and down her back like it always did. Her only concession to anything resembling fashion was the pair of silver hoops in her ears and the silver band on the middle finger of her right hand. She'd left her panty hose in her drawer and slipped her bare feet into a pair of canvas sneakers. She figured she looked the antithesis of sexy.
One brow lifted up his forehead telling her he thought so, too. 'Where's your little dog Toto?'
Her outfit wasn't
He leveled his gaze on her. 'I was five.'
'That's what they all say.' She stepped out onto the porch and locked the door behind her. 'Besides, I'm sure the party is casual.' She dropped her keys into her big macrame handbag and turned to face him. He hadn't moved an inch, and her bare arm brushed across his chest.
'I doubt it.' Joe took her elbow as if they were on a real date and led her to the awful beige car she remembered all too well. The last time she'd been cuffed in the backseat. 'I've met Kevin, and I doubt he does anything casual, except maybe have casual sex.'
The warmth of his palm swept up her arm and down to the tips of her fingers. She forced herself to walk composed by his side, as if his touch didn't make her want to pull away from his grasp. As if she were as calm and unaffected as Joe. She tried to ignore the sensations making her palms sweaty, and she didn't bother to comment on Joe's opinion of Kevin, since what he said was pretty much true. Which made Kevin no better or worse than a lot of other men.
'Last night I thought you were driving a Bronco.'
'I was, but Kevin thinks I'm a broke loser. That's what I want him to think,' he said and leaned forward to open the passenger door. His chest brushed her arm again, and she took a deep breath through her nose and wondered if his cologne was a combination of ceder and neroli or something else altogether.
'Why do you do that?'
'Do what?'
'Sniff me like I smell bad.' He let go of her elbow, and she felt as if she could relax again.
'You're imagining things,' she said and slid into the car. Unlike Joe, the interior of the car smelled as awful as it did the day he'd arrested her. Kind of like motor oil, but at least the seats were clean.
The ride to Kevin's took less than ten minutes, and Joe used the time to remind her of the informant's agreement she'd signed. 'If Kevin is innocent,' he said, 'he doesn't need your help. And if he's guilty, you can't protect him anyway.'
Cool air brushed her bare legs and arms and the side of her neck. She wished she'd stayed home. She wished she'd been given a choice.
Gabrielle had been to Kevin's house on several occasions, of course, but she really didn't care for it. The two- story contemporary structure hung on the side of a mountain supported by stilts and had a spectacular view of the city. The interior was constructed of lots of marble, hardwood, and steel and felt about as cozy as a museum of modern art.
Gabrielle and Joe walked up the sidewalk together, shoulder to shoulder, barely touching.
'What if one of Kevin's friends recognizes you? What are you going to do?'
'I'll figure something out.'
That's exactly what she was afraid of. 'Like what?'
Joe rang the doorbell and they stood side by side, staring ahead. 'Are you afraid to be alone with me?'
A little. 'No'
' Cause you look worried about that.'
'I don't look worried.'
'You look like maybe you don't trust yourself.'
'To do what?'
'Keep your hands to yourself.'
Before she could respond, the door swung open and the charade began. Joe wrapped his arm around her shoulders, the heat from his palm warming her flesh through the thin material of her blouse.
'I wondered if you two were going to make it.' Kevin stepped back, and they moved inside. As always, he looked like he'd just posed for
'I told you I could get her out of the house for a few hours.'
Kevin glanced at Gabrielle's bib, and a line appeared across his forehead. 'Gabe, this is a new look for you. Interesting.'
'It's not that bad,' she defended herself.
'Not if you live in Kansas.' Kevin shut the door, and they followed him toward the living room.
'I don't look like Dorothy.' Gabrielle glanced downward at her blue-and-white-checked jumper. 'Do I?'
Joe pulled her against his side. 'Don't worry, I'll protect you from flying monkeys.'
She raised her gaze to his eyes, with their rich brown irises and thick, spiky lashes, and it wasn't flying monkeys that had her worried.
'Why don't you let Kevin put that big purse you're packing somewhere?'
'I can put it in the spare bedroom,' Kevin offered.
'I want to keep it with me.'
Joe snatched it off her shoulder and handed it to Kevin. 'You'll get bursitis.'
'In my shoulder?'
'Never can tell about bursitis,' Joe predicted as Kevin walked off with her purse.
The living room, kitchen, and dining room shared the same large airy space and spectacular view of the city. A small group of guests mingled at the bar, while Mariah Carey sang from hidden speakers, filling the house with every last octave she managed to pull from her vocal cords. Gabrielle didn't have anything against Mariah personally, but she thought the diva would benefit from a lesson in moderation. Gabrielle moved her gaze about the space, from the zebra skin draped over the back of the leather sofa to the African artifacts cluttering the room. Kevin could have used the same lesson.
When Kevin returned, he introduced Joe and Gabrielle to his friends, a tight group of entrepreneurs who were, as far as Gabrielle was concerned, far more worried about the state of their bank accounts than the state of consciousness. Joe kept his arm around Gabrielle as they shook hands with a man and his wife who owned a chain of successful coffeehouses. Others sold vitamins or computers or real estate and apparently did very well. Kevin introduced them to his girlfriend, China, who, Gabrielle could have sworn, was named Sandy the last time they'd met. Whatever her name now, the woman was still petite and blond and flawless, and Gabrielle felt an overwhelming urge to slouch.
Next to China stood her equally beautiful and petite friend, Nancy, who didn't even pretend to be interested in anything Gabrielle might have to say. Her attention was on the man who stood with his hip pressed against Gabrielle. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched pleasure curl the corners of Joe's lips into an appreciative smile. His gaze flickered to Nancy's bosom, and he shifted his weight to his opposite foot. His warm hand slid from Gabrielle's shoulder and across her back, then he shoved his hands into his pants pockets and his touch was gone completely.
She should have been glad. She
Kevin said something Joe must have thought funny, because he tipped his head back a little and laughed, showing straight white teeth and his smooth tan throat. Creases appeared in the corners of his eyes, and the deep mellow sound reached inside her and settled in her chest.
Someone else said something too, and they all laughed. Except Gabrielle. She didn't think there was anything to laugh about. No, there was absolutely nothing funny about the little pang beneath her breastbone, or the white hot anarchy surging through her veins, arousing a physical desire she found impossible to ignore.
Chapter Eleven
