“We’ll never be too far from the car.” After locking the back door, he guided her toward a gray SUV with KD Cabinetry stenciled on the door in white.
So, now she knew he would be his own driver. “Do you mind if I sit in the front? I get carsick unless I do.”
Without taking a scrap of notice of the pitiful expression on her face, he opened the passenger door at the front and she stepped in, over the first hurdle, as it were. Now Trent could sit with Emily, and Calli could begin to earn a few hours free laboring in the garden. Kell backed the car out of the drive and Trent closed the gates. He grinned at Calli when he leaped into the back seat of the car.
During a desultory conversation about the Saturday morning traffic and the crowds of home renovators in the hardware stores, Kell’s GPS guided them to Emily’s house. Emily didn’t look too excited to be put into the back with Trent, but within minutes the two were chatting companionably, including Kell and Calli in the conversation about the best place to go for lunch.
“Do you have a preference?” Kell asked her in a quiet aside.
“If we don’t have a booking, it would be best to try somewhere not too popular.” She didn’t want to see anyone she knew, but Emily had the opposite agenda. The busiest most annoyingly trendy place was chosen during a conversation that whiled away the time along Main North Road.
After Kell drove through Gawler, the scenery suddenly changed. Flat green plains turned hilly and rows and rows of grape vines travelled up and down and took sculptural curves. The roads narrowed and the verge trees grew taller and greener. Calli had always loved the Barossa Valley. By the time Kell pulled up the car at the end of a winding track, she was ready to stretch her legs.
The shabby chic restaurant had been constructed of old corrugated iron and a recycled shed. The view at the top of the small hill took in the neat grape vines and the surrounding roses planted to keep the bees toiling productively. Unfortunately, the parking area was only half-full. Calli had hoped to see an overflow so Kell would be forced to go elsewhere. She sighed and waited for Trent. He managed to put himself between Emily and Kell, who led the way into the place. A waiter showed them to a table for four. In a swift and smooth move, Trent pulled out a chair for Emily.
Calli hesitated. Kell motioned for her to sit diagonally opposite the other woman, which put her onto a cushioned bench seat along the back wall of the restaurant. He sat beside her and opposite Emily. Trent sat opposite Calli and beside Emily. Now Kell could watch Emily without having to turn his head. He could just as easily ignore Calli. Unfortunately, she couldn’t ignore him, or his man-spread.
His knee sat against hers. Should she mind? She decided she did and so she gave his knee a slight shove. He glanced at her. The menus arrived promptly along with the wine list. While she decided on duck terrine, his knee edged toward hers again. She knew without looking. She had never been more conscious of a man in her life.
“Do you have a wine preference?” he asked, his breath warm on her neck.
Her insides thudded with lust. She breathed out. “Something light, white, and dry.”
“A Semillon for me,” Emily said to the waiter who stood by her shoulder.
“The same for me,” came from Trent.
The waiter queried Calli with his eyes. “A Riesling. House,” she said with a smile.
“And, sir?” He stared at Kell.
“Water will do for me.”
The waiter left.
“It’s good to see that you’re taking your duty as the designated driver seriously.” Calli took a quick glance at Kell and a longer glance away.
“I take everything seriously. For instance, this menu. What do you think I might like here?”
“The kangaroo or the rabbit with broad beans.”
“You said that without any hesitation. Should I be suspicious? What are you ordering?”
“The duck.”
“Why wouldn’t I like the duck?”
“Because it’s served with preserved figs. I see you as a rare steak eater rather than a gourmand.”
A line formed between his eyebrows. “There’s no steak on the menu.”
“Which is why I suggested kangaroo.”
“So, are you four steps ahead of me?”
“Only three.” She gave him her blockbuster smile without meaning to, and he stared at her mouth.
Her insides went into a complete meltdown. She glanced toward Trent, but he was focused on Emily who was concentrating on Kell. Calli would have liked to connect with Emily, but today Emily was having no part of her. The whole eye contact thing was missing, which was good, really, when Calli was planning on distracting Emily’s man, who almost seemed to want to be distracted. Unfortunately, he was also distracting Calli.
Perhaps she shouldn’t have sipped her wine before her food arrived because her wine had disappeared.
“Do you want another?” Kell asked as her duck was placed in front of her.
“Not if we’re tasting wines after this. One should be plenty.” Although she was nowhere near being intoxicated, she had lost one of her inhibitions. She patted his knee that now warmed the outside of her thigh.
His fingers covered hers. For a moment, her arm went into lock mode and then she remembered she was meant to distract him. When he moved her hand to his inner thigh, she let him, and when he slid his fingers between hers, she said, “Oops. Sorry, Kell. I was distracted for a moment.” She put both her hands on the table and since everyone had been served, she quickly picked up her knife and fork.
His gaze burned a hole in the side of neck. She now had his attention, and she had no objection to that whatsoever. Being Fake Calli lifted a weight from her shoulders and probably a few creases from her forehead. For a while she could forget about her money problems, forget what a fool she had been. She didn’t have to worry about Emily’s feelings, because Fake Calli wouldn’t.
She loaded her mouth with duck terrine, noting the line of new customers being escorted to the large table near the window. A bustling, some jostling, and the edge of a handbag swiped Emily’s hair. “So sorry,” said the owner of the bag, beautiful Melody, the girlfriend of a buddy of Grayson’s. She didn’t glance at Calli because she wouldn’t. She’d been born bored, and she was too interested in pushing ahead to her table. Nevertheless, Calli had an anxious moment. As she watched, a tableful of people she knew arranged themselves to look important.
Sooner or later, someone would recognize her and come over. Though, maybe not. She looked different with her hair dark and short. Nevertheless, she ate quickly. “Are you enjoying the kangaroo?” she asked Kell.
“Yes. Are you enjoying the duck?”
“Do you want a taste?”
“Absolutely.” He turned in his seat and gave her the sort of look-over that would curl another woman’s hair.
Not Fake Calli’s, of course. She took his fork and pushed on a slice of duck. As she handed the morsel over, she realized she should have fed the food to him. That sort of thing was supposed to be sexy.
“Nice,” he said. “The kangaroo’s better.”
“I notice you’re not offering any to me.”
“Take what you like.” Again his words seemed full of innuendo.
“I’m considering that.” Her eyes met his and again she lost her breath. He was better at innuendo than she, but not half as good at hiding his nefarious thoughts.
His mouth curved and his eyes darkened with appreciation. “Can’t wait,” he said under his breath.
After that, she could barely swallow, let alone concentrate. Finally, lost in her thoughts of his hard body entwined with hers, she finished her meal. She glanced at the large table. Already Grayson’s crowd had begun to circulate around the room, a normal occurrence for people who wanted everyone possible to recognize who the in-crowd was. She didn’t see Melody and the place was crowded and noisy. “If we’re about to leave, I’ll take a lipstick break.” She aimed her wor
ds at Kell, not expecting Emily to want to gossip with her, and she proceeded quickly to the ladies’ room.
She had left the stall, washed her hands, and was reapplying her lipstick when Melody stepped out of another stall. She stopped still and stared at Calli. “You!”
Chapter 7
“Lovely to see you again, Melody,” Calli said, hoping to escape with an easy brush off.
Melody pasted a deliberately wide-eyed expression on her classically beautiful face. “I can’t say the same about you.” Every feature, from her fine arched eyebrows to her delicate sculptured mouth was perfect.
Six months ago, the sight of Melody had filled Calli with envy. The other woman epitomized Grayson’s crowd, among who numbered minor celebrities, and beautiful people with dazzling smiles and bad memories for names. Calli, as an independent career woman, had been welcomed with open arms into the group. Her ego recently torn and tattered by the second of her two failed relationships, she had needed nothing more to convince herself that she could be a success in her own business, despite her father’s blatant disapproval.
Today, Calli glanced at the other woman and recognized that the beige she wore in varying shades matched her personality which, rather than her bone structure, helped her blend with Grayson’s crowd. Bores, the lot of them, on hindsight, with their collective opinions and ability to concentrate on the trivialities of life. Endless speculation about others passed as normal conversation within the group. This should have been a warning to Calli, but she let Grayson’s smooth words paper over the deficiencies of the in-crowd.
“I didn’t think you would have the nerve to show your face for years,” Melody drawled.
Calli turned on the tap to wash her hands. “There’s nothing much wrong with my face that can’t be fixed with makeup, like yours.” And she breathed out. From mouse to lion in one sharp sentence.
“You know what I mean.” Melody’s mouth turned sulky. “Stop trying to make Grayson into your scapegoat. He had to leave the state, you know. And without a cent.”
Two of the doors in the set of four stalls were locked, which meant two other stalls were also occupied, but Melody apparently didn’t mind involving at least two innocent bystanders in a scene.
Then the main door swung open. Her gaze fixed on Calli, Emily took a step inside, her expression militant. She pulled up with a frown when she noticed Melody. Totally ignoring the other woman, Melody continued, her voice full of righteous indignation. “It’s all right for you. Mummy and Daddy will get you out of trouble. But poor Grayson! You used him as your free laborer, you spent all his money, you ruined his business, and you made sure he couldn’t get credit anywhere.”
“I don’t suppose my version of the story would interest you a whole lot.”
“You disgust me.” Melody flipped back her shining auburn hair, swung around, and with the tails of her beige silk scarf flying, she left the room.
Calli’s cheeks warmed. Her gaze met Emily’s. “An old friend,” she said, swallowing her embarrassment.
Emily stepped closer, her mouth a thin flat line. “I thought I recognized you the other day. Then I remembered the story in the newspaper. Nice photo, by the way, though you’ve changed a bit.”
“Thanks.” Calli activated the blower to dry her hands. Anyone could look her up at any time, see the facts, and draw whatever conclusion they chose. “The reporter had a field day.”
Emily waited for the noise of the dryer to stop, her handbag held close to her chest as if for protection. “A woman who did what you did…and you seem to be working your magic on Trent, too. One thing I’ll make sure to do is to warn him not to give you a cent.”
Calli tried for a blank expression although the other woman’s harsh words hurt. “We’re bartering. I don’t want his money.” She was glad to hear her voice contained no emotional content whatsoever. If anything she sounded as if she could not care less.
“I have no idea what he sees in you. But if you hurt him…”
“Trent?” Calli blinked, puzzled. Suddenly Emily cared about Trent?
“Trent.” Emily planted her fists on her hips.
“Have you told him who I am?”
“Not yet. I don’t want to spoil the day. But I can’t keep what you did to myself.”
“Why not?”
Emily blinked “Because you clearly have a pattern. You’re already using him as a free laborer.”
“I don’t suppose you read what I had to say in the article?” Calli collected her bag, ready to leave the ladies’ room.
“What else would you say? You’re connected. That poor man wasn’t. He didn’t stand a chance against your family’s influence.”
Calli left the rest room. The court of public opinion seemed to be unanimous. And she couldn’t do a thing about it other than to keep trying to prove herself.
* * * *
Kell settled the bill while Calli and Emily occupied the restroom. “If you’ve decided Emily is your date now, you can pay half the bill later,” he said to Trent as he arrived back at the table.
Trent frowned. “I was always going to pay half the bill. And it’s not a matter of me deciding Emily is my date. I think she decided that when you put her in the back of the car with me.”
“As a matter of fact, Calli put herself in the front with me.” Kell didn’t mention the carsickness. Better Trent thought Calli was interested in Kell. A physical relationship with the woman next door would be tricky for Trent. Not so much for Kell. He always made his intentions clear. Sex was sex, and he wasn’t planning any more than that. Once a woman knew he wasn’t interested in a commitment, she wouldn’t want to be stuck with him for any longer than the time she tried to change his mind. “I don’t object to taking her off your hands.” He remained standing, a crooked smile on his face. “We may as well wait in the front lobby for them. Where do you want to go next?”
“We can taste the wines here, then move along the road. I don’t care. I’m not planning on buying more than one or two bottles. Nice lunch, hey?” Trent followed Kell back into the lobby.
“Uh-huh.” The best part being Calli’s interesting reactions.
Kell hadn’t expected her to play along with him, but she had played like an expert, leaving him more than hot and bothered. Normally he wasn’t so impressionable, but the way she had leaped at him from a standing start had more than surprised him. He had the idea she was stringing him along, though he didn’t know why. If he got her alone somewhere, he could check that out. Unfortunately, he didn’t know his way around the wine country, and he couldn’t imagine where he might find an opportunity. She seemed more knowledgeable about the food in the area, which said she had been here a few times before. If he could hold her attention a little longer, the day might not turn out to be a dud after all.
Finally, Calli strode back and, making no eye contact, she took a position between Kell and Trent, talking idly while waiting for Emily who arrived soon after. The women ignored each other, which suited Kell because Calli grabbed his arm and practically dragged him out of the place.
“Where to next?” she asked, so close to him that her soft breasts pressed against his upper arm. He needed to breathe deeply for a moment.
“Do you have a preference?” He covered her hand with his, keeping her snuggled against him.
She smiled with more appreciation in her eyes than he would have expected for such a simple gesture. “We have the choice of more than one hundred and fifty wineries and eighty cellar doors. Why not drive and stop where you can’t see too many people? I’m here to taste. What about you, Emily?” she said over her shoulder.
“No preference. Anywhere will do.” Emily sounded terse.
Kell led the way to the tasting room across a well-kept lawn, and the four lined up along the redwood bar. The barman kept up a stream of sales talk while others tasted the wines. Despite not drinking, Kell stayed close to Calli’s side. She seemed to want him there, almost as prote
ction, which puzzled him. Also, the fact that the women didn’t speak puzzled him. He seemed to be in the middle of a silent war, and he could only assume the women had had words in the restroom. About what, he couldn’t imagine. Not Trent, surely?
During the next hour, they wandered into and out of another four wineries. Although Kell didn’t see how, the group had divided into two couples. Either Trent would buy a bottle, or Emily would. Neither Kell nor Calli bought wine, but Calli sure threw down the tastings. Her eyes grew glossier and her cheeks pinker, and she laughed loudly. She clung to him tighter. She had him so sensitized to her touch that he tolerated an aching half erection most of the day.
If the car parks hadn’t been so full with other tourists, he might have tried to hustle her out to the car. One quick episode would have taken off the edge, but no such luck. Trent and Emily trailed them the whole time. He could barely get in an innuendo let alone anything else.
He dropped off Emily first and Trent escorted her to the front door of her unit. Although the couple had quite a long conversation, when he came back into the car, Trent had a grin from ear to ear. “Yes!” he said in an exultant voice. “I’ve got a real date with her. She has asked me to go to a party with her tonight.”
“Good work, Trent,” Calli said, glancing at him. She sounded tentative.
Trent’s glance back looked wary, if not downright confused.
Kell didn’t know what that was about, either, but he didn’t care. As soon as he got Calli home, his real day would begin. He glided the car into his driveway, pulled up, and saw that Calli had opened her door. He would have to speed around the car to get to her before she escaped. “Not so fast. I’ll do a Trent and escort you to your front door.”
“Don’t worry. Thanks for today. It was….” Right then, a loud splat of rain hit the bonnet of the car, followed by a cloud-load that drowned out anything she might have said. She pulled the car door shut and sat watching the deluge, the expression on her face wry.
Perfect Scents Page 9
