Gisella panicked. They were stalling. “Ladies, ladies, please.” She raced behind them.
“Ooh,” Nicole smirked. “This must be serious. You really don’t want us to know who this guy is.”
Emmadonna planted a fist against her plush hips. “What’s the matter? Is he ugly?”
“No,” Gisella protested.
“Fat?” Jade suggested.
Emmadonna looked heated. “What, you got something against plus-size people?”
“No. I. Don’t.” Gisella was close to losing her patience. “Now will you please…?”
Jade stepped into the bathroom and closed the door.
Gisella tossed up her hands and swore in French.
Emmadonna’s neck swiveled around. “Girl, you’re acting like you’re scared we’re going to try and steal your man or something.”
“Yeah. Calm down,” Nicole said. “We’re just going to check him out for you. Make sure his ass is on the up and up. What you got to drink up in here?” She headed toward the kitchen.
The doorbell rang.
Gisella froze.
“Ooh. That’s must be him now,” Nicole whooped. “I’ll get it.”
“No. Nicole, wait.” Gisella rushed behind her, but Nicole had amazing speed for a woman in heels. Toward the end, the race seemed to move in slow motion.
Nicole’s hand landed on the doorknob, Emmadonna and Jade cackled in the background, and Gisella screamed, “No,” because she, alone, knew what was about to happen.
“Come on in, lover boy,” Nicole sang, opening the door.
All playfulness died when Charlie stood smiling in the doorway.
He looked good. Damn good in a pair of white slacks and a pale green top. In his hand, he held a single long-stemmed rose. Definitely casual-sexy.
“Good evening,” he said.
“Hi,” Gisella greeted breathlessly behind Nicole.
The ever busy busybody whipped around and stabbed Gisella with an accusing glare before swinging it back to Charlie.
“Oh. Hell. Naw,” Nicole shouted and then promptly slammed the door in Charlie’s face.
Chapter 16
What just happened?
Charlie blinked at the closed door and hit instant replay in his head, but it didn’t help. However, he could hear angry voices on the other side. He leaned forward and pressed his ear against the door. A mistake, given how his name seemed interchangeable with dog, jerk, asshole and a few other words that weren’t fit for Christian ears.
Clearly, Gisella’s friends weren’t exactly fans of his.
When he’d heard enough, he straightened up and knocked on the door with his cane’s handle. To be safe, he braced for anything.
Thankfully, Gisella answered the door, but he noticed her smile was strained. One glance at the three glaring witches was a sufficient explanation. “Ladies.” He tilted his head in a half bow. “Problem?”
“You damn right there’s a problem,” snapped the obvious leader. “You’ve lost your rabbit-assed mind if you think we’re about to let you take our girl out tonight.”
Gisella’s whipped her head around. “Nicole!”
“Gisella, girl. This man—”
“Enough!”
Charlie frowned. “Nicole, Nicole…” He searched through his mental Rolodex. A few images popped but none that resembled…“Wait a minute.” He snapped his fingers and then entered the apartment. “I know you.”
Nicole crossed her arms and cocked her head.
“Yeah. I remember now. You’re Anna’s friend from college.” His lips quirked up. “The one that used to always pass out drunk at all the fraternity parties.”
Nicole’s face darkened. “Not always.”
The friend to her right grabbed her by the arm. “Let’s just go, Nic.”
Charlie turned his attention to the attractive plus-size woman. “I know you, too, don’t I?” He waited for his recollection to kick in.
“You sure do,” the third woman said, with an unbelievable high-pitched voice. “You two hooked up at a club—”
“Jade, hush!”
“What, Em? You said—”
“That’s it.” Charlie snapped his fingers. “You tried to rape me at a bar once when I asked what you were drinking. Said something about dogs and bones and then jumped me.”
“Emmadonna!” Her friends gasped.
Gisella snickered.
“You said that he was the one that—”
“I never said no such thing. Now let’s go.” Emmadonna clenched her purse strap, threw up her chin and then marched out of the apartment.
“But, Em,” Jade said, rushing after her.
Nicole was the last to take her leave, but when she reached Gisella by the door, she cast a final glare at her. “Just wait until I talk to your sister.”
“I make my own decisions, Nicole,” Gisella said.
“Humph. We’ll see.” Nicole looked over her shoulder at Charlie. “As for you, try to keep it in your pants tonight.” At last, she left the apartment.
Gisella closed the door behind her.
“Interesting group of friends you got there.”
“Actually, they are my sister’s friends.” She drew in a deep breath. “I’m sorry about that.”
“Don’t be.” He walked over to her, his limp less noticeable. “I’m the bad boy with the bad reputation. One that I unfortunately earned.”
She gazed at him. “I have a long list of reasons why I shouldn’t go out with you tonight. Your reputation being number one.”
“I thought it was because I was blackmailing you,” he said, smiling.
“That’s number two.”
He took a deep breath, fearing what she might say next.
“Like I was saying,” she continued. “I have a long list of reasons not to go out with you and only one for why I should.”
“And that is?”
Her beautiful, plump lips widened. “Because I want to.”
“Sounds like a good reason to me.” Charlie handed her the rose.
“Thank you.” Gisella placed the delicate petals against her nose and inhaled its light fragrance.
To his surprise she stepped forward, leaned up on her toes and brushed a kiss against his cheek.
Charlie’s eyes lit up. “Wow. What would I have gotten if I brought you a dozen?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “Next time, bring a dozen and we’ll find out.”
He loved the way her eyes glinted when she flirted. Of course, he had to restrain himself from grabbing her and ravishing her on the spot. “Next time, eh?”
Gisella rolled her eyes.
“By the way, you look beautiful this evening.”
“Merci. You look rather handsome yourself—but I think you know that.”
Charlie winked. “Are you ready to go?”
“Let me just grab my purse and the wrap that goes with this. I’ll be just a minute,” she said.
“I’ll wait right here.”
Gisella left the living room just as Sasha made her grand entrance. Man and animal eyeballed each other, neither one trusting the other. The orange cat marched back and forth like an armed security guard parceling out meow warnings.
“I’m ready,” Gisella said, returning and catching the ending of their tense stare down. “You two play nice.” She laughed.
“I’m cool if she’s cool.” He opened the door.
“Mind if I ask where we’re going?”
“Actually, I want it to be a surprise.”
And a nice surprise it was, Gisella thought as they were escorted through the elegant Prime restaurant. The soft lighting and the contemporary elegance of the place made Gisella feel as if she was joining the city’s posh elite.
“Would you like a bottle of wine?” their server asked.
“The house wine will be fine,” Charlie said.
Gisella continued to look around, her face glowed when she stared out at the city’s twinkling skyline.
&nb
sp; “Do you like the restaurant?” he asked, watching her.
“It’s lovely.” She smiled. “I wasn’t expecting grand. You said casual.”
“This is casual, but if you want we can rush out of here and catch Arby’s before it closes.”
She laughed. “Maybe next time.”
“Again with the next time.” He leaned forward in his seat. “I’m beginning to suspect you like me.”
“Maybe…or maybe I just like to play dress up every once in a while.”
“Nice play.” He wagged his finger. “You don’t want me to get a big head.”
“Don’t you mean a bigger head?”
Charlie drew a deep breath and settled back in his chair. “You know, I think I’m heavily misunderstood.”
Her delicate brows stretched. “Do you?”
“Absolutely,” he said, putting on a serious face. “Women see a man like me, and they transfer their own perceptions of what I’m all about onto me. I very rarely have a say on the matter.”
Gisella shook her head, smiling. “You said earlier that you earned your bad reputation. Which is it?”
He shifted in his chair. His Cheshire smirk wobbled into place. “I guess it would depend on one’s definition of bad.”
“Oh, really?”
“The definition varies between the sexes. For men, bad could be a good thing. Just as too much of a good thing could be bad. I like to think women believe I’m too much of a good thing. Anyway, I have a whole charting system on this if you ever want to come back to my place to study up on it.”
Gisella’s laughter was like music to his ears.
“Does that line usually work?” she asked.
“What line?” he asked innocently.
Their server returned and presented a bottle of the house wine. Charlie nodded and waited as the cork was popped and their glasses were filled before returning to their conversation.
“So tell me about Sinful Chocolate. It looks like you have quite a lucrative business going.”
Gisella took a sip of her wine and wondered where to begin. “It looks that way. I’m really happy how it’s all working out. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t cooking or baking. In my family it’s an expression of life…love…everything. When you cook for people there’s a connection. For some it’s even an art form. Just like music or a painting, it can create and elicit memories. Let’s face it, no one is sad when they are eating a good meal.”
Charlie looked at her as if she was an angel descended from heaven. “If you cook half as good as you kiss I’m going to have to start calling you Mrs. Masters before long.”
“If it’s a princess-cut ring you just might have yourself a deal.”
Charlie chuckled and then slowly realized that he hadn’t stopped smiling since their date began. He adored how she had the tendency to talk with her hands or how her accent muddled some words and made others sound incredibly sexy. When their server returned, she allowed him to order for her and then when the food arrived, he was turned on by the many sounds she made when eating.
He hardly tasted his food. He was so enamored with everything about her he wasn’t interested in anything else. Where had she been all his life, and how cruel was it for her to show up now?
“Charlie?”
Charlie reluctantly pulled his gaze away from Gisella to see an attractive woman head their way. He knew her. He was fairly certain.
She stopped at the table.
Joan? Lynn? Mya? No. That was that Girlfriends show.
“It’s Lexi,” she supplied. “When are you going to learn that TV name game doesn’t work?”
Actually, she would be surprised, he thought.
“And who is your beautiful friend here?” Lexi asked.
Charlie shifted in his chair. A person would have to be deaf, dumb and/or stupid not to pick up on Lexi’s thinly veiled jealousy.
“This is Gisella,” he answered. “Gisella, meet Lexi.”
“Bonjour.”
“Ah, French,” Lexi cooed. “You’re reeling them in from across the water now. Good for you. I think it’s just so generous of you to spread the love.”
Charlie’s smile tightened. “Well, it was good seeing you again, Lexi.”
Her fake smile dropped at the dismissal. “Fine. I’ll see you around.” She glanced at Gisella with a calculating sneer. “Have a…fun evening. It’s likely all you’re going to get.”
Charlie and Gisella watched her leave.
Charlie relaxed.
Gisella asked, “Old girlfriend?”
“Something like that.” Charlie grabbed his wineglass and drained it dry in one gulp.
“Humph.” Gisella shook her head. “Bad boys and their forgotten toys.”
Charlie didn’t respond and hoped the subject would just drop.
Their dinner plates were removed, and dessert arrived with much fanfare, but it paled compared to Gisella’s new orgasmic moans.
“You’re killing me,” he said playfully, hoping to reclaim their earlier mood.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she said, teasingly or innocently. He couldn’t tell which.
“There’s just so much moaning I can take,” he warned. They lapsed back into their easy conversation, neither noticing how the restaurant was emptying.
“I have to ask you a question,” she said after fidgeting for a while.
“Okay. Shoot.”
She hesitated. Bit her lower lip.
“Must be serious,” Charlie commented.
“What’s the story between you and my sister?”
“Oh, that.” Charlie stopped smiling.
“Where you two an item?”
“No.” That part of the story was the easy part. “I misinterpreted her feelings toward me back in the day.”
“Sounds like a habit of yours.”
He blinked at the casual observance. “You might be right,” he admitted.
“Tell me the story.”
He did just that. From how they met to the ugly fight where Anna accused him of using her.
“To this day she was my only real female friend that didn’t involve…you know.”
Gisella nodded and looked much relieved.
“What did she tell you?” he asked.
“I haven’t talked to her about it.” She glanced up sheepishly. “I haven’t exactly delivered your message yet. Sorry.”
“Not exactly dependable, are you?” His smile returned.
“I was just afraid that you two…and I…forget about it.”
“No, no, no. This sounds interesting.” He leaned closer. “What were you afraid of?”
“Nothing. Forget I said anything.”
“All right. But I’ll get the truth out of you someday—somehow.”
“There’s just one thing I don’t get,” Gisella said. “Why did you look her up now? I mean, this happened so long ago.”
Charlie dropped his gaze, his smile gone.
Gisella waited through the silence, sensing that wave of sadness again.
“No reason,” he finally said. “She just crossed my mind again. Who knows, maybe you reminded me of her.”
She couldn’t prove it, but she thought he was lying to her.
Charlie glanced around. “It looks like we’re the last ones here.” He looked over at her empty plate. “Are you ready to go?”
She wasn’t, but he clearly was. “Sure.”
Gisella excused herself to the ladies’ room while Charlie took care of the bill. At the vanity, she washed up and re-touched her makeup. The entire time, she wondered if she’d said something wrong. When she returned to their table, he was back to being his old charming self.
Maybe she’d imagined the whole thing.
It was past one a.m. when they returned to her apartment building. Gisella’s nerves were so frayed over the thought of a good-night kiss that it felt as if the Cirque du Soleil troupe was performing in the pit of her stomach.
Should she invite him in? What would happen if
she did?
“You know what will happen,” the devil said, popping up on her shoulder.
“Well, I guess this is it,” Charlie said, stopping in front of her door.
“Yeah. I guess so.” She smiled through an awkward pause and then unlocked and opened her apartment door.
“I, um, had a great time.”
“So did I,” he said, picking up on her nervousness. Usually, about now, Charlie would calculate and strategize on how to get invited in for a nightcap. But for some reason he didn’t want to rush things with Gisella. This time, he wanted to do everything right. “Good night.” He leaned forward and swept his lips against hers.
The electric jolt was instant and, as expected, their bodies snapped together completing the perfect puzzle. In truth, he could’ve held her all night and overdosed on the sweetness of her lips. He wanted her to know how special she was to him and in order to do that, he couldn’t sleep with her.
He frowned at his conclusion. Had the day finally arrived Charlie Masters was not going to have sex with a beautiful woman?
Gisella was ready to throw caution in the wind and invite Charlie in for a nightcap and for anything else he wanted. She knew there was very good chance that she would regret her decision in the morning, especially if she woke to just a note on a pillow. There was little doubt this scene was routine for him, but there was also no denying just how much she wanted him. Maybe it would be worth the risk—as long as she reminded herself not to fall in love.
Then again, maybe it was a little too late for that, too.
When the kiss ended and the invitation was on the tip of her tongue, Charlie smiled and murmured a final, “Good night, Gisella. Sweet dreams.” With that he turned and walked away, leaving Gisella standing in the hallway with her mouth open.
Chapter 17
One month later
“You still haven’t slept with him?” Waqueisha thundered before tossing her head back with a roar of laughter. “What did he do, turn in his playa’s card?”
“Waqueisha,” Isabella hissed. “You’re not helping.”
Gisella whisked a bowl of ingredients like she had a vendetta against eggs and flour. “We’ve been going out for a full month. A month! And all he does is drops me off at the door with a kiss good-night.”
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