A New York Love Story (15 page)

“I thought you had to make yourself beautiful…” she tried to wrap the small bath robe around her as best she could.

“You told me not to overdo it, so it didn't take me long. I brought the food into the kitchen… Are you presentable?” Cade sounded amused, like he always seemed to be when she was in a difficult situation.

“Not sure about that…” She opened the door and felt breathless. He wore a black shirt with jeans. He had shaved, his blonde hair was still wet… and his extraordinary scent! – Damn it, he was irresistible! “Thank god you didn't overdo it,” she mumbled.

Cade was smiling and staring at her, from her bare feet all the way up to her wet red hair. She felt shivers along her spine.
Hold on, Clover – you don't have time to jump on him!

“I don't know what to wear.”

“I don't exactly dislike what you're wearing right now, but I'm not sure your mother would approve.”

She laughed and moved towards her bed, to let him in.
I can say to future generations that I had Cade Harrison in my bedroom!

“You seem to have lots of clothes here…”

“But nothing is right for the occasion, and it's your fault! If you hadn't helped me prepare a decent dinner and if you hadn't changed my living room – not to mention that you are the guest of honor – I wouldn't have to worry about what to wear. I would be in my filthy kitchen, wearing jeans and my
POUR ME ANOTHER GLASS I WANT TO GET DRUNK
t-shirt! Obviously my mother hates it, but it represents exactly how I feel when she visits me. I would have ordered that
inelegant
pizza and cut the evening with my family as short as possible. Then, I would call Zoe and Lib and convince them to take me out somewhere to get seriously drunk.”

Cade didn't react. “Do you want me to leave? I can destroy the sofa, mess up the kitchen, bring the dinner back to my house and eat it by myself, if that's what you want.”

His balanced reaction calmed her down. Clover sighed, “Okay, then please help me find something decent to wear.”

Suddenly she found herself with Cade's arm around her waist. “At this time I don't want to help you get dressed, I would rather help you take off this kiddie robe,” he whispered in her ear.

“What…?” She could barely breathe.

“Clover, I'm a nice guy, but if you keep bending over your bed with this tiny bath robe open, I'm not sure I can restrain myself much longer.”

Her knees were shaking so much that she had to sit on the bed. She felt that her desire was as powerful as his. She tried to focus on her clothes again. She picked up something from the big pile and – twist of fate! – it was exactly the t-shirt she had described to him. “Here it is, my
suit of
armor
for family reunions! It's a damn temptation…” She threw it to him and he caught it. On the back of the t-shirt there was a photograph of her that Zoe had taken: she was smiling at the bar of a pub, in front of a huge beer mug.

Cade laughed out loud, “It's fantastic!”

“Yes, I like it. It's Zoe's gift for my twenty-sixth birthday. Of course my mother hates it…”

“You should wear it, if you like it and it makes you feel comfortable… You don't have to impress anybody who doesn't respect your personality – including your mother.”

She thought of her relationship with her mother, and the years of struggling to impress her, to win her affection and respect, apparently without any success. “You're right…”

“… and I don't think what's written on a funny t-shirt should be such a big embarrassment for the O'Brian family.”

You must have some hidden flaw somewhere…
she thought. God, it was becoming more difficult to resist the impulse of jumping on him and covering his body with kisses.

She finally opted for a pair of tight, sexy jeans and she picked out a close-fitting lavender sweater to wear underneath the infamous t-shirt. She looked up at Cade. His eyes were still full of desire.

“I have less than twenty minutes to get ready. Do you think you can resist your animal instincts or do you prefer waiting for me downstairs?”

When she saw his uncertain look, she threw a pillow at him, teasing, “Get out! I will be downstairs in a few minutes…”

She went into the bathroom and brushed her hair until it was soft and shiny. She carefully applied light makeup, some perfume, and finally got dressed.

Cade was in the living room, standing near the window, lost in thought. She wondered what he was thinking… it still seemed absolutely unbelievable to actually have Cade Harrison in her house!

“Whew! Now I have just five minutes to try my wonderful new sofa!”

He turned around to look at her, “Yes, tell me if it's comfortable…”

I would find it comfortable even it had nails instead of cushions, if only because it's your gift!
she thought, sitting ceremoniously in the center of the couch.

“Mmmm… so soft… it's fantastic! You should try it too!”

Cade came over to sit next to her, and spread his arms on the backrest. “Definitely comfortable.”

“It would be great if we could just be sitting here… doing nothing.”

“Really –
nothing
?” He touched her hair, gently stroking her head, and she closed her eyes.

When she opened them, she found he'd moved closer, his blue eyes were looking deeply into hers. He was caressing her face. He buried his nose in her neck, “You have a wonderful scent, Clover. It's one of the first things that I noticed about you…”

“The first thing?” She felt herself melting… “Are there any other things?”

“Several… your eyes are luminous and expressive, an amazing color… and your hair! I adore your hair, it makes me think sinful thoughts…”

“If you keep going, I'm not sure what's going to happen… my mother will be not only very surprised; she'll be totally shocked!”

“Do I have any chance of convincing you to come upstairs with me and pretend you're not home when your family arrives?” he whispered very close to her lips, while caressing her back.

She softly moaned… “more than one chance, actually.”

Clover looked at that gorgeous man a few inches from her, his eyes lit with passion and desire. The temptation to forget rationality and wisdom and flee upstairs with him was overwhelming. But a sudden image of herself, sitting on this same sofa, and crying desperately after Cade left for LA, sobered her up.

She quickly changed her mind and moved away slightly. “It would be a very
bad
idea; a possible complication that we both should wisely avoid.”

Cade sighed and didn't reply.

At the sound of the doorbell they both jumped up. “Here they are! Get ready to endure a very long and boring evening…” She went to open the door, hoping not to look like someone who had just spent the last few minutes indulging in
sinful thoughts
.

“Mom, Patrick! Welcome!” Clover exclaimed, putting on her best smile.

“Can't you do something about your icy walkway? I almost slipped and fell down out there! Thank goodness I held onto your brother's arm. I hate the snow!” It was the first sentence her mother said, coming into the house.

“I'm sorry, but the weather has the bad habit of not listening to me. It does whatever it wants: it makes snow, lowers the temperatures, and my path becomes iced. I don't know what to do any more with it!”

Her brother rolled his eyes. “Clover, why do you always have to be so irritable?”

“It's called sarcasm, little brother! I don't think many people around you use it, so obviously you don't get it…” Clover stood on tiptoe to receive a lukewarm kiss from her brother.

“Sienna couldn't come. Mathew has a fever, so she's staying at home with him. But she sends her love and best wishes…”

Every year her sister-in-law found an excuse to avoid her birthday dinner. It was just as she'd expected…

“Sweet! Thank her and send my love too! …
and you can also tell her she can fuck off, herself and her best wishes!

Clover was wondering if Patrick could seriously believe his wife's excuses and bullshit. Probably pretending to believe her was the wisest thing he could do to avoid admitting he had made wrong choices and a mistake in marrying her.

“Oh, Clover! You're still wearing that stupid t-shirt! Are you doing it on purpose, just to get on my nerves?” her mother huffed.

“Mom, you offend me!” Clover emphatically placed a hand on her heart. “It's a tradition for my birthday party… and by the way, there's someone who finds my t-shirt very funny.”

“I'm not surprised, given the kind of people you hang out with… who said this? Let me guess, your insolent friend Zoe, or that morose boss of yours, or maybe your colleague Eric, that little nerd!”

Oh – the sweet taste of revenge!
Clover thought, leading her mother towards the living room. “No, he's a new friend. You'll meet him tonight. He's joining us for dinner.”

Clover was staring at her mother. She didn't want to miss one single detail of the scene.

“Good evening, Mrs O'Brian,” Cade got up from the sofa.

Her mother's face became very pale and then suddenly blushed. She was a passionate reader of tabloids, so Clover didn't doubt that she would recognize him. But for sure Nadia O'Brian didn't expect to find an international movie star in the living room of her daughter, that loser! She was breathless.

Patrick seemed puzzled. He wasn't someone who read gossip, but he loved action movies, so for sure he had seen Cade Harrison's latest film.

“Mom, are you ok?” Clover asked in a modulated tone.

Nadia got over the shock and offered her hand to Cade. “Cade Harrison! What a delightful surprise…”

Cade smiled politely, shaking first her hand and then Patrick's. “I'm sorry to crash an intimate, family dinner…”

“Don't even think about it! It's an honor having you with us.”

“Cade, as you can see we'll have enough food, even though you've joined us at the last minute. My sister-in-law couldn't come.” Clover's voice was full of irony. While they were cooking, she had told Cade about her difficult relationship with Sienna.

“
Food
?” Patrick asked. “This is an extraordinary event for a dinner at my little sister's house!”

“A good attempt at sarcasm… Bravo! See, even
you
can learn…”

For a few minutes there was an embarrassing silence in the room, until Clover said, “I don't know about you, but I'm starving! Shall we go to eat?”

“Perhaps you should serve an aperitif in the living room before dinner…” her mother observed, then she whispered to her, “You have a famous actor here, try to behave with some class, please!”

While Clover restrained herself from doing backflips to embarrass her mother even more, Cade rescued her, saying, “I think eating now is a great idea. Your daughter has cooked all afternoon. There is such a delicious smell, I can't wait to taste what she's made!”

Oh my god! Marry me!
Clover thought – it was wonderful to have such an ally…

“Did you cook?” Patrick faked admiration. “I hope you have an effective antacid to give me after dinner.”

“Ha – ha! Really, little brother – very funny! Apparently being with me brings back your sense of irony…”

Their mother was staring at them with a severe and disapproving look, like when they were naughty children.

“I didn't know that my daughter knew you. She never told me.” She addressed Cade.

“I don't think she has had time to mention it… and I specifically asked her not to spread the word. I'm in New York incognito.”

“Oh, of course! I understand perfectly. Sometimes the show business environment can be so very stressful!”

“Are you in show business too?”

Clover pretended to throw up behind her brother's back, and Cade coughed to hide a laugh.

“My image has appeared in some ad campaign for beauty products. Nothing compared to your fame, Mr Harrison – of course!”

“Please, call me Cade.”

“It would be an honor!”

“If you keep talking to her, she'll have an orgasm at the dinner table. I would rather prefer to avoid that scene…” Clover whispered in Cade's ear.

“How did you meet each other?” Patrick asked, as they sat at the dinner table. The question seemed to show a sincere interest and that surprised Clover. Her brother used to be very protective of her, but after he got married he had become completely disinterested.

“A friend talked to me about Giftland's services and Clover helped me select my Christmas gifts.” Cade lied.

“That's lovely… I hope my daughter had some good advice for you!”

“Absolutely. She has wonderful ideas, unique taste, and a really contagious Christmas spirit.” He glanced at Clover, smiling. “It has been a long time since I've enjoyed myself so much. Your daughter is very nice and original; but I don't know why I'm saying this to you. You're her mother and I'm sure you know this very well!”

Her mother almost choked on a sip of white wine, and Clover was ready to swear eternal gratitude to Cade!

The dinner went on without any major crises, actually better than Clover had expected. Yet she kept checking the time, hoping it would be over soon. In spite of Cade's presence – which had restrained her mother and intimidated her brother – the cutting remarks and the usual critical attitude weren't lacking all evening. Also, she couldn't stand her mother's
kissing ass
attitude with Cade. She almost came on to him – it had been frankly embarrassing. She was old enough to be his mother!

Most of all, her own presence became totally irrelevant. She didn't have a chance to talk. The O'Brian widow monopolized the evening, while her brother had remained mostly silent. Clover found herself carrying plates back and forth to the kitchen like a maid.