The CEO's Favorite

Chapter Twenty Nine

My eyes flutter open and I let out a yawn, feeling tired although I just woke up. I realize I'm cuddling up to a pillow and I'm sore and that reminds me of the events of last night.

I sit up with a start. Shit. I had sex with Gabriel Hernsburg!

I remember falling asleep immediately after and I expect myself to be naked, but I'm not. I'm clad in Gabriel's white shirt; the only piece of clothing on me. I look around. His side of the bed is cold. Did he already leave? Did he even sleep here after we were done?

Standing up, I go to the bathroom and when I look at myself in the mirror, I gasp. My hair looks like a bird's nest, but that is expected because Gabriel had a thing for running his hand through my hair. What I wasn't expecting were the slight pink bruises on my neck. I didn't even realize when he was giving me love bites.

I quickly brush my teeth to get rid of my morning breath, put my hair down to cover my neck, and put on shorts. When I exit the bathroom, my eyes go straight to the digital clock on my nightstand. It's past ten already.

Fuck. Lucas must be up already and it's a miracle he didn't wake me up as well. And for breakfast? He'll just have to have cereal.

As I walk out of my room and into the living room, I expect to see Lucas on the couch, watching TV, or reading a book, but I stop in my tracks when I catch sight of a shirtless man in front of the stove whistling a tune as he cooked whatever the hell he was making.

Why did I even think he'd leave? Gabriel wasn't the hit-and-run type. I know that analogy is crazy, but you get what I mean. He doesn't seem like the type to leave a woman immediately after sex.

"You are such a cliche," I laugh, bringing his attention to me as I join him in the kitchen. He's even wearing gray sweatpants. Where the hell did he get sweatpants from? "The morning after sex breakfast? Really?"

He turns around, spatula in hand and he leans down to give me a short kiss. "Good morning to you too."

I guess it's a good thing I got rid of my morning breath before coming out then.

"What are you making?"

"What do you think?"

"Pancakes?"

He gives me a lopsided smile and I shake my head. Last night, I'd thought this morning would be awkward, but it feels natural. It feels like we have been doing this forever.

"Is Lucas up?" I ask, a bit confused because Saturdays are not usually this quiet.

"And well fed as well." He informs me. "But we have a problem."

A pit forms in my stomach, instantly thinking of the worst. "Did something happen to him?"

"No, he's fine." I'm still not assured. Well, I won't be until Gabriel tells me what this problem is. "Lucas saw us in bed together when he came to wake you up."

"Well, shit." I groan. There's no way he's going to believe we're just boss and employee after that. The boy is too smart for his age. "So what did you tell him?"

"Eh, nothing intense." Gabriel shrugs, flipping the pancake over. "Just that I'm in love with his mother and would like to make her my wife one day."

"I'm sorry, what?"

Gabriel chuckles, but nothing is amusing at the moment and doesn't say anything else until he removes the last pancake from the pan, serving it to me with bacon on the side and the bottle of syrup.

Meanwhile, my head is turning from what I just heard. Did he really tell Lucas that? If he did, did he mean it? I narrow my eyes at Gabriel for making me wait, but I'm not sure I'm ready to hear the answer.

"Chill, I didn't tell him that," he says, planting himself on the stool opposite mine by the aisle, watching me for my reaction.

I can't even eat and there are two sides to my reaction; relief because giving Lucas that kind of information is giving him too much information, and disappointment because for some reason, I wanted him to mean what he said.

"That doesn't mean I don't mean it though."

I can barely get the food in my mouth. "You want to marry me?"

He sucks air through his teeth. "Well, when you put it like that... Let's forget I said anything about marrying you, but yeah, I do love you, and I'd like to be with you."

I blush, but it's not just my face that's red. My whole damn body is. "Really?" I ask with a grin.

"How don't you see it?" Well, the signs were there. I just didn't want to read too much into it and end up disappointed. "I've liked you since the first day we met, Aria, but I didn't want to come on too strong. Well, maybe, I am right now, but it's been over three months. That's enough time to fall in love with someone and not be tagged too soon."

"How long have you been in love with me though?" I ask cheekily.

"Maybe one, two months. Not so sure."

I giggle, not believing it. He said something about going on a date yesterday and today, he's professing his love to me. It's crazy. Not to forget the fact that he is my boss. Is this a risk I'm willing to take? I can't imagine the kind of attention that comes with dating him, especially as his employee.

"It's totally fine if you don't feel the same way. I'm satisfied with the fact that you like me. As for love? You'll get there soon."

He's right. I don't know if I can say I love him yet. I don't know if I love him yet, which is why I move forward with, "Who says I like you?"

He eyes me up and down pointedly and I realize I'm still in his shirt from last night. "I don't think you want me to answer that question."

"What if I'm just a gold digger that wants all your money?"

"Then, you wouldn't get Lucas involved."

Once again, he's right and I have nothing to refute his statement with. If I didn't like Gabriel as much as I did, I would never let him meet Lucas, nor will I let them become as close as they are right now.

"I'm here to stay, Aria. Really." He admits, cutting a piece of the pancake he made, and feeding me. "I'm here to stay if only you'd let me."

I'm supposed to answer, but I get lost staring into his beautiful eyes. Gabriel amazes me. It's rare to find someone like him and I'm lucky to have run into him that day at the bar. He's the kind of person you meet once in a long time. Letting go of him would be a loss on my part and he doesn't even know it. He has such a good heart.

"Have I told you that I love you?" He adds slyly and I can't help but laugh.

"You're amazing, you know that right?" I tell him because I want him to know. He doesn't deserve whatever trauma he's still facing from his past. He doesn't deserve his father throwing his past in his face and he definitely doesn't deserve him trying to ruin his present.

For the first time in my life, I see a tint of red on Gabriel's cheeks. "You're amazing too, but can we be amazing together?"

I smile. I'm about to answer yes when we hear a clearing of the throat that makes us jump. I totally forgot Lucas was in the same house as us. "So what? Are you guys dating now?"

I glance at Gabriel and shrug before turning back to my son. "What if we are?"