He wanted her. That wasn’t the question. He knew they would be great together. He’d learned that the first real kiss told a hell of a lot about chemistry and compatibility and desire. He and Marina had it all times ten. But sleeping together wasn’t exactly intelligent.
For one thing, they would be connected to each other for the rest of their lives. Between his aunt by marriage being her grandmother and her sister marrying his cousin, they were in each other’s worlds. Having sex would only make a complicated situation more awkward.
For another thing, she wasn’t his usual type. She didn’t play when it came to men and he didn’t believe in getting serious when it came to woman. Better to keep things simple.
But it had been a great kiss. Thinking about it had kept him up much of the last couple of nights and that hadn’t happened to him…ever.
Marina stared down at the small plate of pasta in front of her. While she appreciated the artful presentation, she was starting to get a little paranoid.
She leaned closer to Todd and whispered, “Is it just me, or has every dish been covered with some kind of cream sauce?”
“It’s not you,” he whispered back. “The salad dressing, that creamy soup, the chicken, the crab cakes.”
“Now this pasta,” she murmured. “If we picked this place, we’d have to have white as our accent color.”
She raked her fork through the perfectly cooked fettuccini. She couldn’t complain about the food itself. The shrimp were delicate, the diced vegetables crisp, the sauce a decadent blend of cream and cheese and whatever spices went into it, but still.
“We can leave,” he told her.
“Do you hate the food?” she asked.
“No. It’s good. It’s just…”
“Too much?”
He nodded. “Exactly.”
A few minutes later, the dessert samples arrived. Marina managed to hold it together while the hostess explained what each dish was, then began to giggle when the women returned to the kitchen.
Todd raised his eyebrows. “Which will it be? The molten chocolate cake in cream sauce? The berries with cream sauce? The bread pudding with a chocolate cream sauce or the selection of sorbets with a ginger-cream topping?”
She took a bite of the bread pudding. “It’s delicious,” she said. “Really fabulous.”
“I like the food,” he said, sounding doubtful.
“I do, too. It’s just so rich. My stomach already feels funny. Maybe the owner was a cow in a previous life and all this cream sauce is a way to get back to her roots.”
Todd stared at her. “That’s odd, even for you.”
“I’m searching for an explanation. Okay, I’ll e-mail Julie and tell her the food is amazing, but it’s cream sauce central. Then they can decide.”
They stood. She put her hand on top of her stomach. “Can we stop at a mini market on our way back? I’m dying for a soda to wash away the cream sauce flavor.”
“Right there with you.”
After her class, Marina drove to Todd’s place to meet with the florist. Although she’d been to the gatehouse in back a few months before, she’d never seen the main house up close until today.
As she drove through the open wrought-iron gates, she stared up at the giant four-story mansion. There were dozens of windows and actual gables.
“And I thought Grandma Ruth’s place was impressive,” she muttered.
The grounds were manicured and endless. When she parked in front of the house, her car looked like a toy that had been left out by a careless child.
Sure, she’d known that the rich were different and that Todd was rich, but until this moment, she’d never realized exactly how rich. She had a bad feeling they were talking billions.
She headed up to the wide double doors, then paused as she glanced down at her jeans. Should she have dressed for the occasion?
Just then the front door opened and Todd stood there. “Take it all in?” he asked.
“Not yet. Do you give tours on alternate Wednesdays?”
“Only for a select few. Come on.”
He’d changed out of his suit and was also dressed in jeans and a long sleeved shirt, which should have made her more comfortable. But he looked too good—all hard muscles and sleek sexy male. So between his butt and the elegance of the house, she didn’t know where to look first.
She walked onto a marble entry floor and resisted the impulse to step out of her shoes. The foyer was large and oval, with a baby grand piano by the staircase. Right. Because every decent foyer should have room for a piano. There were incredible pieces of furniture that were probably antiques and paintings that looked both real and important.
Todd closed the door behind her. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m wondering how many bedrooms.”
“More than ten.”
“Okay. Good. So do you rent out to large families or simply invite small countries to move in?”
“It depends on my cash flow for the month.”
He was joking, but there was something about his expression. Something almost…wary.
“Am I reacting wrong?” she asked. “Should I pretend I’m not impressed and a little intimidated?”
“It’s just a house.”
She laughed. “It’s a really big house and you live here by yourself. That’s a little strange.”
“I grew up here. It’s big and expensive to keep up, but it’s been in my family for three generations and now it’s my responsibility.”
She looked around at the massive chandelier and the fresh flowers. “It’s like a really great hotel. Show me the fluffy robe and the room service menu and I’ll move in.”
“We don’t have room service.”
She sighed. “Then forget it. Room service is a deal breaker for me.” She looked at him. “How do they usually react? The other women?”
“They start by calculating how big a settlement they’ll get when the marriage ends.”
“Ouch. Not everyone you’ve dated has been in it for the money. A few of them must have actually liked you.”
He chuckled. “You’re not very good for my ego. Many of the women I date actually like me. The money is just a big plus.” He put an arm around her shoulders and led the way through an arched doorway. “I don’t usually show them the house.”
“I wouldn’t. Not until you’re fairly serious. The ones who are in it for money won’t be able to pretend anymore and the ones who are will be scared to death.”
“You’re not scared.”
They were close enough that she could feel the heat of his body, which made her remember how it had been to be in his arms. How he’d pulled her close and kissed her back and made her tingle all over.
“We’re not dating,” she reminded him. As far as she was concerned, they never would. Todd was too dangerous for her peace of mind. She wouldn’t have thought she could be scared by a guy, but in some ways he would never know about, he terrified her.
If only he didn’t turn her on. Reluctantly she stepped free of his embrace.
They stopped in a large family room. There were two sectionals, a couple of armoires, side tables, a writing desk and nothing about the room felt crowded.
“Nice,” she said, appreciating the warm colors and overall comfort of the space. “You have a decorator.”
“Of course. I’m a typical guy. If it were up to me, the entire world would be beige.”
Somewhere in the distance, she heard the sound of chimes.
“The doorbell,” he said. “Probably the florist. Have a seat and I’ll let her in.”
She crossed to one of the sectionals and sat down. To her right was a drinks cart made of incredibly beautiful inlaid wood. Instead of liquor, there were an assortment of soft drinks, along with ice, flavored water and a few snacks.
“Somewhere a housekeeper or cook is lurking,” she murmured to herself as she put ice in a glass and popped the can of her favorite soda. There was no way Todd had put this togeth
er himself.
What must it be like to grow up in a place like this? She couldn’t begin to imagine. While the house was something out of a movie, she had a feeling it might not have felt very comfortable for a kid. Todd was an only child. This was the kind of house that screamed out for bunches of kids. Had he ever been lonely?
Todd returned with a tiny woman of indeterminate age. He was laden down with armfuls of books and portfolios. She had two baskets with dozens of flowers in them.
“Marina, this is Beatrice. Beatrice, Marina is the bride’s sister.”
“How lovely that the two of you are planning the wedding together,” the other woman said with a smile. She glanced around at the furniture and turned to Todd. “Perhaps some kind of dining room would be better suited?”
“Sure. Right this way.”
“Can I get you something to drink first?” Marina asked.
Beatrice glanced at the cart. “Water, please, dear. Bottled if you have it.”
Marina filled a second glass with ice, grabbed a bottle of water and trailed after them. As they moved from the family room to the dining room, she braced herself to be both impressed and intimidated.
Good thing, too, because the dining room could easily seat thirty, although the table was currently set with only a dozen chairs. Still, by the way it sat in the center of the room and the number of thick legs clustered together, she would guess there were about eight or ten leaves that fit into it.
Two hutches flanked leaded glass windows, while a long buffet sat in the center of the opposite wall. There were four chandeliers and a fireplace.
Todd set the books on the table, while Beatrice began to lay out dozens of flowers.
“I understand the bride and groom have chosen their colors,” she said as she clustered various blooms together. “That’s always helpful. Rose and green will be lovely. However, I have some ideas for something a little different. A twist on the ordinary. For example, here we have dusty-rose colored tulips with green gladiolus. Not traditional, but they look beautiful.”
Marina wasn’t into plants or flowers, but as she knew what tulips looked like, she could figure out the gladiolus by default. The green petals were amazingly lush and the color was perfect next to the deep pink of the tulips.
“They’re gorgeous,” she murmured, then looked at Todd. “What do you think?”
“Nice.”
She smiled. “Too much girly stuff?”
“I’m not into flowers. This seems fine.”
Beatrice pulled out a spiny looking display. “Here we have bromeliad, ginger and anthurium. Again, not traditional, but the colors are perfect and these arrangement could make a charming table.”
She handed Marina a ball of flowers in a yellowish shade of green. “Chrysanthemum balls. Very elegant. This sort of thing can be hung from the back of chairs.” She thrust a handful of green berries at Todd. “Hypericum berries. A perfect green.”
She brought out more and more flowers until Marina couldn’t hold anymore. Todd was equally laden down.
Then Beatrice turned to the books. “I have pictures from various weddings. We’ll look at them now.”
She flipped through dozens of photos, explaining the different flower possibilities.
“You said there would be a separate room for the ceremony?” she asked.
Marina nodded. “There’s a perfect room off the main ballroom. We’ll set it up with rows of seating, so that space will need flowers, as well.”
Beatrice began to talk about what they could do, but suddenly Marina found it difficult to listen. She felt hot and flushed, although at the same time, she felt a chill. Her stomach had taken a turn for the uncomfortable, as well. It seemed to flip over on itself in a way that made her want to gag.
Cautiously she put down the flowers. She’d never been allergic to anything before, but maybe the overdose of pollen was getting to her.
Todd looked at her. “Are you all right?”
Her stomach gave another lurch and she had a bad feeling she was about to throw up.
“Not really,” she said, interrupting Beatrice midex-planation. “Is there a bathroom nearby?”
“Sure.” He put down his armful of flowers. “I’ll be right back,” he told the florist and led Marina out of the room.
Down a very elegant hall she was in no shape to appreciate, was a spacious guest bath.
“It’s my stomach,” she said. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle Beatrice.”
Despite the suddenly twisting sensation in her stomach, she managed a smile. “I don’t think anyone can handle Beatrice, but you go ahead and try.”
“Come out when you feel better.”
“Sure. I’ll probably just be a minute.”
She closed the bathroom door behind her and two seconds later lunged for the toilet.
Marina had no idea how much time had passed. She’d already thrown up twice and had a bad feeling she wasn’t done. She felt shaky and weak, hot and cold, and a distinct longing to never feel this horrible ever again.
She sat on the marble floor, her eyes closed and wondered if she had the strength to drive herself home. The task seemed impossible on a couple of different levels. First, she doubted she could make the trip without vomiting again. Second, she couldn’t seem to focus on anything but how miserable she felt.
There was a knock on the bathroom door.
“Marina?”
She recognized Todd’s voice. Why had this had to happen here of all places? With him around?
“Yeah?”
“How’s your stomach?”
“Awful. I can’t figure out what’s wrong.”
“I can. Food poisoning. All those cream sauces.”
She remembered what they’d eaten and groaned. “You, too?”
“You bet. I got rid of Beatrice. Come on. I’ll take you upstairs to one of the guest rooms. The bathrooms are more comfortable and you can crawl into a bed between events.”
She hesitated for a second, then staggered to her feet. Stretching out on a bed sounded really good right now.
She opened the bathroom door and saw Todd looked about as bad as she felt. He was pale, slightly green and there were shadows under his eyes.
“Aren’t we an attractive couple,” she murmured as he took her hand and pulled her toward the stairs.
“We’ll take a picture. We have to hurry. I don’t know how long I have.”
Despite how sick she felt, she started to laugh. “You sure know how to show a girl a good time.”
“Tell me about it. At least it’s Friday. You don’t have classes on the weekend, do you?”
“No.”
“Good. Then you can crash here as long as you’d like. There’s a phone in your room if you need to call anyone. There are robes in the closet. I put a couple of my T-shirts on the bed, so you could sleep in something more comfortable than your clothes.”
They reached the second-floor landing. She glanced at him. He’d thought of all that while feeling as horrible as she did? Talk about a great guy. “Thanks. You’re going way beyond what’s expected.”
He put a hand to his stomach. “It’s going to be an ugly few hours. Basically we have to get all the bad food out of our system.”
She didn’t want to think about that. “We should—”
Todd cut her off with a shake of his head. “Third door on your right. T-shirts on the bed. Water on the nightstand.”
He turned and hurried in the opposite direction, ducking into a door at the far end of the hall.
Marina watched him go, then felt a faint rising in her own midsection. She didn’t have much time herself.
She ran into the guest room and found everything as he’d described. There were two clean T-shirts on the bed, three bottles of water on the nightstand and a robe in the closet. But before she could deal with any of that, she ran toward the bathroom and wondered if she could possibly survive the day.
Six
Marina woke up sometime around six Saturday morning. She’d spent quality time in the bathroom until about midnight, then had crawled into bed and slept like the dead. After brushing her teeth with a conveniently placed new toothbrush, she slipped into the fluffy robe and headed out into the vast expanse of Todd’s house to find the kitchen.
Passing through the dining room, still littered with flowers, she made her way toward the rear of the house and walked into a kitchen that could easily satisfy the pickiest chef known to man.
She also found Todd there. He wore sweats, a T-shirt and hadn’t shaved. There was a slight shifting in her stomach, but this one had nothing to do with the food she’d eaten and everything to do with how delicious the man in front of her looked.
“Morning,” she said, doing her best to act normal around the sudden fluttering in her chest. What was wrong with her? This was Todd. A guy she borderline despised. Except she couldn’t. Not really. He’d been just as sick as she had been yesterday, but he’d taken the time to get her settled before spending his evening in his own bathroom.
He looked up and smiled. “Hey. How you feeling?”
“Better. My stomach is so empty I can practically hear coyotes howling. You?”
“I wrapped things up about one in the morning, then crashed. I’m going to make an executive decision here and say no to the cream sauce caterer.”
She laughed. “I won’t fight you on that. I don’t think I’ve ever been that sick.”
He nodded at the kettle on the stove. “At the risk of sounding like a wuss, how about some tea and dry toast? I think that’s about all I can handle this morning.”
“Sounds great. We probably need to hydrate.”
He grinned. “That was a lot of fluids coming out.”
“Tell me about it.” She fingered the robe. “This is nice. Am I the first English speaking female to wear it?”
He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “You were going to let the model thing go.”
“I don’t remember saying that.”
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