by Isabel North
“Custard.”
“Huh.” Anna crouched to pet Sunshine, somehow managing to do it without a single wobble, even though she was wearing four-inch stilettos. “Morning, sweetie. Here to brighten up the place? Good job!”
Leaving them to get acquainted, Nora ran out to her car and returned with Sunshine’s bed and her backpack of snacks, toys, and water bowl. She set the bed against the wall by the bathroom, where they wouldn’t keep tripping over it. Sunshine nudged her aside and climbed in. Nora kissed the top of her head and turned to find Anna staring at them with disapproval, hands on hips.
“I don’t think this is going to work,” Anna said.
“Yes, it is. She’s a good girl, she won’t be a bother. I’ll take her out to the park for walks and pee breaks. I didn’t want to leave her alone on her first day.”
“No. I don’t like it.” Anna gestured with an open palm. “The wall is pink. The dog bed is green. The dog is custard. I can’t work in this kind of environment. It hurts my artistic sensibilities.”
“Then I quit.”
“Calm down, mama bear. I can repaint the wall. Something to frame her, make the color pop—not that she needs a lot of help in that department. I’m thinking an antique cream. I want it to tone, not contrast. And we’ll have to get another bed.”
“I like this one. It took me an hour to pick it out.”
“Yes. Corduroy makes a hell of a statement. A statement which should never be voiced in the office of an interior designer. That bed will do in your apartment, but when she’s here, she’s going to have classy. I’ll take care of it. I have a contact who’s a big name in the pet design world.”
“No rhinestones,” Nora said.
Anna’s shoulders shot back and her brows lowered. “How dare you,” she hissed. “Rhinestones?”
“I was kidding.”
“Not funny, Nora. Not. Funny.”
“Sorry.”
“You don’t joke about shit like that. Now, we have to talk about the Sterling project. Do you still have his key?”
“Sure.” Nora dug it out of her purse.
Anna waved her off. “Keep it. I want you to go over there today.”
Nora clenched the key in her fist. “I cannot see that man naked again! I can’t, or I will never get over him.”
At Anna’s silence, Nora looked up to see her cousin goggling at her.
Right.
“I never mentioned it, did I?” Nora said.
“You did not. You slept with him? Are you insane? Of all the men in San Francisco, no. Not him. Not the one client standing between us and unemployment. Well, you’ll be unemployed. I’ll be bankrupt.”
“I didn’t sleep with him! He was just naked.” And aroused. “Just naked. That’s all.” She sighed. “I walked in on him again when I went to measure up. Except, no towel. It was super embarrassing.” For her. He hadn’t been fazed in the least.
“When you said you were trying exposure therapy for his abs, what you meant was his abs and his co—”
“No. His abs and his overall…manly glory.”
“Manly glory.”
“The full package. Can we stop talking about it, please? I don’t like how you’re making me sound. I’m coming off like an uptight small-town prude.”
“Imagine that,” Anna murmured.
“I’m not a prude,” Nora said. “Would a prude have a sexual odyssey list? Yes. I have one. And it’s two pages long now.”
“I knew you had one! Can I see it?”
“No.”
“Want some suggestions?”
“No.” Maybe. “Why am I going over to Gabe’s today?” She’d given up trying to call him Mr. Sterling, even in her head.
“I’ve got a crew booked to start on the bathroom.”
“Why do I have to be there?”
“He emailed to say he’d be out of town for a few days. I’m seizing the opportunity to fast-track the project. The sooner I get it done, the sooner I can invoice him. The sooner I invoice him the better, or we’ll be out of cash.”
“If we run out, we can use my credit card. I’ve got great credit.”
“Don’t offer me things like that, Nora. You’re asking me to take advantage of you, and if it saves my business, I’ll do it.”
“I hope you will. It’s why I’m offering.”
Anna tapped a toe, twisting her lips in an attempt to hide her smile. “You’re offering to let me take financial advantage of you and run up a debt on your credit card because you’re scared to see Gabe Sterling naked again. Not because you’ll sit around sighing over the memory of his manly glory, but because you know that if it happens again, you might actually do something about it.”
Either Anna was psychic, or Nora was more transparent than she’d thought. “You’re sure he’s not going to be there this time?”
“Hundred percent. I need you to go and supervise the crew; I promised him I’d have the bathroom done by the time he got back, and he wants you to work from there.”
“Is that normal?”
Anna shrugged. “It’s not unusual. Nobody enjoys having strangers hanging out in their personal space. He’s got a million employees he could ask to do it, but he asked for you. I said it’s all part of the service.”
“What am I supposed to do while I’m there, sit around and watch the contractors? Won’t they be pissed at that?”
“You can work. He said he’d leave a computer set up for you.”
Nora recoiled. “I’m not touching his computer. I’ll break it. I’d probably launch something by mistake.”
“I don’t care what you do while you’re there, use the computer or not, your choice. Go! Please.”
“What about Sunshine?”
“I’m in the office all day. I’ve got a load of design work to do. Got another job pitch lined up, and I have to make sure the presentation kicks Gretchen’s in the ass. Yes, she’s up for it too, the bitch. I’m not leaving this seat until I have created magnificence. I’ll watch the dog. Now go, or you’ll be late.”
~ ~ ~
She definitely wasn’t going to touch his computer. Nora stared at the sleek silver laptop that seemed to glow against the scuffed wood of the breakfast bar.
She thought it was a laptop.
It was the right size. If she hunkered down to eye level, she could see a hair-thin seam that was—maybe—the hinge between the screen and the keyboard. But there was something about it that screamed I come from Outer Space rather than Buy me from your local electronics store. Part of her expected it to suddenly fold and twist and reassemble itself into a robot, and start talking to her.
Or try to kill her.
Gabe had stuck a Post-it note on the closed lid. Use me. Nora peeled off the note, checked none of the contractors were close enough to see her, and stuck it in her Filofax.
She made coffee, and hoped Gabe didn’t mind her sharing his special beans with the guys, who all came running when they heard the machine whistling and sputtering. She spent most of the day reading the book for her book club. Every now and then, she fielded a query from one of the contractors. Otherwise, she had a peaceful time until they knocked off at five.
Anna showed up with Sunshine to check on the progress, and that was pretty much how the rest of the week went. Until Friday morning, when it happened again.
She let herself in, and there he was.
He wasn’t naked this time, or even in a towel, so that wasn’t what freaked Nora out. The way her heart leapt when she saw him sprawled on the couch, sleeping on his stomach with his face hidden in his crossed arms?
That freaked her out.
Her heart had no right to go leaping about just because he was home.
His home, she reminded herself. Not hers.
Gabe lifted his head to blink at the door as she closed it with a click. When his eyes landed on her, he smiled lazily and rolled onto his back. He stretched, then scrubbed his face with his hands.
Even from where she s
tood across the room, she heard the rasp of his stubble. Her palms tingled.
“Coffee,” he murmured. “Please, baby.”
Yeah, she’d give him pretty much anything he asked for if he added, please, baby in that rough voice.
Forcing herself to stop imagining how his stubble would feel against her skin, Nora headed for the espresso machine and started to fix him a cup with practiced ease. “Did you have a good trip?”
“Hellish trip.”
She took the coffee over to him. He was sitting now, and looked exhausted. His hair was a short, tousled mess and his green eyes were bloodshot.
“You look like you’ve spent a week in Vegas,” she said, and thrust the coffee at him.
He laughed. “Thanks. You, on the other hand, are your usual beautiful self.”
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t trying to be rude. Never mind. Should I call and cancel the contractors today? You probably want some undisturbed sleep.”
“I forgot about the contractors. What are they doing here, again?”
“The bathroom. They’re finishing up today. It’s fabulous. I could live in your shower. If it was mine, I swear I’d never get out. I’d stand in there all day long. The showerhead has about a thousand nozzles. You get sprayed everywhere. Full-body experience.”
Gabe focused on her and began to smile slowly. “You’ve tried it, haven’t you?”
“No!” She’d gotten in there, but she’d been fully clothed at the time, and she hadn’t turned the water on because the grout had still been drying. Also, taking a shower uninvited in a man’s apartment was weird. Even she knew that.
“Want to try it out now?” he said. “Let’s go jump in real quick before the guys get here.”
Before she could answer, someone banged at the door. “Too late.”
“Another time.”
“No,” she said over her shoulder, running to answer it. “No time.”
As had become routine, Nora made the crew coffee, hearing the rumble of male voices as they talked to Gabe. Once they’d disappeared into the bathroom, she turned to find him leaning on the other side of the breakfast bar. His gaze went from her to the espresso machine.
“Ah,” she said. “Hmm. Now I think of it, I should have asked before using this, shouldn’t I? Don’t worry.” She indicated the large bag of coffee beans she’d bought. “I haven’t been giving them your special beans. Apart from the once. Sorry.”
“Not a problem.” He pulled the laptop toward him and skimmed a palm over it, head angled down. “You didn’t use this? I left it for you.”
“Didn’t I? I don’t… Maybe I…”
He looked up. Without breaking eye contact, he spun it to face her and opened it. The screen lit up. The words, “I am a big scaredy-cat and I did not use this computer,” glowed in neon green against a black screen.
Busted.
“I couldn’t use your computer,” she said. “It felt too intimate.”
“But using my espresso machine didn’t?”
“No.”
“You have gravely underestimated how I feel about my coffee. And it’s not my computer. I told Anna. I left it for you.”
She frowned.
He returned the frown and pushed the laptop closer toward her. “I left it for you.”
She looked from him to the laptop and back. “You’re not giving me the computer. Are you?”
“If I want to give it to you, Nora, will you take it?”
“I couldn’t.”
“You could.”
“I’m tempted. It’s beautiful. I’ve never seen one quite like it. It’s generous, but I can’t take it. It’s too big. Too much.”
The smile that had been lurking at the corners of his mouth broke into a full grin as he tilted his head to one side and studied her. “You’re not even trying to turn me on, are you?”
“Talking about computers turns you on?”
Gabe laid both hands flat on the breakfast bar and leaned his weight into them. The muscles in his shoulders bunched and his biceps pressed against the sleeves of his tee. “Talking to you turns me on. And it stopped being about computers about halfway through this conversation.”
Nora stared at him.
“The booty call got me thinking,” he said.
“I butt-dialed you!”
He ignored her protest and straightened. “Enough dancing around. We should probably go for it.”
Nora panicked. “We can’t. The contractors are right over there.”
“I wasn’t talking about sex, although if you’re up for it, give me a minute and I’ll get rid of them. No? Okay. I meant we should go on a date.”
“Why would you want to do that?”
“Nora. We have chemistry.”
“No, we don’t. No chemistry.”
“You don’t feel it?”
“I feel nothing.” She felt like her heart was going to burst through her chest. She felt her pulse everywhere. In one key place in particular.
“Weird,” Gabe said. “It’s just me, then?”
He was laughing at her. Not out loud or in her face or anything, but he was finding her very amusing. Of course he was. She was lying her head off, and it was obvious. Why wasn’t he offended? Then again, apart from her refusing to touch his computer, he was tough to offend.
Oh, no. Did he think she was playing hard to get?
“I’m not playing hard to get,” she said. “Really I’m not.”
“And you don’t feel any chemistry between us?” He came to stand before her. Somehow, she ended up with her back to the sink and his arms either side of her. He wasn’t touching her, but there was nowhere to go. “Nothing you want to explore? Nora?”
“Huh?” She was staring at his throat, and the intriguing swirl of ink that she knew went down the side of his neck and over his collarbone.
“Nora.”
“Yes?” She looked up to find him smiling.
“We’re going on a date.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I think it’s a great idea.”
“I can’t.”
“You will.”
“Nope.”
He brushed against her.
She should push him away. She laid a tentative hand on his flat stomach and her mouth went dry.
Gabe shifted closer. She brought the other hand up. His stomach muscles tensed under her touch.
Nora’s fingers curled, and for a desperate second, she almost did it. Tore his shirt up and out of the way so she could feel his hot skin.
He let out a heavy breath, ruffling the hair at her temple. “Do it,” he whispered, hard and rough.
“I can’t.” Uncurling her fingers, she gave him a gentle but firm shove. “I can’t. You’re practically my boss. It’s a bad idea.”
He backed off until he was propped against the opposite counter and there was a good two feet of space between them. Space that was crackling with all the energy their no-chemistry was throwing out. “Anna’s your boss. I’m your client.”
“It’s inappropriate.”
“We’ve discussed this before. I like inappropriate. In this case, however, I have to disagree. It’s completely appropriate. It’s called meeting someone through work and dating them. You’d be amazed at how often people do it. Sometimes, they end up married with kids. Let’s start easy. Dinner.”
This was a nightmare. No. It was a dream come true. No. She didn’t know what it was. A disaster. She couldn’t date him. She couldn’t risk Anna’s business just because this glorious specimen of manhood wanted to explore their chemistry.
Get real. The business would survive. You won’t.
He’d break her. Nora knew it. He’d give her everything she ever dreamed of, and then he’d get bored and take it away, and the thought made her want to curl into a protective ball.
“Boss, client,” she said. “Either way, it’s against the rules.”
“Anna’s strict, huh? Business, pleasure, never the twain sh
all meet?”
“Yes. She’d fire me in a second.” Nora made a mental note to buy Anna a muffin to go with her coffee by way of apology.
“Anna’s the only problem here?” Gabe said. “The only reason you’re saying no to me? Apart from the lack of chemistry, that is. On your side. Because I’m getting fireworks.”
She nodded.
He pulled out his cell phone. “I can fix that.”
“What are you doing?”
Gabe held up a finger, phone to his ear. “Anna. Hi. Yeah, I’m back in town.”
Without thinking, Nora lunged for the phone.
He fended her off with one hand. “Trip went great, thanks for asking. Yeah, I know they’re here, I met them. Jeff says they’ll be done with the bathroom by lunch. I’m looking forward to popping the cherry on the shower.”
Up on tiptoe, her body plastered against his from knees to chest, Nora swiped for the phone. She gasped when Gabe tucked it in the crook of his neck, spun her, and trapped her against the counter. Now his front was pressed to her back and he held her there easily as he continued talking over her head.
“I’m satisfied with progress thus far. What was that? Oh, yes. There is something else I need, I’m glad you brought it up.”
She wasn’t getting out of this, was she? Nora folded at the waist to prop her elbows on the countertop, resting her chin in her hands.
Gabe shook against her in a small laugh. “I want to take Nora out to dinner but she seems to think it’s inappropriate. Thought I’d get your view on it, since you’re her boss. She’s already told me the only thing holding her back is you. It’s fine? That’s what I told Nora. All right, then.”
He disconnected and slid an arm around her waist, drawing her up and into him in a quick hug that had her tingling. “I have to go,” he said in her ear. “Text me your address, and I’ll pick you up at your apartment at seven. Dress fancy.”
His heat vanished, the door banged as he left, and Nora made the surprised guys a fresh cup of coffee each.
This time she used Gabe’s special beans.
~ ~ ~
Anna was less than impressed with the dating development.
“You’ve either got to bore him to tears and pray he loses interest, or you have to commit to being his sex slave until I build my client list. If things get awkward and we lose his business, we’ll both be moving back to Beacon Falls and living in your storage unit,” she said when Nora called her after Gabe had gone. “I give us twenty-four hours before it goes Hunger Games.”
