Sinful Paradise (Kimani Hotties)

by Christopher, Ann

  Eventually, when the pillow was soaked and bright morning sun was filtering through the drapes, Talia’s breathing evened out and her body relaxed. Gloria waited five more minutes just in case, but Talia was asleep.

  Taking all the care in the world, Gloria eased sideways so that the pillow rested on the sofa rather than her lap. Then she stood and stared down at her sister, who was curled into a ball and looking as fragile as a newborn kitten. Gloria’s heart contracted with a sudden pain so sharp it erupted in a choked sound. Clamping a hand over her mouth, she held it back even if she couldn’t stop the tears that fell on Talia’s body as she covered her with the throw.

  Only when Talia was tucked in nice and safe, for now at least, did Gloria give herself permission to lose it. She raced out of the living room and down the hall toward her bedroom. It felt as though her sobs were chasing her because they came hard and hot, one after the other, and she had no more chance of outrunning them than she did of waving a magic wand and taking this burden away from Talia.

  All either one of them could do was try to make it to the other side.

  So she collapsed on her bed, buried her face in the pillow and gave herself five minutes—no more—to cry for Talia. And then she gave herself thirty angry seconds—no more—to kick herself for her past mistakes with Aaron and cry for the demise of the romantic relationship on which she’d pinned so many doomed hopes.

  Chapter 6

  That night, Gloria dipped her toe in her oversize bathtub, testing the water. Since it was just this side of scalding, sending a white-hot shot of heat straight up her body and out her brain, she decided it was perfect. As were the frothy mound of lavender bubble bath, the Marvin Gaye piping in through the speakers, the sensual relaxation candle burning on the counter and the tall-stemmed glass of Chardonnay with the single ice cube in it—tacky, yeah, but she liked her wine to stay chilled—that stood on the tub’s ledge.

  Sighing with relief that this long and stressful day and the dull thud of her hangover headache had finally dimmed once she followed Cooper’s advice and drank that disgusting concoction, she slid into the tub. Wincing against the delicious heat, she reached for the sci-fi novel she’d been reading, leaned back against the terrycloth pillow and flipped open to her page.

  Over on the counter, her phone rang.

  She stiffened, cursing.

  But then she remembered that the only person who had her new number was Cooper, and she felt an unsettling swoop of excitement. Without giving herself time for second thoughts, she half rose, grabbed the phone and sank back down, all with a great slosh of water.

  She hit the button by the third ring, catching a quick glimpse of his face on the display.

  “Hello?”

  “San Francisco isn’t a bad city,” he said. “Agree or disagree?”

  That made her grin for what felt like the first time in years.

  “Disagree. I’ve been there for a couple conferences and a marathon. San Francisco is a great city.”

  “Wrong. San Francisco would have to consistently be twenty degrees warmer to be a great city.”

  “Well, I’m entitled to my opinion,” she told him.

  “Your opinion is wrong,” he said flatly.

  She laughed outright.

  “And what was your marathon time, pray?”

  “Four ten thirteen. Why?”

  “That’s not very good, is it? My time was three fifty-seven eleven.”

  “There were hills! My time was very good, thank you!”

  “Ah, but mine was much better.”

  “Competitive much?”

  “Yeah. Much.”

  “So you made it, I take it?” she asked, still laughing.

  “I made it. Going to Chinatown for dinner in a few.”

  “Oh, I’m jealous.”

  “You should be. What’re you doing? I hear water.”

  “I’m taking a bath.”

  Silence.

  “Cooper?”

  “I’m going to need a minute on that one.”

  “Come again?”

  “A bath? So you’re wearing what?”

  Another laugh. “Nothing.”

  “Yeah, okay,” he said, sighing harshly. “I’m going to need another minute.”

  “Why?”

  “Why? Well, first I need to get all kinds of images of your naked body out of my head. Then I need to not ask you to send me a picture, and I definitely don’t want to mention phone sex. That would be rude.”

  “Right,” she murmured.

  Although, to be honest, the idea of sliding her wet and slippery hands over her hard nipples and then between her thighs, all while listening to the low velvet of his voice, wasn’t the worst one she’d ever had.

  “Right,” he echoed hoarsely.

  They were both silent. Gloria pressed her thighs together, trying to keep her agitated body under control, causing the water to lap against the side of the tub.

  She felt Cooper’s interest sharpen over the phone.

  “What was that noise?”

  “Nothing,” she lied.

  “Right.” He heaved another sigh. “So how was your day?”

  The thought of Talia put the kibosh on any sexy thoughts she’d been having, and her stomach sank. She hesitated, knowing how much Talia valued her privacy, and took a sip of wine.

  “It was okay.”

  “Okay? There’s a ringing endorsement. Did you take my hangover cure?”

  “Yeah. I had to run out to get the eggs. But it worked. Thanks.”

  “So...did anything much happen to you today?”

  The name Aaron hung in the air between them, but he didn’t say it and for that she was grateful.

  Talia’s privacy was important, yeah, Gloria decided, but her cancer recurrence was happening to Gloria, too, and Gloria needed a friend she could talk to right now. And God knew Aaron had never, and would never, fit that bill.

  “I can talk to you in confidence, can’t I?”

  “Everything you tell me is in confidence, Doc.”

  Taking a deep breath, she plowed ahead. “Talia’s probably had a recurrence of Hodgkin’s disease. She has an appointment tomorrow morning. I’m going with her.”

  The long silence told her he was stunned and probably had no idea Talia had ever battled cancer. She wasn’t surprised. Talia was fierce about protecting her privacy and not wanting people to feel sorry for her.

  “I’m sorry.” His voice was heavy with sincerity. “Talia’s good people. I like her a lot.”

  “Thanks,” Gloria told him. “I appreciate that.”

  “Isn’t this one of those things you shouldn’t worry about until you know for sure? Won’t there be lots of tests and—?”

  “If it was anyone else, I’d say yes. But Talia’s really in tune with her body. That’s how they were able to catch it early when she was diagnosed—she kept insisting that something was wrong.” She shrugged. “If she says it’s back, it’s back.”

  “Man,” he said.

  “I know. She doesn’t deserve this.”

  “How’s she doing?”

  “She’s tough. She’s spending the night here.”

  “And how are you?”

  The reply was automatic. “I’m fine.”

  “Doc.” His voice felt like the gentlest possible caress across her face. “Don’t. You don’t have to with me.”

  With that, she opened her mouth, and the words were up and out before she could stop them.

  “I can’t lose my sister, too. Not. Talia.”

  He didn’t say anything for a couple seconds, which gave her a chance to get her vehemence under control. Her whole body was trembling with it, causing water to slosh over the sides again.

/>   “Your parents are gone?”

  “Yeah. So it’s up to me to take care of her.”

  “Then Talia’s in the best possible hands.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” she said with a shaky laugh.

  “I am.”

  His quiet confidence made her feel better.

  Willing herself to relax, she leaned against the pillow again and let her eyes drift closed. “From your lips to God’s ears, Eagle Scout.”

  He seemed to know her energy was waning. “So,” he said. “I’ll let you go. It’s late there—”

  “Not yet,” she said quickly, then thought better of it. “I mean...sorry. You’ve got dinner and here I am talking your ear off.”

  “I have strong ears,” he assured her. “And plenty of time for you.”

  Words felt as if they were on the tip of her tongue, but she had no hope of stringing them together. “I just... I hope you have a good trip. Get lots of business done. Make some money.”

  It sounded as though he was grinning. “Will do.”

  “Thanks for checking up on me, Cooper.”

  “Don’t thank me,” he said flatly.

  “Why not?”

  “Because talking to you and being there for you and becoming part of your life is all part of my plan.”

  She frowned, excruciatingly aware of her thudding pulse and the way sudden shivers were racing across her skin. “And what plan is that?”

  “The plan to make you fall crazy in love with me. What else?”

  With that stunning announcement still ringing in her ear, he hung up.

  * * *

  The next morning, Gloria checked her watch as she hurried down the windowed corridor to the coffee stand in her medical office building. Nine forty-seven, which was better than she’d hoped for. She’d just come from Talia’s doctor’s appointment, which had gone as quickly and smoothly as possible. And Tony had surprised Talia with a proposal before the appointment, which had been a wonderfully emotional moment.

  She was thrilled that Talia was getting married. No one deserved happiness more than Talia did.

  It was just that Talia’s love story underscored Gloria’s loneliness.

  But she wasn’t going to think about that now, much less dwell on it. She was too busy. The morning’s events had left her with just enough time to grab some coffee and oatmeal and check in with her staff before she started her morning round of appointments at ten-ten. First up? A high school senior whose eighteenth birthday present was going to be a rhinoplasty to remove a microscopic bump on the ridge of her nose.

  Frivolous compared to the life-or-death drama that Talia was currently enduring?

  Oh, yeah.

  Was it just what Gloria needed to normalize her day a little bit?

  Damn straight.

  “Hi, Fran.” Waving at the barista behind the counter, Gloria fished a ten out of her lab coat pocket. “Can I have the usual? With hot milk? And maybe one of those bananas. No, the one next to it.”

  A man’s figure materialized to her right. “Is that you, Dr. Adams?”

  Gloria stiffened and nodded an unsmiling greeting. Accepting the empty paper cup from Fran with as much grace as she could muster, which was about half an ounce, Gloria moved to the side table and pumped some coffee from the huge thermos.

  Making a production of adding cream and sweetener, Gloria kept her head low and tried to decide how she felt about being confronted by Aaron this early on a difficult Monday morning.

  Not good. She had the same sort of “oh, shit” feeling sinking in the pit of her stomach that she had when she was speeding down the highway and saw the flash of police lights in her rearview mirror.

  Which was a far cry from the tingly anticipation she’d felt over the past couple of years when there was the slightest chance of running into Aaron or even catching a glimpse of him. She realized in that very second that she’d be perfectly fine if she never laid eyes on him again.

  In fact, she’d prefer it.

  “Just a large coffee for me,” Aaron said. “Thanks, Fran.”

  And then he was right there at Gloria’s elbow again, a literal and figurative shadow over her. “Morning, Glo,” he said low.

  Caught, Gloria turned to face the man whose voice was as smooth and dark as his brown skin. He wasn’t tall but he was cut, with a tailored lab coat that hit his broad shoulders just right, a dress shirt with French cuffs and gold-and-onyx cuff links, wool slacks and a pair of leather loafers that he’d bought during a family vacation in Italy last April. Which was why he’d missed—and forgotten—her thirty-eighth birthday, although, to be fair, he had made up for it by giving her a beautiful pair of diamond studs.

  This was back when she’d been stupid enough to think that a swipe of his credit card equaled real emotional connection. Now she was smarter.

  She looked into his face, deciding on the spot to sell the earrings and give the proceeds to a lymphoma charity. Maybe then the money could go to some good use, benefiting Talia and other cancer patients like her.

  “Good morning,” she said coolly, putting the lid on her coffee and throwing away the stirrer.

  “Where’ve you been?” he asked urgently.

  That was the thing about Aaron—his general irresistibility. On the checklist of what made a man hot, he had every box marked off: brown eyes that were hooded and penetrating; a straight nose; a chiseled jaw; a dimpled chin; full lips; a sexy voice; a faint musky scent of cologne; a dusting of gray hair through his temples that added an unmistakable air of wisdom and maturity; and, worst of all, a way of looking at her that made her feel like the only person in the world. The flip side of that particular trait, unfortunately, was that they weren’t together that much, so he didn’t spend much time looking at her.

  Which meant she spent a huge amount of time feeling worthless to him or, worse, invisible.

  Her future brother-in-law, Tony, meanwhile, spent a lot of time gazing at Talia as though he’d never seen anyone so miraculous. That was what Gloria wanted. What every woman wanted—to feel special. It wasn’t too much to ask for.

  So she was done wasting her time with this.

  With him.

  “Where’ve I been?” she echoed.

  “Yeah,” he said, easing closer. “I’ve been calling and texting you all weekend. Don’t pretend you didn’t know.”

  “I didn’t, actually. I got a new phone.”

  “Yeah?” Reaching into his lab coat pocket, he produced his own phone and paused, his thumb poised over the screen. “What’s the number?”

  Gloria stared at him, honestly puzzled. “Why would you need it?”

  “Dr. Adams?” Fran held out a bowl. “Here’s your oatmeal.”

  Gloria smiled, took it and started on her way back to her office. “Thanks, Fran.”

  Aaron was hot on her heels. “Why would I need your number? Did you just ask me that?”

  “Yeah,” she said without breaking stride as they veered around a technician rolling a cart. “Since we agreed it’s over, what else is there to say?”

  Aaron put a heavy hand on her arm, stopping her. His soulful eyes, now wounded, raw and vulnerable, had widened to fill up his entire face. “I didn’t agree to anything like that. What’s gotten into you, baby?”

  Ah, there it was. The generic baby, which could fit whether he was in bed with his wife, with Gloria or with one of the other women he was probably sleeping with.

  Mindful of another passerby and of the time, she carefully pulled her arm free and kept her voice quiet. Keeping her face blankly professional was harder. “You’re getting a divorce. You want to see other people. Go see other people. Godspeed. Bye. I told you this already. What’s the mystery?”

  “We need to talk about this. I’m not g
iving you up.”

  She rolled her eyes at his husky urgency and started walking again. Now that she’d finally opened her eyes to his toxic mind games, man, they were really open. And he was a freaking grand master.

  “Newsflash—I’m not yours to give up or to keep. Bye.”

  That hand clamped down on her arm again. His voice, meanwhile, pitched higher with unmistakable frustration. “Stop saying bye.”

  For the first time since he’d approached her, she felt a flare of anger.

  “Don’t. Touch. Me.”

  Something in her expression must have told him she meant business—that he was about to lose a limb and it didn’t matter if they were in a public place or not—because he withdrew his hand.

  She turned the corner into the smaller corridor outside the back entrance to her office. Stacking the oatmeal on top of the coffee, she reached for her key card and swiped it.

  “I don’t have time for this. I have patients.”

  But Aaron was building up a head of steam and seemed determined to plead his tired case in its entirety. “You have to understand, baby. I’ve been married twenty years. I’m not in a position to marry you or anybody else—”

  That was, possibly, the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. “Why would I want to marry you?” she said on a startled laugh. “So you could cheat on me?”

  Aaron blinked at her, clearly as stupefied as if she’d started speaking Russian. Deciding that this was her chance, she turned the knob and ducked into the back hallway of her suite of offices. Hopefully he would take the hint and leave so she could eat in peace.

  But he didn’t leave.

  He pushed through the door behind her.

  Outraged, she opened her mouth, ready to rip him a new one, but Sandy, her office manager, came out of their kitchen at that precise moment. She’d been stirring a cup of yogurt, but now she looked up, dividing her speculative gaze between them.

  Gloria smiled and tried to look casual even though her cheeks were now burning with embarrassment. Here was another reason to hate Aaron. He didn’t want to be seen with her in any restaurant, theater, park or public place in Manhattan, but he had no problems slinking into the back door of her office and subjecting her to nosy stares like the one on Sandy’s face. If Sandy didn’t suspect they were having an affair, then Gloria was the reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe.