by Robin Kaye
Gina shook her head and blew her bangs out of her eyes. “It’s insane. I never said you had to spend that much. Heck, I’d be happy staying in Rosalie’s place.”
Ben pulled her over and sat on the bed. She flopped down next to him. “I need to buy a home and spend the expected amount of money if we’re going to make this marriage look real. That’s the point here, Gina.”
She shrugged and chewed on the side of her thumb. “Then buy it. I guess I could live in one of the attic rooms. It would be about the same as staying in an extremely nice fifth-floor walk-up.”
“Nonsense. Why stay there when you can stay in this room?”
“You don’t get it, do you? You saw where I came from. Tina and Sam’s apartment is the nicest place I’ve ever lived by far. Going from a small two-bedroom in Spanish Harlem to a mansion in one day is disconcerting.”
Ben smiled. “Yeah, but in a good way.”
“Ben, I think this whole marriage thing was a mistake. Look, why don’t we just get it annulled and you can marry someone like that Realtor who’s been making eyes at you all afternoon.”
Ben raised his eyebrows. “Are you jealous?”
Gina laughed. “Hardly. I just think it’s funny because her gaydar is on the fritz. She obviously didn’t get the upgrade. What does she think, there are no gay guys from Iowa?”
“Idaho.”
Gina waved away his correction. “Whatever.”
“We’ve been married all of four hours and you’re already trying to get rid of me? This is working out better than I expected.”
Gina wanted to wipe that smirk right off his too-pretty face.
“Let’s see if we can buy this place with the furniture and then I’ll be out of your hair for the foreseeable future.”
“Is that the only way for me to get rid of you?”
“Either that or let’s get a penthouse in the city.”
“Are those my only choices?”
Ben stood, took his keys out of his pocket, and tossed them in the air. He caught them and thought about it. “Yeah, pretty much.”
“Fine. Buy it then. But if you don’t get the furniture with it, I can easily live with one furnished room.”
“If we don’t buy it furnished, I’ll have a decorator come in and take care of it. She’ll want your input though.”
“Don’t be too sure of that. I’ve never furnished anything in my life.”
***
Two weeks later, Ben watched as Gina stared at her suitcases lying on the same king-sized mahogany sleigh bed they’d sat on while Ben railroaded her into buying this mansion. He knew exactly what he’d done at the time and he didn’t regret it. He’d even compromised; a penthouse in the city would have looked better for him and would have been a much better investment for her, but for some reason Gina insisted on Brooklyn. She still looked unhappy, not that he could figure out why. After all, he’d caved in and bought the place in Brooklyn, and was even able to get it furnished. For someone who supposedly had a great mind for finance, she certainly hadn’t used it while making this decision.
Ben stood in the doorway watching Gina. It was becoming a habit. He couldn’t help it. The woman fascinated him. Most women he knew would be thrilled to be stuck living in a mansion. Not Gina. He wasn’t sure if his interest was simply because of her obstinacy or in spite of it. The fact he studied her didn’t surprise him. He seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time staring at his wife, and when they weren’t together, he was thinking about her. No matter what he did, he couldn’t seem to stop himself. He was just glad he was heading west in a few hours. Maybe if he put most of the country between them, he’d have better luck getting her out of his mind.
“You look good here, Gina.”
She laughed. “Oh, yeah. I look as if I were born to live the lifestyle of the rich and famous. Robin Leach and me. All we’re missing is the champagne.”
“Now that you mention it, Jess sent over a very nice bottle. It’s chilling in the refrigerator if you’d like some.”
“Ben, it’s not even noon.”
He smirked. “We could throw in a few drops of orange juice and call it a mimosa, if drinking champagne at ten in the morning offends you.”
“No, it doesn’t offend me, though I’d rather have a Starbucks,” she muttered before she looked up. “Did you buy glasses too, or do we have to drink it out of plastic cups?”
“The kitchen is fully stocked. I think you could probably have a dinner party for a hundred and not have to deal with renting a thing.”
“Oh, good. And to think, I was worried about that.” She unzipped one of her suitcases. “I do so love to entertain.”
Ben turned on his heel and headed to the kitchen. Whistling, he grabbed the champagne from the refrigerator and filled an ice bucket before sticking the champagne bottle into it. Searching the kitchen for flutes, he pulled them off a top shelf and threw a folded linen towel over his arm for spite.
He returned to the bedroom just as Gina was sorting through her lingerie. Perfect timing. From the little he saw, the woman had fantastic taste in unmentionables. When it came to what she wore over those little scraps of silk and lace, that was another story. She dressed loudly, in bold bright colors, and had no qualms about showing off her killer body. She had a style all her own and he wasn’t sure if he liked it, but as a man, he certainly appreciated it. Still, every time he’d seen her in the last two weeks, he’d felt the need to cover her up. He didn’t miss the fact that every other man who saw his wife drooled over her. Their marriage might be in name only, but no one else knew that.
Gina turned toward him and laughed. “Only you would play waiter. Too bad you don’t have the outfit for it.”
He looked down at his jeans and button-down shirt, set the champagne bucket and glasses on the dresser, and picked up a white-on-white corset. “No, but you can dress up if you want.”
She slapped his hand and ripped the corset out of his grip. “Oh, yeah, as if you’re interested.”
She had no idea. This, he reminded himself, was a good thing. “I do have fabulous taste in clothes. We should go shopping for a few evening gowns next time I’m in town.” When she made a face, he continued. “It’ll be fun. I’ll probably have a few benefits to go to when I get back and, if you remember, that was part of the deal.”
She stopped what she was doing and looked into his eyes. All hint of her teasing smile was gone. “Don’t remind me. Please, really, don’t.” She threw her hands up in the air as if to encompass the entire house. “I’m going through culture shock as it is.” She turned her back to him. “Rosalie and Nick’s wedding was the dressiest thing I’ve ever gone to.” She looked back over her shoulder. “Give me some time before you start parading me around, would you?”
Ben shrugged and pulled the champagne bottle out of the bucket.
“What are you doing?” She turned around, stomped over to the dresser, and picked up the ice bucket obviously looking for another place to set it. She sat it on the carpeted floor, pulled the towel off his arm, and wiped the dresser where he’d set it in the first place. “Don’t ever put an ice bucket on the furniture. It’ll leave a ring. This stuff is probably antique and even if it isn’t, it’s hardly Salvation Army castoffs.”
Ben picked up the bucket and set it on the marble table. “Is that better?”
Gina furrowed her brow. “I don’t know. I guess since they make countertops out of marble, it’ll be okay. But put this under it just in case.” She tossed him the towel.
“Yes, ma’am.” He did as she requested. “I didn’t think you liked the furniture.”
“What are you talking about? I love it. I’m just not used to having furniture like this. High style for me was the dresser I picked up in the scratch-and-dent room at Ikea for $60. This stuff is way out of my league.”
Ben thought about correcting her but knew she’d only argue with him. He decided to forgo that experience, popped the top off the champagne, and poured instead. H
e handed Gina the flute. “Here’s to a short and successful marriage.”
She nodded, clinked his glass, and took a sip. “So, when’s your plane?”
“Whenever I get there.” He checked his watch. “Grandfather sent one of the corporate jets for me. We have a board meeting tomorrow—it’s his way of ensuring my attendance.”
Gina’s eyes widened.
“He was hoping you’d come along, considering he’s interrupting what he thinks is our honeymoon.” When her eyes bugged out, he took pity on her. “Don’t worry, I told him you were busy getting settled in our new place. He wasn’t happy about it, but he didn’t argue the point.”
“Good.” She set her glass down on the marble table and returned to folding her lingerie and placing it in the dresser drawer. “Can you picture me in Ohio? I’ve never stepped foot west of New Jersey.”
“It’s Idaho.” He slid a suitcase over, making room to sit on the bed where he’d have a good view of her lingerie. “You know that state in the northwest, west of Montana, north of Utah, and east of Washington and Oregon.”
She rolled her eyes. “I don’t need a geography lesson.”
“Could have fooled me. So far you’ve hit just about every state that starts with an i or ends in an o other than the one I’m from.”
“Well don’t expect me to go out there and certainly not in a plane. I don’t fly.”
Ben was taking a sip of champagne and almost spit it out. The bubbles burned the back of his nose and he coughed. “What? How the heck do you get around?”
“As nature intended: by bus.”
Ben pushed another suitcase aside and sat on the bed. “You’ve never been on a plane?”
“No, and I never plan to be.”
“Why not?”
She stared at him as if he’d just grown horns. “Why would I? The only place I’ve ever been interested in going was Miami and I took the bus. It was nice.”
“Nice?”
“Besides, planes crash.”
“So do buses.”
“Yeah, but most people survive bus crashes; planes, not so much.”
“That’s ridiculous. Commercial flight is the safest form of travel.”
“Not for me it’s not. Have a nice flight to wherever.”
Ben stood. “I’m leaving you my car until we can get one for you. Why don’t you give Nick Romeo a call? He’ll set you up. Just have him bill me.”
Gina shook her head. “I don’t drive. And before you start on me, I don’t want to. I’m very happy taking public transportation and I can always call a cab. It’s one of the perks of living in New York.”
That was a fight for another day. Ben took his wallet out of his back pocket.
“What are you doing now? I don’t need any more money.”
“I wasn’t going to give you money. I was just going to make sure you had all my numbers.” He pulled out his card and jotted down his grandfather’s home number, his office number, and his cell. “I’m staying with my grandfather and it would be nice if you’d call me so he’ll think you miss me. Most married people talk when they’re away from each other.”
She looked a little embarrassed; her cheeks turned the most attractive shade of pink. “Oh, right. Okay, I’ll call you. Lord knows what we’ll talk about, but I’ll call.”
“Good.” The doorbell rang, sounding like church bells on a Sunday morning.
Gina’s brows shot up. “Are you expecting someone?” She obviously wasn’t.
“I called the local market and ordered some food. I told them you needed to stock up on the basics. They deliver.”
“Thanks, that was very… thoughtful.” Her words belied her expression. She mumbled something to herself in Spanish as she followed him downstairs to the door. The delivery people had four boxes of food. “Did you buy out the entire market?”
Ben tipped the delivery boy and shrugged. “I wasn’t sure what you liked.”
Gina began unpacking the groceries; there was an awful lot of food. He might have gone a little overboard. “I’m sorry.”
Ben tried to help but she shooed him aside. “If you put the stuff away, I’ll never be able to find it. Would you please just let me do something for myself?”
Ben nodded. “Okay, I’ll just get out of your way.”
“Thank you.” She seemed relieved and for some reason, that didn’t set well with him. No one had ever worked so hard to get rid of him before. “I thought I’d take you out to eat before I left.”
Gina picked up a bag of rice and set it in the pantry. “That’s not necessary. I have a lot of unpacking to do before work tomorrow.” She looked at the boxes of groceries on the counter. “And it’s not as if I’ll starve.”
Ben called a cab and stayed out of her way as she put away the groceries. “I reset the alarm, you have the code.”
“I know.”
“You have the number of the alarm company?”
“Yes, you wrote it down with all the other instructions.”
He checked his watch; he only had another five minutes before the cab would be there to take him to the airport. “You have all my numbers.”
“Yes.”
“Is it okay if I leave my car here?”
“Fine.”
“You might have to move it if it snows—is that a problem?”
“No. If I can’t, I know plenty of people who can.”
Ben made his way to the foyer while mentally checking off the list of things he had to go over with her. He thought he covered it all. Gina handed him his coat and waited for him to leave. A horn tooted as he shrugged on his coat. “I guess this is it. Come on out with me so I can give you the car keys after I get my bags out of the trunk.”
“Sure.” She didn’t bother with a coat and followed him out, wrapping her arms around herself against the cold.
Ben handed his bags off to the cabby who was too busy checking out Gina to notice. Ben cleared his throat to get the guy’s attention. Still, the man didn’t move. “Are you going to take my bags? If not, just pop the trunk so I can stash them and say good-bye to my wife.”
The guy popped the trunk and took one of Ben’s bags but not before he let out a low wolf-whistle.
Ben gave the guy a dirty look and turned back to Gina who didn’t seem to notice the cabby or the attention.
“Have a safe trip.”
“Thanks.” Ben handed her the car keys. “You take care of yourself.”
Gina nodded and started to back away. “Always.”
Ben heard the trunk close behind him and pulled Gina’s little compact body in close to his, ignoring the shocked look on her face. She started to say something and he took advantage of her open mouth to kiss her good-bye. He wasn’t sure if he was doing it for his benefit or the cabby’s—he’d think about it later—but he took her mouth the way he’d been tempted to ever since the day he’d married her. God she tasted of good champagne and shock and felt even better, especially after he straightened and lifted her off her feet. She didn’t fight him and he didn’t release her until he’d had her thoroughly kissed and confused. He set her back on the first step of their stoop, making sure she had her footing before letting her go. He turned on his heel and got into the cab without looking back. He didn’t need to see the look of relief on Gina’s face.
***
Gina rushed up the steps of the mansion, locked the door, and armed the alarm system behind her. What was that kiss all about? The man certainly didn’t kiss like he was gay. But then, she wasn’t sure what a gay guy kissed like either. He could have been imagining Hugh Jackman for all she knew. Still, that didn’t explain why he’d kissed her in the first place. Sure the cabby was checking her out, but so what? That’s what men did. Well, straight men at least. Maybe Ben was worried the guy would get the wrong idea. Not that it mattered to Gina, but it obviously mattered to Ben for some unknown reason.
She rested against the big double doors that weighed more than she did and had to take a minute to c
atch her breath. Damn, for a second she let herself imagine Ben wasn’t gay. Not a good thing to do. No, what she needed to do was forget both kisses ever occurred. Unfortunately, her body wasn’t getting the message. She looked around the foyer of her new mansion and wrapped her arms around herself to fend off the sudden chill. If she didn’t think about the kiss, all she was left with was the thought that she was the last person in the world who should be living in a place like this. Not a good alternative.
Everything about the place was so perfect. It was filled with what looked like priceless antiques, crystal chandeliers, and oriental carpets an inch thick. She hadn’t asked Ben how much the furniture and furnishings cost, but that was only because she’d already been wigged out over the price of the house itself. Three million seven hundred thousand dollars. She dealt with numbers like that every day in business, but they were just that—numbers. This was personal. She didn’t even want to know how much he spent on the contents, not to mention all the bedding, towels, and other incidentals that just appeared in the closets. She wondered if he’d hired a service to do that. Heck, she didn’t even know if there were services that did that.
She looked around the big empty house and didn’t think she’d ever felt so alone. She’d never lived alone until she stayed at Rosalie’s place, but that hadn’t bothered her. She knew the neighbors, Henry and Wayne, and heard them banging around upstairs, so it wasn’t much different than being at home in the apartment she’d shared with Sam and Tina. Here, there was no one to make noise but her—or so she hoped. Growing up, she’d always lived with her mother, Tina, and sometimes the guy she thought might be her father. Of course, there were also the times they’d lived in shelters, they were the pits, but having all this peace and quiet—it was unnerving. Gina pulled her cell phone from her pocket and hit the speed dial.
“Hello?”