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profile?”
    The tingling increased. I’d been told I had a nice profile, but I couldn’t recall anyone saying it was beautiful. That felt good, especially from someone like Gabriel, who had certainly spent a lot of time around beautiful women.
    “Uh, no,” I answered. “But thanks.”
    “I wonder …” He reached behind me and gathered my hair in his hand as if putting it in a ponytail. I felt goose bumps as his fingers grazed the nape of my neck. “How come I never see you in a ponytail?”
    Was he indicating that he paid more attention to me than I’d previously thought? How else would he know that I almost never put my hair in a ponytail?
    “Only when I’m playing sports,” I said.
    “Which ones?”
    “Tennis, snowboarding, volleyball. I used to play soccer.”
    “We should go boarding sometime,” he said, then pointed through the windshield. “That’s it, on the right.” The building was new and brightly lit, with a canopy stretching out to the street. As I slowed down, a doorman stepped out.
    Gabriel turned to me. “Thanks for the ride.”
    “You’re welcome.” I smiled.
    The doorman opened the passenger door. Gabriel started to get out, then stopped and turned back to me. “Feel like a quick drink?”

Chapter 9
    MY FIRST IMPULSE was to say yes, but I quickly caught myself. Just suppose the girls hadn’t run away? Suppose something bad had happened to them. Anyone associated with the studio had to be a possible suspect, right? And besides Dad, Gabriel was the only other male who worked there.
    But the chances were slim that something bad had happened. Like Mom said, in a day or two it would probably all be cleared up.
    And I did have a crush on Gabriel, who hardly seemed like a violent, girl-abductor type. With looks like his, he was probably more concerned with being abducted himself.
    Those girls could have all run off and joined the circus.
    I was dying to see Gabriel’s apartment.
    And Dad knew where I was.
    “Okay, sure,” I heard myself say.
    We rode up in an elevator lined with mirrors. Gabriel smiled, and I smiled back nervously, then noticed that his gaze went past me to his reflection in the mirrored elevator wall. I was surprised since, in my estimation, he was the last man on earth who needed to be concerned about his appearance.
    A few moments later, while I stood in the hall, waiting for him to unlock the door, I realized that I’d never been in a single man’s apartment before. The door opened into darkness, and I began to feel apprehensive. Was this a smart thing to do? Gabriel turned on a light, and I felt my jaw drop. He may have been only a few years older than me, but his apartment was gorgeous, spacious, with art on the walls and a granite counter separating the kitchen from the living room. There were black leather couches; thick rugs; tall, elegant lamps; and sheer curtains. I couldn’t help wondering if he’d done it all himself or hired a decorator, and where he’d gotten all the money. Definitely not from being an assistant at Dad’s studio while picking up a few local modeling jobs here and there.
    “Welcome to the apartment Texas hold ’em built,” he said, as if he knew what I was thinking.
    “That’s a card game, right?”
    “Not a card game,” he said. “ The card game. Played in casinos around the world.” He went around the granite counter. “Vino?”
    I wasn’t a big fan of wine, especially on an empty stomach, which was the result of my having no appetite after all the anxiety from earlier in the day. But asking for a soft drink sounded way too middle school. So I said yes.
    “Perfecto.” Gabriel placed two wineglasses on the counter, then took a bottle from the refrigerator. “I’ve got a really smooth Chardonnay.”
    I sat on a stool feeling tense, but excited. This was all so very mature, and more than a little nerve-racking. He handed me a glass. “Cheers.”
    I imagined tapping my glass too hard against his, and both shattering in