Finding Isadora(98)

“Uh, okay, a quick one. Coffee.” She darted for the kitchen. “But I’ll make it. Izzie always makes it too weak for me.”

Left alone with Gabriel, I stared up at him. His hair was loose, tousled. Somehow I knew he’d worn it clipped back when he met Richard and had pulled it free afterwards, when he’d rolled up his shirtsleeves. Shadows under his eyes indicated that he’d slept no better than I.

Last night we’d kissed as if we were trying to devour each other.

And now he was staring at me as if he wanted to do it again. The tingle of arousal threaded its way through me, straight to my core.

He smiled, a masculine, knowing smile, and said softly, “Hello, Isadora.”

“Hello, Gabriel.” Those glowing, intense chocolate truffle eyes of his drew me toward him.

A clatter from the kitchen reminded me we weren’t alone, and I jumped, taking a quick step backward. “Wine, coffee, or tea?” I asked nervously, leading him, finally, out of the hallway to my living room.

“Wine, please.” A corner of his mouth tipped up ruefully. “Sorry. If I’d been thinking straight, I’d have brought a bottle.”

He hadn’t been thinking straight either. This man who always seemed so powerful and in control wasn’t thinking straight. Because of me.

He sat down on the couch. The couch that was also my bed, as I’d told him last night.

“Uh, I’ll just…” I scurried into the kitchen.

The moment I turned the corner, out of his field of vision, Janice grabbed both my hands in hers. “Izzie! My god! That’s the single sexiest, most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen!”

“Sash. If you whisper any louder the whole building will know.”

I couldn’t help grinning though. “Do you really think so?” I leaned close to her ear and murmured, “Even though he’s in his forties?”

“God, yes! He oozes sex appeal.”

I squeezed her hands. “Hey, girl, settle down. I thought you were hooked on Martin.”

She smiled radiantly. “Martin is different. When you first meet him, he’s attractive, but not knock-your-eyes-out stunning like Gabriel. It’s as you get to know him you see all the special things that make him stand out. He’s … subtle. You learn to read the signals, and that’s part of the fun of it.” She freed her hands and turned to check on her coffee. “You sure you don’t want me to split?”

“I’m scared what he’ll do, what I’ll do, if we’re alone. Do me a favor and hang around for awhile, Jan. Besides, I’d like your opinion of him.”

She giggled. “You mean, other than I wouldn’t kick him out of bed for eating crackers?”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, other than that.”

Janice and I had finished off the sauvignon blanc she’d brought for dinner, so I poured from a box of Sawmill Creek merlot. After filling a glass for Gabriel, I shrugged and poured a glass for myself. Tea would have been a wiser choice, but since when did my relationship with Gabriel have anything to do with wisdom?

“Okay, here goes,” I said to Jan, who was pouring a stream of dark, dark coffee into a mug.

A glass of wine in each hand, I walked back into the living room. And almost dropped both glasses.

Peek-a-boo was curled on Gabriel’s lap. The tabby startled when I appeared, but Gabriel’s hand kept stroking, soothing him, and he settled down again.

“How did you do that?” I whispered.

“Do what?”

“Peek never socializes. He was abused and I’ve only had him a month. He’s barely started trusting me enough to sleep on my bed.”

The words “sleep on my bed” dropped between us.

Gabriel glanced away from me and down at the cat. “Guess he came to check on me.” He kept his voice low and even, almost monotone. “I sat still, waiting to see what he’d do, and when he came over to sniff me I began to stroke him. He settled right in.”

Gabriel’s magic hands. His magic personality.

Janice emerged from the kitchen, and Peek leaped up and skittered away.

“Yikes!” she said. “Was that Peek-a-boo, the invisible cat?”

“He appeared for Gabriel,” I said.

She leaned close and whispered, “Are you sure that cat’s not female?”

I spluttered a laugh and Gabriel, watching us, started to grin. Janice blushed again, but less furiously this time. Then she stalked over and claimed my chair, leaving me with the choice of sitting beside Gabriel or on the floor.

Handing him the wine, I said, “It’s not as good as your friend Vinnie’s.”

“Next time I’ll bring a bottle of Vinnie’s.”

Next time. More words that dropped like pebbles to the bottom of a stream and just lay there.

I perched on the edge of the couch, leaving space between his body and mine. I wanted to ask him about his dinner with Richard, but couldn’t do that in front of Janice. What on earth could we talk about? I took a hearty slug of wine, hoping it would give me courage.

Gabriel glanced at me, then at Janice, then back at me. “I had dinner with Richard.”

For the second time, I almost dropped my wine.

“Richard?” Janice’s voice was a high squeak.

He gave a wry grin. “My son. Maybe you’ve heard of him?”