Chapter Seventeen
James
“I was beginning to think that you’d gotten stuck in one of those big books of yours,” I said by way of greeting when Gabrielle returned my call the next morning.
“It was a close call, but I managed to escape from it.” There was a nervous edge to her voice that I wasn’t sure I’d heard before.
I hadn’t seen her since I’d told her about Harper, but we’d been speaking on the phone and texting, so nothing had changed. Not that I knew of, anyway.
“Just so you know, I would’ve found the book and beat the shit out it until it let you go.” It was a joke, maybe not a good one, but even the shitty ones usually got at least giggle out of her. But this one got no response at all. Not even a groan. Something was going on. “What’s up?”
“I, uh,” she hesitated. “I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my place for dinner tonight?”
“You cooking?” Like that mattered. Wild horses weren’t going to stop me from going to her place and fucking her properly, and at my leisure for once.
“Yeah, I was thinking that I would. Don’t get your hopes up too much. We might end up eating Chinese takeout.”
Or I could just eat you. I bit my tongue; I was pretty sure that my cheesy line quota for the week had been filled. “Good thing that I love Chinese, then. What time?”
“Is 6 good for you? Does that interfere with Harper’s routine? It doesn’t really matter so much to me. I just need to know when to get dinner started. I’ll be done at the library by 5.”
I hesitated at how casually she had just mentioned Harper. Is she actually worried about my kid?
Gabrielle was starting to become too good to be true. There had to be a catch somewhere, right? Maybe that’s what the nervousness was about.
“No, 6 is fine. Harper’s at a friend’s birthday party. She’ll be wiped out by the time I pick her up, and Mrs. W. can put her to bed. Thanks for checking.”
Thanks for checking? Fuck me.
Gabrielle ignored my moment of insanity. She didn’t call me out on it, anyway. “Sure thing. I’ll see you at 6, then. Let me know if you need to make it later after you pick Harper up. I’ll text you my address.”
“Yeah, I will. I’ll see you then. Hey, Gabbi.” I caught her just before she hung up.
“Yeah?”
“I’m looking forward to seeing your place.” Especially your bedroom, I added to myself.
“Yeah, yeah. Come hungry. I’m making one of my mother’s recipes.”
And there I was thinking about her bedroom.
You’re an asshole. I chided myself as she clicked off.
I talked my cock down all day. We were atoning for our dirty thoughts by promising to be on our best behavior that night.
Gabrielle cooking one of her mother’s recipes was important to her. I was relieved that she’d told me before I’d arrived so I didn’t make an ass of myself if I didn’t like the food.
As I had predicted, Harper was exhausted when I picked her up from the birthday party. Mrs. W. cooked her an early dinner and assured me that she would call me if they needed anything.
Then, she practically shooed me out of my own goddamn door when I told her that I was having dinner at a woman’s house. She ignored my protests that it was too early to leave. She told me that a gentleman showed up on time and waved me off.
I ended up having to drive around Gabrielle’s neighborhood more than once to kill time until I remembered that I wasn’t a gentleman, and I sure as shit wasn’t going to drive around wasting time.
I pulled up to Gabrielle’s place 10 minutes early. It was huge, even by my standards. She even had a porte cochere. Most people wouldn’t expect me to know what it was called. I’d have bet money on it.
I parked underneath it and raised the brass knocker on her door. She answered it quickly, looking like some kind of domestic goddess with her flour-covered apron and her hair pulled up in a loose bun. Tendrils of hair had escaped from it and framed her gorgeous face.
She broke into a wide grin. “You’re early.”
“Yeah, Mrs. W. might have gotten overly excited.”
She gave me a chaste peck on the cheek and then stepped back, motioning me into her house.
The design was unexpectedly similar to mine. Minus the toys and baby clutter, of course. Her place was done up in white and mint green, with professional-looking photographs lining the walls.
Soft throws had been placed over her couches, and the bookshelves that lined her living room were with filled with books that looked like she’d actually read them. A dirty coffee mug sat next to a mystery novel on her coffee table.
It was kind of endearing that she was willing to give me a peek into what she was like when she was alone, as opposed to having scrubbed the place cleaner than a hospital like so many other girls would have.
“Smells amazing in here.” It really did.
A slow flush spread on her cheeks as she took the compliment. “Thanks, I don’t make it as well as my mother did, but she got the recipe for paella on a trip to Spain, and she spent years perfecting it with ingredients that she could find here.”
“Sounds like you got your determination and dedication from her.”
A faraway smile played on her lips. “I guess so. Although you know as well as anyone how dedicated my dad is to his job.” The happy smile she had been wearing slipped from her face.
As if it was the most natural thing in the world, I reached out and cupped her cheek. “That must be why you have it by the boatload.”
She cracked a small smile. “Yeah, that has to be it.”
With a deep breath, she collected herself and led me to the kitchen. A center island housed the oven and stove with a sleek aluminum light hanging above it.
Several pots bubbled away, and a fresh loaf of bread sat on a cooling tray. I had to actively stop myself from drooling. We were definitely not getting takeout.
Gabrielle’s usual easygoing demeanor returned as she flitted about the kitchen, stirring the contents of some of the pots and turning up the soft music that flowed from built-in speakers. “Do you want something to drink?”
“Sure, I’ll take a beer if you’ve got one.” My mouth had turned drier than the Sahara as I watched her do her thing.
“I picked some up earlier.” She pulled a beer from her fridge and handed it over. “Let’s go sit.”
I followed her to her entertainment area in the backyard, where she’d set places at a massive wooden table. “You sure you have enough seating here?”
She didn’t skip a beat. “You never know when the urge to play musical chairs might hit. Best to be prepared.”
There’s my girl. I laughed and moved my place setting to the seat right beside hers.
Wait. Shit. My girl? What the fuck?
I cleared my throat and pushed the stray thought from my mind. “See, there. The urge hit. Good thing you were ready for it.”
Her head fell back as she laughed, exposing her long, smooth neck. The urge to kiss her there took me, so I leaned over and pressed my lips to her skin, breathing in her intoxicating smell. Despite my earlier pep talk, my cock joined the party.
Gabrielle’s breathing hitched, then she swatted my arm lightly. “If you distract me, our dinner will burn, and we’ll have to settle for something mediocre. I know how much you like good food, so down boy.” She took the command to my cock right out of my mouth.
Sorry, buddy. Food first. My stomach agreed wholeheartedly.
I smirked. “Just saying hello properly.”
“Yeah well, your hello will have to wait until after we’ve eaten.” She couldn’t hide the flush spreading over her neck where I’d kissed her, despite her outward nonchalance.
A timer went off somewhere in the house, and Gabrielle jumped up, leaving me to survey my surroundings.
Her entertainment area was open, like mine, and led to a green lawn with cacti in pots lining the walls and a sparkling blue pool. Her uncovered blue pool, the dad in me noticed.
“Come and get it,” she called from the kitchen. “If it tastes like shit, just tell me. I haven’t attempted this in a long time. I won’t be offended. I think I may have added too much salt.”
It tasted like heaven. Mrs. W.’s cooking was hearty and comforting, the fancy restaurants that I frequented were great, but neither had anything on the food that I shoveled into my mouth. Gabrielle’s food was on a whole different level. “This is amazing.”
Her shoulders relaxed, and her eyes lit up. “It actually kind of is. I think that I may have done it justice.”
“And then some. Was your mom Spanish?” I knew that her mom was a touchy subject, but the smile that played on her lips told me that she was okay with that line of questioning. Like it brought back fond memories for her.
“No, but she lived there for a few years after college. She always said that she could never get enough of their cuisine.” She sipped on her sangria. “Enough about me. How was Harper’s party?”
That unfamiliar feeling stirred in my stomach again. “It was great, if her exhaustion is anything to go by. They had a bouncy castle and ice cream.”
Gabrielle laughed. “Well, with those two things, there’s no way it could have been anything but amazing.”
“Yeah, that combination will win you the hearts of every kid there every time.” It surprised me how easy it was to talk to Gabrielle about Harper.
We kept talking as we finished our dinner and cleared the table. It was seriously the best meal I’d had in forever.
“So, you going to give me the grand tour?” I gestured to her hallway.
“Okay, so this is the kitchen. That’s the living room. And we just had dinner outside.” The girl loved her some sarcasm. I liked that about her.
I followed her down her hallway, where more personal pictures were tacked to the walls. She pointed out several rooms, but I was distracted by a picture of Richard holding a baby that must’ve been her.
No shit, Sherlock.
There were several others surrounding it. It was clear that her relationship with her father meant more to her than she liked to let on.
“James,” she called from somewhere out of sight. She had disappeared into a room at the end of the hall.
“Yeah, coming.” Hopefully soon.
The bedroom that I followed her into was tastefully decorated, with a four-post bed made up with crisp white sheets and flowing curtains that hung in front of glass sliding doors.
None of that made an impact on me. The only thing that I could absorb was the fact that Gabrielle was standing there in front of her bed.
Stark. Fucking. Naked.