by Judy Angelo
God, she felt good…and tasted even better. Sliding his fingers into her hair he tilted her head so that he had full control and soon she was gasping in his arms.
She clung to him and when he lifted his head – eventually – she moaned, eyes closed tight, lips soft and slightly swollen from his kiss.
“Silken,” he whispered.
She blinked then, slowly, her deep brown eyes focused on his. “Yes?” she said softly.
“I think we’d better get out of this parking lot,” he said with a chuckle, “before they tell us to go get a room.” He lifted his eyes and threw a glance toward the side entrance where two people, probably staff members, had paused to stare at them still locked in each other’s arms.
To Max’s surprise Silken did not pull away. She’d seen the spectators but instead of breaking his hold, she lifted her face and gave him a peck on the cheek.
Confused, Max gave her a smiling frown. “What was that for?”
“Thank you,” she said, her dark eyes glinting with renewed impishness.
“For the kiss?” He lifted an eyebrow. He couldn’t remember ever being thanked for a kiss, at least not in words.
She shook her head. “For reining me in. Sometimes I can be such a hothead. I needed that.”
If her kiss had bewildered him then her admission surprised him even more. It took a special woman to admit…so willingly…that she’d been wrong – and he admired her for that.
He bent his head to give her a quick kiss on the forehead. “Come on,” he said with a smile that told her all was well. “Let’s go have some lunch."
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Get your little butt in there.” Silken gave her sister a shove toward her bedroom closet. “Pick out a nice little outfit and let’s get going.”
“I told you, I’m not going.” Suave planted her feet firmly on the carpeted floor and folded her arms. “This is your date, not mine.”
Silken let out her breath in an exasperated sigh. “For the eleventeenth time I told you, it’s not a date. Max is having his brothers over for dinner and he said it would be great if I could come and you, too.”
“Right.” Suave’s tone dripped with sarcasm. “He invited you and then you went and tacked me onto your invitation, didn’t you?”
Silken looked away then walked over to the closet and began rifling through Suave’s clothes.
“Didn’t you?”
God, why couldn’t Suave just let it go? “Well…not exactly.” Silken’s voice grew muffled when she stuck her head farther into the closet, hoping that Suave would just let it drop. But she knew Suave, and that wasn’t going to happen.
“So what exactly did you say?” There was that bulldog tone again. Once Suave had chomped down, she was going to thrash and wrestle until Silken gave in from sheer exhaustion.
Realizing she might as well come clean and save herself the inevitable fight, Silken withdrew from the closet and went over to the bed where she plopped down. “I said,” she bobbed her legs up and down, not looking at Suave, “I’ll come meet your brothers if my little sis can come, too.”
Suave gave her a look of horror. “You did not say that.” At Silken’s nod she began to sputter. “That sounds so…juvenile. What are we, in kindergarten?” She clenched and unclenched her fists then swung her arms, looking for all the world like she didn’t know what to do with herself. Then she shook her head and heaved the mightiest of sighs, like she’d finally realized the futility of trying to reform her sister.
“You’re going on a date, Silken,” she said slowly, carefully, as if speaking to a toddler. “You don’t bring your sister along on a date.”
For a long while Silken just sat there, staring at Suave. Finally, she gave a hrumph and hopped off the bed. “Fine. If you’re not going then I’m not going either. I’ll call Max and tell him right now.” Holding her head straight, not giving Suave another glance, she flounced past her and out of the room.
Suave gasped then ran after her. “Silken, are you crazy? You can’t cancel your date because of me. You have to go.”
Silken stopped and turned then she shrugged. “No, I don’t. I’ll just tell Max something came up,” then her eyes narrowed, “or that I have to stay home with my sister.”
Suave narrowed her eyes back at Silken. “Then he’d hate me for ruining his plan. You wouldn’t.”
“I would.”
Suave began to pout then her shoulders slumped and she expelled her breath in a soft whoosh, a sure sign that she was accepting defeat. Smart girl.
“All right,” she said. “I’ll go with you,” she stuck a finger in Silken’s face, “but we’re going in separate cars. When I’m ready to leave, I’m leaving. You’re not going to have me stuck there till all hours of the night when I want to get to bed.”
“Fine.” Silken turned and set off toward her own room. She didn’t want Suave to see her triumphant grin. “Wear the black dress with the bow at the back. You look cute in that.”
That got her another hrumph from Suave but it didn’t matter. She’d already won this battle. Suave, the consummate homebody, would not be home alone - at least not tonight.
***
When Silken pulled into the driveway of Max’s home, Suave’s car was nowhere to be seen. No surprise there. Her sister, ever the careful one, was probably plodding along the highway well within the speed limit. Silken, on the other hand, never drove at less than ten miles above. Anything less and she felt like she was driving backwards. Settling deeper into her seat she leaned back to wait. It would be another five, maybe six minutes before she’d see the Volvo pull up beside her. But no worries. They were early so she’d pass the time catching up on some good music on KISS FM.
But when she flipped on the music Silken did not hear a single note. Instead, her mind flashed to Max. So much had happened between them in the last two weeks, since that day they’d gone out to lunch.
It had taken a while to get over the humiliation of his reprimand but eventually she'd relaxed enough to actually enjoy the afternoon at Shiraito Restaurant. After a meal of Sushi, Miso Soup and Teriyaki Chicken they lingered over coffee and dessert and soon she found herself so caught up in the conversation that she was shocked when he tapped his watch.
“Time to get you home,” he said, “before your sister sends out the troops.”
That was when she checked the time on her cell phone and realized that it was almost eight o’clock. She couldn’t believe they’d been sitting in the restaurant for almost four hours. And not just sitting. Talking.
Who could have known that Maximillian Davidoff would be such a funny, down-to-earth kind of guy? There was not an ounce of snob about him, no matter that he was the richest man she’d ever had lunch with. And he was rich, no doubt about that. The owner of Davidoff Cosmetics would be worth billions. But just looking at him, lounging in his chair across from her, you’d never tell.
Which brought her to her next question. Why had he asked her out? And he’d even gone and kissed her. Her. The woman who had embarrassed him in public, not once but twice.
As she sat in the car waiting for Suave she shook her head, still baffled by what must be the mystery of the ages…at least as far as her life was concerned. Because why would a man like him be interested in a woman like her?
And he was interested. There was no doubt in her mind about that. A man who’d been acting like he had these past couple of weeks – calls every few days, lengthy conversations over the phone, one of which had lasted almost an hour, and now this – an invitation to his house to meet his brothers.
She'd been blown away but she'd acted calmly and demurely accepted his invitation. Suave would have been so proud.
The lights of the Volvo flashed in her rear-view mirror and she blinked, suddenly realizing she’d just spent all her wait time daydreaming about Max. She would have laughed if it wasn’t just a little bit scary. Was she going soft on Max? She shook her head, knocking the thought loose and dashing it out of he
r head, then she got out of the car and waved Suave over. She wasn’t going to think about any of that, not tonight. Tonight she would get to know his family and just have fun.
When Silken and Suave walked in, Max introduced them to Duke, the brother who followed him, the one who had encouraged him to set up his latest business in Cupertino. He was tall, almost as tall as Max, with the same jet-black hair, square chin and long nose.
“So these are the twins,” he said, looking from one to the other. “Now let me see if I can figure out who’s who.” He wrinkled his brows and tilted his head. “Based on what I’ve heard, Silken is the impulsive, saucy one. I can see the fire in your eyes. That’s got to be you.” He nodded his head toward Silken. Then he turned to Suave and his lips widened in a smile. “And you must be Suave, as serene and silky-smooth as your name.”
Ooh, he's a charmer, this one. Silken let her glance slide away from his face and across to her sister who had turned a softly glowing shade of pink. Oh, beeswax. Now he’s gone and embarrassed Suave. Silken could only pray that she wouldn’t get cold feet and decide to take flight.
“Great job,” she said with a laugh, trying to defuse the tension of the moment. “It usually takes people at least a few hours before they can figure us out, maybe even days.” Then she shook her head. “But don’t listen to Max. I’m not saucy…” she paused when Max gave her a pointed look, “…at least not all the time.”
Duke laughed. “Don’t worry about it. Hey, it’s good that the two of you are different. At least this way we can tell you apart.”
“Come on, let’s head over to the den,” Max said, breaking in. “We can chill there until Reed gets here.”
It was after they’d settled down with mineral water and Martinis that Silken saw Suave begin to relax. Earlier she'd seemed so tense while Duke's attention had been on her but now she looked comfortable, laughing at his jokes and even sitting next to him when he patted the seat beside him. Silken breathed a whispering sigh of relief. It looked like the evening was going to go well after all.
Duke was deep in animated conversation, telling them about his work in the field of computer technology, when Reed arrived. “Hi, everyone,” he said, bouncing into the room. "Sorry I’m late but I thought the runway show would have ended earlier.”
"And, of course, your big brothers aren’t worth missing a fashion show.” Max’s tone was dry but the grin on his lips said he didn’t care a hoot that Reed had shown up late. He was just glad to see his brother.
Reed was the total opposite of his brothers. Where they were over six feet and dark-haired with craggy features he couldn’t have been taller than five ten or eleven with brown hair and laughing blue eyes. And he was young, probably no older than twenty-five. “You're the famous twins I’ve been hearing about.” He came over and shook both their hands then stood back to regard them with fascination. “You guys look so much alike, it’s creepy.”
That wasn’t the part of his speech that caught Silken’s attention. “Famous twins? We’re not famous.”
“According to Max, you are. He said you’re known about town as the best auto repair operation in all of Cupertino.” Reed nodded as he glanced over at Max. “He’s been asking around.”
Silken looked at Max, her eyebrows slightly raised. He’d been asking around? Now what was that all about? But she’d have to tackle him on that another day. Right now Max’s face was giving nothing away.
“Grab a seat and tell the ladies all about your lovely life in London.” Max jerked his head toward the empty La-Z-Boy. “They already know all there is to know about me and Duke.”
A deliberate attempt to change the subject. Silken turned and gave Max a look of suspicion but he totally ignored her, keeping his eyes trained on his brother. She knew he could feel her eyes on him but he wasn’t taking the bait. Okay, no problem. He could duck out now but he couldn’t avoid her forever. She would tackle him on this soon enough.
Silken soon forgot about Max and his questions because Reed ended up being the most entertaining of all the brothers. When he told them about his work in Europe, the clothing lines he’d launched, his work with runway models from all over the world, and his recent launch of a jewelry line, his eyes sparkled with such life that there could be no doubt that he thoroughly enjoyed what he was doing.
“So you’ll do a similar launch here in the United States?” Suave asked, looking intrigued.
“Of course.” Reed leaned back in the chair, looking satisfied that he had an interested audience. “Whatever I do in Europe, I duplicate in New York, Miami and Las Vegas. I have staff here on the ground to execute all my plans.”
“But you wouldn’t move back to the States,” Silken asked, “to live here and grow your business?”
Reed faltered, seeming taking aback by her question, and his eyes shifted to Duke and then to Max.
That was when Silken realized that she’d touched on a sensitive subject. Darn! She was so gifted at putting her foot in it.
“Well, no,” he said and for a second he looked away. “I’m happy in London. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” Then he gave Max a pointed look. Obviously, the answer was not meant for Silken alone.
“Well, I’m starving,” Duke said, stretching then rising to his feet. “You’re just going to have us in here all evening, blabbing?" He frowned at Max. “Where’s the chow?”
The serious look on Max’s face cleared and he laughed. “Hold your horses. Don’t they feed you where you come from? You have a cook at your house, right?”
“Yeah,” he said, rubbing his belly, “but that was hours ago. Now lead me to the food before I start chomping on the furniture.”
They all laughed and followed Max into the dining room where the huge table had been laid out with a spread fit for royalty. There were so many kinds of food there that Silken didn’t know how they could possibly get through all that. She looked across at Suave but her sister’s attention was fully occupied as she thanked Duke and slid onto the chair he’d pulled out for her.
The rest of the evening was just as relaxed as it had started, with them enjoying the meal that Max’s private chef had prepared. To Silken’s surprise, it was Suave who seemed to have enjoyed the evening most. Under the light banter and teasing of the men her usually polite reserve disappeared and soon she was giving as good as she got, ribbing them for their gluttony – they’d made short work of the feast the chef had prepared - and laughing at their jokes, even the slightly risqué ones.
When the grandfather clock in the hallway chimed nine, Suave lifted her face and on it was a look of regret. “Goodness, is it that late already?” She looked over at her host sitting at the head of the table and then at the other men. “I’m sorry, but it’s my bedtime. I have to go now.”
“Oh, so soon?” Duke gave her a mock pout.
“Yeah, it’s not like it’s midnight.” Reed’s look was one of disbelief.
“Sorry, guys. I need my eight hours or I’m no use to myself.” She looked over at Silken. “I’ll go on ahead of you, okay?”
“Sure, sis,” Silken said with a shrug. It was usually like this. Suave was the early-to-bed, early-to-rise person while she was the night owl. "I’ll catch up with you later.”
The men, all three of them, got up and walked Suave to the door while Silken stayed at the table, surveying the damage wrought on the previously food-filled table. Max certainly knew what he was doing when he had his chef prepare all this food. There was hardly anything left. Where the heck had the men put all that?
When they returned to the dining room, Silken got another surprise.
“I guess I’d better follow Suave’s example,” Duke said, “and make it an early night. Good night, Silken.”
She frowned. “You’re leaving?”
He nodded. “I’m afraid so. It was nice meeting you.” He stuck out his hand to her for a goodbye shake.
Then Reed came over and put out his hand, too. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Silken. Both
of you.”
She frowned again and she did not take his hand. “You’re leaving, too?”
“Yeah,” he said with a shrug, “I’m going to hook up with an old school buddy who lives in Palo Alto. We’ll probably hang out a couple of hours then I’ll head back.”
“Well, okay,” she said, slightly confused, wondering if she’d done something to make both Duke and Reed go running. Her mind did a two-second rewind of the evening but she couldn’t think of anything...well, except for that blunder with Reed and London, but they’d forgotten all about that. Or maybe they hadn’t…
She walked to the door with Duke and Reed where they each gave her a hug. “It was really good meeting you,” Reed said, “and I’m not just saying that.”
“I second that.” Duke grinned at her.
Silken felt herself glow with pleasure at their words. They really were nice. She hoped one day she’d get the chance to meet them again.
CHAPTER EIGHT
After they’d left Silken closed the door and turned to head back to find Max. Maybe it was time for her to leave, too. She wasn’t the least bit tired and she’d wanted the evening to go on and on but everyone had left except her. She certainly didn’t want to overstay her welcome.
She went back to the dining room but Max was not there. The living room was empty and so was the library he’d shown them when they’d just arrived. The only other place she’d been in his house was the den so she headed off to look for him there. Why he’d thrown this disappearing act, she had no idea.
“Max? Are you in here?” She rounded the corner and walked into the room and there he was, lounging in the middle of the sofa, and on the glass table beside him was a bucket filled with ice, a bottle of champagne nestled in it.
She stopped in the middle of the room and narrowed her eyes at him. “What are you doing?”
