Saturday — December 22

Angela squinted her eyes when she felt Gael nuzzling against her cheek, his nose and lips grazing her skin.

"Your phone is buzzing," he whispered.

She looked over to her nightstand, and sure enough, her phone's screen was blinking. "Who is calling this early? Ugh…"

Reaching for her phone, she answered it when she saw that it was her best friend, Nina. "Ninz."

"Aaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

Angela extended her phone away and winced from Nina's high-pitched screeching. What the hell was this woman doing in the morning? She felt like her ears were about to bleed! "What the hell, Antonina, are you trying to make me—"

"Angie!!! Oh, my god! How are you not freaking out? Your story is here!!!"

She glanced at Gael who was now lying sideways facing her and playing with her hair while waiting for her to finish the morning disturbance. "What? What are you talking about?"

Nina took a deep breath, and the next words that came out of her mouth were spoken so fast that Angela barely understood. "Chasing Summer! It's already out in Love Tales! Didn't you receive my text? Oh, my goodness, Anj! I'm just on the character selection part, and I'm already screaming. Why aren't you screaming?"

Angela shot up into a sitting position, her eyes bugging out in shock from what she heard. Samantha told her they would launch it very soon, but she didn't think they would do it today. She thought they would inform her first, so this was a surprise. Her jaw dropped, and she was unable to formulate words. Gael had sat up next to her, confusion and worry lacing his face. He asked something, but her mind was just miles away at this moment.

"You're kidding," was all she could mutter.

"Why would I kid? Go and check it out! Hurry!" ordered Nina.

Without any more delay, Angela held her phone up to her face and opened the Love Tales application. Her fingers weren't fast enough, and her heart pounded in her chest from too much anticipation. "Come on, come on, come on!"

And there it was—the animated cover of her book was on the start-up page of the application with her pen name written in a beautiful bold font. She tapped on it, and she was instantly brought to the novel's page with the book's details. The first five chapters were already released with the promise of releasing two chapters every Saturday until the end of the book.

"Did you see it? Did you?" Nina's loud voice sounded from the receiver, and the call wasn't even on a loudspeaker.

Angela gasped, turning her head towards Gael and then squealing in excitement, "Yes!!! Aaaaaaaah!!!"

He flinched, covering his ears from the glass-shattering voice coming out of her. "What the—"

"Ninz, I have to go!" she yelled before quickly ending the phone call.

Feeling exhilarated, she jumped on top of Gael, toppling over him until he fell back on the bed laughing. She told him the great news and then kissed him all over his face—she was elated.

He laughed, hugging her by the waist. Angela had a good thing happening to her, and he was the one benefiting from it. How could he complain?

"I'm proud of you, Angel. You deserve it and more," he told her.

"I want to cry, but I'm too happy to cry!"

He shook his head and ruffled her hair. "What are you waiting for? Why aren't you trying it?"

"Oh, my god! Yes! Of course!" She quickly flopped back to bed and opened the app again, feeling a little calmer this time. "Eeeep! Would you play it with me?"

Gael drew his brows together. "There's a two-player?"

Angela realized her offer was ridiculous. There was no two-player. "I mean, I play, and you watch."

His chest reverberated when he laughed. "Sure. We'll do anything you want."

The two of them ended up playing around with the interactive novel application for an hour before her stomach growled, demanding to be fed.

"I swear, there must be something living in your stomach," he remarked, already getting out of bed. "Come on. I'll make you breakfast."

"This is the best morning ever!" Angela beamed as she rolled out of bed, following Gael towards the kitchen. "Ever consider applying as a nanny? I could surely get used to waking up with your cooking."

"Ah, but that would mean no more sex. I strictly follow a 'Don't sleep with your employee' rule. In your case, it would be— 'Don't sleep with your boss'." He winked then began to look for anything he could use in the fridge.

Angela clicked her tongue. She leaned against the counter, watching him do his thing with his back facing her. Gael was not only a snack—he was an entire course. Who'd have thought she'd see him in her kitchen early in the morning with nothing but boxer briefs on? She was already satiated.

"Hmmm… Too bad, I think I won't mind a little love affair. How fun would it be to sneak around so people won't catch us?" she joked.

Gael's sexy chuckle tickled her core. He took out a milk carton, eggs, and basil from the fridge and then set it on the counter next to her. Trapping her between his arms, he planted his hands on either side of her and leaned in, leaving only a few inches between them. "You're such a little minx… Why don't you write about that?"

The corner of her lips curled upward, looking so mischievous. "You know what? I will. But I do need some pointers… Like my best friend told me—experience is always the best teacher."

"I can help with that."

"Oh yeah?"

"But let's reverse the role. I'll be your boss." Just as he said that, he slid his hands down her thighs, lifted her up, and set her ass on the counter. "Now, Ms. Su… Give me a rundown of today's schedule."

"Oh, Daddy likes to dominate?" she probed playfully. Gael swore his cock twitched when she called him Daddy. What the actual fûck?

He tilted his head as she brushed her hands across the planes of his chest and hooked her arms around his neck. Then she said, "I cleared your morning, Mr. De Luca, so you're free to do whatever you want."

A sexy, devilish smirk danced on his lips. His Angel was so naughty. "Is that so? I actually have a lot that I want to do this morning. And the first one on my list...is you."

Their lips clashed, their tongues dueled, and the breakfast was already forgotten—until another growl sounded from her stomach.

Angela pursed her lips into a thin line, her cheeks flushing at the embarrassing interruption of her belly monster. Gael bent his head back, laughing.

"Seriously?" he sighed. "I guess feeding you is a top priority. But I demand a full payment afterward."

With a cheeky grin, she pressed a kiss to his lips. "Then your food better be delicious. I always give a generous tip."

He shook his head in resignation as he pulled away from her.

The two worked in tandem in the kitchen. Gael cooked, and Angela made them coffee while they talked about last night's party. They decided to eat on the balcony, enjoying their morning as they watched the people at the beach, taking advantage of the early morning sun. This day just couldn't get any better.

"Are you busy tonight?" she wondered.

He nodded, raising the cup of coffee to his lips and taking a sip. "I have an important meeting. Why?"

She chewed her bottom lip. Tonight would probably be the best time to tell him when they're done with everything they need to do today. Angela didn't want to tell him now, or he'll get distracted during his meeting. She also still had some things to do later, and going through the turmoil would just cause her depression—she was sure she wouldn't function properly after that. As much as possible, she wanted a stable mind when telling him everything. So a whole day's preparation of the inevitable would help.

"I see… I'll be attending Nina's party tonight. But… Can we meet after? I mean…after the party...and after your meeting?"

Gael studied her face. She looked hesitant, yet she tried to look collected. "Of course… Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine. It's just… There's something I wanna tell you. But it can wait." She smiled.

A strange—almost satisfied feeling filled his chest. Was she finally going to tell him? He couldn't wait. But at the same time, he also wanted to hold it off. The meeting tonight was indeed important, and he wanted to get that over and done with before coming back to Angela. At least by then, when she decides to tell him everything, his day would end with her. Ending the day by spending the night with Angela would be better than him stressing with the Morellis.

Gael reached for her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. "Okay. I can't wait to see you tonight then."