“Was your phone off? We called you.”
She looked between Gabi and me before focusing back in on Gabi. “I lost my phone. I must have left it somewhere.”
Something was off. Charity was nervous as hell. She could hardly look at either one of us.
“I’ve got a massive headache, if you don’t mind, I need to go lay down.”
Gabi and I both watched as she walked into her room and slowly shut the door.
“Is she okay? Something didn’t seem right,” I asked.
Gabi stared at the door. “I’m not sure. I hope she is okay. She’s never lost her phone before. It’s like her safety beacon. I think she needs it to breathe.”
I laughed and pulled her over to me. “So, we have the evening to ourselves. What do you want to do?”
She pulled her lip in between her teeth. “Would you be upset if I said I wanted to stay in? I’m exhausted.”
Lifting my hand, I brushed her blonde hair behind her ear. “As long as I’m with you I don’t care where we are.”
When she smiled my knees felt weak. “How about I pour you a glass of wine and you sit on the sofa. I’ll massage your feet.”
Her eyes lit up. “Oh, my gosh, that sounds like heaven.”
Slapping her on the ass, I motioned for her to sit down while I headed into her kitchen. I had remembered where her wine glasses were from our first date when she made me dinner.
I grabbed two wine glasses and set them on the counter. Glancing down, I saw the itinerary for her trip to Italy.
“You excited about your trip to Italy?”
Her head whipped to look at me. “What? Why do you ask?”
Jesus she was on edge. “I saw your itinerary and I know you had mentioned you were looking forward to going.”
Her face relaxed and then finally her body did as well. “Oh right. I am looking forward to going back. I’ll be worried about the bakery though.”
Handing her a wineglass, I winked as I sat down next to her. “I’m sure Charity will take care of the bakery.”
After she took a sip, she frowned. “She was nowhere to be found today. If I hadn’t had been here, what would have happened?”
“Max would have told the customer it was too short of a notice, but that next time they needed something to please keep your bakery in mind.”
The corners of her mouth pulled up into a beautiful smile. “You’re right. If I hadn’t had the lemon curd made up, we wouldn’t have been able to do it, anyway.”
“Right.”
She took another sip. “Do you think it was sort of a test? I mean seriously . . . who needs that many cakes?”
Laughing, I shook my head and reached for her foot. She’d already kicked her shoes off. “Someone having a party, large dinner, a company. I could think of a hundred things.”
We both set our glasses on the coffee table. Gabi slid down on the sofa while I took both feet and began massaging them.
“Mmm, that feels heavenly.”
Her eyes closed and her lips slightly parted open. My dick was getting harder by the second.
I pushed a little harder and she gasped before letting out another moan.
“I think we should move this to your bedroom.”
Opening her eyes, she asked, “Why?”
With a half grin, I replied, “Because I want your ass naked so I can give you a proper massage, that’s why.”
Gabi giggled and pulled her feet from my lap. Standing, I took her hand and led her to her bedroom. My heart was pounding like it always did when I was with this woman. She did crazy things to not only my body, but my heart as well.
When I shut the bedroom door, Gabi pulled her shirt over her head. My hands cupped her breasts while my thumbs rubbed her nipples through the thin lace bra.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
We both froze. “Fuck,” I angrily said.
Gabi closed her eyes and sighed. “Terrible timing.”
Cupping her face within my hands, I kissed her. Our tongues danced hungrily as I pulled her body closer. Deepening the kiss, we were lost in each other. If I thought I could go fast, I’d have taken her right then.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
“Goddamn it, I want you, Gabi.”
Her hands moved down my back and over my ass where she squeezed me and pushed her hips into my dick.
“Come back by when you’re done.”
My forehead rested on hers as I pulled my pager out. “It could be hours.”
“I don’t care.”
“You know the rule. Don’t take care of yourself.”
She smiled as her fingers traced along the stubble on my jaw. “I promise I won’t.”
I kissed her quickly again before pulling out my pager then my phone. My heart sank knowing I was leaving my sweet Gabi.
Calling in, I told Oliver I was on my way.
“There’s a hostage situation happening.”
Her eyes widened in fear. I kissed the tip of her nose. “It’s okay, baby. I’ll call and check in, but if you don’t hear from me, don’t worry.”
She nodded, but I knew what I was asking was impossible.
“Gabi, if my job is going to—”
She lifted her fingers to my lips. “It’s not. I can’t help but worry and I’m sure I will always worry. But your job will never keep me away from you.”
Smiling, I pulled her closer and kissed her softly.
I pulled back and looked into her eyes one more time. I asked, “Are you sure everything is okay, Gabi?”
The way she looked at me, I knew she was holding back something. I wasn’t going to push her though. She’d tell me whenever she was ready, whatever it was.
“Everything’s fine.”
One more kiss and I was heading to my truck. I couldn’t stop thinking of those sweet, soft lips pressed against mine. Or the way her hands felt moving over my body.
Shaking my head, I tried to clear my thoughts. I needed to have a clear head and couldn’t afford a distraction. I made a mental note to talk to Oliver about Gabi.
By the time I got to the station and in the briefing room, I pretty much had my head clear. The only thing that still bothered me was the fact I knew Gabi was keeping something from me.
Sitting in front of my computer, I typed in Gabi’s name and hit search. I wasn’t sure why I did it, but I sure as hell wasn’t expecting the results I got.
NIC HADN’T CALLED, and it had been over twelve hours since he left my place. I sat in the bakery at one of the tables in the back as I pored over financial stuff. Not my favorite thing to do.
Liza sat down across from me and handed me a cup of coffee.
“It’s calm right now, but wait until we get closer to lunch.”
I smiled. “I’m okay with calm.”
Every time the door chime rang, I looked up in a state of panic. I wasn’t sure why, but I was on edge. It could have been my phone conversation last night with Antonio that had me more nervous than normal. Of course, Nic walking up on my conversation had me even tenser.
“Gabi? Is everything is okay? You seem really distracted today.”
With a reassuring smile, I nodded. My eyes caught a glimpse of Charity. She was an absolute basket case. I’d never seen her drop things like she kept doing and fumbling around with stuff. She was currently standing behind the counter staring off into space.
Enough was enough. I needed to speak with her and find out what was going on.
“Liza, will you excuse me? I need to speak with Charity in the office.”
Standing with me, Liza nodded. “Sure. I need to get some cannoli’s made, anyway. I’ve been staling.”
I chuckled as I closed my laptop and made my way over to Charity. “Hey, can we talk in the office?”
She pulled her eyes away from the front window and looked at me. “What was that?”
Tilting my head, I narrowed my eyes. She was totally off in la la land. “Can we talk in the office?”
With a smile, she nodded and said, “Sure.”
I motioned for her to go first as I followed her. I was supposed to have today off, but with Nic still working, I figured I might as well come in and take care of things.
Shutting the door, I set my computer on my desk as Charity flopped onto the small sofa and sighed.
Something was different about her. She had a . . . glow to her. Oh. Holy. Shit.
“You slept with someone.”
She jolted up. “What? How did you know? Who told you?”
I leaned against the desk and held up my hands. “Whoa, hold onto your panties there. It was a guess. You’re acting different.”
“I am not.”
I smiled.
“You’re glowing.”
Her eyes widened in horror. “I am not fucking glowing! You’re glowing!”
With a giggle, I replied, “I’m sure I am. I’m falling in love with Nic.”
A huge smile spread over her face as she stood and walked up to me. Taking my hands in hers, she shook her head. “My baby girl is growing up.”
Yanking my hands from her, I pushed her away. “Stop it. I’m serious. We both kind of admitted to each other we were falling for one another.”
Her brow lifted. “Kind of?”
I shrugged. “Okay, we did. But this isn’t about me. This is about you and how you disappeared yesterday and then came back and you’re acting all weird. I just want to make sure everything okay.”
She took a few steps back and buried her face in her hands and let out a small scream.
Okay. So that answers the are you okay question.
“Oh, Gabi, I’m so far from okay. I don’t know what happened. I’m. He. I felt. Oh God!”
She flopped back on the sofa.
“I didn’t get any of that, Charity. You’re what? Who is he? And what did you feel?”
She covered her face again and said, “I slept with Cole yesterday.”
Scissoring her fingers to peek at me, I stared at her in disbelief. “Wait. What?”
Her hands dropped to the sides of her body while she slumped over. “He came into the bakery like he always does, but for some reason I was insanely turned on by him yesterday. He was different. He didn’t act stupid or try to flirt. He was . . . nice. Really nice.”
I pursed my lips and gave her a really look.
“Don’t judge. I haven’t had good sex in so long I’m starting to think I need to plan a wedding with my vibrator.”
I covered my mouth to hide my chuckle.
“Anyway, Cole came in acted all sweet and then he left. But I left right after to run to the store to buy more vanilla. Oh, by the way, we’re very close to being out of vanilla. I never made it to the store because Cole was walking out of that little boutique a few doors down and we ran into each other. I swear to God the heat from his body lit mine on fire and I almost came on the spot.
I groaned and looked away.
“The next thing I knew, we were at a hotel and he was giving me the best sex of my life.”
Wiggling my eyebrows, I smiled wide. “Really?”
“Yes. Then he did something no guy has ever done.”
“Do I really want to know what he did?”
“Yes! Because I’m so confused by it I haven’t had an ounce of sleep. I can’t stop thinking about him and wondering when I’ll see him again. My mind is racing and I keep asking myself if I dreamed it all up yesterday.
I pushed off the desk walked over and sat next to her. Taking her hand in mine, I asked, “My gosh, what did he do?”
She turned to look at me and said, “He made love to me and then stayed.”
My eyes widened. “Huh?”
“He was slow and took his time as he worshiped my body and did things to me I never knew were possible. I came four times yesterday. Four! I’ve never had more than one orgasm with a man in my entire life.” She smiled and closed her eyes as she kept talking. “My God . . . the man made sweet love to me even though he whispered in my ear that he wanted to fuck my brains out.”
“Nice,” I said with a snarled lip.
Refocusing on me again, she grinned. “I’ve never had a guy give me that much attention. It’s usually more like let me rip your panties off, bend you over the table and fuck you till I grunt and come in six pumps.”
I laughed. “But Cole wasn’t that way?”
“No. I thought he was going to be, and I was okay with it. But when we got to the hotel and he kissed me, something happened. I know we both felt it. He took his time undressing me and then he . . . he . . .”
“He what?” I cried out.
“He kissed my entire body while he trailed his hands over me.”
Her body trembled at the memory.
“I had never felt so sexy in my entire life. He whispered how beautiful I was against my skin and I swear it seared into my soul. What I thought was going to be a random hook up turned into the most amazing afternoon of my life.”
My heart seized in my chest. Cole didn’t really seem like the one-girl kind of guy.
“So after he made love to you, what happened?”
Her eyes widened as if she was still shock. “He pulled me into his arms and we laid there and . . . talked. About everything and he told me about his job and I told him about how we met and were like sisters. He asked me about my family and we talked about his. I mean . . . it was crazy insane how comfortable I felt with this man. I mean sure, I’ve somewhat flirted with him for weeks, but this side of him. It was like he really cared and wanted to know. It wasn’t a ploy to get into my pants because . . . well duh, he already had and if he asked me again I’d spread wide for him.”
“Oh, my gosh. You’re so crude!” I said hitting her shoulder with my hand. “Then what happened?”
Her face lit up. “He asked me to take a shower with him. What started as slow and sweet turned into the best fucking of my life. I came so hard I thought I was going to pass the hell out.”
I laughed. “Did you use protection?”
That’s when her smile dropped.
My stomach dropped, and I felt sick. “Charity,” I whispered.
Her eyes filled with tears. “We did the first time. The second time in the shower things got hot and heavy so fast we both lost control. I didn’t remember until he was coming and even then it felt so good I pushed it from my head so I could enjoy the moment. Now . . . now I’m scared shitless. Gabi . . . I’m not on the pill. I stopped taking it a few weeks ago. I’m so scared.”
I took her hands in mine. “Did you tell him you weren’t on the pill?”
She nodded.
“What did he say?” I asked as I held my breath.
A tear slipped from her eye and slowly made a path down her beautiful face. I reached up and wiped it as I tried to imagine how she must be feeling.
“He . . . he held me in his arms and said that no matter what, he’d be there for me. That we were in this together.”
My mouth dropped open.
“Cole? Cole said that?”
She nodded. “I mean he kind of freaked out at first, but then he saw how scared I was and he did the one thing I didn’t think he would. He comforted me. The next thing I knew we were back in bed and he was making the sweetest love to me that I knew in that moment he had stolen my heart. Gabi! I don’t do that. I don’t do the whole instant love bullshit. I fuck a guy and if it’s good, I make a second date! I don’t give him my very soul!”
I hated to ask, but I had to. “Did you use a condom then?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
It only took one time, but why give it greater odds.
“Okay. So that explains why you’ve been in a fog. Has he called you?”
“I think I left my phone in his car and I refuse to be one of those girls who waits by the phone . . . but damn it, I wish I had my phone!”
“Nic got called right after you came home and he had to go in for work. I haven’t heard from him since he left. Maybe Cole was on
call too. If he has your phone he hasn’t had a chance to get it to you or maybe he hasn’t seen it in his car?”
She chewed on her lip. “Yeah. Gabi, I don’t want to be that girl. The one who falls for a guy and then pines over him if he doesn’t call.”
Smiling, I squeezed her hand. “It’s okay to like him, Charity. It’s okay to have feelings for him. It sounds like you guys had an amazing afternoon.”
“We did,” she said softly.
A knock on the door of my office had me jumping up. Walking over, I opened it and almost fell over.
Speak of the devil.
“Cole.”
“Hey, Gabi. Max said Charity was in here with you.”
The door was blocking Cole’s view of Charity on the sofa. When I glanced over my shoulder, she was sitting there with a stunned expression. I knew she probably figured Cole was going to run for the mountains, so him standing here had to throw her even more.
I pushed the door open and watched as his face lit up when he saw her.
Oh yeah. Cole has it bad for Charity.
“Charity,” he said with a huge smile.
“Well, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got something up front I need to take care of.”
I stepped to the side as Cole walked into my office. Charity was standing as she nervously rubbed her hands together. In the four years I’d known her I’d never seen her act this way around a guy. When Cole walked up and pulled her into his arms and kissed her, my heart fluttered in my chest. I slowly shut the door, but not before I heard him say, “I found your phone.”
Smiling, I leaned against the door and closed my eyes.
Could this really work? Cole and Charity? Letting out a laugh, I pushed off the door and then let out a small scream.
“Nic! You scared me.”
He gave me a tired smile.
“Did you come here with Cole?”
Frowning, he said, “No. Cole’s here?”
“Um . . . yeah. I figured out what was going on with Charity. Her and Cole hooked up yesterday.”
Nic smiled. “That explains his weird behavior last night.”
I wanted to tell him about the no-condom thing, but it didn’t feel right to share that with him.
Walking up to him, I placed my hand on the side of his face. He leaned into it and closed his eyes.