“Isn’t that the way it usually is? We don’t know what we have until it’s gone?”
His voice turned huskier as his arm brushed hers and he asked, “What have you lost?”
“Sometimes I feel as if I’ve lost my roots—when I have to be in one city this week and another city next week. I have friends, but obviously they’re all long distance, and I only see them sporadically. Maybe that’s why I want to buy a house in Tuscany. I would have a place that’s my own.”
“You still live with your parents?” he asked, as if he were astonished by the notion.
“Why are you so surprised every time I disclose something about my private life?”
“I don’t know,” he drawled. “Maybe because of the press releases your publicist puts out to get you media attention?”
“There’s a difference, Rafe, between the press releases my publicist sends out to reputable newspapers and magazines and the bold-faced lies some tabloids print. But apparently you don’t read the reputable magazines.” She headed for his car, the quiet moments of bonding in the backyard lost.
He didn’t go to the driver’s door as she expected. He followed her to her door, cupped her elbow and nudged her toward him. “Gabby, I don’t know who you are. You put up a front and put on a mask for the press and the paparazzi. Your press releases—and I do read reputable magazines—talk about vacations on the French Riviera, growing up in a villa large enough to have a stable, as well as servants, and your taste in award-winning wines. So if I’m a little surprised that you don’t live in a penthouse in Rome, or miss your mother, or would rather dress in sweats instead of designer gowns, that’s not my fault. You’ve created an image for the world and that’s the image everyone has in their minds. Yet somehow, in a little over twenty-four hours, you expect me to be able to guess who you really are.”
“You have a persona,” she accused. “You were a Secret Service agent and everyone has an image of them. I’m sure you don’t tell your clients details about how you live your life. Yet I’ve learned to know you in twenty-four hours.”
“You don’t know me.”
“Maybe more than you think I do. I know you’re a man of integrity. I know you admired your father and wanted to be like him. I know you have respect for your sister and you love your mother. Isn’t that who you are?”
He looked uncomfortable under the light of the moon as if maybe she’d seen too much. But that’s what close proximity did. She knew he wasn’t blind. She knew his sixth sense somewhat guided him. Still, maybe he hadn’t chosen to use it with her.
“Why did you bring me to meet your mother?” she asked quietly.
He was slow in answering. Finally, he responded, “You needed to relax and to eat a good meal. I knew you wouldn’t do either at the hotel.”
“And just how did you know that?” she asked. But she didn’t need an answer.
Turning away from him, she opened the car door and slipped inside. Some communication didn’t have to be verbal. That was something Rafe already knew. He just didn’t want to admit it. He didn’t want to admit that maybe he could like someone like her.
So be it. They’d coexist for the next few weeks. She’d keep her distance and neither of them would get hurt.
Chapter Six
“Let me check the suite.”
Gabby knew Rafe’s statement was an order rather than a request.
Moments later he called, “Coast is clear.”
She walked inside as if this were any normal situation. But it wasn’t. The tension between her and Rafe had gotten worse instead of better on the drive home from his mother’s. They hadn’t spoken. Now they’d have to. After all, they were, in essence, living together.
She should be asleep on her feet, but instead, she was wired. “I’m going to check my e-mail before I turn in.” Then she remembered he was sleeping on the couch. “Unless you want to go to sleep right away.”
“You go ahead. I’ll get my bed ready.”
His bed. In the middle of the living room. She was hoping the room next door would be available tomorrow. That would give them a little breathing space.
“If you want to use the shower in my bathroom, feel free. I know this has got to be tough, not having a room of your own.” She almost gave herself a pat on the back at the relatively normal conversation.
“That sounds like a great idea. It will only take me five minutes.” As opposed to her thirty, she guessed he was probably thinking.
Before she sat down at the kitchen table, she went to the refrigerator and found a bottle of water. Taking it to the table, she sat in front of the computer for a few seconds, not opening it. Did she really want to do e-mail?
No. She’d ignored it on her phone since she’d arrived Sunday. But she had a full schedule tomorrow and something important might have come in.
Before she clicked on the icon to open her personal e-mail program, she Googled afghans just for the heck of it. Gabby had very much liked the warm homey comfort Lena’s afghans projected. She studied the patterns and site offerings until she heard Rafe in the living room, the squeak of the sofa as he opened it into a bed. She closed the search engine and clicked on her e-mail program.
As messages popped up in her in-box, Gabby took a look at them and froze. Miko had sent one. She just stared at the unopened message for a while. Then knowing she was being a coward, she clicked on it and read.
Gabby—I still have some of your belongings. We’re not finished yet. MK
“I hung my towel on the back of the door. If it’s in your way—”
Rafe stopped across the table from Gabby. “What’s wrong? You look like you’re going to pass out.”
Now that he mentioned it, she did feel a little light-headed. From the long day? From thinking the past was in the past? From believing she wouldn’t hear from Miko again and now she had?
Rafe hurried to the table and stood at her shoulder. “Gabby?”
If she told him about Miko, he’d think she was a fool. He’d think she was as naive as a teenager. If she told Rafe what had happened, she’d have to reveal that she’d thought she’d been in love with Miko. She knew now those feelings had been anything but love. The feelings she was starting to have toward Rafe were totally different and they scared her almost as much as the e-mail from Miko.
Rafe didn’t wait for an explanation. He peered over her shoulder, read the message and swore. “What does that mean?”
“Rafe, this really isn’t any of your business.”
“The hell it’s not. That sounds threatening to me.”
Was it threatening? Or was it just Miko’s way of trying to take control? She couldn’t let him succeed. For the moment she was going to ignore it. “That’s just the way Miko is.”
“Is?” Rafe questioned soberly.
“I mean,” she explained patiently, “that’s Miko’s character. He’s intense. He does still have some of my things. I left in a hurry. But they’re not anything I need back.”
“Are you going to answer him?”
“No.”
“Do you think that’s wise?”
“Right now I’m not thinking much at all.” She closed down the program and then shut off the computer. With a snap, she lowered the lid.
“Do you believe that’s going to go away because you turn it off?”
Rafe was dressed in a T-shirt and jogging shorts, and looked about as virile as a man could look. But she wasn’t going to let him bully her any more than she’d let Miko ever do it again. “I’m tired. I just want to go to bed. I’ll set my alarm so you don’t have to worry about getting me up. I’ll be ready to leave by nine. I have to be at the shoot at ten.”
He looked as if he wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her.
Before anything at all could happen between them, she said, “I’ll see you in the morning,” and went to her bedroom.
When she closed her door, she knew she probably wouldn’t fall asleep anytime soon. Not because of Miko, bu
t because of Rafe. She wanted to be held in his arms again, kissed by him, touched by him.
Instead, she was going to keep her distance and hope the next couple of weeks went by quickly.
“They’re gorgeous,” Gabby exclaimed as she examined the canary diamonds on Wednesday afternoon.
She and Penny McCord stood in one of the back rooms of McCord Jewelers, both entranced by the yellow gemstones resting on a square of black velvet.
Usually quiet and reserved, Penny was anything but as she used the tweezers to lift one of the gemstones. “Blake is buying them up all over the world market. If he finds the Santa Magdalena diamond, canary diamonds will be even more in vogue than they are now. This is a wonderful idea Blake has.”
Although Gabby’s focus was on the diamonds, as well as on Penny, she was quite aware that Rafe was sitting in a corner, reading a magazine. They’d stayed out of each other’s way since Monday night. The adjoining room to her suite had become available and that had helped.
“Do you know how you’re going to set them?” Gabby asked her cousin, focusing on the diamonds once more.
“I’m thinking yellow gold, some contemporary, some in an old Spanish design. I’d like to find several the same size to do a spectacular necklace, just making them the focal point. What I’m wondering is, can you build a wardrobe around the contemporary and the Spanish designs?”
“I can build a wardrobe around anything,” Gabby said with a laugh.
Penny laughed with her. “I was thinking about setting a few in chocolate gold.”
“That would be fabulous with a brown silk jersey dress, brown shoes. I’ve contacted a designer I use in Houston. I’ll be meeting with her soon. So if you have anything in particular in mind, just let me know.”
Penny shook her head. “I’ll concentrate on the jewelry. You can take care of the wardrobe.”
Gabby lifted one of the diamonds on the velvet tray and set it in the palm of her hand. “That has to be at least four carats. The clarity is wonderful and so is the color. If I had my pick…”
Her voice trailed off and she knew she was adding to Rafe’s opinion of her that she was all about fashion and jewelry. Oh, well. There was nothing she could do about that. She loved gems and gold, color and texture and fabric. If she hadn’t been a model, she probably would have gone into design, like Penny.
“I have a few questions for Blake about the quantity of stones he’s buying,” Penny said. “I’ll go find him. Do you want me to put these away, or do you want to drool some more?”
“I’m going to take a few more minutes to drool.”
Penny gave her cousin an understanding smile and left the room. On another square of velvet, she had laid out a necklace, a bracelet and a pair of earrings already set with the yellow stones. She wanted Gabby to wear them when she was choosing styles and dresses. She believed that was the best way to coordinate and get the full effect.
Gabby lifted the bracelet, admiring it. When she heard Rafe rise from his seat, she knew he was coming over to her. She felt her body warming at the thought.
“You know a lot about jewelry,” he remarked.
She and Penny had been talking for at least forty-five minutes about it. Sometimes she did forget Rafe was there, but not for very long.
“When I was little, my mother would take me to Florence or Rome and let me wander around the store. I’d shadow Dad and he never got impatient with me, just answered all my questions.”
“So if you hadn’t been a model?”
“I might have been a jewelry designer like Penny or a geologist like Paige. I know it might seem frivolous, but I love sparkle and color. When I was little, I remember sitting at my mother’s vanity. She would take her jewelry from the safe and I’d try on her necklaces. She’d encourage me to tell her what I liked and what I didn’t.”
“That’s not frivolous, especially not for a child. I bet your mom remembers those times, too.”
As Gabby gazed up at him, she saw the hunger hadn’t gone away. That pleased her, excited her and worried her.
“So you’re actually going to have dresses designed around the jewelry?” he asked.
“Penny’s going to give me a few sketches to work with. It’s going to be fun, even better than shopping.”
He laughed, a rich, deep laugh, but she realized he wasn’t making fun of her. He was laughing with her.
Gabby slipped the velvet envelope covering over the tray of diamonds and then slid the ring onto her finger. The three-carat canary diamond was surrounded by four point stones, all mounted in a heavy gold setting. Lifting the bracelet once more, she let it lie across her wrist while she fumbled with the clasp.
“Let me.”
Turning toward Rafe, she stood before him. His fingers were a man’s fingers, a little fumbling, somewhat callused. They were hot on her wrist as he tried to convince the lobster-claw clasp to catch. Finally, he did and then fastened the safety chain. She let the bracelet slip up and down as far as it would go.
“It looks like a perfect fit,” he noticed.
“It is beautiful, isn’t it? The design is a classic.” It was difficult to make conversation when she was trembling inside from Rafe’s touch. Glad for something to do, she picked up the necklace, designed in a journey style. The rope chain was almost delicate in her fingers. It slipped away twice.
Rafe caught it the second time and offered, “I can do it.”
When he brushed her hair to the side, she went hot all over. Thinking she was helping, she tried to gather her hair to lift it from her neck. Her fingers tangled with Rafe’s.
“Sorry,” she said quickly.
“Sorry,” he mumbled at the same time.
She felt his large, warm hands at the back of her neck. He was standing close, so close that if she leaned back just a little, she’d be smack up against his chest…smack up against him. When they’d kissed, she’d felt his arousal and it had fueled her own. If she simply did lean back against him—
His hands were at her nape. His fingers manipulated the clasp. She held her breath.
She felt the clasp catch, but he didn’t move his fingers right away. When he did, he leaned closer and murmured in her ear, “It’s beautiful on you.”
This close, his cheek practically pressed against hers, she couldn’t speak. After she took a deep breath, she whispered, “Thank you.”
She wasn’t exactly sure what she was thanking him for. Reassuring her she was desirable? Awakening her to feelings she’d never had before? Protecting her against the paparazzi? Making her feel safe?
When he leaned back again, she didn’t want him to move away. Yet she wondered if his opinion of her had changed. She wondered what he really believed about her. She couldn’t give in to her desire when she didn’t know where his was coming from.
Her fingers trembled as she felt for the center of the necklace and held on to it as if it were some kind of lifeline. Turning to face him, she saw the glimpse of a kiss-in-the-making in his eyes. But she also saw his determination not to let anything more happen.
“I know this wasn’t on our itinerary, but I’d like to go down the street to buy a pair of shoes. I don’t want to take the car. Can we just mix with the crowd and disappear and pretend we’re normal for just a few minutes?”
He eyed her sophisticated pink sheath and the canary diamonds. “I don’t think disappearing into the crowd will be an option. Someone will recognize you.”
“Not if I change. That’s why I always carry the duffel bag I put in the car. I can look ordinary, really I can.”
“I wouldn’t place any bets on that,” he muttered with a sigh. “Go ahead and change and we’ll try it.”
She liked the fact Rafe was flexible, that he was giving her some leeway. She liked way too many things about him.
They were so engrossed in each other, neither of them heard the footsteps until Penny was standing at the doorway. Stepping inside, she glanced from one of them to the other. “Am I interrupting som
ething?”
“No,” they were both quick to say, which only told Penny that she was.
Her eyebrows arched, but then she smiled. “The diamonds look terrific on you. Are you going to wear them?”
“I don’t think so. There’s a little shoe shop down the street and I want to stop in there. I’m going to change into a summer tourist outfit so no one recognizes me. Can we just leave them here and we’ll pick them up when we stop back here for the car?”
“Sure.”
Gabby removed the ring and then the bracelet. Her fingers moved to the back of the necklace. She vividly remembered everything about Rafe’s clasping it for her. The expression on his face was neutral, but she imagined he was remembering, too.
She was sure of it when he said tersely, “I’ll get your duffel bag,” and exited the room.
Penny gave her an inquiring look, but Gabby didn’t pour out her thoughts or doubts or questions. She was too confused about what was happening with Rafe. She had to sort it out for herself before she could confide in anyone, even her cousin.
“After I meet with Tara Grantley, I’ll let you know how her designs enhance yours. I’ll probably do some shopping while I’m there, too, and I’ll let you know what I find.”
Penny’s knowing smile said more than words that she understood Gabby’s reluctance to talk about Rafe. Being the tactful, nonintrusive person that she was, she wouldn’t ask probing questions.
“I think the collection will be spectacular, and I know you wearing the designs will give my reputation a boost, as well as the store’s. Thanks for doing this, Gabby. I know Blake appreciates it, too.”
“I’m pleased you’re giving me a part to play that helps the stores. It lets me really feel like one of the family.”
“You are one of the family.” Penny gave her a hug. “I can’t wait to see your transformation from model to tourist.”
Gabby hoped she could pull it off.
Rafe walked beside Gabby, wanting to hurry her along, yet knowing he couldn’t. In her oversize dark glasses, tank top, shorts, ponytail and sneakers, she was almost unrecognizable.
The Texas Bodyguard’s Proposal Page 8