Kane guessed what she was referring to. “They told you about your inheritance.”
Gigi swung around to face him. “You knew?”
“I spoke to Gio yesterday. It bothered me that your father had left you nothing.”
Gigi turned away from him again. “Apparently he left me one fifth of his estate. I don’t know if I want it. Who wouldn’t, though? I have to be crazy to even think that, don’t I?”
“Gigi,” Kane said softly. Her obvious distress made him want to pull her into his arms. The mere thought of holding her brought a rush of pent-up desire raging to the surface. She was a hunger no one else could appease. “I don’t want to confuse you more—”
Without turning to look at him, Gigi said just as softly, “Don’t worry, Kane, I get that you’re not interested in me. Just because I feel something doesn’t mean you—”
He swung her around and took her beautiful face in his hands. Her eyes, so innocently yearning, sent him over the edge. He couldn’t help himself. He had to taste her. His lips brushed over hers gently, and she came alive beneath his touch.
He dug his hands into her hair, plunging his tongue between her sweet lips. She opened herself wider for him, grabbing at his shirt as if she needed it to steady herself. Two tongues, hotly exploring each other. It shouldn’t have had the power to send Kane over the edge, but it did. There was no right. No wrong. Just this mutual need that demanded to be appeased.
In his mind, he had already hiked up her skirt and was fucking her against the porch banister. He didn’t care who saw them or what they thought. He wanted to claim her as his and pound into her until she cried out his name in climax.
Her hands were everywhere on him, sweetly exploring his back, his ass. He tightened his hands in her hair, fearing that if he let himself the fantasy in his head would become a scandalous reality.
“It’s a beautiful night out here, isn’t it?” Thom asked after clearing his throat loudly.
Kane broke off the kiss and turned to face his father. He moved to hide Gigi behind him. He could only imagine how he looked. His breathing was ragged, and he felt wild in a way he’d never experienced before. “Dad . . . could you give us a minute?”
Thom shook his head slowly. “We need to talk, Kane.”
Gigi eased out from behind Kane. Her cheeks were bright pink. “I should return to the party.” With that she bolted back into the house.
Alone again, Kane took several deep breaths before saying, “Dad, it’s not how it looked.”
His father went to stand beside him and leaned back against the banister. “Thank God, because earlier you were kissing a woman in full view of everyone at the party, and now you’re outside making moves on Gigi. None of that is what I’d call acceptable behavior. But enlighten me. Which part of this is not the way it looks?”
Kane groaned. His excitement dissolved quickly beneath the anger he saw in his father’s eyes. Guilt washed over him. There was no excuse for what he’d done that night, but he attempted an explanation. “I invited Lynn so nothing would happen between Gigi and me.”
“Does Lynn know that?”
“She does now,” Kane admitted reluctantly. If the expression on his father’s face was anything to go by, his honesty hadn’t redeemed him at all.
“Is that why she’s hanging all over Kyle Barrington in the solarium?”
“Yes,” Kane said, feeling a bit guilty about even that. Before Gigi he would have said he was above anything even resembling the idiocy he was presently perpetuating. He was a grown man. A successful CEO. What was it about Gigi that reduced him to feeling like a guilty juvenile?
“And Gigi?” Thom asked, still clearly not pleased with his son.
“I don’t know, Dad. I don’t fucking know what I’m doing.”
Thom put a supportive hand on Kane’s shoulder and sighed. “That much, son, is painfully clear.”
Chapter Eleven
‡
Gigi ducked into the first door off the hallway and found herself surrounded by racks and racks of coats. She didn’t care where she was as long as it gave her a moment away from everyone.
Kane kissed me.
And, God, it was good.
Her hand went to her lips. Her whole body was still humming from Kane’s touch. How could one man have the power to bring her so much pleasure? His tongue had only briefly danced with hers, but remembering his taste, the feel of him inside her, left her craving more of him with an intensity that scared her.
She closed her eyes and savored the sensations rushing through her. Her sex was throbbing and unrepentantly wet. She was tempted to slide her hand down the front of her skirt and stroke herself while imagining what they would have done next had they not been interrupted. She didn’t touch herself, but she wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to.
The door of the coat closet opened, and Gigi spun around to see Julia step inside and close the door discreetly behind her. “Are you okay, Gigi? I saw you come in here and not come back out. I was worried.”
Gigi let out a long shudder of breath. You almost saw much worse than that. Gigi wondered what her sweet sister-in-law would have said had she caught her masturbating with the coats. The image was so embarrassing and ridiculous that Gigi started laughing and couldn’t stop. As she did, Julia started to look concerned, which only made Gigi laugh more. She laughed until she started to cry. Once she started to cry, all of the emotions within her poured out through the long-suppressed tears. There were tears of happiness, sadness, fear, letting go, confusion, and frustration all wrapped together in big weepy tangle that had found its release.
Julia stepped closer and put an arm around Gigi. “We probably shouldn’t have invited everyone to meet you all at once. Was it too much?”
Gigi pulled herself together with a loud sniff. “No, the party was wonderful. I love that the whole family came to see me.” Her bottom lip quivered and fresh tears threatened. “It’s exactly the way I always dreamed it would be.”
Julia patted her back softly. “Okay, so some of these tears are happy ones, right?”
Gigi nodded. She wiped her cheek with the back of one hand. “I am not the emotional basket case I presently appear to be. I can’t remember the last time I cried. It’s just so . . .” She stopped and tried to gather her thoughts. “Before I came here, I thought my brothers were the problem. But look at me. They’ve been nothing but nice to me, and I can’t stop freaking out. Hell, they just told me I have an inheritance, and I’m hiding in a coat closet. Shouldn’t I be toasting with champagne or calling my mother to fly her over to celebrate? Instead, I’m scared. I don’t know what to do or how to feel. What is wrong with me?”
Julia continued to massage Gigi’s back gently. “There’s nothing wrong with you. When amazing things happen, we wonder if they’re real and if they can last, because experience has taught us that often they’re not, and they don’t. But this is real, Gigi, and your brothers love you. Everything else is just icing on the cake. Yes, you now have money, but if you lost it tomorrow the important parts of all this wouldn’t change. You’d still be a beautiful, independent woman with a wonderful mother and a slew of family who adore you simply because you’re one of them. You’re also lucky enough to be staying in a house with more than one large closet if you decide you need to hide again.”
Gigi chuckled even though she still felt more than a little ridiculous. “Since you’re so good with advice, what would you say if I told you I like Kane?”
Julia made a soft click as she chose her next words. “That’s a tricky one. Gio wouldn’t handle that well, but he’s your brother, not your keeper. You have every right to be with whoever you want to be with. On the other hand, Kane brought a woman with him tonight who he seems to like . . . a lot, if appearances are anything to go by. I’d be careful.”
Having no one else to confide in, Gigi admitted, “Kane kissed me. Just before I ran in here.”
Julia pursed her lips. “Oh, boy.”
Gigi le
aned back against the coat rack and closed her eyes. “I’m usually pretty levelheaded, but I feel out of control right now. With Kane. With everything my brothers just told me. I don’t know if I’m hopeful or terrified, turned on or just flat-out confused that he kissed me.”
Julia was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know what to tell you about Kane. He has been a good friend to Gio for a long time, and I adore him, but I’ve never seen him date anyone for long. If you really want my advice, you should wait until your life settles down some.”
Julia was a calming voice of reason. Gigi hugged her tightly. “Thank you.”
Julia smiled warmly. “You’re going to be fine; you know that, don’t you? Now, let’s get back to the party.”
Gigi squared her shoulders and walked over to the door, placing her hand on the doorknob. “Don’t tell anyone what I said about Kane, okay?”
Julia nodded once then raised a hand as a thought came to her. “I won’t, but do yourself a favor, and don’t tell your cousin Maddy. I won’t say more than that. Just trust me on this one.”
* * *
Kane paused in the middle of typing an email to watch a plane draw a white line in the sky. Although he tried not to, he wondered if Gigi was still in flight or already back in Scotland. He told himself that her leaving was a good thing. Life could finally get back to normal.
It had been a month since he’d attended Gigi’s welcome-home dinner. Twenty-nine days of avoiding her and anything that might remind him of her. Which was impossible since everything did. Other women no longer appealed to him. People in general annoyed him. Food tasted like cardboard. He was miserable.
He told himself he’d get over it. That one day he’d look back and be relieved that he’d made the right choice—for both of them.
For everyone.
He pushed away the sandwich his secretary, Marge, had ordered for him. She accused him of burning his candle at both ends. She wasn’t far off. He’d taken his pent-up frustration and used it productively, aggressively. For the past month, he’d lengthened his normally long workday, often to include international conferences at all hours of the night. He’d hit the office gym just as hard. He wasn’t sleeping much, but he didn’t care. He was determined to stay focused. With that thought, he forced himself to finish his emails.
When he looked up an hour later, Marge was at the door of the office with her purse on her arm saying she’d see him the next day.
“Are you staying here tonight?”
“Depends,” Kane answered, stretching in his office chair. “I may have an early morning London conference call. I’m seeing a real change over there since I’ve started conference calling with them personally.”
“No doubt,” Marge said. “I hear you lit a fire under that team. But you do need to sleep, Kane. Should I order a bed for your office?”
Her sarcasm was not missed. Kane gave her a lopsided, tired smile. “The couch is fine.”
Marge shook her head and made a tsk-tsk sound. “I was joking.” When Kane didn’t say anything in response, Marge added, “I’ll have a dry-cleaned suit delivered tomorrow morning.” It wasn’t the first time Kane had worked through the night, but Marge knew this was different.
After she left, Kane leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling above his desk. His father had always said: Acknowledge the problem. Face it head on.
Kane’s present problem was he wanted a woman he shouldn’t have. His solution was to pour himself into productive pursuits. By some standards, it was working. He hadn’t seen Gigi, work projects were coming in ahead of schedule, and there was a possibility of a European expansion if sales continued to increase abroad.
He stood, and a muscle in his side clenched in protest at being motionless for so many hours. He headed into the washroom attached to his office and changed into workout clothing. Several sets of weights and a good run on the treadmill would clear his head.
One month. It had never taken that long to forget the taste of a woman, the scent of her, the feel of her lips beneath his. Kane threw a towel across the back of his neck and headed out of his office. Regardless of how he felt about Gigi, he’d made his decision. If it took six months, a year, two years, of working around the clock to end his fixation with her, that’s what he would do.
It wasn’t just about how Gio might feel about Kane dating his little sister; it was also the look Kane had seen in Gigi’s eyes each time she’d talked about her family. She’d spent a lifetime yearning for what was becoming a reality for her—a relationship with her brothers. He refused to jeopardize that in any way.
She deserved this time with her family.
But, damn, I want her.
Chapter Twelve
‡
Gigi walked into her West End Edinburgh office with Annelise’s favorite skinny latte and a thick manila folder.
Annelise brushed her wild, blonde hair out of her face and smiled. “You’re back.” She rushed from behind her desk to hug her. “And you brought lattes. I love you! How was it?”
Gigi placed the folder on a small table and sat down facing Annelise on the leather couch that had taken six months for the two of them to be able to afford. “It was crazy, but good. I’m sorry I didn’t call. A month sounded like a long time when I originally planned it, but it went by too quickly. I looked up, and it was time to come home.”
Annelise hugged her again. “I’m glad you said home. I’ll admit when you originally said you’d be staying there for so long I started to worry. One taste of the sweet life and you might not want to come back.”
“The sweet life?”
“You said your brothers have money. The way I saw it, there were only two ways that could go. Either you’d feel out of place, or you’d fit right in. If you loved it there, I imagined they’d offer to take you in and let you stay and, really, who could blame you if you did?” Annelise picked up her coffee and took a sip of it. “Outside of me. I’d hate you a little for leaving me.”
Gigi had felt badly putting her workload on Annelise for so long, but she hoped what she was about to tell her would make up for it. Gio had warned her not to tell anyone about her inheritance, but Annelise wasn’t just anyone. They’d been close from the first day they’d met at boarding school. They had chosen to attend the same college, and had built their business together. When they’d first moved to Scotland, money had been tight and Annelise had been generous with what little she’d had. Annelise was like a sister to her and would remain that way regardless of how much her biological family grew.
There was no denying, though, that Gigi’s life would be different now. She needed to work out what that meant, and she wanted to do it with her best friend beside her. She picked up the folder and handed it to Annelise.
“What’s this?”
“Do you remember when we started this business?”
“Yes.”
“And you said all you really wanted was to be able to pay off your college loans?”
Annelise nodded.
“They’re paid,” Gigi said, flipping open the folder on her friend’s lap. “Along with the loan we took out for this building.”
Annelise flipped through the paperwork, her sharp eyes missing nothing. It was one of the million reasons Gigi loved her. She didn’t doubt that, had she asked Annelise, she could have quoted the total amount paid off to the penny for each receipt she was flipping through. “I don’t want to sound unappreciative, Gigi, but I don’t know your brothers. You shouldn’t have let them pay off my bills. Yours, maybe. I mean—you’re their sister. But I can’t accept this.”
Gigi took her friend’s hand in hers. “They didn’t pay your loans off. I did. There was a third possibility that neither of us considered, Annie. I had an inheritance waiting for me. A substantial one. So don’t you dare not accept it.”
Annelise flipped through the paid bills again. Tears filled her eyes. “It’s too much, Gigi. Even if it’s from you.”
“You paid my rent for mont
hs when we first came here. I’m not doing more for you than you would have done for me if our situations were reversed.”
“I’ll pay you back. You have to be smart with money, Gigi. Even if it feels like a lot, you’d be surprised how fast it can disappear. My father used to gamble professionally, and my mother would always take half of his winnings and put it in an annuity he couldn’t spend. Otherwise he could spend £50,000 just celebrating that fact he’d won £25,000. Unfortunately, after Mum died, there was no one to stop Da, and he went through everything he had in one wild binge. That’s why I had to take out loans for my education. Da went through my money as well as his.”
“Oh, Annelise. Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“It’s not really something I brag about. Da’s okay now. He’s remarried to a very nice woman who made him choose between gambling and her. Thankfully, he chose her. He might have had more money when my mum was alive, but now he sees how he got it wasn’t healthy. The wins were highs for him, but the lows that followed were hard on us all.”
Gigi thought about what her brothers had said about money changing people and the temptations that came with having it. It could be a blessing or a curse. She was beginning to see what they meant. “Have I told you how glad I am we’re friends?”
Annelise smiled broadly. “No, but I know exactly how you feel. It’s good to have you back, Gigi.”
“It’s good to be back,” Gigi answered and closed her eyes briefly. She’d gone to the States because some questions couldn’t be answered anywhere but there. And they had been. Now she was back in Edinburgh, with a new question: Where do I go from here? She opened her eyes and stood. “I have a project I need you to help me with.”
Annelise didn’t hesitate. “You’ll know I’ll do whatever I can.”
“I want to find all the items my mother sold off and buy them back for her. It’s the opposite of what we’ve been doing. Instead of helping people sell things, we’ll be trying to buy everything back.”
Loving Gigi Page 10
