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CROWDS OF HAPPY PEOPLE milled about the hotel lobby, full of spirit, either by mirth or the liquid variety as the sounds of slot machines dinged, right arms jerked on metal bars all with hopes of scoring big. Gabriel Neary also held a similar hope that the attractive woman walking next to him would use her right arm later to jerk on a hard rod that was attached to his body. Feeling like a jerk himself for wanting such intimacy with her so soon, he could not help the draw he felt to the lady. Cabrina Roberts was different. A different he could feel all the way down to his toes. She was by all descriptions, a babe.
“Where are we going?” She asked him, giving the man a side eye view. He’d provided only a handful of information about her friend Aisha Miller who’d gone missing over 11 months ago. She could not disregard what the match maker had spoken only moments prior and she was even more incensed that her good friend, DeShondra had left her to traipse after the man’s bearded brother.
“I’m hungry. We are going for food,” Gabe told her, leading her into a national known restaurant chain inside of the hotel.
Cut was one of his favorite eateries and he looked forward to sharing the meal and a bottle of wine with his new companion.
“I hope you like steak. They have a bone in Tomahawk rib chop for two that is absolutely perfect with a bottle of red and caramelized onions. Do you eat red meat?” He asked, giving her the same side eye she’d given him earlier.
“I do, but not a lot of it,” she replied. Her stomach was growling like a lion wanting to be let out of its cage. In the last three days, she hadn’t eaten much. The worry and excitement over finding a lead on Aisha had taken precedence over everything else. “I could go for a steak.”
“Perfect,” he said. His warm hand resting in the small of her back, urging her through the doors of the eatery. “Table for two, in a corner please, away from the door.”
The waiter led them to a small table in the rear of the establishment, Gabriel, helping her with her seat, took the chair away from the entrance, looking out. He inquired if she was okay with shellfish. Cabrina, giving her consent, as he ordered the king crab and shrimp cocktail with a bowl of Sunchoke soup to start.
“We are ready to place our order,” Gabe said. “We will have the rib chop for two with caramelized onions, medium well, as well as the heirloom apple salad, the Tuscan black kale with polenta and a side of fries. Please bring a bottle of Domaine La Tour Vieille, Vin Doux Naturel, Banyuls to accompany the meal.”
He’d ordered it all without looking at the menu.
“How do you know that is what I wanted?” She asked, somewhat impressed, yet offended that he ordered for her without asking her preferences.
“I figured, the last few days your nerves have been on end with worry over your friend. Tonight will be easy. I will take some of the burden off you,” he said.
“By making decisions for me and taking care of the details,” she said with one eyebrow arched.
“My dear lady, I am willing to take care of anything you need,” he said, removing his black rimmed eyeglasses. He closed the eyelids slowly, allowing the long, almost unnaturally long lashes to sweep under his eyes as thick fingers rubbed his tired lids. Slowly, he opened the soulful, deep brown eyes, giving her a smoldering look, which she was certain was his first move in operation remove the undies.
Her hands were in her lap as Cabrina observed him. In less than five minutes of sitting, not saying a word or responding to the first move in his game of chess, she summed him up. This man was used to air headed women who fell at his feet. She knew the wine and the restaurant and he’d just ordered nearly $300 worth of food. It as beyond her to be rude and not eat since he was going to pay for it; she knew like hell she wasn’t.
“Tell me, Mr. Neary, how did my friend managed to become married to your brother, when she went to Georgia to marry another man? I have not heard from her since she landed 11 months ago and you are now telling me she is a mother,” Cabrina said.
“You don’t waste any time, do you? I was hoping we could at least enjoy the meal before we got into the details,” he said, putting his glasses back on his face.
“We are having the meal to discuss my friend,” she said. “I’m not here to idolize you or be impressed with your long eyelashes or the expensive meal you ordered.”
“I’m hungry,” he said, looking up at the waiter who returned to the table, uncorking the wine. He handed Gabriel the cork to sniff, as he poured a sample into a glass. Swirling the contents, he held up the goblet, looking for sediment in the glass, then sniffing and sipping. The wine coated his tongue with the most delightful hints of fruits and moka. Nodding his acceptance, he requested the lady be allowed a sample as well of his selection.
Taking the glass, she followed his lead, sniffing, tasting, and nodding. “Waiter, can you bring us a blue cheese board to go with this wine?”
“Oui, Madam,” he said, pouring them both half full goblets and leaving.
Gabriel didn’t want to admit, he was impressed. She impressed him. Stimulated him and he wanted to know more.
“Mr. Neary, details, please. Let’s get this party moving with the information I need,” she said.
“You enjoy a good bottle of wine as well I see,” he said.
“Yes. You are paying probably $80 bucks for a twenty-dollar bottle of wine that if we walked two blocks in any direction, we could get at a corner liquor store,” she said.
“True, but the experience of enjoying the glass would be ruined by drunk revelers, depressed people who have lost all of their money and homeless lost souls on the street,” he said adding a smile. “Sitting across from the table with you, a big steak, and exceptional starters makes it worth every penny.”
She didn’t want to do it, but she smiled. He was good. However, he was diverting. Too many diversions had kept her from finding her friend. Tonight, she needed answers. Throwing up her hands, she shook them in frustration. Gabriel noticed.
“I’m sorry, you came here for answers. Allow me to provide them to you,” he said, laying out the details of what he knew. He explained Aisha’s kidnapping, the escape, and ending up on Zeke’s doorstep. The expression her face didn’t change when he told her his brother delivered the baby, what Nathaniel Mann did to save her life, the name of the child and that he married them to get them off the mountain as a protection device.
After everything he told her, she took one point to heart.
“You? Married them?”
“I am an ordained minister,” he said to her.
“Okay, and I’m a virgin,” she replied.
“Well, dang,” he said softly, eyeballing the cocktail which just arrived. “I wasn’t planning to get married any time soon, but if I have to before deflowering you, then so be it.”
Cabrina squinted her eyes as she watched him. He took her hand, which surprised her as he lowered his head, blessed the food and forked a shrimp in one motion. The crustacean dangled from the fork as he offered her the first bite.
“You are being so casual about all of this. My friend has been imprisoned for nearly a year and your solution was to marry her off to your brother?” She asked in total disbelief as she fought hard to keep her eyes from rolling up in her head at the succulent shrimp in her mouth.
“I’m not being casual about it at all. They took their vows seriously and to be perfectly honest, it is a real win-win for them both,” he said. “She is going to need some serious counseling and Michelle, the baby will be a constant reminder of her ordeal. My brother, who is also convalescing, will now have a reason to get up every morning, allowing them both to stay in the present and not give in to the past horrors of their pain.”
“Hold up. What is wrong with your brother?” She wanted to know, feeling a moment of panic.
“He was shot in Rwanda. His left leg is gimpy and he had to have his shoulder replaced,” he said. “The PTSD is not bad enough for him to be a danger to anyone, but he can’t go back to doing the job which he loved, which was really depressing him. We convinced him to go to Georgia for a moment to recoup and see what he wanted to do next, and he arrived in the nick of time to save your friend. I call it Divine intervention.”
“I call it meddling on your part,” she said.
“No. Had he not been there, the moment she found a way to get free, she would have died and so would the child. Tameka arrived on his doorstep with Michelle’s head almost out. She was full of infection, dehydrated, malnourished and from what I understand, butt spanking naked,” he said. “My brother saved her life and in return, she is going to save his.”
“I want to see her. Give me the address,” she said.
“The place is hard to find,” he said. “Plus, you showing up alone will give them clues that Tameka is Aisha. Please understand, they know who you are. Right now, if those men show up, and I know they will, they have to believe she is Tameka. You arriving in Georgia alone, asking for directions to the cabin is a sure-fire way to get all three of them dead.”
She shook her head. She wanted to see her friend.
“Mr. Neary, I have to see her for myself and know that she is not being held there against her will,” she said.
“I will take you to her,” he said. “How much time off did you take from your job at the insurance company?”
Cabrina couldn’t hide the look of surprise at this man knowing where she worked. How much else did he know about her?
“Don’t look a me like that,” he said. “If I know where you work, they do as well. Now, how much time off did you take?”
“I took all of next week off,” she mumbled.
“Perfect, that is roughly nine days,” he said with a smile. “We can do it the easy way or we can do it the fun way.”
“Fun way?”
His eyes rolled up as his fingers moved over an imaginary calculator. The dumbest idea came over him but he wanted to do it. His heart thudded in his chest with excitement and when he looked up at her, and Gabriel Neary was convinced. He wanted her for more than just one night.
“Yes. It is roughly a 39-hour drive from here to Georgia. We can leave in the morning, driving all day, stopping at night for a fabulous dinner at some of the best diners across the southwest. Each morning, we have a quick breakfast, you be the navigator and we will get into the Peach State on late Monday, early Tuesday, stay through the week, then drive up to Ohio,” he said.
“You are going to drive me to Ohio?”
“I live in Elyria, you live in Cleveland,” he said.
“Mr. Neary, you seem to know a great deal about me, and I feel like I’m at a disadvantage here,” she said.
Gabriel leaned to the side, removing his wallet, giving it to her.
“What am I supposed to do with this?” She asked.
“Go through it. Everything you need to know about me is in my wallet,” he said. “Snap photos, send them to Ms. Leman so she will know what you know and we can make plans to rent us a vehicle,” he said adding that charming smile again.
He was drawing her into the game. Intrigued, she opened his wallet, and found his identification badge for the CIA, looking up at him. Thumbing through, she located his license as an ordained minister, two credit cards, a driver’s license, and a condom. The condom was next to the minister’s license.
“I used to be a boy scout,” he said with a wink indicating he was always prepared.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Neary. I would rather just fly to Georgia if that is okay with you,” she told him.
“We could do that, but what fun would that be? It will cost the same, if not more and you will be stuck on a stuffy flight with hung over people who either lost all their money or morality while in Vegas. Or...,” he said, licking his lips at the arrival of the steak and side dishes.
He lost his train of thought when the food was set upon the table. The appetizer only made him hungrier. Knife and fork in hand, he was through talking. The scent of the seared meat took over his primary brain function.
Meat.
Man.
Knife.
Eat.
“...Or what Mr. Neary,” she stated. He seemed to have turned off his ability to speak as he cut into the steak, shoveling a wad of meat into his mouth. Chewing as if Zeus had sliced him off a piece of manna, she could have sworn the man had just had an orgasm. He held up one finger, begging her to wait as he savored the chunk of cow flesh. Happily, Gabriel encouraged her to take a bite. She did and he was right. It was almost orgasmic.
“Sorry, that was a mouthful of awesomeness,” he said, grinning at her. He sliced another piece, this time holding it on his fork. “...Or we can take a break and have some fun. Work will be there when we get back. Tameka is a safe, my parents will be there over the weekend, and you and I can get to know each other as we have a really fun road trip.”
“I’m not sleeping with you,” she added bluntly.
“Now, that is a disappointment,” he said. “But, if that’s the way you want it.”
He took the condom out of his wallet, placing it on the table. Leaning to the side, he put his wallet into his back pocket. The condom sat there staring at her. She threw her napkin over it. He suggested she put it in her purse if she wasn’t comfortable leaving on the table like it was a suggestive tip for the waiter. Reluctantly, using the napkin, she dropped the prophylactic into her handbag. Her eyes going to him in a challenge, waiting for his next move, which didn’t come.
He let it go. Just like that. He didn’t argue or try to convince her otherwise, which in truth, left her disappointed as well. She crinkled her forehead looking at him. It was a game. He’d pulled her into the game and good heavens she wanted to play.
“There is this great little eatery in Flagstaff which serves grilled cactus like you’ve never tasted. They also have prickly pear jam which is delightful on an English muffin,” he said to her.
“What?”
“Oh, I’m a foodie. I love great food and good wine. I have a wine cellar at my place with about 150 bottles thus far. Each state has a great wine, and some of the vineyards across the southwest have really been stepping up their game. If we drive, we can dine and collect cool stuff,” he said, grinning at her. “I am trying to perfect my bar-b-que sauce, so driving would be awesome to gather the best sauces from each area.”
Her face held a somber expression as she watched him dip a French fry in the bleu cheese crumbles. The idea of stopping in each state they passed through to pick up small items sounded fun. She hadn’t traveled a great deal and the thought of doing so truly would be a welcomed relief after 11 months of constant worry about Aisha, now named Tameka.
“You are a collector?”
“Not really, I like wine, so I could add to my collection. I am redoing my Grandmother’s old house and I can’t decide on a theme, so I maybe I could get some inspiration,” he said. “Do you collect anything?”
“Shot glasses,” she said.
“Well, good for you,” he said, cutting another hunk of meat. She could not fathom where he was going to put all the food, let alone eat the entire meal.
“I also scrapbook,” she told him.
“Cool, let’s snap a selfie to add to your new book about the start of our adventure, then we head to the show to see the hypnotist. You can add the dinner check from here, plus the tickets!”
“Okay,” she said. “But just so you know, I don’t believe in hypnosis.”
“Me either. I’m trained against it,” he said. “You know, secret agent and all.”
That was the cue for her to ask the question about what he did for a living. He, of course, would counter with if I tell you, I would have to kill you. The game was afoot but she was smarter than he gave her credit. Instead, she made her move.
“I will rent the car, get the map. We alternate on paying for hotel stays. I have a few reward programs we can use for like the Holiday Inn, but we are still talking about $100 bucks a night, plus food, collectibles, gas, and snacks,” she said. “If we plot it out right, we can probably get it all done for less than $800 total.”
Gabriel gave her his undivided attention. Practical. Smart. She just out maneuvered him on his spy play. He found her stimulating. He countered back.
“For safety purposes, we share a room, but I get my own bed, with no funny stuff from you, okay?”
The expression on her face was priceless when she asked, “Funny stuff? From me?”
“Yeah, I don’t want to wake up and find you in my bed or on top of me trying to take advantage of my good nature in sharing a room with you,” he said with a straight face.
She couldn’t help it, she burst into laughter.
“Fair enough,” she said with a genuinely warm smile. “We split everything evenly?”
“No problem,” he said as the waiter brought the check. Gabriel handed it to her. “We can start with the dinner check.”
–Fin –
The adventure heats up in April. Keep an eye out for the pre-order.
Don’t worry, Isiah and DeShondra have a story as well, coming at you this Fall when we head to the great state of Kentucky!
About the Author: Olivia Gaines
AS AN AWARD-WINNING, best-selling author, Oliva loves a good laugh coupled with some steam, mixed in with a man and woman finding their way past the words of “I love you.” An author of contemporary romances, she writes heartwarming stories of blossoming relationships about couples not only falling in love but building a life after the hot sex scene.
When Olivia is not writing, she enjoys quilting, playing Scrabble online against other word lovers and spending time with her family. She is an avid world traveler who writes many of the locations into her stories. Most of the time she can be found sitting quietly with pen and paper plotting more adventures in love.
Olivia lives in Hephzibah, Georgia with her husband, son, grandson and snotty evil cat, Katness Evermean.
Learn more about her books, upcoming releases and join her bibliophile nation at www.ogaines.com
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