He leaned in and kissed her, then held up two containers of Chinese food. “I come bearing gifts. And they’re a lot more practical than frankincense and myrrh.”
“You do know the way to a girl’s heart. Come on upstairs.” She led and unlocked her apartment door. “Why don’t you dish the food out while I change clothes?” The business attire she wore in the gallery was too straight-laced to relax in.
“Your wish is my command, my lady.”
I wish I was your lady. Then there would be no need for commands.
She traded her pencil skirt and silk blouse for gym shorts and a tank top. “What have you been up to all day?”
“I helped Dev do some upgrades to Amanda’s cottage. He wanted to install new baseboard heaters and caulk the windows to keep the place warmer.” Jeff poured her a glass of wine and opened a beer for himself.
Zoe smiled. “He’s got it bad for her, doesn’t he?”
“No doubt about that. But he may be in for some hard times.” Jeff took a long swallow of his beer.
“What makes you say that? It sounds like he did some really nice things to her place.”
“Yeah, but he, uh, didn’t exactly get her permission first. She thought all he was going to do was the caulking.”
“Oops. That’s not good. She’ll be pissed that he didn’t ask her first.”
“Which is what I told him.” He chewed thoughtfully on a mouthful of Kung Pao chicken. “But what do I know about women?” He shrugged and washed the chicken down with beer.
Not much, Studley. Other than how to make them come three times in less than an hour.
“Have you heard any more from Russell?” Zoe pushed the beef with broccoli around on her plate, her usual hearty appetite banished by worry.
“No. I expect he’d call you about the showing if he had any concerns, not me. Why? Is something wrong?”
“No. I just wondered if he might have said anything to you that he didn’t want to say to me, that’s all.”
“I can only tell you that when he left after meeting you, he told me he was very impressed with the gallery, and with the artisans whose works you accepted for display.” He tilted her chin up with a finger and stared into her eyes. “I know you’re worried about the opening, babe, but you’ve done a great job with the gallery. It’ll be a success.” He leaned in and kissed her. “I do know a great way to relieve stress,” he murmured, trailing kisses down her throat. “Wanna try it?”
She wanted to say no. But her resolve to be less accessible weakened with every kiss. When his hand covered her breast, the nipple pebbled under his palm and her breath shuddered out. “Mmmm,” she moaned, all reason lost to the sensations his touch aroused in her.
At least she had enough sense not to tell him she loved him.
Jeff lay awake, one arm behind his head, the other holding Zoe snugged against his side. He’d loved her slowly and tenderly, trying to convey his feelings for her with his actions when he couldn’t express them with words. He sensed that Zoe was worried about more than the gallery opening.
They’d gone way past casual sex in the months they had worked together and he knew she was hoping to hear some indication from him that he’d like their relationship to move up to the next level.
He sighed. The next level? Hell, if he was honest with her he’d skip the levels bullshit and just tell her he loved her. Would gladly devote the rest of his life to making her happy. He’d ask her to marry him and never leave him. But he couldn’t very well propose to her while he was keeping the secret of Jen and her paintings from her. And once he told her and she realized he’d lied to her for months, it might not matter whether he loved her or not. She might kick his ass out the door and lock it behind him.
He thought about the day he spent with Dev, helping him fix up Amanda’s cottage. The man had some issues about his injuries. Jeff could understand and he’d done his best to show Dev that those scars wouldn’t stand in the way if he wanted to begin a friendship.
Jeff looked forward to hearing how today’s renovation work went down with Amanda. Keeping the full extent of his plans a secret until the work was done might backfire on Dev. Women nowadays didn’t like secrets or being treated as though they were unable to handle their own lives. Dev may have bought himself a ticket on the break-up express today. But, if the man managed to salvage his growing relationship with Amanda, Jeff would ask him for some pointers.
Because in a few months he would be in line at the same ticket window. Much as he wanted to fix things for Jen, it would break his heart if he lost Zoe in the process.
The night of the Wyndham’s party finally arrived. They had spent most of the day setting up, decorating, checking and double-checking every last detail. The deck, walkway, and pavilion were awash in fairy lights embedded in greenery, and the red carpets enhanced the centerpieces of tall red amaryllis and trailing needlepoint ivy. The clear night sky held a brilliant full moon. Everything was perfect.
Zoe and Amanda were the last two to change clothes in the Wyndham’s old house where they had stored all the furniture and decorations. They had scouted the second-hand stores in Annapolis to find gowns since Mrs. Wyndham expected them to remain onsite for the duration, in case anything went wrong. She wanted them to blend in with the guests. They had almost given up on finding a dress for Zoe.
“Really? Size two?” Amanda sighed. “Size two is for toddlers, not grown women.”
“Well, I’m sorry. It’s my Polynesian heritage. We don’t grow as tall as you Scandinavians.”
Eventually they did find a gown, although Zoe had to take the hem up a fair amount. Black and strapless, it had an empire waist that added some visual inches to her height. The bolero top shimmered with tiny jet beads.
When she came out of the bedroom, Amanda clapped her hands. “You look stunning, Zo.”
“Thanks. You look pretty great yourself.”
Amanda’s gown was black matte jersey, long-sleeved and high-necked. It followed every curve and looked quite demure—until she walked away. The back was another story. Not much of a story actually, since a lot of it was missing. There was nothing but skin from the jeweled choker to just above her waist. Zoe figured Dev would be speechless when he got his first eyeful.
“Shouldn’t Dev be here by now with the singer?”
Mrs. Wyndham’s last minute demand for a singer had thrown Amanda into a tailspin. Luckily one of Dev’s former alumni came to the rescue and Dev had gone to pick him up at the airport.
“They should be here any time now.” Amanda went to the front door to look out and met Jeff coming in.
“Okay, beautiful, we’re all set. You look like a million bucks.” He winked. “Better watch out for gropers. You don’t want to be stealing the show from Mrs. W. She’ll be expecting the major portion of attention from the male half of this shindig.”
“She can have all the attention as far as I’m concerned. Most of these men are too old and too elite to hit on the hired help,” Amanda replied.
“Don’t count them safe because of their age, Beautiful. That puts them right into the dirty old man category. They’ll think feeling up the hired help is not only allowed, it’s expected. If you—” Jeff stopped mid-sentence, mouth open. He clutched his chest, then fell to his knees.
Amanda leaned over him. “What’s wrong? Don’t you feel well? Zoe, get Jeff some water. We may need to call a doctor.”
Jeff brushed her aside, his eyes fixed on Zoe. “My sea goddess,” he said with reverence bordering on awe.
When Zoe realized she was the cause of all the commotion, her cheeks heated up and she gave Amanda a surprised shrug of her shoulders. She marched across the few feet that separated them. “Get up from there, you idiot. You scared me to death.”
“No more than you do to me,” Jeff said. “P
romise to marry me and be my muse forever.” He clasped his hands in supplication.
Grinning from ear-to-ear, Amanda turned to go to give the two of them some privacy.
Zoe reached out and grabbed her wrist to stop her exit. “No need for you to go, Mandy. Jeff has obviously been sampling the champagne fountain up at the big house. It’s not water he needs, it’s coffee.”
Jeff, his usual flippant mask sliding back in place, bounced up off the floor. “No need for coffee, ladies. I’m fine. I’ll just go back to my duties. Call me if you need me.” He directed his last comment to Amanda and without another glance at Zoe, he left.
“He was being so sweet.” Amanda threw up her hands in exasperation. “Did you have to crush him so completely?”
“What do you mean, ‘crush him?’ He was just kidding around like he always does. And I’m too nervous to put up with his games tonight.”
“That wasn’t a game, girl. That man’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw you. It was his way of telling you how beautiful he thinks you are. And I’m not so sure that proposal was just a throwaway line either.”
“There was no proposal,” Zoe scoffed. “You were standing right here the whole time.”
“Oh, I see. The whole ‘marry me and be my muse forever’ thing didn’t count because I was standing here to hear it?” Amanda crossed her arms and huffed. “Let me give you a bulletin, my dear. That man is in love with you. Has been in love with you for months. I would think proposing to you in front of a witness would make you take it more seriously rather than less.”
Zoe instinctively rejected Amanda’s interpretation. Then the possibility her friend could be right completely flustered her. She stared in amazement as Amanda continued her harangue. Through the open doorway, she saw Dev’s truck spit gravel as it slid to a stop. Two men got out. As they came through the door, Amanda’s lecture was winding down.
“So take a good look in the mirror, Zoe, and don’t let Jeff get away, he’s—”
Zoe’s eyes were wide and intense. She shook her head minutely and tried to stop the flow of Amanda’s words with a hand gesture. Finally her friend got the message. Amanda glanced over her shoulder to see what Zoe was staring at. Dev and another man dressed in jeans and polo shirt stood in the doorway.
There were ten seconds of dead silence, then the stranger stepped forward and put out his hand.
“Hi. I’m Arnold Katzenbaum. It’s nice to meet you. I hear you’re in need of a singer.”
“Hello, Arnold, I’m Amanda. It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.”
Another brief silence followed before Zoe stepped up beside Amanda and offered her hand to the newcomer. “Hi, I’m Zoe, Amanda’s partner. We are sooo glad you could make it tonight.”
“Thanks. Glad I could help you out. Sorry to cut it so tight but I had a wedding reception this afternoon.” He slipped the garment bag from his shoulder. “Is there someplace I could change?”
“Oh, of course. I’m so sorry. I’m . . . a little . . . tense tonight.” Amanda heard Zoe snort a laugh, and closed her eyes briefly. “You can use the bedroom to the right. Can I get you something to drink? Soda, coffee, water?”
“Cold water would be great, thanks.”
Arnold did his best to keep a straight face, but Zoe could see his lips twitching up at the corners. Amanda looked as though she wanted to sink through the floor. Zoe had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from laughing.
Arnold looked back and forth between the two women and Dev, then said to Dev, “Yeah, I understand where you’re coming from now, buddy. No wonder you were so persuasive. Come on, let’s get these monkey suits on. It’s almost show time.”
Dev followed him toward the bedroom saying, “I have it on good authority that these monkey suits are very attractive to the opposite sex.” He winked at Amanda.
“No kidding, pal. Why do you think I went into this line of work? Weddings, bar mitzvahs—the dames practically stuff their phone numbers in my pockets. It’s a gold—” The bedroom door shut, cutting off the rest of Arnold’s sentence.
“You could have told me they were here,” Amanda groused.
“I-I couldn’t seem to get a word in.” Zoe sounded apologetic but the mischievous sparkle was back in her eyes. She started to laugh. “You were just tooo good. I had to let you run with it.”
They went to the kitchen to get ice and water for the guys and themselves. It was only water but instinctively she and Zoe turned to each other and clinked glasses.
“To A to Z Enterprises,” Amanda said.
“Hear, hear,” Zoe responded with a grin.
Amanda glanced at the wall clock. “Oh my, look at the time. We’d better get up to the big house before guests begin to arrive. I’ve got a final checklist to run through.”
“Of course you do.” Zoe laughed. “You are such a Girl Scout.”
They walked across to the big house, each tiptoeing to avoid sinking their heels into the soft ground. As they approached the steps to the wide porch, Zoe watched as Jeff gave directions to the two college kids who’d be parking cars. “You go ahead, Mandy, I need to talk to Jeff for a minute.”
She waited until Jeff finished, then tugged on his shirtsleeve. “Jeff, I’m sorry for the way I reacted back there. I’m just nervous.” And I was hardly expecting a marriage proposal.
He glanced at her quickly, then looked away. “No problem, babe. You know me, always acting the fool.”
Zoe stepped in front of him so he’d be forced to look into her eyes. “I do know you, Jeff. The real you. The man you hide from everyone else. The sweet, thoughtful, caring man you work so hard to conceal.” She caressed the side of his face with trembling fingers. “You just took me by surprise, saying those things in front of Mandy. I thought you were . . .”
“Being my usual smartass self?”
She nodded. “You never let the real you surface when other people are around, and I was afraid to take you seriously.” She searched his eyes for the truth. “What you said, back there, was it the truth?”
He tilted her face up. “It was for real, sweet cheeks. I love you.” He leaned down to kiss her just as they were caught in the headlights of the first arriving car. He straightened quickly. “Guess I’d better get to work.”
Zoe’s heart expanded in her chest. She felt light enough to float away. How ridiculous was it to be declaring their love in the midst of all this chaos? She caught his arm to keep him in place. Then brought his head down to meet hers for a quick kiss, not caring if anyone saw them. She smiled broadly and felt moisture gather in her eyes. “Gotta run. I’ll catch up with you later.”
She hurried inside to find Amanda. “You were right, Mandy,” she whispered, trying to keep the happiness bubbling up inside her contained behind a professional façade.
Amanda raised a brow and rolled her eyes toward heaven. “Finally, she sees the light.”
“Don’t act so smug. I could make a few comments about your love life, too, you know.”
Amanda gave her a quick hug. “I’m sure you could, partner, but let’s stick to business for now.”
Zoe looked around at the people beginning to gather at the tables and chat. Conversation was lively and the mood appeared upbeat as the guests mingled and drank champagne. “Okay, I’ll start making rounds down at the pavilion. You make sure the caterer has enough of everything. It looks like everyone Mrs. Wyndham invited showed up.”
Amanda nodded. “Right. Keep circulating and I’ll meet you back in the kitchen later.”
Zoe melted into the crowd as the band began to play. No one was on the dance floor yet, although several couples lined the railing in the pavilion to enjoy the moonlight on the water. She’d make sure a waiter came down here with more drinks and some of the hors d’oeurves. She didn’t want a single glitch
to ruin this perfect night.
She went back up to the deck where the guests enjoyed the music along with the food and drinks. She overheard several compliments to Mrs. Wyndham on the decor which added to the glow of satisfaction warming her heart. As she checked the buffet in the dining room, she admired the ice sculpture Jeff had done of Admiral Wyndham’s new boat. Russell had it right. Jeff’s talents as a sculptor were impressive, perhaps even more awesome than his skill as an artist. She was still amazed that one person was so adept at both mediums. The man was a creative powerhouse. A modern-day Michelangelo.
Not that she’d let her personal feelings for the man influence her evaluation of his artistic talents . . .
Chapter 18
Jeff stared at the ceiling, one arm behind his head, the other supporting Zoe’s head. He sighed in contentment, still half-asleep after the long hours at the Wyndham’s party followed by a tender, lingering session of lovemaking.
They had barely made it up the stairs to Zoe’s apartment before they’d begun to attack each other’s clothes. The first episode of frenzied kisses and heated touches brought them so quickly to the edge of orgasm, Jeff had barely enough time to find a condom and cover himself before Zoe straddled him and sheathed his rigid shaft in her delicious warmth. She rode him mercilessly, refusing to listen to his pleas to slow down, taking him so deeply inside of her that for the first time ever, he lost control and came before her. She followed within seconds, grinding against his still hard shaft as he fingered her clit and suckled each breast in turn. Her cry of pleasure brought an expression to her face that was beautiful to behold and as she collapsed onto his chest he enjoyed the smaller aftershocks of her orgasm while her breathing slowly returned to normal.
His By Design Page 18
