Chapter 4
“I had to go through several channels to get to you.” The familiar deep voice sounded in her ear. When the receptionist had called up and told her that there was a Gabriel Bryant on the line she'd been very surprised. It had been two days since the function and she hadn't thought of him at all.
“To say you're persistent would be putting it mildly,” Mia told him in amusement.
“After you left
the party went to hell,” he drawled. “I left soon
after.”
“I don’t believe that and you know
why?”
“Why?”
“I saw your picture in the
papers and the caption read that you were there until two the next
morning,” she told him.
“Damn! I never
remembered about that.” His voice was amused. “So Mia
Gooden, how about having lunch? We happen to own this very popular
restaurant about five blocks from you. I could drop by and pick you
up.”
“I'm working, and as I told you before I'm not
interested.”
“It’s just lunch, darling. I'll
save the proposal until we've gone out to dinner.”
Mia laughed in
genuine delight. She really liked him! “If only I'd met you six
years ago.”
“Six years ago I was immature and a
terror. I'm more mature now and willing to settle down with you.”
“I
have a feeling that Gabriel Bryant doesn't settle.’
“You're right. Have lunch with me, Mia. I promise to behave and I'm in town for the next couple of days. I'm lonely and bored and would just like the company of the most beautiful woman I've ever met.”
She hesitated briefly and then said yes. “But I'll find my own way to the restaurant. It’s Luce’s right? Sebastian often has business lunches and dinners there.”
“I'll be the
one standing by the door and eagerly waiting for you.”
She
laughed again. “I doubt it.”
She hung up with a
smile and looked over as her door was pushed open and Sandra came
walking in. “You were talking to Gabriel Bryant?”
Mia
looked at the girl quizzically. “You're listening to my phone
calls now?”
“The call was transferred to me first,”
she came in and closed the doors behind her. “Gabriel is a
player, Mia.”
“Why are you telling me that?”
“Because I saw him talking to you at the party the other night and now he's calling you. Need I remind you that you're carrying my brother’s child?”
Mia stiffened and felt a flash of anger before she willed it away. “I'm the one carrying Sebastian’s child; so no, I don’t have to be reminded. I can very well see anyone I want to see Sandra. You're my employer and my friend but I'm an adult who does what the hell I want to do.”
She was sufficiently
chastened. “I'm sorry it’s just that—”
“You
think I'm cheating on your brother,” Mia said in amusement.
“Even though I’m in love with Sebastian, he's never given
me any indication that he's interested in me.”
“So you
like Gabriel that way?”
Mia sighed as she looked at her. “I'm insulted that you think that after loving your brother for so long that I could just suddenly change and fall for another man. I'm having lunch with Gabriel because I like him. I can have lunch with a very attractive man without opening my legs and my heart to him, honey.”
Sandra stared at her as if shocked by her frankness, even though she should be used to it by now. “You're right. It’s just that I love my brother and somehow I see the two of you together. Maybe because I want it to happen. And I can't help but think that maybe the fact that Gabriel is seeing you as a woman when my brother never looked at you that way has me running scared and thinking that you'll fall for him.”
Mia smiled at that. “Have I ever told you the story of my favorite doll?”
“What?” Sandra looked at her with a frown.
“I had this
doll when I was about four years old. A black doll with curly hair
and very long lashes. Uncle Beres bought it for me that Christmas and
I fell in love with it. Over the years I got other dolls, more
beautiful and skinny as rails, even one with a tiara and silky black
hair but Arianna, that’s what I called her, Arianna was my
favorite because I had fallen in love with her from the moment I held
her. I played with her every single day. Do you know where she is
now?”
Sandra shook her head.
“On my bed when I go to sleep. She is raggedy and old and her hair has fallen out but I still love her.” She got up and went to get her coat before turning to her friend. “The moral of the story is this: When I fall in love, it's for keeps. I love your brother and no matter how attractive this man is or how charming he is, it will always be Sebastian that I'm in love with.” She pulled on her black leather gloves and smiled at the stunned girl. “See you later, honey.”
*****
He was really standing by the door of the very exclusive restaurant when she got there. He wasn't alone; the Maître D was standing there with him.
“I told you that I would be waiting for you by the door,” he said teasingly as she came in. The man took her coat form her and led the way to the corner booth where they would be having lunch. “And you had the poor man waiting with you,” she said dryly.
“He didn't mind.” Gabriel held the chair out for her to sit before going to take his seat.
“Gabriel, your family owns this place so even if he did mind he wouldn't have dared to say anything,”
“You're right,” he said thoughtfully as he looked at her. “Next time I'll know better.”
“Will you?” she asked in amusement, objectively admiring the thick cashmere sweater he was wearing and how good he looked.
“You're right. I might just not remember.” He leaned forward, his dark green eyes wandering over her face. “I thought that when I saw you again maybe, just maybe, you wouldn't look as good as you had that night at the function, but I was wrong.. I really think you're probably one of the most beautiful women I've ever met, Mia Gooden.”
“And I'm sure you have said that to quite a few women,” she teased him.
He was saved from answering as the waiter came over to take their orders. Mia was still queasy so she had to be careful about what she ate. She ordered the vegetable soup and slices of Italian bread.
“I'll have the same,” Gabriel said in his authoritative voice as he effectively dismissed the man. “Where were we?”
“You're barking
up the wrong tree, Gabriel.”
“Why? Because you're
involved with someone else?” he scoffed.
“I'm in love with him.”
He looked at her
narrowly. “And he lets you come to lunch with another man?”
“No
one lets me do anything.”
“I thought so.” A smile came and went on his face. “Are you sure it’s love?”
“Positive, because I've felt this way for years.”
This time his gaze
sharpened. “This man doesn't deserve you,” he said
decidedly. “Is he married?”
She laughed at that. “No.
But he is in a coma.”
Understanding dawned. “Sebastian.”
She
nodded and the conversation lulled as their order came. He waited
until they'd started eating before he spoke. “I've seen
Sebastian with almost a different woman each month. I told you we run
in the same circle. He has you and is still running around with other
women? Is he an idiot?”
“You know better than that,” she told him as she spooned the soup into her mouth. “It’s unrequited love.”
He stared at her for
a long time and didn't say anything. “It’s not too late
for me.”
Mia laughed as she continued eating. “I'm
afraid it is.”
“Why is that?”
“When I love someone it's for keeps.”
“Lucky
bastard,” he muttered. He saw the look on her face and smiled.
“I mean—”he shrugged “—You know what I
mean. What if he doesn't come to his senses?”
“It will
always be him.”
“You're killing me here, Mia,”
he complained.
She laughed again. “We can be friends.”
“I don’t
want us to be friends. I have lots of those.”
“I could
be one more,” she told him.
“You're hoping that he'll wake up and realize that you were there all along?”
“Something like that,” she said lightly.
“I'm here, and believe me I notice you.”
“And I'm flattered.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s time for me to go.”
“Take an extended lunch.”
“Spoken like someone who doesn't answer to an employer,” she said dryly.
“We're hiring,”
he told her casually as she dabbed at her mouth with the napkin.
“I
already have a job.”
He leaned forward, his green eyes intense. “If you ever decide that working for Sebastian is too much, give me a call. Hell, even if it's just to say hi.” He handed her his card. She looked at it and noticed the embossed lettering of his name and the title of VP of the company.
“Now you,” he said softly.
She scribbled her number down for him.
“If you don’t call. I will,” he warned her.
“I know you will,” she said with a smile. “Thanks for lunch, Gabriel.”
*****
“I met someone recently,” she told him softly. She'd returned to the office in very good spirits after lunch and had known that Sandra had waited to hear how it went but she'd gone straight into her office and closed the door behind her to discourage conversation. What she felt was between her and Sebastian, period. “He reminds of you. You know him because he runs in the same circle you do. Tall, dark and handsome and knows it all too well. See? Just like you. He tells me all the things that I wish I could hear from you but the thing is—”She stopped and stared at him. A barber had been brought in to trim his dark hair and shave him. “The thing is, Sebastian, that although I was flattered by what he was saying to me it never did anything to me. You know why? Because I'm in love with you and nothing can shake that.” She sighed as she looked at him. “How could you not see it? And the question is: are you going to see it when you finally wake up? Because I believe you will. I might lose hope sometimes but I really believe you'll wake up. I would rather have you awake and snapping at me than see you here lying with your eyes closed. I refuse to let myself think about you not seeing me and realizing that I love you.” She touched his hand briefly and allowed her touch to linger before pulling away. She glanced at her watch and saw that it was a quarter past seven. She'd told Sandra that she would sit with him tonight. She'd wanted to somehow assure him that she was still his and he had no need to be jealous of Gabriel, which was of course ridiculous. “Good night my love,” she whispered before she left.
*****
“I've given you three days to come to your senses and realize that I'm better for you than he is,” his deep voice caused a smile to come to her lips. It was Saturday and she'd decided that she would stay home and do some housework. She was planning on visiting Uncle Beres later in the day but she still wasn't sure yet. It had snowed last night and into the morning and the place was shrouded with a thick blanket of whiteness that was dazzling. “You're not at work are you?”
“No, I'm not. How are you Gabriel?”
“Pining.”
She
laughed at that. “Now I get why the women you see believe you.
You sound very convincing.”
“That’s
because I'm telling the truth,” he told her softly. “I've
been doing a lot of thinking about our situation.”
“I
wasn't aware we had one.” She continued folding the laundry
she'd just taken out of the dryer and held the phone between her ear
and shoulder.
“We do,” he said solemnly. “And I have a solution. The guy is in a coma so what we can do is go out together and spend some time with each other. I'm convinced that after a few dates with me you'll come to realize that I'm the better man.”
Mia laughed. “I already know you're the better man, but I'm stuck. I told you I love for keeps.”
“I also think
I'm richer than he is. Certainly, I'm better looking.”
“It
doesn't matter.”
He sighed deeply. “You're going to
make me work hard aren’t you Mia?”
“Or not work at all.” Mia put in a fresh load and added the detergent before turning the machine on. She went over and sat on the sofa in the laundry room as she continued talking to him. “Friends, Gabriel, and nothing more.”
He sighed again. “You
know I'm not going to give up right? I also happen to have a masters
in Finance, so you see how smart I am.”
“Good for
you,” she told him.
“Okay, I see that nothing I say will change your mind. I'll be back in town by the middle of March. How about dinner?”
“Don’t you have anyone else to ask?”
“Of course I do,” he chided. “I just want to ask you.”
“I'll let you
know.”
“So that’s a yes, then?”
“You're
incorrigible!” she said with a laugh. “I'll let you know,
Gabriel.”
“I'll be counting the days until I see you.”
She shook her head as she hung up the phone. She stretched full-length onto the sofa and put her hand against her flat stomach. She closed her eyes as she pictured the baby growing inside her. His sperm inside her! The thought caused her to shiver. She'd never even been kissed by this man, not even a touch that could be misconstrued as something intimate. He called her Mia and she called him Sebastian but it had always been business between them and nothing more. Had she been wrong to tie herself up like this with a man who will probably never love her? What if she could find something with Gabriel? She shook her head with a sigh and realized that even if Sebastian never returned her love she could never be with Gabriel, or anyone else. How sad was that?
*****
Sandra got off the bed and, reaching for the robe, she pulled it on. It was approaching midnight and she and Simon had just finished making love. Mia hadn't said anything to her about the lunch date. She'd popped into the girl’s office and she'd more or less ignored her.
“Hey,” Simon propped his head up on the pillows as he watched her going to the windows to pull the drapes. “You okay?”
She walked back over
and sat on the edge of the bed. “Gabriel Bryant likes
Mia.”
“Okay,” he said slowly. “She's a
beautiful woman and you can't put much stock in a man like Gabriel.
He's worse than your brother when it comes to women.”
Sandra looked at him dryly. “You're saying that my brother's a player?”
He laughed at the term. “Sebastian never had to make much effort to get a woman into bed, Sandra, and you know that. When we were in college I used to love the fact that he was my best friend but hated that women came up to me because I was. He had charms when he wanted to but when he lost interest it was all business for him.” He reached out and touched her arm. “I can't say I blame him too much, or men like him. Women throw themselves at men like him and they take what's offered.”
“That sounds awful,” Sandra murmured.
“Fact of life,” Simon murmured.
“I've never seen Mia show that amount interest in the opposite sex since I've known her and I am afraid—” She bit her lip.
“You're afraid that she's going to stop being in love with Sebastian and maybe fall for Gabriel.”
She nodded. “She told me she loves for keeps, but I don’t know. How can you love someone who hasn't shown you the slightest interest?”
“I don’t
know.” He pulled her into his arms. “Can we stop talking
about them for now?”
“Gladly,” Sandra said with
a heartfelt sigh.
*****
“Uncle B, let me do that.” Mia took the potatoes from him and got out the potato peeler. “I told you I'll be the one cooking today.” She kissed his cheek. “Pour us both some wine and have a seat.”
He looked at her and raised his shaggy brows.
“I'm allowed a glass every now and then.” She gestured for him to go ahead and pour. “I'm off coffee and I have to keep telling myself that this is worth it.”
He poured her half a
glass and she took it with a wry look at him. “So talk to me,”
she urged as she peeled. “Did the cream work for your
knees?”
“Like a charm,” he sipped the wine and
watched as she peeled the potatoes in her usual efficient and
economical way. She reminded him so much of her mother that he felt a
jolt as he looked at her.
“Baby girl, you do not have to come here every weekend and check on me, you know. I'm fine.”
She looked up at him as she turned to go and wash the potatoes before putting them into the boiling water. “You're the only family I have and I wasn't here last weekend.”
“You're going to have a little one to think about pretty soon,” he pointed out as she got the ingredients ready to make a potato salad.
“Not for
another six months.” She looked over at him. “Do you
think I made a mistake?”
“Did you?”
She took a seat and sipped the wine. “I don’t now, Uncle B. I convinced myself that he's going to finally see me but what if he doesn't? What do I do at that point? What if he starts going out with those women he's used to going out with and I'm stuck with his child growing inside me? What am I going to do?”
“All these questions,” Beres said shaking his greying head. “You're going to get through this, girl. You have grit and determination like I've never seen before. You'll find a way to make something happen.” He smiled as he looked down into his wine. “I was going through some stuff in my room and found a photo of you and your mother when you were ten years old. Remember when we told you that Christmas that you had to go to sleep in order for Santa to come down the chimney?”
Mia shook her head
and laughed. “I must say it puzzled me no end trying to figure
out how Santa was going to get his big belly through that narrow
opening and what if he fell into the fire and got burned?”
“And
you crept downstairs and sat by the chimney waiting to see him and to
make sure he didn't get burned by the flames.”
“You
came down at around two a.m. and saw me falling asleep there and
picked me up. You told me that you would make sure that Santa didn't
get caught in the flames,” she said softly.
He came around and hugged her. “You're going to make it work.”