by the sides. She plugged in her coiling iron and coiled the strands falling by the sides.
She applied light makeup and put a considerable distance between herself and the mirror so she could take in her appearance.
A flicker of sadness engulfed her heart seeing herself. She looked young and happy in the blue dress. Did she have any right to be happy? Wasn’t she meant to be grieving over her broken marriage instead of dressing like a carefree college girl?
Did she deserve to look beautiful?
Her heart began to pace and she clutched her chest. No matter how much she denied it, Gabriel did make her happy and he made her forget she was supposed to be crying 24/7 over Gavin.
She hated the way he made her feel. She was scared of letting go of Gavin so easily. They had spent more than a decade together, so she should grieve for more than a year!
Sydney closed her eyes and shook off the thoughts.
” I deserve to be happy.” She opened her eyes, her face rigid as she looked at herself in the mirror. ” You deserve to be happy, Sydney.”
Just when she was buckling up her confidence belt, Gavin entered the room, his expression unreadable. His gaze scanned her dress, and his eyes darkened, making her heart race. She stood firm, despite her nerves.
“Where are you headed?” Gavin asked gruffly, his tone implying she had no right to leave.
Sydney brushed off his question. “What are you doing in my room, Gavin? And why didn’t you knock?”
Gavin sneered, taking a step closer, his gaze lingering on her body before locking onto hers. “I own this house, Sydney. I don’t need permission to enter any room.”
Sydney’s confidence wavered, but she refused to back down. “In case you’ve forgotten, I have an equal share of this house, so I can take any room in this house as mine and you have no right entering it without my consent. Sydney said guardedly.
Gavin’s brows narrowed at her. He cursed himself silently for finding her newfound confidence attractive.
” What got into you Sydney? Did Mr. Whatever his name is fed you some a**hole peel?”
” Why are you suddenly so obsessed with him?”
Gavin looked away and shot back a question. ” Don’t tell me you are going out with him.”
” Fine, I wouldn’t tell you, Gavin; get out of my room, and don’t you ever enter without knocking.”
Gavin’s face twisted in a scowl. “I’ll enter whenever I please, Sydney. You’re not the only one with rights here.”
Did he just come into the room to get her angry or make her realize she didn’t have any right to be happy? Well, whatever it was, she’d prove to him that she could be happy, and he’d have nothing to do with it.
She glared at him, picked up her bag, walked to him, and stared straight into his dark eyes; her nose almost touching his.
“Stay if you want, but don’t expect me to cower. And don’t think about going through my things.” She smirked when she noticed a hint of red on his face. ” I know she didn’t satisfy you as much as I do.”
Maybe she was right.
Gavin sucked a breath and said in a low voice, ” Don’t go to him.”
Sydney moved away before he could notice her expression dropped. She gathered up her wits and looked at him, ” Watch me.”
She walked out of the room to see Avery who had been eavesdropping by the door.
Avery’s lips curled mockingly, ” Who’s the prostitute now?”
Sydney didn’t hold her mouth. ” You forget you aren’t looking in a mirror.”
Sydney walked away before Avery could defend herself. A smile played on her lips as she walked to the door. Maybe she should try being confident more often.
Thunder rumbled as Sydney opened the front door to see Sofia. Her jaws nearly hit the ground just seeing her. She was surprised Sofia took her advice to dress s**y; she looked absolutely stunning in the white crop top and black high-waisted skirt with a black denim jacket.
Sofia was blushing in embarrassment when she said, ” You look gorgeous Sydney.”
Sydney chuckled, ” Not as much as you. You look bada** s**y Sofia.”
” Oh, that’s a lot of words, but thank you.”
Sydney and Sofia got into the Mercedes before it began to rain. The night was ineffably beautiful as the rain fell.
Sydney glanced at Sofia and saw her smiling while fiddling with the hem of her jacket.
” Are you okay Sofia?”
Sofia nodded nervously, ” I’m fine, it’s just I haven’t been out this late at night before… Well, for something that isn’t work-related- Are you sure Mr. Patel’s son is going to be there?”
Sydney had called her again just to make sure she came. Sofia asked where they were going too, and she was shocked, speechless to find out they were going out with Alfred’s son.
Sydney chuckled unbelievably. So she was nervous because of Blake, and she hadn’t even met him yet?
” Yes, Sofia, and calm down; he doesn’t seem like a perfectionist like his father.” Considering everything Gabriel had said about him.
Sofia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said shyly, ” What if he doesn’t like me- I mean, I’ve heard a lot of rumors about him, are you sure he’d be happy with you bringing someone like me?”
From the farfetched rumors Sofia had heard from her colleagues, she reckoned Blake must be a man who preferred women with high standards, confidence, and class. She didn’t have any of that. All she had was a crush on him. She’d fantasized a lot about him and never imagined she was going to meet him in reality.
Sydney gave her a sympathetic look. ” Don’t say that; you are a beautiful and sweet girl; what he thinks doesn’t matter.”
If she didn’t have a huge crush on him or if he wasn’t Alfred’s son, she wouldn’t be so nervous.
______________________
Sydney pulled over in front of the karaoke venue. To her surprise, it wasn’t as fancy as she’d expected. She was happy there were no fancy blinding lights or obnoxious rich ladies wearing heavy dresses gossiping about her. It was exactly what she needed to relax.
The branch fell far from the tree after all. Gabriel and Blake must share the same taste.
” Come on, let’s go in. ” Sydney grabbed Sofia’s hand and dragged her into the building.
There was a large bar inside, the chairs were arranged to the left while a stage with a karaoke machine stood by the right next to the bar. There was a lady on the stage singing late 1950s ‘Put your head on my shoulder.’
Sofia rubbed her hands in apprehension, her eyes rummaging the place as she asked skeptically, ” Are you sure Alfred’s son would be in a place like this.” She grimaced at the man drenched in alcohol that winked at her.
Sydney’s eyes scanned the room until she saw Gabriel who was waving for her to come. She smiled and nudged Sofia, ” Yes, come on.”
They walked to where Gabriel and Gil sat. Gabriel wore black pants with a white shirt and a multi-colored suede jacket, while Blake wore a single-breasted gray blazer, white shirt, striped tie, and narrow gray trousers.
Gil got up to acknowledge Sydney and her pretty guest.
He wore a handsome smile as he stretched his hand out in regard, ” Nice to meet you again Sydney Reed.”
” Same here.” Sydney shook his hands.
Gil felt a blue set of eyes staring at him and when he looked at Sofia, she quickly looked away. His face lit up in amusement as he stared at Sofia with piercing eyes. He withheld himself from shamelessly ogling her body.
Sydney noticed the tension between Gil and Sofia and interceded abruptly, ” Um, Blake, this is Sofia. She works as a sales rep in your dad’s company.”
Gil’s eyebrow tipped as he smiled at Sofia flirtatiously. ” Pretty and Independent, isn’t that attractive?”
Sofia flushed.
Gil stretched his hand to Sofia who had her head bowed. ” I’m Blake Patel, you can call me Blake or… anything you’d prefer.”
Sofia shyly accepted his handshake. Her cold hand instantly turned warm in his and she felt a wave pass through her head.
She didn’t realize her mouth was hanging open as she raised her head to meet Gil’s gaze, ” I’m- I um… I’ll call you Blake. Nice to… Er- Nice to finally see you.”
Finally? So she was anticipating? Gil’s thumb caressed her fingers before pulling away and sitting down next to Gabriel.
Sofia was stuck in a trance to realize everyone had taken a seat.
Sydney called her back to reality, ” Sofia, have a seat.”
Sofia flinched before fiddling into the seat next to Sydney and in front of Gil. Damn it!
“So, you’re a fan of karaoke?” Sydney began the conversation.
” Yes, Gabriel and I used to come here a lot while growing up.” His eyes were on Sydney as he wore a mirthful smirk but Sofia could feel his attention on her. How was he even doing that?
Sydney looked at Gabriel with interest, ” You sing?”
” Terribly, I’m a rusty singer. I mix soprano with alto and tenor with bass.” Gabriel replied with a cocky smile.
Gil scoffed, ” He’s saying flimflam. He sings like an angel.”
” Don’t exaggerate, I’m not that blessed.” Gabriel rebuked.
A station waiter came to take their order. Gabriel was surprised when Sydney ordered a drink, he’d thought she was sober. Since Sofia couldn’t hear the station waiter asking for her order, Gil asked her instead in a low voice she started to despise.
His compelling eyes urged her to say yes and she didn’t realize when she found herself nodding. Gil gave her a ‘good girl’ smile, and she couldn’t help but smile back.
” So, you said you’ve known each other since you were young, so you had traveled a lot with Gabriel?” Sydney asked.
Gil clarified. ” Not quite; I was born in Britain; I met Gabriel in Elementary school. However, my parents and I moved to America when I was eleven. Gabriel and I rekindled in college, and I’ve voyaged with him ever since.”
Sydney and Blake discussed family, business, and other things; Gabriel chirped in, often leaving Sofia to feel out of place.
The station waiter arrived and served the order. Sofia watched, tediously as Gil conversed with Sydney. Her hand reached for the alcohol as she scrutinized Gil’s charming face.
She watched as his lips moved while he talked and felt hot all inside. How could one human being be incredibly s**y just from talking? Sofia bit her bottom lip trying to quell her lust.
When his head began to turn towards her, she quickly placed the glass to her lips and drank the alcohol in one gulp.
Sydney gaped at her. ” Are you okay Sofia? You are all red.”
” Um… It’s… everywhere is hot.” She mentally slapped herself. It was raining out there, and a cold wind blew into the club, making it chilly everywhere.
Gil did nothing to stop her apprehension. ” Everywhere?”
Oh boy! Sofia blamed the R-rated movies she had been watching for making her feel so petty. She reached out to refill her glass but Gil held her hand.
He slid his bottle of tequila to her, ” Have mine; it will cool you down, maybe not everywhere, but at least some places.”
He drew back and she released a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Okay, she wasn’t going to get out of here without dying of insufficient oxygen if he didn’t stop staring at her like that.