Gabrielle bit into an asparagus spear and glanced at the silver watch strapped to her left wrist. Nine-thirty. It seemed a lot later.
'If you're not careful, Nancy is going to steal your man.'
Gabrielle glanced across her shoulder at Kevin, then returned her gaze to the undercover cop who'd obviously forgotten he was supposed to have a girlfriend, or that he was supposed to be looking for Mr. Hillard's Monet.
Unless Nancy had the painting down her dress, Joe wasn't likely to find it. He stood across the room with his forearm resting on the bar, his hand wrapped around a half empty glass. His head was cocked to one side toward Nancy, as if he couldn't bear to miss one fascinating word uttered from the woman's red lips. 'I'm not worried.' Gabrielle reached for a slice of toasted Brie on a piece of baguette.
'Maybe you should. Nancy loves to steal men away from their wives or girlfriends.'
'How'd the store do today?' she asked, purposely changing the subject and turning her full attention to Kevin.
'We sold a few garnet pieces, and that big wicker picnic basket. Made about four hundred dollars. Not bad, I guess, for June.' He shrugged. 'How'd you do with your oils?'
'I sold just about everything. By two o'clock. I only had a few bottles of sunscreen oil. So I packed up and spent the rest of the day at home painting and napping.'
She took a bite of the baguette, and her gaze strayed across the room. Now the two were smiling at each other, and she wondered if Joe was secretly making a date to meet Nancy later. They made a good-looking couple. Not only was Nancy petite but she also had that pale, frail look about her, like she needed a man to protect her. A big hunk of man who could throw her over his shoulder and save her from burning buildings. A man like Joe.
'Are you sure you aren't worried about Joe and Nancy?'
'Not at all.' To prove it, she turned her back on them, determined to forget about Detective Shanahan. She might have succeeded, too, but his deep, rich laughter rose above the other noise in the room and reminded her of his exact location beside the bar-next to a beautiful little blond in a tiny dress. 'Guess who I saw today?' she asked, trying to refocus her attention. 'That guy I dated last year, Ian Raney. He's still giving Reiki treatments at the Healing Center. He had a booth at the festival and was healing auras.'
'He was an odd one,' Kevin chuckled.
'He's gay now.' She frowned. 'Or maybe he was gay before, and I just didn't know it'
'Really? How do you know he's gay now?'
'He introduced me to his 'special friend Brad.' She popped the rest of the Brie into her mouth and washed it down with a sip of white wine. 'There wasn't a doubt about Brad's sexual orientation.'
'A flaming fruit?'
'Flambeed, I'm sorry to say. How could I have gone out with a gay guy and not have known it? Weren't there signs?'
'Well, did he try to get you into bed with him?'
Kevin put his arm around Gabrielle's shoulders and gave her a comforting squeeze. 'There you go.'
She looked into his familiar blue eyes and felt herself relax a little. She'd had these kinds of conversations with Kevin in the past They'd sit in their office on slow days, feet kicked up, ignoring the thousand and one details and demands of running a small business, and they'd talk about anything. 'Not all men are like you.'
'Yes they are. But most men aren't going to tell you the truth if they think they have a chance to score. I know I don't, so I have nothing to lose.'
She laughed and took another sip of her wine. Kevin could be just as superficial as the rest of his friends, but he was never that way with her. She didn't know how he was able to meld his different personalities, but he managed it somehow. He was honest and open and a lot of fun and could almost make her forget about the man across the room and why she was there. 'So you're only telling me the truth because we're never going to have sex?'
'That's about it.'
'If you thought there was a chance, you'd lie?'
'Like a cheap rug.'
'And you think all men are like you?'
'Absolutely. If you don't believe me, ask your boyfriend.' He dropped his hand from her shoulder.
'Ask me what?'
Gabrielle turned and looked into Joe's watchful eyes. A knot twisted her stomach, and she tried to tell herself it was the Brie. She didn't want to even think it could be anything other than rich food. 'Nothing.'
'Gabrielle doesn't want to believe guys lie to women to get them into bed.'
'I said not
Joe glanced at Kevin, then returned his gaze to Gabrielle. He slid his hand to the small of her back. 'This is one of those trick questions,right? Either way I answer, I'm screwed.'
A warm tingle swept way up her spine, and she stepped away from his touch. She especially didn't want to think about how easily this one man could affect her with nothing more than a glance or a touch.
'Looks like you're screwed anyway. Maybe you should pay more attention to Gabrielle and less to Nancy,' Kevin said, noticing her reaction and misinterpreting it for jealousy. Which it wasn't, of course.
'Gabrielle knows she doesn't have to worry about other women.' He took her wine glass and set it on the table. 'I have a real fondness for that mole on the inside of her thigh.' He raised her hand to his mouth and brushed a kiss to her knuckles. 'You might even say I'm obsessed.'
He stared at her over the back of her hand. Her fingers trembled, and she tried to remember if she had a mole and couldn't.
'Did you get enough to eat?' he asked against her knuckles.
'What?' Was he really asking about food? 'I'm not hungry.'
'Ready to go home then?'
Slowly, she nodded.
'Are you two leaving already?' Kevin asked.
'It's our one-month anniversary,' Joe explained as he lowered her hand and kept it tight in his grasp. 'I'm sentimental about those kinds of things. Let's say good-bye and get your purse.'
'I'll get it for you' Kevin offered.
'Thanks, but we'll get it,' Joe insisted.
Saying good-bye to Kevin's friends took about three minutes, and most of that was spent trying to convince Nancy that they really did have to leave so soon. Joe wove his fingers through hers, and they walked from the room, palm pressed to palm. If they'd been a real couple, she might have rested her head against his, and he might have turned and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek or whispered something sweet into her ear. But there was nothing soft or sweet about Joe, and they weren't a real couple. They were a lie, and she wondered how anyone looking at them couldn't see behind the facade.
The warm sensation of his touch triggered an even warmer physical desire, but this time her mind and spirit were in control. Just in case, she dropped his hand and kept a few inches of distance between them. She wondered how Kevin was so easily fooled.
Kevin kept his gaze on Gabrielle's back as she and her boyfriend walked from the room. He watched her drop Joe's hand and knew she was upset about something. But whatever it was, Kevin was just as sure her boyfriend could make her forget. Guys like Joe were like that. They could be losers and still get what they wanted handed to them. Not Kevin. He had to take what he wanted.
He glanced around at his young wealthy guests, eating his food, drinking his booze, standing in his beautiful house. He'd crammed his home with wonderful paintings and fine antiques and artifacts. He had one of the best views in the city, and it hadn't come cheap. He'd made it to the top of the hill, but one look at a guy like Joe, and he got that old hunger in his gut for more and that old pounding in his head that told him he would never be enough, never have enough. Enough money, nice clothes, fancy houses, and fast cars. Enough beautiful women to make him feel as if he were different from every other guy walking the planet. As if he weren't invisible. The hunger inside was insatiable, and sometimes he feared there would never be enough.
'Stand right here,' Joe ordered once they were out of sight of Kevin and his friends. 'If anyone comes, talk loud and don't let them in the room.'
