Beauty and the Feast

by Julia Barrett

  Gabe chewed thoughtfully. So she was raised on a farm. “Here in California?” he asked.

  “No,” Eva replied, still nibbling. “Back in the Midwest.”

  “Oh? Where?”

  “Iowa,” said Eva. “Near Avoca.”

  “I’ve been by there,” said Gabe. “That’s just east of Council Bluffs, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah,” answered Eva. “How do you know?”

  “I’m from Chicago,” he told her. “I’ve driven through Council Bluffs a number of times on I-80.”

  Eva gave him an appraising look. “I assumed you were born and raised in the Bay Area. Where in Chicago?”

  “My mother lives on Lakeshore Drive

  now and my little sister’s a pediatrician in Skokie. But growing up we lived in one of the projects.”

  Eva raised her eyebrows. The look she gave him now was one of admiration. “Ah, so you weren’t born into the wine industry.”

  Gabe took a long swallow of the ice-cold beer Eva had set in front of him.

  “Hell no. Wine was the furthest thing from my mind when I moved out here. I stumbled into the business completely by accident. I got my masters in Business Administration from Cal. One of my best friends there became an enologist after graduation. He floated around for a while… worked a little up here, a little in Lake County, some in the Livermore area. Eventually, when I’d made some money, he made me a business proposal. The rest, as they say, is history.”

  “But your wines, they’re outstanding,” said Eva. “How did you know… I mean, I realize your wine maker, your friend, is exceptional, but how did you know? If you didn’t have any experience, I mean.”

  Gabe winked at her. “Night school,” he said. “I’m a quick study. I took some classes at the local community colleges. When I first started out, I didn’t know a Cabernet from Mogen David.”

  Eva laughed with him. She had the most delightful laugh. Gabe noticed his cock begin to respond to the sound of it. Her laugh, her food, her foul mouth, her wonderfully round little ass and her deliciously soft, smooth, firm body. God, was there anything about her he didn’t respond to?

  “Gabe, the dinner last night… I got the impression… Was I really so off base?”

  “No,” he admitted. “You had the right idea. I just had the wrong woman. I took her home before dinner.”

  “I apologize if it was something I did. You know, if she was important to you.”

  Gabe grabbed her hand. “Why in the hell do you think you have anything to apologize for? Unless you’d like to apologize for distracting me with that beautiful telephone voice of yours?”

  Eva’s cheeks pinked up again. This time, Gabe reached over the table and rubbed a thumb lightly across her delicate cheekbone. “Eva, about what happened earlier between us. It’s going to happen again and next time, there won’t be any burnt potatoes or any screeching smoke detector.”

  He watched Eva close her eyes. Her chest rose as she took a deep breath. He wondered if he should push her right now. He could do it. He doubted she would stop him, but he could see the dark circles under her eyes and the purplish bruise on her head and he remembered her sore knees. Christ, he wanted to taste her. He wanted to lick that sweet honey between her legs until she begged him to fuck her. He needed to leave. Now. Gabe cleared his throat.

  “Will you still cook for me?” he asked, his voice rough. “Next Sunday?”

  “Yes,” she breathed, her eyes still closed.

  “I’ll call you,” Gabe said and he rose abruptly from his chair. “Thanks for the sandwiches.”

  “You’re welcome,” Eva replied.

  Gabe noticed that she sounded exhausted. As he walked through the open kitchen door, he flipped the lock and shut it behind him. He didn’t want her to fall asleep at the table with the door wide open, but he didn’t trust himself to put her to bed. His little chef had turned out to be much woman.

  Chapter Eight

  Jason White stood in his driveway. He held a squirt gun and he pointed it at Eva’s car as she pulled up to the curb in front of the house. Eva extricated herself stiffly out of the driver’s seat.

  “Don’t you dare squirt me, Jason. Don’t. You. Dare. I am not in the mood.”

  Jason grinned like a devil in training and squirted water in her direction, hitting the passenger window of her car. As Eva stepped toward him, he got a look at her knees and the grin disappeared.

  “Holy crap! What happened to you?”

  “Bike wreck.”

  “You all right? Shit, you really got torn up. Are you sure you should be working today?”

  Eva gave the young man a wan smile. “Your concern is touching. Really. I’m all right, just sore.”

  Jason tossed the plastic pistol into the grass and helped Eva carry in the groceries she’d brought.

  “Look Eva, my mom won’t mind. I’ll talk to her. We can order pizza or something. I feel bad about you cleaning the house with those knees. And what the hell happened to your head? Weren’t you wearing a helmet?”

  “Wow, Jason,” Eva teased, “I didn’t know you cared.”

  The young man said dramatically, “Hey, I care. Give me a little credit. Your words cut me to the quick.”

  “Okay, I believe you and I promise not to tell anyone you care if you’ll go to school and leave me alone.”

  “No problem. As soon as I put away these groceries.”

  “Jason,” Eva said, “I’m grateful. Thanks. You’re actually a pretty nice guy.”

  “I was wondering when you’d realize it,” Jason shot back. “So I guess now we can jump start our May-December relationship and you can make a man out of me?”

  Things were back to normal. Eva laughed. “I knew I spoke too soon.”

  * * * *

  Jason had been so helpful before he left for school that Eva baked him a batch of sour cream chocolate cupcakes dipped in chocolate ganache. She sprinkled on tiny bittersweet chocolate curls and arranged the cupcakes on a platter. After that, she called it a day. She’d been cleaning, doing laundry and cooking for almost six hours. Her knees had loosened up during the day, but between dishwashing detergent and cleaning solutions, her palms stung a bit. The bump on her head had gone down, leaving her with a purplish bruise. At least it didn’t hurt much. After what had happened with Gabriel Abbott in her hallway the day before, she wondered if she actually did have a concussion. That was the only reasonable explanation she could come up with for her utterly uninhibited behavior. It was either a concussion or the fact that she hadn’t had sex with a man in over a year. Was that healthy, she wondered. To remain abstinent for over a year? She’d dated men, other men who’d obviously wanted to have sex with her. Intelligent men, attractive men, seductive men, but not one of them meant enough to her to allow them anything other than a goodnight peck on the cheek.

  She’d allowed Gabe a whole lot more than that.

  God almighty, the man was a riddle. A unique, ingenious mixture of a sharp mind, a killer instinct for business, a hard body and a soft heart. She’d bet anything his mother lived on Lakeshore Drive

  because he’d bought her a place there. And his sister probably made it through medical school with his generous financial assistance. Eva wondered if the projects he’d grown up in had been associated with Cabrini Green. She hoped not. Everyone in the Midwest had read articles talking about how hard life was in those projects, between the gang violence and the drugs. She hoped if he’d lived there, it wasn’t for his entire childhood.

  Gabriel Abbott was a man who knew what he wanted, a man who went after it. Apparently, a difficult childhood had honed him rather than scarred him. Eva realized he hadn’t mentioned his father. That made sense. If his father had died or abandoned the family, then yes, they could very easily have ended up on public assistance. Eva shuddered. She couldn’t imagine living in a world without her father and her big brothers to look out for her as she was growing up. She reminded herself how lucky she was.

  Out of the
blue, Eva was overcome by a desire to talk to her mom and dad. She fished her cell phone out of her purse and dialed the number. Perhaps she should talk to Tom and Marcus about some time off and head home for a couple weeks. The weather would be perfect back in Iowa. She could ride her horse, get back to her roots. Regain some sense of control because right now, Eva was feeling dangerously out of control, especially when she thought of Gabriel Abbott and his lips, his tongue, his fingers…

  “Hey, Mom, how are you? How’s Dad? Yeah? Mom, listen, I’m thinking of coming home for a visit…”

  * * * *

  Gabe worked at his computer, unconsciously whistling a Bonnie Raitt song.

  “Wow.”

  He looked up. His assistant stood in the doorway.

  “Must have been some weekend. I’ve never heard you whistle before.”

  The corner of Gabe’s mouth turned up. “Yeah, I guess you could say it was.”

  “So I take it everything went swimmingly with your dinner?”

  Gabe hesitated. “Yes, and no,” he replied.

  “Hmmm,” Marsha looked interested. “You gonna see her again?”

  Gabe started. “Who?” he asked.

  “How quickly you forget… Who do you think?” Marsha rolled her eyes. “Stephanie Lindstrom.”

  “Oh, uh, no, I don’t think so.”

  “Really? Because she’s on her way up right now. She just called from the lobby to see if you were in.”

  Gabe shoved his chair away from the desk and rose to his feet. “Fuck.”

  “That good, huh?”

  “That has nothing to do with this,” Gabe replied. “This is not what you think. And neither is that,” he added when he saw the look on Marsha’s face.

  They both heard a noise in the front office.

  “Think quick,” Marsha advised as she stepped out of the way.

  Stephanie blew past her, looking her usual attractive self in a form fitting business suit. Her pinstriped skirt stopped a few inches above her knees and her tailored jacket showed off a pair of formidable attributes. She had no problem balancing on her expensive, silver-gray spike heels. Already a tall woman, with the heels, Stephanie appeared quite imposing. At this moment, Stephanie Lindstrom was giving off the vibe of a woman who was not to be trifled with. Gabe sighed and pasted a smile on his face.

  “Stephanie, what brings you here?”

  Stephanie glanced back at Marsha. Marsha took the hint and left Gabe’s office, closing the door behind her. Stephanie strolled to Gabe’s desk and leaned against it. If Gabe had been interested, he was quite certain he would find the way in which her skirt hiked up her thigh very seductive. If he’d been interested he might have paid more attention to the way she crossed her arms, thrusting her breasts forward as she formed her rosebud mouth into what she obviously hoped would be an appealing little pout.

  “I’m still a bit put out with you for hauling me back home so abruptly on Saturday night. With no explanation and no phone call the next day, I might add. I suppose,” she continued, “I could be convinced to forgive and forget.”

  She uncrossed her arms and leaned back on his desk, smiling brilliantly at Gabe.

  Gabe tried to figure out how to put a sentence together, a sentence that wouldn’t make her think he was nothing but a lowlife. Stephanie was the first time he’d ever changed his mind when it came to seducing a woman. Usually the kind of woman who caught his eye got at least a few months of his undivided attention, even if she was merely arm candy. Stephanie Lindstrom was far from arm candy. Despite her statuesque appearance, she was one tough cookie. She was sharp, observant, wealthy in her own right, and she could play hardball with the big boys. In fact, from what Gabe had learned about her, she relished a good fight. She could also flirt with the best of them.

  “I’m sorry about that,” Gabe began. “I honestly didn’t intend to mislead you. Something did come up and—”

  “You’ve worked it out?” Stephanie interrupted.

  “Not exactly.”

  Gabe caught a sudden flash of irritation in her eyes. It vanished as quickly as it appeared. It wouldn’t be wise on his part to play disingenuous. Gabe decided honesty was the best policy.

  “So what, exactly, is going on, Gabriel? I got the impression that there was something between us, something more than a tiny spark?”

  “I thought there might be too. I did, but the truth is I met someone else. I’m not involved in a relationship with her, but I didn’t feel right having you over for the weekend. It wouldn’t have been fair to you.”

  Stephanie’s head jerked around as if he’d struck her. In a low voice, she asked, “Fair to me? You were trying to be fair to me?” Stephanie pushed herself away from his desk. She turned to face him. “Perhaps you should have clued me in and allowed me the option of deciding for myself what was fair. Given me a chance to politely decline your invitation before you made a fool of me.”

  Gabe ran a hand uncomfortably through his hair. “I agree. I should have said something, but I wasn’t entirely sure of my feelings until I realized…quite frankly…until I realized it wouldn’t be fair to take you to bed if I didn’t want a relationship with you.”

  “Who is she?” Stephanie asked, her voice bitter.

  “No one you know,” Gabe replied.

  “Did you fuck her that night, Gabriel? Did you race back to Napa to fuck her brains out after you so inconsiderately dumped me at my apartment? Is she the one who called you on your cell phone?”

  “Stephanie,” Gabe tried to be gentle but there was no other way to say this, “it’s none of your business.”

  “The hell it isn’t!”

  Gabe waited for the slap that almost came.

  “You fucking bastard!” she exclaimed.

  Stephanie flung open the door to his private office and stormed out past Marsha’s desk, scattering files in her haste to leave. Marsha rose from her seat and shot a quick glance at Gabe before she dropped to her knees and began to sort through her work. Gabe hurried to assist her.

  “Jeez, what on earth did you do to piss her off?” Marsha whispered.

  “I wouldn’t have sex with her,” Gabe replied in a quiet voice.

  “Here? Now?”

  “No, on Saturday.”

  “Why the hell not?” Marsha sat back on her heels. “Forgive me, but wasn’t that what you were angling for?”

  “Look, Marsha, what I can’t understand is why this is so hard for her to understand. Not that it’s anybody’s business, but I met someone else. It was unexpected. It happened out of the blue. I couldn’t rationalize having sex with one woman when I wanted to be with another woman. I was attempting to be a gentleman.”

  “Well,” Marsha rubbed her forehead, “that’s a first.”

  “Me being a gentleman?”

  “No, a man who refuses to sleep with one beautiful woman simply because he’s thinking of another. I thought all you guys wanted was a warm place to stick your…uh…you know.” Marsha’s face had turned beet red.

  Gabe leaned back and laughed. “No, my dear assistant, that’s not all I want. Well, let me qualify that statement. Sometimes that is all I want, but because of a very unusual woman, that’s definitely not all I want right now.”

  “Wow,” replied Marsha. “When do I get to meet her?”

  “Sunday. Call that agency, All Things to All People, and let them know I’m hosting an all-day affair at my place in Napa to celebrate the launch of our new website. Tell them I want a barbecue. Send out evites today to our entire staff and their families. Make sure to include directions to my house.”

  “Aren’t you suddenly the social butterfly. I’ll get on it, boss.”

  Gabe hoisted the files and stacked them on top of Marsha’s desk in a neat pile.

  “Remind everyone to bring their swimsuits,” he instructed her. Then he added, “Marsha, what time do you think people ought to arrive?”

  “Noonish?”

  “Noonish it is, then. Oh, and have t
hem RSVP by Wednesday so Eva has enough time to prepare.”

  “Eva? You and your one-night chef on a first name basis already?”

  Gabe winked at his assistant. “You might say that.”

  Chapter Nine

  “He wants you back!” Tom was all smiles when Eva showed her face in the office. “He wants you back this Sunday.”

  “Uh… yeah, he, uh, mentioned something about Sunday,” said Eva.

  “You nailed it, Eva. This is a big deal, a barbecue for his entire staff and their families. All day. You’re going to need us to help out. His assistant figured there could be as many as forty people there.”

  Tom, you have no idea how close I came to nailing it, Eva thought. Actually, getting nailed would be more accurate.

  “You all right?” asked Marcus, pointing to the black and blue mark on her forehead.

  “Huh?”

  “You know, your bike wreck.”

  “How did you find out about that?”

  “Gabriel Abbott’s gardener, Luis, brought your bike into the office this afternoon. He said you’d been in a bike wreck.”

  “Where is it?”

  “Over there.” Marcus pointed a finger over his shoulder.

  Eva walked over to her bike. She knelt down to take a look. The front tire had been replaced and the bike had been repaired and cleaned. She figured that either Gabe or Luis had taken it to the bike shop this morning and told them to put a rush on it. Maybe Luis. More likely Gabe. Luis was far too polite to insist that a bike shop drop everything and take care of her bent rim, even if Gabe had instructed him to do so. She assumed Gabe had paid for the repairs. He was that kind of guy. She’d need to reimburse him.

  “Do you mind if I leave it here until tomorrow?”

  “Of course not,” said Tom, “Now let’s talk about this barbecue. Any ideas?” Eva could tell he was eager to get down to business and excited at the prospect of meeting Gabriel Abbott.

  “Let me give it a little thought and I’ll have a plan drawn up for you by tomorrow afternoon. That should be soon enough. It’s not until Sunday. I may have to talk to Mrs. White again. She usually has big plans for the weekend too, and that will require a little juggling and some extra prep time from me.”