by C. C. Coburn
She pulled a face. “Sorry about that. Let’s just say, I’ve had a gutful of well–meaning friends who keep trying to set me up with every available bachelor between here and Kansas.”
“I live in the other direction,” he pointed out.
“Then that should be some indication of how many blind dates they’ve sent me on. They’re now looking west.”
Gabe couldn’t help smiling at the exasperation in her voice. “So this time you thought you’d send your date packing by turning up at the door with your head in a towel and wearing your nightgown?”
“Uh, huh.” She frowned. “I guess the tooth was overkill?”
“It had me fooled for a while,” he admitted. “But if you’re going to try it again, I’d suggest a more permanent blacking–out technique.”
“Heck no! Knowing my luck I’d end up with something really permanent.” She giggled and Gabe enjoyed the enchanting feminine sound.
Beth took another gulp of the wine and wished it didn’t taste so cheap. She was going to have a hell of a headache in the morning. But the alcohol was the only thing holding her nerves together right now.
What was she thinking answering her door dressed like that?
It had seemed a great idea at the time since she was so over being sent on dates with complete duds. Beth knew her friends meant well—some of the guys had even been mildly interesting—but the speed dating event she’d been talked into by a single girlfriend a couple of months back had been disastrous. Deep down, she didn’t want to get into a relationship. Didn’t want to risk her heart breaking again like it had over JJ—her rotten, cheating, lying, bastard of an ex–husband.
She’d had a bit of fun tonight, dressing in her ratty old robe and blacking out her tooth, determined to scare away every man who darkened her door for good. And then what should she find on her doorstep but the hunkiest, most edible, beddable male who’d ever stalked the earth! And when he’d smiled and handed over the rose with that corny line about only being here for the sex, she’d come completely undone.
A flush of embarrassment flooded Beth at the memory of hauling Gabe through the door, dressed as she was—like some kind of nutter with a bad dental plan. She wanted to curl up and die. But the wine was helping. She only needed a bit more and she might start acting normal again. She took another swig.
“You should go easy on that,” he warned with a frown.
“I’ve had men telling me what to do and what not to do all my life.” She took another mouthful, for fortitude, she told herself, but knew it was more out of defiance. “For the past twelve months I’ve been free of control freaks running my life and I aim to keep it that way.” She raised her glass. “To freedom!” she said and downed the last of her wine.
O…kay, thought Gabe as he watched her drain her glass. I’m in the kitchen of a madwoman, sex maniac with a drinking problem. It was probably time to leave. Problem was, his momma had raised him better than to walk out on a woman, especially one who’d had too much to drink. She wasn’t safe to leave alone. He stood up to get himself some more water and poured one for Beth too.
“How about the sex?” she asked.
Gabe gripped the back of the chair as heat rushed to his groin. “Excuse me?”
She gazed up at him and Gabe thought she looked far too young and innocent to be talking about sex like that.
“The sex,” she said. “You said you were here for the sex.”
He shook his head. The woman was confounding him by sitting there with a hopeful expression on her face uttering inducements to carnal pleasure. Surely she knew his performance had been about as sincere as her own?
“I have my own confession to make.” Gabe imagined his collar was choking him, but that was impossible since she’d ripped off a few of his buttons when she’d hauled him through her front door. “That line was meant to put you off me. Big time,” he said.
Beth expelled a breath. “Damn,” she whispered. “And I thought my luck was changing.”
“Excuse me?”
“Forget it. It’s the story of my life. Bad luck in the men department.”
Gabe resumed his seat. “You often have guys turning up on your doorstep saying they want sex and then they back out?”
“Not guys who look and kiss as good as you. Dammit.”
Gabe enjoyed her candid comment, although he suspected it was the wine that was making her so bold right now.
She narrowed her eyes “Can I ask you something personal?”
“Fire away.”
“If I’d opened the door wearing a sexy negligee and with all my teeth intact, would we now be upstairs giving the bedsprings a workout?”
She was fun. And a fruitcake. “If I was into casual sex, then there’s every possibility.”
“Darn!” she muttered and crossed her arms. “The only halfway decent guy ever to darken my door comes a’ knocking and I have to scare him off. And he has to take the moral high ground.”
Halfway decent? Gabe couldn’t help the smile pulling at his mouth. “It wasn’t so much the nightwear, it was the tooth. It was pretty distracting.”
“Definitely overkill,” she muttered then frowned up at him and asked, “Would you be interested in trying this from the beginning again? I mean… I could slip into something sexy and you could go knock at the door again and deliver your lines and the rose and we could see what develops?”
Gabe grinned. Beth Harman was a damned tantalizing woman. He leaned forward a he rested his forearms on the table, linking his fingers together. “You seem very keen to have sex with a virtual stranger.”
“I’m keen to have sex, period!” she declared. “Not with just anyone, of course. You being Tilly’s cousin and all makes you a more desirable prospect than someone off the street.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“I feel I know enough about you for us to dispense with the preliminaries.”
“Really?”
Beth shrugged. “Tilly told me you’re a widower and you’re lonely, and you haven’t had sex for ages either. I don’t know about your schedule but I only have this weekend available.”
Gabe couldn’t hold back the cough that turned into a fit of choking. He held up his hand to fend her off when she tried to pat his back.
Beth resumed her seat and poured some more wine. Gabe eyed her but determined that he wouldn’t say anything about her drinking. Instead he asked, “So you like wine?”
Beth screwed up her nose. “Not really, but a friend left it here earlier this week, so I figured I wouldn’t waste it. I can get you a glass if you like.”
“I’ll pass, thanks.”
“I can recommend it. You can get drunk really fast on it.”
“You often get drunk?”
“No, I hardly ever drink at all.” She got up from the table and opened the refrigerator and turned to him. “I’m starving, can I fix you something? A salad? Sandwich? Leftovers?”
She looked so vulnerable standing there with the refrigerator light glowing behind her and all that soft toffee hair tumbling over her shoulders. Gabe decided he didn’t want to leave right now, he wanted to spend time with Beth, find out why she was drinking so much and why she wanted sex so desperately.
Also, there was the not insignificant problem that if he went back to Tilly’s place early, his nosey cousin would demand to know why he was home so soon. Being confronted by Tilly over why he’d ditched the date she arranged with such manipulative finesse wasn’t something he wanted to face right now.
And the thought of whiling away the hours in some diner waiting for the appropriate time to go back to Tilly’s left him cold. Beth’s kitchen, on the other hand, was a warm, welcoming oasis and she was good, if unusual, company. He decided she wasn’t really as mad as a cut snake. Maybe a bit mixed up, instead. It couldn’t be easy trying to raise kids on your own. Throw a string of bad dates into the mix and he could understand her initial behavior.
“What are the leftovers?” he asked.
<
br /> “Osso Buco.”
“What’s that?”
“Italian beef stew.”
“My favorite.”
He was rewarded with a huge smile and then her head disappeared into the fridge and Gabe admired her butt. It was nice. A woman’s butt, not a skinny, shapeless one that could be mistaken for a man’s. He was starting to feel horny again. Not good. Especially if Beth noticed. She was hurting in spite of her bravado and sassy talk. Something inside him needed to know why—not act on hormonal impulses.
“Got it!” she exclaimed and backed out towards him. Gabe resisted the urge to halt her backward progress by placing his hands on her hips and pulling her down onto his lap.
“I’ll peel some potatoes and warm this up.” She frowned over her shoulder as she placed the dish into the microwave. “You do like mashed potatoes, don’t you? I think it’s the best way to eat Osso Buco.”
Gabe spread his hands. “Absolutely.” He stood up and took the vegetable peeler from her hands. “Allow me,” he said and started on the potatoes.
Beth returned to the fridge and got out fixings for salad. “This is nice,” she said. “I miss cooking for a man, even if it is only leftovers.”
Tilly had said Beth was recently divorced. Maybe she was still hung up on her ex–husband? Although surely that couldn’t be right if she was willing to have sex with a stranger. He cleared his throat and asked, “You said you had to have sex this weekend. Is there any reason it has to be this particular weekend?”
She glanced up from the lettuce she was washing, took a deep breath and squared her shoulders as though forcing the blush that was creeping up her face to subside. If nothing else, he decided, Beth Harman didn’t hold back on the truth, no matter how much it might take to confess. “My ex has got our kids for the weekend,” she admitted. “And I’m feeling horny enough to burst.”
Gabe nearly cut himself on the knife he was using to slice the potatoes ready for the pan.
“Of course, I really didn’t want to have sex with a stranger. And I especially didn’t want to have it with any of my former dates.” She gave a visible shudder. “So things have been building up to the point where I was seriously thinking of buying myself a vibrator.”
And just when I thought it was safe to stay for dinner, she comes out with another startling admission. Gabe made a mental note to himself to be prepared for nothing less than absolute honesty from Beth Harman. “So that’s what the vibrator remark was about?”
“Yep.” Beth shook out the lettuce and Gabe admired the way her breasts bounced up and down with the motion. “Sorry if you took any offence at that.”
Gabe laughed and placed his hand over his heart. “I count being compared favorably to a vibrator as one of my proudest achievements.”
Beth smiled and chewed on her lip for a bit then said, “I haven’t had sex for the longest time and you seemed like a decent enough guy,” she explained. “I hadn’t really been thinking about having sex with anyone in particular, well, except for Harrison Ford, but he wasn’t available this weekend, so when you turned up at the door, apparently ready willing and able, I thought, You go, girl! ”
Gabe laughed out loud. Beth Harman was the most down to earth person he’d ever met. She was funny and fascinating and he loved her sparkling blue eyes. They hinted at the mischief beneath.
“You’ve got nice lips,” she said.
“That’s it? I’ve got nice lips?”
“And a cute butt and strong capable hands and the warmest brown eyes.” She opened the microwave, stirred the Osso Buco then set it to warm for longer. She looked him over from head to toe. “And you fill out the front of your jeans more than adequately.”
Gabe put down the knife. Using one while conversing with Beth could be bad for his health. “You don’t hold anything back, do you?”
Beth shrugged. “I figure I’ve asked you for sex, so there are no secrets left between us.”
“Interesting logic. I guess it’s nice to be at least wanted for my body, if not my brains.”
“Hey, let’s not play down the fact that I really appreciate that you’re still here. You have no idea how much I admire a man with the courage to come into the house of a woman who dresses in her rattiest nightgown for a date.”
“Such flattery. You could really turn my head.”
She grinned and handed him the silverware and dinner plates. “We can eat in here or go out in the dining room and be more formal if you like.”
“Here’s fine,” he said, looking around the kitchen. “It’s cozy.”
Beth resumed her seat and looked around. “Thank you. JJ didn’t even notice it when I refurbished it. He didn’t notice a lot of things I did around here.”
Gabe wanted to reach out and smooth her frown. “And that’s why you’re divorced?” he asked.
“No, we’re divorced because I came home early one day from volunteering at the seniors’ center and found him screwing his nineteen–year–old receptionist in our bed. The bed he hadn’t screwed me in for a year and a half. I threw a bucket of water over them and kicked him out. That was a year ago. So if you do your sums, you’ll be able to figure that I haven’t had sex in over two and a half years. How long’s it been for you?”
Gabe grinned and said, “One of these days, I might get used to your outrageousness.” In the meantime, he was more than content to sit here and listen to Beth being… well… Beth.
She picked up her fork and said, “You’ve seen me in my nightwear and with a blackened tooth. I figure I can’t go much lower than that, so anything’s game for conversation. Besides, I’m interested.”
“In me?”
“In your answer. I’m really only interested in you for sex, remember?” She softened her remark with a wink.
“Well, gee, thanks for the compliment. And here I was, thinking you wanted me for my looks.”
“I’ll take your looks and the sex,” she teased. “Are you trying to avoid answering me?”
“No. I don’t have a problem answering your question.” He paused, then took a deep breath and said, “My wife, Marina, died nearly two years ago.” Gabe’s heart felt starved of blood even mentioning her name. He’d given in to her wish to continue with the pregnancy the doctor had warned her against. She’d wanted to give him a child so badly. And deep down inside, he’d wanted a son to carry on the ranch that had been in his family for five generations. The burden of producing a son, since he was an only child, had sat heavily with him. What a selfish fool he’d been.
He flinched when Beth reached across the table and placed her hand on his. The pain of talking about his wife still bit deep even after all this time.
He held up his hands when Beth opened her mouth. “And to save you interrogating me further, there hasn’t been anyone since Marina. In spite of Tilly’s well–meant meddling, I haven’t been ready for a relationship.”
“And you’re not interested in casual sex in the meantime.” Beth hit the table with the flat of her hand. “Damn!”
Gabe smiled. Beth was back to her outrageous self. He enjoyed their banter. It took his mind off more serious things. He’d been way too solemn and full of self–pity and guilt these past two years. Tilly had tried her best to help him come out of his self–imposed exile from life. He owed her one for sending him to Beth’s door. She was good company.
“If I was the kind of guy that was interested in casual relationships,” he said, “Then you’d be the first person I’d call.”
Beth smiled at him over the top of her third glass of wine. “Gee thanks.”
“Provided you weren’t drunk.”
She rose from the table and poured the rest of the alcohol down the sink. “I might have sobered up enough by tomorrow. Do you think we could try again then?”
“You never give up, do you?”
She sighed and said, “Not when I want something this bad,” then drained the potatoes and started to mash them with butter and cream.
Gabe ros
e from the table and took over the mashing task. “I’ll take that as a compliment, even though I know you only want me for my body.”
Beth placed the Osso Buco and salad on the table and turned back to him. “So, are you a good lover?”
“Hoo, boy.”
“I’m serious. I’ve only got a small window of opportunity here, as I’ve explained to you already. The next one won’t come up for another month. I don’t want to be wasting time, chitchat and my famous Osso Buco on a dud.”
Gabe coughed. She really was outlandish. And he was loving every minute of it.
“Well?”
“I haven’t had any complaints.”
Beth gave a tiny nod of approval. “Take a seat.”
“After you.” He held out her chair.
Beth was so taken aback that she hesitated. If Gabe Hunter was going to keep behaving like a perfect gentleman, then she was going to lock him in her bedroom and not let him out till the fall. Of 2016. “Thank you,” she said and tried to make herself weightless while he pushed in her chair. She watched as he took a seat then lifted his glass of water towards her. Beth lifted hers. “To sex.”
“To exploring the possibilities,” he said and touched his glass to hers.
“Enjoy,” she said and watched as he took his first bite.
Gabe’s eyes widened and he looked up from his plate. Their eyes met. He chewed. He swallowed. He said, “Marry me?”
Beth couldn’t help beaming from ear to ear.
Gabe pointed at his plate with his fork. “Your husband’s a fool.”
A warm wave of pleasure flowed through her. Gabe’s simple statement did more for her self–esteem than all the platitudes she’d been fed this past year about how much better off she was without a jerk like JJ.
“What are you smiling about?”
“You. Thank you,” she said and picked up her fork.
“Tell me about your kids,” he said, indicating the photos.
She filled him in on all four of her children, he talked about ranch life and Beth couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed anyone’s company so much.