He was dressed more casually than she’d ever seen him. Jeans and a jacket . . . and running shoes? Maybe it was his multitasking outfit.
She pushed off the side of the building to greet him. “You didn’t have to park.”
He stopped short and silently stared.
She moved closer, thinking he would greet her with a kiss. “What? Did your tongue step in front of the bus?”
A complete look of confusion crossed his face and Gabi felt her smile fall.
“You must be her.”
“What?”
“Hunter’s wife.”
Gabi stepped back. In an instant, she realized her mistake. Dear Lord, they looked exactly the same. “Oh.”
“You’re more beautiful than the pictures in the magazines,” Noah said . . . the inflection in his voice mimicked her husband.
A charming smile, one Gabi had seen a few times on Hunter’s face since Dallas, put her on edge more than she expected.
“I thought you were Hunter.”
Noah was quick to laugh. “We get that a lot.”
Gabi made sure there was plenty of space between them. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
That charming smile didn’t fall, but something shifted in his eyes. “Nothing good, I’m sure. My brother has an interesting grasp on reality.”
There was no proper reply, so Gabi kept silent.
He stuck his hand out in front of him. “Noah Blackwell.”
Nice controlling move . . .
Gabi looked at his hand but made no movement to close the distance to shake it.
“You’ll have to excuse me, Mr. Blackwell. In the space of one minute you’ve insulted my husband, and in turn, me. What are you doing here?”
He slowly lowered his arm, his smile becoming much more sinister. “What did he tell you?”
This was not a game she wanted to play. She glanced out into the circular drive of the hospital, fully expecting to witness someone with a camera nearby. If they were out there, they hid well.
“I’m not the evil twin, Gabriella.”
Her head snapped to his. “I don’t believe I’ve given you leave to use my first name.”
“I see he’s already poisoned you. He does have a way of manipulating everyone around him to get what he wants.”
“Why are you still standing here? Whatever goal you’ve set out to accomplish is not going to happen.”
Noah Blackwell sat back on his heels and smiled again. “I have a feeling our paths will cross again. It’s been a pleasure, Mrs. Blackwell.”
She didn’t look at him as he passed by her and into the hospital.
Two minutes later, Hunter pulled his car into the drop-off.
Casual slacks . . . but not jeans . . . and his button-up shirt and dinner jacket brought relief. He stepped out of the car to greet her and she stepped into his embrace and sighed.
“It’s good to see you,” she said.
“Well, if I thought dinner was going to start like this, I would have come earlier.”
She started to shake.
“Gabi?” Hunter pulled out of her hug and studied her. “What’s wrong?”
She looked behind her. “I-I just met your brother.”
Hunter’s hand squeezed her shoulders, his face turned to stone. “You what?”
“Here . . . he stepped into the hospital less than three minutes ago.”
His gaze moved beyond her, then back. “Did he hurt you?”
“No . . . just said a few things. I thought he was you at first.”
“Wait here.” Hunter ran toward the door.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” she yelled after him.
If Hunter heard her, he didn’t indicate it.
Gabi stood beside the open door of Hunter’s Maserati, the engine still humming as it idled in the drive.
Hunter disappeared behind the sliding doors of the hospital, leaving her staring after him. She held on to the top of the car with the passenger door opened and tried her best attempt at appearing patient.
With all the fidgeting she was trying to control, Gabi was fairly certain any cameras pointing on the outside of the hospital painted her as a woman standing by the getaway car.
Hunter emerged from the doors several minutes later. Gabi did a mental check . . . he was wearing slacks, not jeans.
She sighed.
“Did you see him?”
He shook his head. “He doesn’t stick around for long.”
There was a car behind them, pinned because of a small bus that had sandwiched them in. The driver tapped his horn. Hunter held the passenger door while Gabi slipped inside.
“Are you OK?”
“Shaking . . . which is stupid, he didn’t do anything. I think it was the shock of realizing a half a second too late that he wasn’t you. I almost kissed him.”
Hunter gripped the steering wheel with both hands. “But you didn’t.”
Gabi wrapped her arms around her stomach. “No.” She really wasn’t feeling well. The car hit a buckle in the road and her head started to spin.
“What did he say?” They stopped at the red light and Hunter glanced her way.
“That he wasn’t the evil twin. I told him he was wasting his time talking to me.”
“But he knew who you were.”
“Yes. Said he recognized me from the paper . . . or something like that.” The light turned green and Hunter kept driving. “What game do you think he’s playing?”
“The same one he’s been playing since our teens. Undermine, discredit, and deceive.”
“Wouldn’t it be easier if the man followed in your footsteps and earned his own living?” Gabi asked.
Hunter actually laughed. “Not when someone else can do all the hard stuff and he can sweep in and take.” Thirty minutes later, they were sitting in a quiet booth in a tiny, informal steakhouse.
“You look like you could use a drink,” Hunter told her.
“I don’t think—”
The waiter stepped up and Hunter ordered them wine.
He waited until after their wine arrived before asking for every detail of her encounter with Noah.
When their brief meeting had been recited, she sipped her wine, thankful Hunter insisted on it.
“His presence wasn’t an accident. This is what he does. He shows up in the places I’m going to be . . . makes nice with those around me, and sprinkles doubt about my resolve to keep my distance from him. A master manipulator must first gain the trust of those he’s sinking his claws in. Now that you’ve seen him once, he will be around again. I’d bet money on it.”
“How would he know I was there? Or do you think he was trying to find you?”
“If he wanted to find me, all he would have to do is show up at the office. He could have followed you, got wind via the media. He was after something else.” He sat back in thought. “His drive-by makes it clear why you need a bodyguard.”
She opened her mouth to argue.
Hunter cut her off. “It’s already in motion, Gabi. I spoke with Neil before picking you up. He will have a team at the new house to wire tomorrow, a personal bodyguard will meet us at the hospital when we go back.”
“Oh, Hunter.”
“You’re a smart woman. You know I’m right about this.”
The thought of mistaking Noah for her husband a second time . . . alone . . . made her pause. “Fine. You’re right.”
Hunter lifted both eyebrows. “Did that hurt?”
“Saying you’re right?”
He chuckled. “Yeah.”
She tapped her chest. “A little. Right here.”
Hunter leaned forward and took her hand in his. “God, you’re beautiful.”
“Smooth talker.”
“Is it working?” He kissed the back of her hand.
Yeah . . . her stomach had settled and she was no longer shaking. “Well,” she started, “I haven’t told you to jump in front of a bus for at least an hour.”
The funer
al took place a week to the day after Jordan passed away. The minister spoke of happier times, of the lives Jordan had touched and the love one sister had for the other.
Gabi looked around the church at the multitude of the Harrisons’ friends. She knew that many of the couples were together because of Samantha’s service. Alliance was born in an attempt to make the money Sam needed to care for her sister. In a way, Jordan was partially responsible for the marriages surrounding her.
For that, Gabi kept a smile in her heart for the young woman whose life touched so many.
Family and close friends took up the front of the church. There were politicians, businessmen, members of parliament who flew in from London to show their respect. Toward the back of the church sat dozens of caregivers who had taken care of Jordan over the years. From the care home she’d lived in before Sam and Blake married to the private care nurses who were round the clock in the Harrison home, the venue was filled.
When the procession moved to the graveside, the numbers thinned . . . and then again when they finished at a reception at the Harrisons’ Malibu estate.
Gabi took the role of coordinating staff, keeping the kitchen moving, the servers working. With so many dignitaries in attendance, there was an equal amount of bodyguards and security staff. To make matters worse, the three different service attendants wore wires to their ears, but instead of sidearms, they held cocktail trays.
Gabi made it a mission that no one bothered Samantha with anything. Being far removed from an emotional connection with the deceased made it easier for her to act as ambassador to the event.
The house appeared to swell with people. Just when Gabi thought they were at capacity, more arrived.
Cooper, the man assigned as her bodyguard for the day, tried his best to blend into the background. He sucked at blending.
“What are you doing in the kitchen?” The question came from the doorway. Gwen stood with a hand on her hip. “You don’t need to do this.”
Gabi glanced in her direction and then back to the tray in front of her. “These are ready, Alice, thank you.” The server lifted the tray over her shoulder and into the fray.
“You’re ignoring me.”
“I’m Italian . . . I ignore what I don’t want to hear.”
Gwen laughed. “Well I’m English, and I’m calling you on it. Hunter asked me to pry you from the kitchen.”
Gabi couldn’t help the smile on her face. Hunter continued to surprise her. Not only had he put most of his life on hold in the past week, but he selflessly offered more of his time and attention to her network of friends and family.
“I like to keep busy; he should know that about me by now.”
The staff buzzed around the room like a well-oiled machine.
“He does know you by now. And how is that?” Gabi grabbed a toothpick full of Gouda as the server passed and tossed it in her mouth. “I thought you two were an Alliance union.”
“We are.” There wasn’t any heat in her words. “Most of the time.”
Gwen lifted a very English brow. “Most of the time?”
Just then, Meg and Judy walked into the kitchen . . . the staff continued to work around them. “There you are . . . Hunter’s looking for you,” Meg said.
Gabi rolled her eyes.
“She’s in here,” Gwen said. “Telling me how she and Hunter are an Alliance union most of the time.”
Meg nudged Judy with a knowing smile. “Told you.”
“Most of the time? What exactly does that mean?” Meg asked . . . as if she didn’t know.
With a kitchen full of hired staff, Gabi turned toward them and placed her hands on her hips. “It means I’m not a saint,” she confessed with heat in her face.
Judy and Meg started to laugh and Gwen caught on.
“So what does this mean?” Judy asked.
Meg shoved her friend again. “It means they’re having sex.”
Gabi shushed her and Gwen laughed.
Thankfully, the staff dipped their heads and pretended they weren’t listening.
“Oh, for crying out loud . . . I’m intimate with my husband. What a crime.”
All three women simply stared.
Gabi shook her head, left the kitchen, and found herself straight into the chest of the man in question. “Oh, thank God.” She looked up into his face and sprang back. “Noah.” Her skin crawled.
“Mrs. Blackwell.”
“What are you doing here?”
Cooper exited the kitchen, on his heels the three teasing women. Gabi took a massive step back.
Noah wore a suit, one similar to that of her husband. But the way he held his shoulders . . . the cut of his hair, and more to the point, the way her looked at her, was completely off.
She shuddered.
“We found her,” Judy said in Noah’s direction.
Gwen stopped laughing first.
Gabi didn’t offer an explanation. “What are you doing here?”
Noah looked beyond her. “Gwen, it’s been a long time.”
“Noah?”
Judy and Meg grew silent.
Gabi stood back as Noah greeted Gwen as if she were a long-lost friend. It stood to reason that if Hunter knew Blake, perhaps his brother knew him and his sister as well.
When Gwen hugged Noah, something in Gabi’s stomach turned sour. Hunter’s words rang in her head, This is what he does. He shows up in the places I’m going to be . . . makes nice with those around me, and sprinkles doubt about my resolve on keep my distance from him.
Gabi waved Cooper to her side. “Find Hunter.”
Cooper frowned but moved to fill her request.
She said nothing as Gwen introduced Meg and Judy to Noah. Once she uttered the word twin, understanding filled the eyes of her friends.
Gabi wanted to quiz the man further on his presence, but Gwen seemed to think his attendance was acceptable, so she let it go.
Hunter pushed through the crowd and eased his pace only when he saw the people around her. His eyes shot to his brother and all conversation around them dried up like water in the desert.
“Oh, my.” Gabi couldn’t tell who blew out a breath, but she understood the desire. Seeing them close together was a shock to the system.
Neither man placed his hand out for the other.
Noah stood smiling . . . like a cat with a secret, and Hunter held tight control of his emotions.
“What are you doing here?”
“Paying my respects, brother.”
“Pay them . . . then leave.” Hunter’s deadly tone drew prickles all over Gabi’s skin.
Noah continued to smile as he broke eye contact with his brother and offered a nod to those who could hear him. Then he stared directly at Gabi. “A pleasure to see you again.”
Gabi grabbed Hunter’s arm to keep him in place as Noah turned and walked away.
“What the hell was that about?” Meg asked.
Gabi didn’t answer as she moved in front of Hunter’s gaze. “Hey.”
He finally looked at her.
He didn’t smile.
“He’s trying to get under your skin. Don’t let him win.” Gabi set her hand on his chest and felt his tight breath finally release.
Hunter captured her cheek in the palm of his hand and kissed her gently . . . briefly. “Thank you.”
“For what?” she whispered.
“For keeping me from killing him. I owe you.”
She laughed and leaned closer.
“Well,” Meg said loud enough for everyone to hear. “Seems I have more questions . . . and only a few answers.”
Instead of facing her friends, Gabi slipped a hand around Hunter’s waist as they walked away.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“That goes in the kitchen.” Gabi waved her hand in the direction of the door.
“It says bedroom,” Meg argued.
“I lied. When I was packing I mixed up the boxes . . . placed a heart on the box.” She rolled her eyes. “Doesn’t
matter, it goes in the kitchen.”
Meg lifted the box a second time and started back down the stairs. “I’m really thankful that most of the Tarzana household didn’t belong to you.”
Gabi grinned as she unpacked a box of bathroom essentials.
In a few minutes, Meg was back at her side. “We have some serious shopping to do in order to get this place looking like a home.”
Gabi glanced into the bedroom sans an actual bed. With everything exploding around them, furniture shopping didn’t make the list of things to do.
“So?” Meg motioned toward the empty bedroom. “Where is Hunter going to sleep?”
They hadn’t been together in days. Between his schedule and hers, there was very little time for phone calls and a simple text.
“It better be in here with me,” she said under her breath.
Meg nudged her.
Gabi shoved her back. “I really shouldn’t care about him as much as I do.”
“I’m trying to see the bad, Gabi . . . I really am.”
She shook off her thoughts and continued to fill the cubbies of the en suite bathroom with useless crap that might be better off in the trash. “He’s a good man . . . just doesn’t always know the right way to get what he wants without hurting people.”
Meg held still and stared. “Has he hurt you?”
Scared her . . . in the beginning. It didn’t take long for her to see under the facade that encompassed her husband. Even then there were flowers . . . playful banter between them that was only half meant in the space of a week. “It took me less than twenty-four hours to see the vital differences between Hunter and Alonzo.”
Meg hopped up onto the counter. “What was that? Other than the obvious hot factor.”
“Hunter is gorgeous.”
“Not as amazing as your brother . . . but that’s weird for you. Tell me what you see as different, other than the physical.”
Gabi cocked her head. “You sound like a counselor.”
“I’m sure I do. I just wanna know what you see. Then I’ll tell you what I see.”
Gabi went ahead and took a place on the counter next to Meg. “He’s driven. You can say Alonzo was driven, but I never knew the reason for his drive until it was too late. God . . .” Gabi lowered her head and shook it. “I shouldn’t be comparing the two of them.”
Treasured by Thursday (Weekday Brides Series Book 7) Page 20
