Chapter Four

Gabby shoved her bedroom door shut and leaned against it, her head in her shaking hands. She forced air deep into her lungs. For some reason, she couldn’t seem to get enough.

My God. He’s only nineteen!

Yes, Taka was technically an adult. But man, nineteen. It was wrong on so many levels. Her body was having a major meltdown just from being touched casually by him. The way he had held her tight against his hard body to steady her had brought goose bumps to her flesh.

Why on earth was she having such a strong reaction to him? Why now? It didn’t make any sense.

He was being helpful by catching her, and here she was fantasizing about his mouth. How close it had been to hers. How sensuous his lips were. How they would taste. He’d be revolted if he knew. Damn Matt for making her admit that she thought he was cute!

Thinking about her son sent a sobering chill through her that reined in her runaway thoughts. She’d been alone too damn long. It was nothing to do with Takeshi, only that she hadn’t been with a man since David had died. Taka was simply the closest good-looking guy. Of course she would notice him. It was normal, dammit!

No. Good-looking was an understatement. Taka was flat-out gorgeous: Large, smiling eyes that were so dark they were almost black. Full lips that flew into a ready grin at a moment’s notice.

Gabby pushed away from the door and headed to her bathroom. Undressing, she turned the water as hot as she could stand and hopped in, hoping the near pain would wipe her mind clean.

She had a dinner with Aaron to get ready for. And as much as she hated business dinners, he was a friend and she refused to let him down.

Aaron. Gabby groaned and pressed her forehead to the tiled wall beneath the powerful spray.

She knew he wanted more than the friendship they had. But she couldn’t bring herself to take their relationship to the next level and she wasn’t sure what was stopping her.

He was nice enough, she supposed. She just wasn’t interested. Not like that, and not with him. She’d wanted a friend, not a lover. He was reliable, though, and had a good job. A lawyer with a respected firm in town, he seemed to be an ideal prospect. It was the seemed part that bothered her.

She stepped out of the shower and grabbed a soft, fluffy towel.

“Just admit it. He’s as boring as bat-shit!” she said to herself.

He simply didn’t excite her. Hell, she wanted a bit of passion. Was that too much to ask? Someone who would curl her toes up and melt her insides with a look. Someone who would make her scream in ecstasy.

Well, why the hell not?

She thought back, surprised. She’d never done that. Her and David’s marriage had been great, but their sex life hadn’t been firecracker material. So while she was making a list, she may as well add that to it. Unbidden, Taka’s hard, bare chest against her skin flashed into her mind. She could almost feel his warmth under her fingertips. She shook her head viciously.

“No! Don’t go there.”

Besides, she was still young by anyone’s account. Surely there had to be someone out there who she could have fun with?

She toweled off and wandered into her closet. What on earth would she wear? Aaron was taking his new clients to the new Italian restaurant in town, so something semi-formal would do.

Her hand came to rest on a new designer dress she’d bought on impulse. A backless number with a shoestring halter-neck. The color was the reason she had bought it. It was the softest gunmetal gray silk.

She slid it over her head. The sides dipped past her breasts to her waist around to the back and sat low on her hips. The material draped itself over her hips to halfway down her thighs.

As she twirled, the skirt flared slightly to reveal her legs. Nodding to herself, she went back into the bathroom to finish getting ready. She stared at her hair in the mirror. It was already starting to kink. This mop of hers was going to be a problem today.

 

 

The late afternoon summer sun slanted in through the wall of windows as Gabby walked carefully down the staircase. Its rays warmed the timber before her, as her strappy silver stilettos, higher than she usually wore, tapped lightly on the oak as she descended.

She’d piled her hair into a mass of curls atop her head. It had refused to be tamed, so the easiest thing was to pin it up out of the way. Still, the odd tendril fell down to frame her face in defiance.

Gabby wandered to the kitchen to get a drink of water while she waited for Aaron to arrive. She glanced down at her clutch as she walked through the door, checking for her lipstick.

The sharp sound of breaking glass startled her, jolting her head up.

Cursing in Japanese, Takeshi knelt on the floor in front of her picking up glass shards.

Gabby rushed forward to help him. She grabbed the hand that held the glass pieces, a splash of bright red catching her attention. “Oh, no!”

“It’s okay. I’m fine,” Taka said, trying to take his hand away.

“Let me look.” She turned his hand over and saw the slice across his palm.

“Here.” Matt hunkered down beside them and handed her the waste bin to drop the glass into. “I’ll clean this up, while you fix him.” He glanced at Taka with a barely concealed grin. “You’re such a klutz, Taka.”

Gabby frowned at her son. “Be nice. Can’t you see he’s hurt? Come on, Yoshi.”

Still holding on to Taka’s hand, she stood and guided him over to the sink to get a better look at the cut on his palm. Blood dripped down his wrist and over his hand onto hers as she held it over the bowl.

He tried to pull his hand away but she held tight, glaring at him. “Stop fighting me!”

“I’m fine. Really. I can clean this up. You’ll get blood on your dress.”

She rinsed the blood from his hand. “Let me worry about that. Matty, get me the first aid kit, would you?” Gabby turned his palm to the light and spotted a shard of glass still in the cut. Using the tweezers Matt handed her, she slid it out gently. “There. Hold this on it.” She pressed a wadded piece of gauze hard against his palm and looked up at him. “You’ve got to be more careful. You could really have hurt yourself.” She looked down and lifted the wadding to peer at the cut. The bleeding had slowed. It looked fairly superficial.

She hunted through the first aid kit with one hand while still holding onto the gauze. “You’re lucky it’s not deep. I don’t think you need stitches, just some tape over this wadding.” Gabby glanced at him. “Why so quiet? Something wrong?”

Taka shook his head. “No. I’m sorry I broke your glass.”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s not important.” She stretched some tape over his hand. “There. All fixed.”

“Thanks,” he murmured, flexing his hand.

“What’s up, Yoshi?”

He looked up from his hand, surprised at her question. “Nothing. Why would you think there was?”

“You’re too quiet.”

The smile that followed her statement tilted his full lips and lit his dark eyes. “I would’ve thought that’s a good thing. You’re always telling me I talk too much.”

“I’m not so sure I like it. It’s not natural.” Gabby reached up a hand and pushed his hair from his eyes. It reached to just above his nose. “But you definitely need a haircut.”

“Nah. It drives Mum nuts like this. There’s no way I’m cutting it yet. It’s the only thing I do that unnerves her. She’s so damned unflappable it’s almost inhuman. I’ve got to annoy her somehow.” His broad grin showed he was only half serious.

The soft chiming of the doorbell interrupted her reply. Gabby moved to answer the door, but stopped when she felt Taka’s hand on her shoulder.

“You look amazing.”

Gabby glanced at his black eyes, surprised at his serious tone. “Thank you.” She wasn’t sure what else to say.

“Just make sure he treats you right, okay?” He sent her a rueful smile.

He pulled his mesmerizing eyes from hers and levered himself off the edge of the bench. He left the kitchen, leaving her standing alone and wondering exactly why her heart was beating so fast.