Beauty and the Feast (14 page)
Like Father Joe said,
Quincy
was reticent at first. He had no intention of being anyone’s pity party, but between the two of them, Gabe and Elise somehow managed to convince
Quincy
that they didn’t pity him, rather they understood his hesitation. They might be blood relatives, but they were complete strangers. After much discussion and cajoling, the boy finally agreed to spend a month with Elise and her family when school ended and Gabe planned to fly the young man to
Napa
, but Gabe didn’t want to leave him alone and unsupervised at his cottage. Gabe offered to help him enroll in a high school in
San Francisco
for his senior year, but
Quincy
wanted to finish school in
Chicago
. Gabe understood.
Quincy
’s friends were there, Father Joe was there, and
Chicago
was home.
As soon as he and Elise left the school, they headed to his mother’s town home. She was dressed and ready, waiting impatiently to go to the hospital. Gabe made his sister lie down in the extra bedroom and he broke the news to his mother. As always, she was a trooper. She’d gotten over Patrick McIntyre years ago. Her only concern was for another abandoned child. Gabe chauffeured his mom back to Father Joe’s bedside and then to the school to meet his half-brother. It was nearly another twenty-four hours before he was able to catch a little shuteye.
Gabe felt the plane level off and he let himself drift. He heard the flight attendants moving through the cabin but kept his eyes shut and ignored them. He wondered what Eva was doing. Was she at his house, working late, getting ready for his barbecue? Or had she returned to her own little home? Was she lying in her bed, curled up like a kitten beneath her quilt, warm and soft and delectable? Her thick, waving, dark hair scattered across her pillows? Her luscious lips parted slightly as she relaxed in sleep? Gabe surrendered his mind to that picture for a few minutes, remembering the smell of her clearly, as clearly as if she’d been seated next to him. He inhaled her sweat, the musk of her arousal, the slight metallic tang from her bloody knees. Gabe felt himself stir at the olfactory vision and he shifted slightly in his seat, allowing for a little more play in his jeans.
He noticed that she’d phoned twice, but he simply hadn’t found a single moment to call and there was no cell phone service at the hospital. He’d hoped to have the time to give her a ring from the airport, explain what had happened, let her know that he was on his way home and that he hoped to see her before the party, but he’d been running late. His mother and his sister had both called when he was in the cab on his way to the airport. He’d had to hustle to catch his plane and he shut his phone off the second he was seated. He’d only managed a single, brief conversation with his assistant in four days. He’d asked her to check in with Eva and he hoped she’d remembered to do so. He felt a little guilty. He’d rushed out of the office Monday evening, dumping everything in Marsha’s lap. Fortunately, she was a very capable woman.
Gabe cracked his eyes and shot a glance at his watch. He should be landing about
. He’d call Marsha’s office line when he landed and leave her a message, then he’d catch a cab to his apartment and if he wasn’t too tired, head up to
Napa
. He needed a day to chill. If he thought he could get away with it, he’d keep his phone off, but he’d told his sister to call him if Father Joe’s condition suddenly worsened or if anything came up with
Quincy
. Jesus. A brother.
Gabe shook his head. A newly discovered brother, a woman he intended to, as his sister so charmingly put it,
bed
the first chance he got. A big party, the first he’d given at his home in
Napa
, coming up in less than two days. One thing at a time, Gabe reminded himself. One thing at a time. First Eva. Second barbecue. Third and fourth, Quincy and Father Joe. Then Eva again. Gabe closed his eyes and stretched his long body. Despite his worries, he grinned. Yes, Eva… again and again and again.
Gabe thought of how she felt inside, how hot, how wet, how silky and how close he’d come to burying himself in her sweetness before they’d been interrupted. Goddamn. There would be another opportunity and nothing as insignificant as burning potatoes would keep them from finishing what they had started.
* * * *
Eva had been fighting back tears since she’d talked to Marsha. Damn that son of a bitch, leading her on like this. Planting the notion in her head that he wanted her. Well, fuck him! Eva would do the barbecue and that was it. That was the last she wanted to see of Gabriel Abbott. From now on, he could hire someone else and she didn’t care if Tom and Marcus fired her. Let them. She could find another job in a heartbeat. In a heartbeat! Bringing
someone special
to the party. Probably that woman Luis had mentioned.
I am so stupid
, thought Eva,
to read so much into the fact that Gabe took her home early, that his seduction dinner didn’t work out. She probably got a call from a client or something.
Eva just knew the woman was a lawyer. She had to be. She was some kind of professional for certain. She probably didn’t eat, let alone cook. Cooking would be beneath her.
Oooh! God, I am so mad! I want to smack that man from here till Tuesday!
She’d worked her ass off at the White’s on Friday, rushing to finish early so she could prep for the barbecue. Gabe still hadn’t bothered to call her and Eva had no intention of calling Marsha back to ask about anything. She would give him what he paid for. In fact, she would be perfect… the perfect caterer. Her food would be to die for and she’d ignore Gabriel Abbott the entire day.
Eva threw the book she was reading across the room. It crashed against the wall with a satisfying, resounding thwack, and fell to the floor. How the hell was she supposed to sleep when all she could think about was the man who didn’t want her? The man who was going to flaunt his new special friend in her face the day after tomorrow. Eva glanced at the clock. Oops…make that tomorrow. It was
and Eva needed her rest. She wanted to be at Gabe’s house early to avoid running into him. The weatherman had predicted a high-pressure system for the weekend and she expected it to be hot. Great weather for a barbecue and a swimming party, not so great for her. She’d be sweating up a storm and her hair would smell like smoke and barbecue sauce, while Gabe’s date would probably be cool as a cucumber and look like a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model in her designer bikini. Eva toyed with the idea of doing something utterly juvenile like putting green bell peppers in everything, but the truth was, Gabe wasn’t the only one who hated green bell peppers. Eva couldn’t even stomach the sight of them so she figured the only person she’d make sick would be herself. Gabe would probably be so wrapped up in his friend that he wouldn’t even notice.
Eva shut off the light. She tossed and turned for a while, her stomach churning and her cheeks growing warm, and despite her best efforts, she relived the feeling of his hands on her intimately, his finger sliding inside her. Eva could feel her entire body flush. She slipped a hand beneath the quilt. She was wet just because of that one little memory. She wanted him and that made her so angry. Fuck it all, she wanted him in a way she’d never wanted anyone. She knew she’d make a fool of herself over him if given half a chance. How insane was that?
* * * *
By the time Gabe made it to
Napa
, it was
in the morning. He wished he could call Eva, but he knew that would be just plain cruel. He didn’t have the heart to wake her up, no matter how much he wanted to hear her voice. He considered swinging by her house, and he nearly pulled off the highway, but a knock on her door at this time of the night would probably scare her to half to death. Besides, he desperately needed at least a few hours of sleep himself. He headed straight to his cottage, parked his Harley in the shed and pulled the door closed. He headed into the house, as tired as he’d ever been in his life. He washed up, leaning on the sink more asleep than awake, and finally collapsed into bed. Within a few minutes, Gabe was dead to the world.
* * * *
Eva arrived at the entrance to Gabe’s property at seven on the nose. As she pulled in Luis waved to her from the cab of his pickup. She parked her car and walked over to him.
“
Buenos días
, Eva,” he said, his voice friendly.
“
Buenos días
, Luis,” she replied. She felt very tired, but she mustered a smile for the man. She genuinely liked him.
“Has everything been delivered,
Señorita
Eva?”
“Yes, it’s all here,” she answered. “There will be some last minute shuffling around, but the set up is more or less completed. I just need to finish up with the food.”
Luis squinted his eyes in the morning sun and it seemed to Eva that he was giving her the once over. “You are not sleeping, Eva, I can see it in your face. You seem troubled today.”
“I’m fine, just tired.”
Luis appeared unconvinced.
“Will you be around today?” she asked, hoping she wouldn’t be alone with Gabe if he showed up.
“Sorry,
Señorita
, no. I need to drive my sister to a doctor’s appointment and then I will take her into
Fairfield
for some shopping. She wants something pretty to wear to the
fiesta
tomorrow.”
Eva smiled again, this time her smile was genuine. She hadn’t met Luis’ sister, but she was willing to bet she was a proper lady. “I’m looking forward to meeting her tomorrow, Luis.”
“
Gracias
. I’ve told her all about you and she is quite excited to be invited.”
“Have you… have you heard anything from Mr. Abbott? About when he’s coming home?”
“No, sorry, I haven’t heard from him, but I certainly expect him early tomorrow morning, or perhaps even late tonight.”
“Good,” mumbled Eva. She glanced up at Luis and his look was questioning. “I mean I’d like to have everything ready by the time he gets home.”
Luis glanced at his watch.
“Adiós, señorita.
I must leave you.
Hasta mañana.”
He waved as he headed down the long drive.
“
Adios
Luis,” Eva replied as she waved back. When he was out of hearing, she muttered, “Fuck
mañana
.”
Eva flipped open the doors to her car and began to unpack. She planned to more or less finish everything today, have the tables and chairs arranged and waiting to be decorated. The food would either be cooked and ready to be served, or ready to be cooked tomorrow. She carefully unloaded her ice chests containing the marinating meats. As she wrestled them into the kitchen, she wished she’d asked Luis to wait, but she just as quickly realized she’d rather do it alone. The man was far too discerning and she didn’t want to discuss her feelings with anyone. Not yet, maybe not ever. It wasn’t pleasant to be made a fool of.
Eva opened the back doors and stepped out onto the patio. She kicked off her flip-flops. The day was a perfect
By
, Eva was hot. She was damn hot. She’d been hauling, cooking, cleaning and setting up tables and chairs for six hours. If she wasn’t so stubborn, she could give Tom and Marcus a call and they’d send help or come themselves. She didn’t feel like it. She hadn’t even brought her iPod. It was much better to wallow in self-pity. Eva snorted.
She decided to take a break and she wandered out back to the pool. Luis kept the water sparkling. In the sun, it glowed an electric
Caribbean
blue. Eva stuck a toe in. Nice. She knew Luis was gone for the day, but she looked around nonetheless, just checking to make absolutely certain she was alone before she removed any of her clothing. Eva noticed a man’s white button down shirt over the back of a patio chair. She’d somehow missed it yesterday when she was checking out the pool area. Eva walked over and picked it up. Bringing the shirt to her nose, she inhaled. She was hoping maybe it would smell like Gabe, but all Eva caught was sunshine and a little chlorine. However, Eva figured she could swim in the shirt. That way she wouldn’t have to swim in her underwear and it would be safer than swimming naked. It was always possible that some delivery guy would stop by.
After one more glance around, Eva turned her back to the house and stripped off her tank top. Her shorts and her panties disappeared together. She tossed everything onto a chair and she pulled on the man’s shirt, rolling up the sleeves and buttoning some of buttons across her chest and stomach to hold it together. She walked over to the deep end and dove in.