“Good,” Gabe said.
My head popped up.
Gabe shrugged. “He seemed like a jerk.”
“He had his moments,” I said.
I didn’t know why I felt I needed to defend Jeremy when all I’d done recently was defend myself to him.
“Sure,” Gabe said.
Weirdly, it didn’t make me feel better that Gabe Parker thought my ex-boyfriend was a jerk. After all, Jeremy had broken up with me. So what did that say about me that I dated and got dumped by a jerk?
Probably that I was pathetic and na?ve.
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.
Who did Gabe think he was, judging my relationships?
“What about you and Jacinda?” I asked, knowing that everyone and their mother had been trying to get confirmation that they were dating.
Gabe might have been the unexpected choice for Bond, but no one had blinked an eye when Jacinda Lockwood had been announced as his leading lady. The British-born model was elegant, glamorous, and pursuing an acting career. Though the press hadn’t been surprised, they had definitely been snarky, declaring her “overly ambitious.”
“Jacinda and I are just friends,” Gabe said too quickly and flatly to be even remotely believable.
“Sure,” I said, and took a bite of a cold fry. We both knew he wasn’t being entirely truthful.
I didn’t get it. If Gabe and Jacinda were dating, why keep it a secret? There was nothing the tabloids loved more than two beautiful people sleeping together. Even if they were both single.
If I could get confirmation of their relationship or some quote acknowledging that they’d been more than just friendly, then that could make the article. It wouldn’t be special but it would have something new, at least. It would make people read. It would probably get me another job.
“She’s a friend,” Gabe said.
I tried to remember all the times I’d been photographed with a friend’s hand resting on my ass while we stumbled out of a bar in Paris. I’d also never wound my arms around a friend’s neck, pressing my face against his cheek. Nor had I ever nibbled a friend’s earlobe while sliding my hand into his shirt.
All of a sudden, I wasn’t sure if I really wanted Gabe to confirm that he’d slept with her.
Still, I had to try. For the article.
“A very good friend, I’ve heard.”
Unfortunately for me, Gabe was saved by Madison’s impeccable timing and an extra glass of water he hadn’t ordered. He finished his beer and drank the water in one long gulp.
The puppy had fallen asleep under the table—I could see her through the glass tabletop. She’d rolled around a few times, trying to get comfortable, finally resting her chin on the top of Gabe’s right foot.
“Is she going with you to set?” I asked.
“Considering she’s in the movie, yes, she’ll be going with me to set,” Gabe said.
It took a moment before I realized that he thought I was still talking about Jacinda.
I pointed through the table. “I meant your dog,” I said.
He looked down, and his whole body, his whole face, relaxed.
“Yeah,” he said. “She’s going to be coming with me.”
“Is that why you got her?” I asked. “I’ve heard it can get pretty lonely, being on set, away from family and friends for months.”
“That’s part of it,” he said.
He stared down at his empty water glass as if it might refill itself.
I knew an opening when I saw it. “What’s the other part?” I asked.
He picked the puppy up and set her on his lap. She was still snoozing, with her head cradled in Gabe’s arm, her nose tucked into his elbow.
“I have this list,” he said. “Of things I’d do if I became successful. Getting a dog was one of them.”
He looked at me expectantly.
I looked back.
Because I’d heard about his list. Everyone had heard about his list. Every time he did an interview and it mentioned some new development in his life, it was usually connected back to the list. The seemingly endless list of Things Gabe Parker Will Do When He’s Successful.
The bookshop, of course, was always mentioned in this context.
There were all the trips he’d taken with his family—to Hawaii, to Bali, to Cape Town, to Paris （where everyone thought Momma Parker might have gotten a formal introduction to Jacinda Lockwood herself）。
He’d bought his mom and sister cars. He’d put together a college fund for his niece.
I didn’t doubt that he had done all those things, but I also knew that it was very, very good publicity to talk about them. Personal, but not personal.