She went quiet then said, “Graham…that is…wow…I…that is really precious.”

Feeling suddenly emotional, I quickly changed the subject. “To what do I owe this phone call?”

“I wanted to know if I could bring anything.”

“Nothing but your beautiful ass, baby.”

“Seriously. I want to bring something.”

“I have it covered.”

“Okay. Wine then.”

Stubborn girl.

“My driver will pick you up in an hour.”

“Alright.”

I paused for a moment then whispered her name, “Soraya…”

“Yeah?”

“I can’t fucking wait to see you.”

***

SO IMMERSED IN SETTING UP OUR TABLE, I’d forgotten to let the doorman know to just send Soraya straight upstairs. When he rang to notify me of my visitor, I decided to mess with her a bit.

“Please put Miss Venedetta on the phone,” I told him.

She came on the line. “Yes?” My dick twitched at the sound of her voice. Soraya wasn’t even in front of me, but just knowing she was downstairs was making me hard.

“How can I help you, Miss?”

She giggled. “Is this General Hospital?”

Little wiseass.

“If you’ll play naughty nurse, it can be. Give him back the phone and get your ass up here.”

When the doorman returned to the line, I instructed him to show Soraya to the elevators. Her knock was rhythmic and loud, and Blackie immediately started barking.

I spoke to my dog as I walked to the door. “Yeah. Yeah. Just wait till you see her.”

My heart started to pump faster the minute I opened it and caught sight of how breathtakingly beautiful she looked. Her hair was down but had a wild and wavy windblown look to it. The ends were still green, and she wore a matching emerald-colored blouse that was sleeveless but covered her entire neckline. There was a bow tied up at the top. Sleek black pants looked like they’d been painted on her legs. Overall, it was a teasingly conservative ensemble compared to her usual attire. Her normally bright red lips were also bare as if she knew I’d be eating them whole later.

Fighting hard to restrain myself from mauling her, I begrudgingly placed my hands at my side. I vowed not to touch or kiss her yet, fearing that I wouldn’t be able to stop. So, I was going to hold back as long as I could. This night was about showing her she could trust me. Pouncing on her right out of the gate would negate that.

“Come in.” I took in a long whiff of her floral scent as she entered the room.

The dog immediately started to jump all over her.

“Get off her, Blackie.”

Looking amused, she handed me the bottle of wine she was carrying, bent down and lifted him up. Blackie was licking all over her face.

Damn, I wanted in on that.

Taking the dog from her, I cracked, “And you thought it would be me you’d need to pry off of you.”

“You are being very good, Mr. Morgan.”

“I’m trying,” I said sincerely.

She covered her mouth. “Oh, my God! Blackie. It just hit me. From General Hospital! He’s named after that Blackie.”

“That’s right.”

She pointed at my face. “You’re not embarrassed, are you?”

“No.”

“Because your ears are turning red!”

Fuck.

“I think it’s sweet, Graham, especially that the show reminds you of your mother. Thank you for sharing that with me.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone about that. You have a way of turning me into mush, Venedetta.”

“Good.” She grinned.

Circling my palms together slowly, I said, “Since we’re on the subject. Let’s see how good your General Hospital knowledge is.”

She flashed the cutest smile again as she accepted my challenge. “Lay it on me.”

“There’s one more thing about me—a major identifier—that has a General Hospital connection.”

“What do I get if I guess it correctly?”

“A special kiss from me later.”

“Oh, yeah? A special one, huh?”

“I’ll give you a hint.”

“Alright.”

“It rhymes with organ.”

“Oh, that line again. Ok…Morgan….your last name.” A realization seemed to hit her. “That’s right! Oh my God. That name is from General Hospital, too!”

“The last name connection is purely coincidental, of course, but the J of my middle name stands for Jason.”