Sold on You (16 page)

Abuelita Coqui gave her a curious look. "It's just as well. Calderon men are possessive of the women they love."

"I'll have to remember that." Gabriela paused while the waiter served their appetizers. "Would you like to continue shopping? I can take you to Waterside Shops. Or we can visit the boutiques in Tin City."

Abuelita served herself a few shrimps and cocktail sauce. "I'd like to see the hospital where Marcos works. Would you take me there?"

Gabriela hesitated. With all the staff gossip already swirling around, it wasn't a good idea for her to show up at the hospital with Marcos' grandmother.

"What do you say?" Abuelita asked eagerly.

"Uh... maybe I should call and make sure he's there," Gabriela said, reaching for her iPhone.

Abuelita Coqui patted her hand. "No, let's surprise him. It's more fun if he's not expecting us."

That was a matter of opinion.
Gabriela doubted Marcos wanted more surprises from his grandma. "But what if he's not there when we arrive?"

"It doesn't matter. I'll still get to see where he works."

"All right." Gabriela reluctantly agreed. She wished she could text him when Abuelita wasn't looking, but it was impossible.

As they walked to the car, arm in arm, Gabriela wondered what Marcos would think of her new outfit. She had never been one to let a man dictate how she dressed or fixed herself up, but she couldn't help hoping he'd think she looked pretty. She was a bit mortified over his Pygmalian type make-over and the comments he'd made about her prim style of dress. Gabriela had always gone out of her way to dress conservatively and not draw attention to her curves, especially in the workplace.

Things were different with Marcos, she wanted him to think she was
hot
. He was the type of man who noticed everything about a woman, and yet he made her feel beautiful. She would love to really knock his socks off and more. But how? Now that they were back in Naples, away from the romantic Christmas setting of New York City, Gabriela wondered if he would feel the same—especially since she had put the brakes on him.

Her mind drifted to their afternoon at the Plaza Hotel. Gabriela shivered as she relived the erotic sensations and fierce longing he'd stirred in her. She yearned to see the smoky desire in his topaz eyes again. She remembered how his big hands had caressed her breasts and how her nipples had pebbled in his hot mouth. She had felt his hard arousal pressed against her pelvis, had felt the tremor run through him as he held his lust in check.

Gabriela was tired of worrying about making a fool out of herself over him. He'd said, "
I want to make love to you more than I want to breathe right now, but I can wait. I couldn't sleep last night imagining it and I've thought of nothing else since we came here."

Maybe she was going about it all wrong. She wanted him to fall in love with her, but was she ruining it by keeping his passion at bay? Her insides twisted as she worried that perhaps she'd lost her chance by stopping him. Yet if they made love before he professed love for her, he might ultimately walk away and break her heart. He'd already told her he wasn't the marrying kind. She hadn't thought she'd want to marry him—until now. Just remembering how he'd tenderly held Santi made her break into a yearning smile. She wanted to see him hold their children and she wanted
him
with all her heart.

She was tired of worrying. At thirty-two, she deserved to live without so much rationalizing. She released her hair from the confining clip as soon as she got into the car and ran her fingers through her locks, remembering how much Marcos loved to see her hair down. From the corner of her eye, she caught Abuelita Coqui's approving smile as she reapplied rose colored lip gloss and blush.

There, now she was ready to resume her role as Marcos's fiancée.

"You look beautiful," Abuelita Coqui said.

"Thank you," she replied, hoping Marcos would think so, too.

* * *

Gabriela offered Abuelita Coqui her arm when they entered the hospital lobby. Her heart began to race at the thought of seeing Marcos again.
Deep breaths, don't let Abuelita see you're nervous.

"Here, let me help you," Gabriela said, crooking her arm. "That was a long walk from the parking lot. You should have let me drop you off at the entrance."

Abuelita Coqui waved a blithe hand at her concern. "Don't be silly. It's good for me to get a little exercise. Marcos doesn't let me lift a finger, and I'm used to being active. I'm not the least bit tired."

Nevertheless, she took Gabriela's proffered arm and fell into step beside her. And it was a good thing, too, after the two piña coladas she'd indulged in at the restaurant. While Gabriela had lingered over one drink, Abuelita Coqui had relished the coconut milk and rum of the piña colada, ordering a second one—to Gabriela's surprise and Josh the waiter's amusement.

As they entered the lobby, Gabriela suddenly felt Abuelita Coqui's hand tighten on her arm. Alarmed, she glanced at her and noticed sheer panic on her face.

"What's wrong?" Gabriela asked, worried she was having some sort of health issue.

In mute shock, the older woman pointed a trembling finger at the scene a few feet away from them. Her other hand clutched Gabriela's arm and her nails dug into the skin. Gabriela's stomach clenched when she caught sight of what was causing Abuelita Coqui's alarm.

Behind the glass wall, Marcos and Nicole sat in the cafeteria at a nearby table, enjoying a cozy mid afternoon snack of apple pie and coffee. Nicole's blond hair rested against her cheek in a sleek curve as she eagerly leaned forward to catch every word Marcos was saying. She had the type of silky straight hair that Gabriela had always pined for.

From her vantage point, all she could see of Nicole were her snooty, tip-tilted nose and her scarlet painted lips. Her slim, perfectly manicured hand rose to stroke Marcos's nape as he said something to her.

Frozen with stunned disbelief, Gabriela watched Marcos remain in the same position, not rejecting the manipulative woman's caress. She could only see his handsome profile, but his expression seemed earnest as he spoke to her. Nicole smiled and moved closer to Marcos, until her nose nuzzled his neck before she moved up to kiss him.

Gabriela had seen enough!

Her pounding heart battered inside her tight chest as she strove to control her fury and feelings of betrayal. Turning away from them, she darted a quick look at Abuelita Coqui. The poor woman stood paralyzed, her puzzled eyes wide with outrage as she stared at them.

Leading her gently away, Gabriela whispered, "If we leave now, they won't see us."

Abuelita shook her head and gave an agitated tsk as she retreated with Gabriela, holding onto her arm for dear life until they reached the car.

The drive home was sheer torture as Gabriela sat beside Abuelita in stunned silence. Neither uttered a word. Gabriela's mind churned with a million things she'd like to scream at Marcos. How could he pick up where he'd left off with Nicole after their wonderful trip to New York? She kept reminding herself that Nicole had called last night and he'd lied, saying it was a wrong number.

And then she remembered what he'd said to her on the beach.
The truth is I prefer your company to Nicole's.

The lying cheat.

What a dope she'd been to believe that she could lure Marcos away from Nicole. She should have never let herself get swept away by his passionate kisses and sweet assurances. The way his body had responded to her was just a physical reaction, pure and simple. He was a potently sexual man. Why had she thought that his physical desire for her set her apart from Nicole?

God, she felt like a naive fool just remembering how she'd hoped to seduce him into loving her. Glancing down at her new outfit, she felt like tearing it to shreds and burning it.

She sucked air into her lungs to control her rising ire. She needed to go home and sort things out, but she had Marcos' grandmother to think of. Turning to her, she tried to keep the anger out of her voice. There was no sense in causing Abuelita Coqui undue distress over her favorite grandson—and his deception.

"Would you like to come to my apartment? We can have tea or coffee and chat awhile," Gabriela said, doing her best to smile at Abuelita.

Abuelita Coqui regarded her with apprehensive eyes and nodded. "We need to talk."

"Yes," Gabriela concurred.

Abuelita Coqui lapsed into silence again and Gabriela used the time to organize her thoughts. What was she going to tell the poor woman? She unlocked the front door and invited her to enter.

"What a beautiful home you've made for yourself," Abuelita Coqui said, glancing around her. "And you've already decorated for Christmas."

"It's my favorite holiday."

"Mine, too," Abuelita Coqui said quietly.

They stared at each other for several awkward moments.
 
"Oh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners? Please sit down," Gabriela said, gesturing toward the living room couch. "Would you like a cup of tea or do you prefer coffee?"

"A cup of tea sounds wonderful... and fortifying."

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll only be a few minutes." Hurrying out of the living room, Gabriela made it into the kitchen just in time to answer the ringing telephone. As luck would have it, it was her mother.

"Mami, how great to hear your voice!" Gabriela cried with exaggerated cheeriness. "Where are you calling from?" She reached for the teakettle and began to fill it with water.

"We just docked in Genoa. It's so gorgeous here I had to call you. I'm glad you didn't work late today."

"I'm on vacation!" Gabriela said brightly. She placed the teakettle on the gas stove and lit the ignition flame.

"You sound a bit giddy. Is everything all right?"

Gabriela realized she'd better tone down the ebullience or her astute mother would wonder what was going on. She'd never been good at playacting, especially with her mother, so she racked her brain to come up with something plausible that would explain her excessive cheerfulness. "I'm happy because the teenage mother Christy Ramirez gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Remember I told you about her."

"Yes, of course. I'm glad she had a good delivery. I'll keep her and her baby in my prayers," Emilia said.

"Yes, they're going to need them." Striving for a lighter note, Gabriela changed the subject. "So, are you having
fun
with your new gringo hubby? How did he like your trousseau?" Gabriela teased, remembering how her mom had referred to the lingerie she'd bought as her trousseau.

Emilia giggled and Gabriela could just imagine her vivid blush. "That's personal
,
" she reprimanded in a mock stern voice.

Gabriela chuckled. "Don't forget we shopped for the beautiful lingerie together."

"Stop teasing me!"she sputtered. "How are you? I've missed you."

Before Gabriela could answer, Abuelita Coqui appeared in the doorway of her kitchen. "May I help you with the tea?"

"No thanks. The water's almost boiling," Gabriela answered before she realized that her mother had heard.

"Who are you talking to?" Emilia asked.

"Abuelita Coqui. No, I mean my neighbor," Gabriela corrected, cringing inside as Abuelita Coqui watched her with a quizzical lift of her brows.

"Since when do you refer to a neighbor as your
abuelita?
" Emilia demanded.

"It's a long story. I'll introduce you two when you arrive," Gabriela said even though she had no intention of doing so.

"All right, I'll be home in a few days. I miss you and I love you."

"I love you, too, Mami. Say hi to John for me. Sending you kisses. Bye."

Abuelita Coqui sank into one of the two wooden chairs that comprised the small kitchen bistro set. She took off her glasses and methodically cleaned them with her handkerchief, not looking up as she took her time to polish the lenses.

Gabriela couldn't stand the dooming sound of silence, so she turned toward the stove and busied herself by pouring boiling water over three Earl Grey tea bags in her floral ceramic teapot. She placed a white paper doily over a dessert plate and added lemon shortbread cookies. Reaching above the refrigerator, she extracted an oblong wooden tray and placed a linen tea towel over it. She heated a small container of milk in the microwave and refilled the sugar bowl, then placed the items on the tray. The ritual of making tea had somewhat calmed her, and she could only hope it would have the same effect on Abuelita Coqui.

She carried the tray to the table and poured a cup of tea for her. "How do you take it, with milk or lemon?"

"Just a drop of milk and a teaspoon of sugar."

Gabriela made the tea how she requested and handed it to Abuelita Coqui. She unloaded the tray and carried it back to the counter, then rejoined her at the table.

Abuelita Coqui took a long sip of tea and set the teacup down. Her insightful gaze bored into Gabriela, making her cringe inwardly. "Please explain everything. I'm no fool. Something isn't right here. I still can't believe what I saw at the hospital. In all the years I spent raising Marcos, I never knew him to be dishonest."

Gabriela's face burned as she kept silent and let Abuelita rant.

"How could he say he loves you and at the same time continue an affair with that cold, conniving... hussy?" Abuelita Coqui huffed. She shook her head. "He took you to New York and bought you that lovely ring! What are you going to do about it?"

Gabriela stared at her clasped hands and the diamond twinkled back in accusation. She looked up to catch Abuelita Coqui's penetrating gaze. "I guess we'll have to break up," she whispered hoarsely, trying not to break down in front of her.

"Break up? Without getting answers from him?" Abuelita Coqui asked, her voice sharp with outrage. "There must be some explanation for Marcos' reprehensible behavior!"

Gabriela couldn't bear to utter one more lie to the kind woman for the sake of appeasing Marcos. Why should she, anyway? As far as she was concerned, he had lied one too many times, shamelessly seducing her and making her believe that he was falling for her. He had used her in a selfish, manipulative way. The reality wrenched her heart more than anything she'd ever experienced. She felt shattered and tried to hold back tears, but a warm, wet tear slid down her cheek and she wiped at it furiously.