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"Being driven around by a beautiful woman," I said. "After she chooses some shoes."
"I'll pick something, but then I'm taking you somewhere fun," she said.
"You're not making me go skydiving are you?" I grimaced.
"Scared?" she asked.
"Of jumping out of a perfectly good plane? Of course I am. Any sensible person would be." That was the sort of thing my brother would do, not me.
"I'm not taking you skydiving," she said. "Trust me, you'll have a blast."
"The last time someone said trust me, I woke up on a beach somewhere," I said. "That was also the last time I drank tequila."
She grinned. "That sounds like one hell of a story."
I shrugged. "It probably is; I don't remember the details. I'd suggest you ask my brother, but I doubt he remembers either. On the upside, I didn't end up married to a stranger."
Lexie laughed. "This will be a lot more fun, I promise."
I hoped those weren't famous last words.
CHAPTER 5
LEXIE
Imanaged to convince Gabriel to sit beside me while we drove out of the city to a small town about half an hour away. We chatted about nothing in particular the whole way there.
Correction, I chatted about nothing in particular, he listened. Every so often, he said something that made me crack up laughing, but mostly he was serious.
I'd assumed he was all about work, but the more I saw of him, the more I realised he was just reserved. How much of that was because of his overbearing mother, and how much was because he wasn't naturally outgoing?
From what I saw of her, she seemed like the kind of person who demanded that everything go her way, with no regard for the feelings of anyone else. Not even her sons.
"How did Tom end up a rock star?" I asked. "I mean, from what you said about your mother, I can't imagine her approving of something like that."
Gabriel glanced over and snorted softly. "She didn't. She was mortified, but he's always gotten away with more than I ever did. The curse of being the oldest, I suppose. I was expected to do all the right things while he was off rebelling. He was never going to let her tell him what to do."
"If you could have done anything you wanted to, what would you do?" I asked. "Let me guess, you would have been a clown at kids’ parties."
He shuddered. "I can't begin to tell you what's wrong with that assumption. Kids and clowns. I'd rather jump out of a plane. No, I would have done what I'm doing. I like what I do. When my father retires, I'll be CEO of Ellison Enterprises."
I glanced over. "That's really what you want? Working twenty-four hours a day running an empire?"
"Still better than being a clown," he said. "I'm good at what I do."
"Making money?" I asked. "Is that personally fulfilling?"
"It has its moments," he said. "Being able to donate millions to charities is fulfilling. Being in a position to encourage people to be more green is fulfilling. In the last few years, we've invested a lot in renewable resources and sustainability. If I had my way, every roof would have solar panels, gardens, water tanks and wind turbines."
"You want to change the world." I had to admit, that was hot. "You don't want to go to space?"
"Not particularly," he said. "Not while there are people in need. So, you see, I have fun."
It was my turn to snort. "All of that is amazing, and the world appreciates it, but what do you do to relax and unwind? What kind of hobbies does Gabriel Ellison have?"
"Call me Gabe, and I don't have any hobbies," he said. "I'm too busy."
"I'm shocked," I said sarcastically. "You don't even knit?"
