The Seduction of Arabella Quinn

by Caryn Carter

  A rush of gratitude and love for Carmella welled up in Bella's chest. Her sister's confession made her want to rush from the room and call Nick just to hear his voice. "Thank you for sharing this with me," she whispered past the lump in her throat. "You've given me a lot to think about."

  "I just don't want you to make a hasty decision you might regret." Carmella said, smiling in spite of the shakiness of her voice.

  Bella took a tissue from her purse and handed it to Carmella.

  Carmella touched the tissue to her nose, sniffled and said, "Here comes Franny."

  After their mother had been taken to the operating room, and the doctor had assured them it would be hours before there was any news to report, Bella and Carmella had decided to get breakfast while Franny checked in with her office.

  Carmella leaned forward. "I know a little more about you, Bella, but Franny is still a complete mystery to me. I'd like to get to know her better, but she's so reserved."

  Bella turned to look over her shoulder. Franny was in line waiting to be served. She turned back to Carmella. "She had a very bad time during her divorce and for a long time afterward. I'm not sure she's over it yet. If she doesn't seem eager to talk about it, it's nothing personal. It's just her way."

  Carmella nodded in understanding, stuffed the tissue in her pocket and went back to her still full cup of coffee.

  Bella turned her attention back to her coffee, too, but her thoughts were far from food or drink. She was thinking about all the things Carmella had just told her and about all the things she knew about Franny and what she believed to be a good part of the downfall of Franny's marriage.

  Franny had lamented more than once during her marriage that sex was all her husband thought about, morning, noon, and night. Franny obviously didn't share his sexual appetite, and Bella wasn't surprised when the marriage fell apart after her brother-in-law took up with another woman. He and Franny were obviously sexually incompatible. It was sad, Bella thought now, that they hadn't discovered such an important, fundamental difference between them early in their relationship. Maybe then they would have each been spared the heartache that had followed.

  She glanced back at Franny, who was now on her way toward their table. Then she looked up at Carmella, the hardness of her sister's life belied by the sorrow Bella saw in her eyes. Bella turned her gaze into herself, into her heart, that for the first time in years, felt full and alive.

  It was true she and Nick had only begun to know each other. That their relationship had been founded and was still held together by the strength of a highly sexual relationship. But they had begun to open up to each other, to admit a growing emotional depth between them.

  Could she trust him? Could she trust herself? She didn't have the answer to either question, but she knew she didn't want to end up like either of her sisters. One had loved and lost because the relationship hadn't worked, the other had loved and lost because the relationship hadn't been given a chance to work.

  As Franny pulled out a chair to sit, Bella jumped up.

  "I just remembered a call I need to make."

  "Business won't let you alone either, huh?" Franny asked with a weary sigh.

  "Not quite," Bella answered. She hitched her purse high on her shoulder and mouthed a silent thank-you to Carmella before she strode out of the room, her cell phone already in her hand.

  * * * *

  Nick tossed the mail he'd picked up from the Post Office Box on Inez's desk and frowned. She had just taken a bite out of one of the big, fried, glazed doughnuts that was her regular morning fare. "Those things are going to kill you, you know."

  Inez wiped the sugar from her mouth and laid the doughnut on the napkin in the middle of her desk. She looked at Nick intently. "That's what they keep saying about cigarettes. My sister's been smoking since she was twelve and she's seventy-five. I gave the damn cigarettes up. I'm hanging on to these."

  Nick shrugged. Each to his own poison.

  Inez took another bite and eyed Nick again, this time with a renewed sharpness in her gaze. "You're in early. And looking bright and chipper. Keeping late night secrets from me again?" She brought the remnant of the glazed confection back to her lips, took another hearty bite and followed it with two short gulps of coffee.

  The aroma of the fresh brew reminded Nick he hadn't bothered to make any of his own after he got home from Bella's early that morning. A cup of Inez's coffee was just what he needed.

  Ignoring her remark about his after hours activities, Nick started toward the coffee machine. He was half way across the room when Vince stuck his head out of the door to his office.

  "Step in here before you get started, would you?" Vince asked, his voice heavy with fatigue.

  Nick poured himself a cup of coffee, gave Inez another disapproving shake of his head, and headed for Vince's office. He knocked once and opened the door. His partner was standing behind his desk and had just ended a cell phone call when Nick stepped inside. Vince clipped the phone back on his belt, bent down, picked up his briefcase from the floor and put it on top of the desk.

  "What's up?" Nick asked, settling himself in a chair across from Vince's desk. He took a tentative sip from the ceramic mug, then blew lightly across the rim to cool down the steaming brew.

  "I need a couple of favors from you," Vince said, stuffing papers into the briefcase while he talked.

  "Sure. Anything. What do you need?"

  Vince snapped the briefcase closed and lowered himself wearily onto the leather desk chair. "I need you to cover for me for the next couple of days."

  Nick nodded and took another careful sip of coffee.

  "I've got to get Gloria moved to a new place. She's been agitated a lot lately and the doctors think I should plan on spending as much time with her as I can until she gets used to the new surroundings."

  Nick wrapped both hands around the mug and leaned back in his chair. He looked at Vince intently and thought how much more haggard the older man looked than he had just a couple of days ago. Worry over his wife had taken its toll. Nick felt nothing but sympathy for his friend and was more than happy to help him if he could. He leaned forward and set the mug on the desk. "Exactly what do you need me to do, Vince?"

  Vince tapped his forefinger on top of the manila folders on the corner of his desk. "I have a meeting in Lafayette set for six tonight. I need you to take it for me. I have another set for ten tomorrow morning at the client's home."

  Vince thrust his arms into his jacket, picked up the briefcase in one hand and scooped up the job files with the other. He walked over to Nick and handed him the file folders. "I wouldn't ask you to do this, son, except I really need to be with Gloria now. I'll make it up to you when things get settled."

  Nick got up from the chair, rolled his shoulders to loosen some of the tension that stayed with him lately. "Of course, I'll take your meetings. But tonight? Christ, Vince, it's Saturday and Lafayette's a three hour drive. Can't it be postponed until Monday? And since when do we set meetings with clients on Sunday?" They only worked half days on Saturdays, usually he was out of the office by two o'clock at the latest. He could never remember a Sunday meeting before. This meant he'd either have to stay the night at a motel in Lafayette, or drive back again early Sunday morning.

  "The meeting tonight's already been rescheduled once," Vince said. "And the one tomorrow's too big to pass up. The guy's got a hundred and fifty employees. Does ten mil a year. His present security's not working and he's being robbed blind. He didn't want to meet during the work week, so I scheduled it intending to make it on my way to visit Gloria. That was before this other stuff came up."

  "Okay," Nick said, apologetically, already beginning to feel like a heel because the first thought that came to mind after Vince's request sunk in was that if he went to Lafayette tonight he wouldn't be able to see Bella." But, he reminded himself, that was a legitimate concern and since Vince hadn't even mentioned it, he figured he should. "What do I do about Arabella Quinn?"
<
br />   "I've already asked Jeff to take over for you while you're out of pocket." Jeff Granger was the best operative they had, outside of Nick himself.

  "Then I guess since you've taken care of everything, I'll be in Lafayette with bells on."

  Visibly relieved, Vince laid a hand on Nick's shoulder and squeezed it affectionately. "I knew I could count on you. Everything you need to know is in the files."

  "Don't worry. I'll handle things until you're out from under all of this."

  Vince was out the door without another word and Nick lowered himself down in the chair, his mind already skittering through the bits and pieces of his early morning conversation with Bella.

  She'd called him from the hospital before he left for the office. He was so surprised to hear from her only a scant few hours after he'd left her that it took him a few seconds to register what she said.

  She just wanted to hear his voice, she'd told him, and to let him know that if things went well with her mother's operation she would be able to get away later that evening to see him. She had something to tell him and refused to go over it on the phone. She wanted to tell him in person.

  At the time he'd wondered what she could possibly have to tell him that was so important it had to be told face-to-face, but he hadn't pressed her. After the night they'd spent it couldn't possibly be anything bad. His breath caught. Or could it? No. He refused to believe that. Things were going too damn well between them now.

  He let out a low curse. He wouldn't be able to see her tonight to find out what her big secret was. He might be able to manage a quick run to the hospital before he left for Lafayette, but even that might be hard to manage with the rest of the work he had.

  Irritation at the turn of events that put this extra work on his plate had him cursing beneath his breath again, but he quickly put the annoyance aside. Business was business. Bella would understand. He'd talk to her later and explain the situation. Maybe then she'd relieve his mind and tell him what was on hers.

  He left Vince's office and asked Inez to hold all but emergency calls and went into his own office to look over the files Vince had given him.

  With a sigh, Nick reluctantly settled himself behind his desk and forced all thoughts of Bella temporarily out of his mind. He'd find some way to see her today, if only for a few minutes. Business was important, but dammit, so was she.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Bella sat down next to Franny in the Intensive Care waiting room with a great sense of relief. While her mother's condition was still critical and guarded and would remain so for the next couple of days, she had come through the surgery with flying colors.

  "I'll be leaving now if it's all right with you," Bella whispered, leaning close to her sister.

  Franny reached down for her purse, then stood, lifted and lowered her shoulders a few times to release some of the tension that had settled there. "Sure, go ahead. Take a break. You'll be back around midnight?"

  "Or before," Bella assured her. They left the waiting area together. At the entrance to the IC unit, Bella gave Franny a quick kiss on the cheek and detoured toward the elevators. She couldn't get down to the lobby and out on the street fast enough. The sooner she got home, the sooner she could see Nick.

  Traffic was light for Saturday night and Bella made a quick decision to stop at Redeau's Wine and Deli on the way home. She smiled to herself, remembering her comment the night before to Nick about how they seemed to always be eating. But this was different, she told herself. What she had in mind wasn't really dining. It was setting the mood. She was stopping more for the wine than the cheese she had in mind to go with it.

  She'd thought a lot about this meeting with Nick after she'd called him that morning. He'd tried to press her for the reason she wanted to speak with him tonight. She'd almost given in, but was glad now she hadn't. What she wanted to say to him needed to be said to his face so she could tell from his expression if she had made a giant mistake.

  That's why she needed the wine. She needed to be relaxed when she exposed her feelings to him. If his reaction was one of shock, or worse yet, ridicule, she'd need the rest of the bottle to blot out the hurt. She was kidding of course. Regardless of his reaction, she couldn't drink too much. Not when she had to be back at the hospital to sit all night with her mother.

  For now, though, she wouldn't allow herself to think Nick would treat her with disdain, no matter what his feelings for her were, or weren't, as the case may be.

  When he'd told her the night before that he might be falling in love with her, she hadn't taken him seriously. Not that she thought he'd lied just to get inside the house and ultimately get her in bed again. No, she didn't think he was that much of a heel. But she did admit the possibility that he was perhaps feeling a little more for her than he had anticipated when they'd first met, and was now disconcerted by those feelings. After all, he had to know that to think the guy she was having sex with might be in love with her, was in itself a heady aphrodisiac for almost any woman. She slid to a quick stop in front of Readeau's and hurried inside, her selection of wine and cheese already decided.

  Back on the road less than ten minutes later, Bella paced her thoughts to the now heavier flow of traffic on the Interstate. She might still be uncertain about Nick's true feelings, but about her own she didn't have a doubt. And that, in a nutshell, was the crux of why she was so anxious to have her talk with him.

  She was one step away from being head over heels, stars in the eyes, crazy in love with him. Still, while they'd certainly spoken of the connection they felt and the emotional bond that had developed between them, Nick hadn't said the L word again last night, and she hadn't come close to saying it even once. It was too frightening. Or it had been. It wasn't anymore.

  She had to tell Nick how close she was to loving him too much to let what they had continue if his intentions were to walk away anytime soon. Or anytime at all. If she was going to lose him, she wanted it to be now, before she lost her head and her heart completely.

  For the rest of the drive, she let bask in the joy of getting home with enough time to shower and change into something sexy. She'd chill the wine while she dressed, turn on soft lights and put enough CDs on the turntable to add a romantic background to the few hours they'd have together if things went as she hoped. There was really no reason to think things would go otherwise.

  She recalled how Nick had sounded so down-in-the-mouth when he'd called her the first time that morning. He had to take on some unexpected work of his partner's, he'd told her. An appointment out of town, which meant he wouldn't be able to see her that night.

  Then when he'd called her back less than an hour later to tell her the meeting had been postponed and he could spend some time with her that night after all, he had sounded as up-beat as she. She giggled now, just thinking of the rest of the conversation. He'd even given her a not so subtle hint of just what a certain part of his body was doing at that moment with just the thought of seeing her.

  She pulled into her drive, the image of Nick's body part in a most uncomfortable position already making her fingers curl in their eagerness to take the matter well in hand--literally. She chuckled softly at the play on words, and thought how easily they really could play with one another. For sex at its best was the greatest form of play, was it not?

  Laughing aloud at her poetic witticism, Bella positioned the package from the wine store in the crook of one arm, slung her bag over the other shoulder, took the two short steps up to her porch and let herself inside. She practically walked on air.

  A trip to the kitchen to check for messages on the answering machine made her breathe easier. Even though her mother was doing incredibly well, she knew that in an instant anything could happen.

  She decided to put the wine in the freezer for a fast chilling while she took her shower and dressed, then she debated whether to set the cheese and crackers on a tray now, or wait until later. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was seven-thirty. That left a half-hour
to shower and dress. Enough time but not much to spare. The cheese could wait. The ambience could be set now, though. She flipped off the overhead kitchen light and turned on the one over the stove.

  She was out of her shoes and had her hand on the button at the waistband of her slacks when the bell rang. Her heart and her breath stopped for a second. Nick. He was early. She cast aside the first stab of disappointment that she wouldn't look her best for him. To heck with it. They'd shower together. She was certain he wouldn't pass up an offer like that.

  She turned, fled back down the hall and threw open the door.

  "Hello, Bella."

  The world around her slipped off its axis. She felt faint. "Kevin. What are you doing here?" The words, like her breath, faltered.

  She put out both hands to keep him from coming closer, but he pushed his way inside. "You wouldn't take my calls, so I decided to come in person."

  Grasping both Bella's wrists in an iron grip, he pushed her inside and kicked the door shut behind him.

  * * * *

  Nick whistled as he dressed. He was still whistling when he turned off the television and closed the front door behind him. He was more relaxed than he'd been in a long time.

  It was the first Saturday in weeks he had really hung loose, sprawled out on the living room couch for an afternoon and evening of football.

  The Gods must surely be in his corner tonight, Nick reasoned as he stepped out his front door. With unbelievable luck, the potential client from Lafayette had called to reschedule his appointment for the following week, which meant he would be able to spend a few hours with Bella tonight after all.