Sold on You (21 page)

"Don't be ridiculous. It pleases me to buy you pretty things."

"No, I'll take care of it," she said firmly.

He heaved an exasperated sigh. "We'll talk about expenses later. You know the type of clothes I like on your beautiful figure, chic and elegant."

"Whatever you say,
mi amor,
" Gabriela said sweetly, even though she wanted to clobber him for micro-managing her wardrobe. Not that she had much fashion savvy, but she was going to buy the hottest outfits she could find with Marisol just to show him. "You'll be pleasantly surprised."

"Whatever you do,
don't
let Marisol help you choose. Her taste runs a bit wild," he said.

"What a stuffed shirt you've become, Marcos," Gabriela chided in a teasing tone. "Lighten up."

"I'll light you up, "he retorted wickedly.

She ignored his invitation and said, "Don't work too hard. See you tomorrow." Gabriela hung up and faced the grinning duo. "He's worried that I'm going shopping with Marisol."

Marisol's eyes gleamed with mischief. "Ha! He has reason to be."

"Apparently your taste is a little wild for him. He told me to buy outfits that are elegant and chic."

Marisol rubbed her hands together. "Oh did, did he? Poor guy won't know what hit him when he sees you. We should take a look at the new Herve Legere collection."

"Thanks, but we'd better stay away from the designer stuff. I already told him this wardrobe is on me," Gabriela said.

"But why? Marcos has plenty of dough. You'll only make him suspicious if you refuse to use his card."

Gabriela thrust her chin out. "Nope. I won't charge another penny on it."

Marisol shrugged. "Okay, we can still find cute, sexy stuff that fits your budget. Ooh, this will be fun!"

Gabriela was enjoying herself already. Marisol's exuberance was contagious and her upbeat, uninhibited personality was just what Gabriela needed. Who knew what shopping adventures awaited them?

"The next time Marcos sees you, cupid's dart will slay his heart... and other places," Marisol predicted gleefully, eliciting chuckles from Abuelita Coqui. "You wait and see."

Chapter 12

That evening, Marcos decided to return home briefly to check up on Abuelita Coqui before returning to the hospital. After phoning her late that afternoon, he'd been concerned when her voice had sounded frail as she tried to avoid answering his questions about her health. No matter how much she tried to evade the subject, Marcos was sure she wasn't feeling up to par. First thing tomorrow morning, he'd insist on running some medical tests.

He turned the key to the door and was surprised to hear one of Marc Anthony's ballads accompanied by a feminine voice coming from his study. It had to be Marisol singing, even though her voice sounded huskier than usual. Why hadn't she left already? Had she been too worried about Abuelita Coqui to leave?

The women were not in the living room, so he decided to surprise them. He tiptoed into the hall and peeked in the study. Stunned, he stared at the scene before him as if he were in the Twilight Zone.

Gabriela's back was turned to him as she danced wearing a hot pink camisole top that bared her midriff above fluid, drawstring pants that rested low on her hips and accentuated her small waist. Her shapely bottom sensually undulated to the music as she crooned along with Marc Anthony. Her loose dark hair cascaded down her back in black ripples of silk.

Hot desire surged through his body like an electric current. Damn, she looked sizzling hot.

Marcos glanced sharply to his right and couldn't believe his eyes. His grandmother reclined in his leather lounging chair, her eyes closed as she puffed on one of his favorite Havana cigars. He could only see her profile, but from the contented smile on her face, she was obviously having a marvelous time! Silently, he scanned the room with shocked disbelief.

Swaying to the music as she stood before his CD cabinet, Marisol was turned away from him while she perused his music collection. His gaze settled on the open bottle of rum and three shot glasses beside it on his desk.

Paralyzed, he stayed at the doorway and stared at them with mounting fury. He wasn't surprised at Marisol's involvement in their revelry; she'd always loved a party. But his
abuelita
puffing on a cigar and Gabriela in that sultry outfit? Their behavior was totally out of character! He was tempted to storm into the room and demand an explanation. But instead, he pivoted on his heel and stormed out of the apartment.

He wasn't only baffled, he was incensed as he got into the car and headed toward the hospital. To think he'd been worried about Abuelita Coqui's health. She'd been smoking a cigar, for God's sake, and neither of the other women had stopped her! They'd been having too much fun drinking his best rum and partying in his study, convinced that they wouldn't be caught.

Lost in his ruminations, Marcos didn't notice Nicole at the hospital entrance until she stepped in front of him and snapped her fingers in his face. "Hey, snap out of it," she said, issuing a throaty laugh when he reacted, startled.

"What do you want?"

The corners of her mouth turned downward. "You don't have to bark at me, Marcos. What's eating you? Had a little spat with your fiancée?"

"Let's not talk about Gabriela."

Nicole sidled up to him and kissed his cheek. "Why not? I still can't figure out why you chose her to be your pretend fiancée."

"Drop it," he said, impatient to get away from her.

"But she's totally out of your league, my love. She's such a little prude."

"You don't know what you're talking about." He got a vividly alluring mental picture of Gabriela when he'd seen her tonight as she danced in his study.

Nicole gave a haughty sniff. "I still can't believe you took her to New York. Didn't you worry about what your grandmother would say about the two of you shacking up?"

"It wasn't like that."

Nicole snickered. "That's what I expected. She's pathetic. I bet she's lousy in bed," she said in a ridiculing tone.

"That's enough. I have work to do," he said, brushing past her.

Nicole ran after him, her high heels clicking against the floor. Marcos kept his back to her as he waited for the elevator doors to open.

"This isn't the end of it, Marcos. If you try to ignore me, I'll go straight to your grandmother and tell her everything." She tapped his shoulder. "Just wait and see."

He turned to her with a chilling look. "I don't respond well to threats, Nicole. You'd best keep that in mind," he warned.

"Neither do I!" She turned on her heel and stomped away.

"Good riddance," he muttered, shaking his head as he entered the elevator.

* * *

Marcos waited until the following morning to confront his grandmother. Seated at the breakfast table he asked, "Has Marisol left already?"

"No. She's out walking the beach," she said, taking a sip of her
cafe con leche.

He studied her. "You look very pale today, Abuelita."

She patted her cheeks. "That's because I don't have my makeup on yet."

"No, it must be the smoke I smelled when I came in last night. I know you're not used to breathing smoke since Abuelito died. Did Marisol get into my cigars?" he asked mildly.

"Si,
that's it." Abuelita Coqui shook her head and clucked disapprovingly. "Clay doesn't like her to smoke cigars, but she seems to have a weakness for them."

He forced himself to smile at her even though she was lying through her teeth. "You've barely touched your breakfast and your color isn't good. I'm going to take you into the hospital to run a few tests."

"No. I'm perfectly fine!" Abuelita Coqui protested as vehemently as he'd expected.

"Well then, if you're so fine, you can answer a few important questions." He paused when he saw her eyebrows lift at his stern tone. "I came home early yesterday evening to check in on you. Instead of finding you and Gabriela in the living room watching TV, I encountered three half-drunk women in my study partying to the music of Marc Anthony!" he said, his voice rising with indignation.

Abuelita Coqui made the sign of the cross. "
Ay, Dios mio!
You caught us red-handed."

Marcos pinned her with a look. "You're busted,
viejita.
And now you're going to tell me everything," he said grimly.

She drew herself up and squared her shoulders, looking a good ten years younger than her age. "Now wait just a minute, young man! Don't try to turn this around to make yourself appear the innocent victim." She pounded on the table with her wrinkled fist. "
You're
the one who has to give explanations about this whole scheme."

Marcos' heart constricted when he saw the deep hurt in her wise old eyes. "How did you find out?" he asked bleakly.

"How do you think?" she asked, giving him a scathing look. "I'm no fool. After I witnessed your kiss with Nicole at the hospital, I cornered Gabriela and demanded to know the truth. One thing I'm certain about is that you're no cheat when it comes to women."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence."

She snorted. "Gabriela took me to her apartment after we left the hospital. She was reluctant to confess at first, but once she did, she told me
everything. "
Abuelita Coqui pointed an accusatory finger at him. "
Descarado,
how could you deceive me and raise my hopes for nothing?"

Marcos winced. She had every reason to be disgusted with him. He should have owned up to the truth sooner. "I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt your feelings, quite the contrary. I did it because I wanted to make you happy."

"Is that all?"

"No," he admitted. "The truth is that the more we pretended to be engaged, the more I began to grow used to the idea."
And wanted to make her mine
, he added silently.

She sighed deeply. "Whatever your reasons, I'm just glad you chose someone as lovely as Gabriela."

He scowled. "Gabriela. I'd like to wring her neck for turning against me."

"Don't you dare blame her! You're the one at fault here. This was entirely your scam."

"I'm not blaming her, but I feel betrayed." He sighed. "How can I ever make it up to you?"

"You can start by coming to terms with your heart. Wake up! It's time you realized that you can't be alone for the rest of your life. I want great-grandchildren and I'm convinced that Gabriela would make the perfect wife for you. Unfortunately, she doesn't want to have anything more to do with you ever again."

Abuelita's revelation shocked him. "She doesn't? She seemed fine when we talked earlier."

"That was because Marisol and I had already convinced her to stay on a while longer so I could teach you a well-deserved lesson. Believe me, it took a lot of persuading on our part. She was very unwilling, especially since she believes that you're still seeing Nicole."

"Nicole be damned," he snapped. "I don't want her—I want Gabriela! I'm still mad at her, but once we get things straightened out, she'll come around," he said with more confidence than he was feeling.

"Don't be too sure," Abuelita Coqui huffed. "You certainly haven't come across as a very trustworthy fellow."

He rose from the table. "I have to go to her," he said, kissing Abuelita's powdery cheek.

"You'd better do a lot of sincere sweet talking. It won't be easy to win her back."

She had a point. It wouldn't be easy, but winning her back was exactly what he had in mind. "I'll sweet talk her all right! I hope you don't mind if I leave now."

Abuelita Coqui dimpled and her expression suddenly reminded him of his mischievous little sister. "Of course not, Marquitos. Take all the time you need to make amends—all the time in the world," she said, her voice laden with amusement.

* * *

Holding the left side of her throbbing face, Gabriela reached for her car keys. What had begun as a twinge yesterday evening was a full-fledged toothache this morning. Thank God she'd been able to get an appointment with the oral surgeon on such short notice. She dreaded having a root canal, but she suspected that would be the outcome once he examined her throbbing molar.

She was about to open her apartment door when she heard a knock on the other side.
God, please don't let it be that nasty Nicole again!
Had she returned to make more ugly accusations? When the knock grew louder, she peeked through the peephole.

Oh, no! Marcos stood on her doorstep. After Nicole's upsetting visit early this morning, he was the last person she felt like seeing. She wasn't only hurting from her toothache—her heart felt like it had been wrenched apart.

"Gabriela," he called out. "Please let me in."

She opened the door a crack. "Oh, Marcos. Why are you here?"

He wagged his finger at her as if she were a naughty girl. "Lucy, you have a leetle 'splainin to do," he drawled, sounding like Desi Arnaz.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes. My jaw hurts and I have a splitting headache," Gabriela snapped, opening the door to let him in.

His eyebrows shot up. "What's wrong, too much rum last night?"

What did he mean by that? she wondered. "Not quite. My headache is the result of a rotten visit from Nicole. She left here a little while ago."