by Janice Sims
Touching her fingertips to her lips, she mentally reviewed the exact moment Giovanni had crushed his mouth to hers, sending shock waves through her body. Elise liked being close to Giovanni and had never desired a man more, but hooking up with him was out of the question. A high-stakes gamble Elise was unwilling to take. Career suicide, no matter how she looked at it.
After everything she’d been through at By the Bay, she couldn’t afford to squander the opportunity she’d been given. Proud to be the executive chef at the Hamptons Polo Club, Elise wanted to keep the position, and also keep her reputation for being a consummate professional intact. As long as she remembered what was at stake, she wouldn’t lose her composure again.
“Welcome to Demi’s baby shower!” Jennifer “Geneviève” Harris appeared beside Demi, blew a glittered noisemaker and draped an arm around her sister’s shoulder. The former child star and award-winning singer was one of the greatest voices of the twenty-first century and had six platinum-selling albums to her credit. The total package, Geneviève had an angelic voice and a fun-loving personality people couldn’t get enough of. Elise had met the pop star before, but every time she saw Geneviève, she was sporting a different look. Today, it was a honey-blond bob with bangs, a striped sweater dress and the largest diamond ring Elise had ever seen up close.
“I’m thrilled that each and every one of you are here to help us celebrate the impending arrival of my precious nieces,” Geneviève gushed, her voice filled with excitement. “Demi is an amazing daughter, sister, fiancée and friend, and she’s going to be an outstanding mother, too...”
Demi wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her designer dress. Standing beside the Harris sisters, watching them hug, Elise felt a rush of emotion—a knot in her chest and a heavy heart. Thirsty, she helped herself to one of the cocktail glasses on the granite bar and tasted her virgin margarita.
Listening to Geneviève’s speech, Elise nodded as the pop star spoke. Moved by her poignant words, she willed herself not to cry. Demi had a loving, supportive family, and moments like this made Elise wish she had siblings, too, especially now that her parents were gone. Feeling all alone in the world, she longed for a family of her own, but feared her career would eclipse her dreams and she’d never find true love.
“Demi’s kind, lovable and beautiful, and I’m not just saying that because we look alike,” Geneviève quipped, with an innocent smile. “I’m just calling it like I see it.”
Laughter filled the air and the pop song playing on the stereo system added to the festive mood inside the estate. Elise’s gaze darted around the room, searching for Sariah and Paige. These days, pregnancy announcements, baby showers and kids’ birthday parties were hard for Sariah, and Elise wanted to make sure her friend was okay. She didn’t see her anywhere, so she texted her.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that you’re going to slay motherhood,” Geneviève said, brushing a lock of hair away from her sister’s face. “And look damn good doing it, too!”
The guests cheered, whooped and hollered for several seconds, and Demi giggled.
Elise licked her lips. The sweet aroma wafting out of the kitchen made her mouth water. Sniffing the air, she had to stop herself from drooling. Her gaze strayed across the room to the Instagram-worthy appetizers on the round tables. Wanting something to eat, Elise crossed the room and picked up a gold-rimmed plate.
“Everyone, please, mingle, dance and help yourself to refreshments,” Geneviève continued. “But don’t stray too far because we’re going to play some fun baby shower games and I want everyone to have a chance to win one of the amazing prizes.”
Gathering around Demi, guests snapped pictures of the mom-to-be with their cell phones.
Elise sent another group text to Sariah and Paige, then tasted the food on her plate. The appetizers were seasoned with unique spices and she made a mental note to return to the kitchen to tell the catering staff everything tasted delicious.
Elise sipped her mocktail. Taking Geneviève’s advice, she moved around the great room, introducing herself to everyone in attendance. She’d never seen so many celebrities, trophy wives, socialites and social media personalities in one place before, and enjoyed meeting the most dynamic women in the Hamptons.
In good spirits, Elise chatted excitedly about her new executive chef position and invited Demi’s friends and family to the upcoming holiday events at the polo club. Exchanging numbers with Geneviève’s bandmates, Divalicious, Elise promised the all-female group VIP treatment whenever they visited the club, and hoped they kept their promise to attend the Holiday Cocktail Party with the beloved pop star.
“You’re here! How wonderful to see you, Elise,” a high-pitched voice said.
Someone touched her forearm and Elise spun around. Her tongue swelled inside her mouth. Frozen stiff, Elise couldn’t move. Rosario was standing directly behind her, wearing a broad smile and a money-green pantsuit that complemented her skin tone.
Worried Rosario would take one look at her and see the truth on her face, Elise stared down at her cocktail glass. She’d kissed Rosario’s brother, not her husband, so why did she feel like crap? Why was she consumed with guilt? Why couldn’t she meet Rosario’s gaze? Elise forced her lips to move but nothing came out. With each passing second, her panic grew.
“Small world, huh?” Rosario took a bite of the stuffed pepper on her plate then wiped the sauce off her mouth with a napkin. “You never told me you knew Demi and her family.”
“Come on,” Elise quipped, cracking a joke. “Everyone knows Demi. She’s the unofficial ambassador of the Hamptons!”
Rosario laughed, and Elise smiled in relief.
“How is everything going at the restaurant? Are you starting to get the hang of things?”
Nodding, Elise slowly sipped her drink.
“I’m glad to hear that,” Rosario said with a sigh of relief. “I came by yesterday, hoping to finalize the menu for the Holiday Cocktail Party, but you were nowhere to be found...”
That’s because I was busy kissing your brother in the storage room!
“Do you have a few minutes to spare right now? I’d love to pick your brain about the tentative plans I’ve made for the Breakfast with Santa and Family Brunch.”
Her food forgotten, Rosario chatted about the holiday-themed events. Her excitement was palpable, contagious, and soon the women were bouncing ideas off of each other. Rosario was determined to make the polo club an even greater success, and Elise admired her ambition.
“I’m so glad we ran into each other,” Rosario told her, flipping her dark brown hair over her shoulders. “I know you’ve got your hands full right now, but let’s make time on Monday to finalize all of the necessary details. Does 9:00 a.m. work for you?”
“I’ll make it work.” Elise unlocked her phone and added the meeting to her calendar.
“Awesome! I’m going to schmooze with the Real Housewives. Talk to you later.”
A text message from Sariah popped up on Elise’s phone and her heart dropped. Exiting the room, she strode down the hallway and up the winding staircase. Hearing voices, she realized Demi was giving some of the guests a tour of the house, and followed the group into the nursery.
Bright and spacious, with ivory furniture decorated with printed cushions, it had butterflies painted on the walls, a decorative toy box filled with books, puzzles and stuffed animals, and a vibrant alphabet-themed rug. Elise took one look at Sariah, who was standing beside the window, tugging at the sleeve of her belted teal jumpsuit, and feared her friend was on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Tears glistened in her eyes and she was biting her bottom lip. Thinking fast, Elise took Sariah by the arm and led her out of the room.
“Finally,” Paige trilled, appearing in the hallway, holding two cocktail glasses. “I thought you’d never show up. Where have you been?”
“Not now, Paige. We’ll talk later. Sariah need
s some space.”
“Nonsense,” she argued, rolling her eyes to the ceiling. “Demi invited us to check out the nursery and I’m dying to see what it looks like. I bet it’s bigger than my apartment.”
Wanting privacy, Elise ushered Sariah inside the bathroom and turned on the lights. The air smelled of potpourri, water gushed out of a miniature bronze fountain, creating a soothing ambience. Impressed with the stone and marble accents throughout the space, Elise felt as if she’d entered a luxurious spa and hoped the tranquil mood helped her bestie calm down.
Paige asked a million questions as she followed them inside, wanting to know what was wrong and why Sariah was upset. She put the glasses on the marble sink, then slammed the door. “Is someone going to tell me what’s going on, or do I have to ask Demi?”
“No!” Sariah shouted, her voice ricocheting off the alabaster walls. “Please don’t.”
“Sweetie, what’s going on?” Elise asked.
Sariah dropped down on the oversize velvet stool and stared at the wooden sculpture displayed on the side table.
Anxious to get to the bottom of things, Elise crouched down beside Sariah and spoke in a sympathetic tone. “Sariah, talk to us. What is it?”
“I adore Demi, and I’m thrilled that she’s going to be a mom, but I wish I was the one expecting twins,” she confessed. “I wish I was giving birth next month.”
Paige nodded. “I understand—”
“Do you?” Sariah challenged. “I doubt it. You have no idea what it’s like trying to conceive month after month, with no success.”
Elise grabbed a tissue from the decorative gold box on the counter and wiped the tears spilling down Sariah’s cheeks. It broke her heart to see her best friend cry, and she wanted to help her. Sariah had been her rock during her parents’ memorial service, and Elise would never forget the times her bestie had supported her on her darkest days.
“I’m tired of seeing everyone around me get pregnant, especially couples who aren’t even trying to conceive,” she complained, a bitter edge in her voice. “And if one more person tells me I’ll get pregnant in God’s time, I’m going to scream.”
Paige smirked. “It’ll happen in God’s time.”
Sariah stuck out her tongue then giggled.
Elise did, too. She could always count on Paige for a laugh, and she gave her friend a high five for lightening the mood. Sariah’s face brightened and Elise hoped she’d be able to rejoin the baby shower, even though she was frustrated about her fertility problems. “And if it doesn’t, you can buy a pig and start a farm.”
“Yuck!” Sariah rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “I swear, sometimes you guys suck at being friends. I’d be better off calling the Psychic Network for advice.”
“We love you, too,” Elise said with a cheeky smile on her lips. “And when you bring little piglet home from the animal society, we promise to help you train him.”
The women cracked up, laughing long and hard, and Elise gave Sariah a one-armed hug.
“Please don’t tell Demi I was crying,” she begged. “I don’t want her to think I’m jealous. I’m not. I just really want a baby and thinking about my fertility struggles makes me sad sometimes.”
Paige picked up her glass and took a sip of her cocktail. “Don’t worry, no one will ever know what happened in here. It’ll be our little secret.”
“Thanks. I knew I could count on you guys.” Sariah stood, went over to the sink and peered at the oval mirror. Sighing, she fluffed her short black hair. “This is definitely not my day. I’m hormonal, and I feel like crap—”
“Join the club. Giovanni kissed me yesterday and my conscience is still tormenting me.”
Elise didn’t realize the words had left her mouth until Sariah gasped and Paige gripped her shoulders. Her eyes were wild, and she was talking so fast, Elise didn’t understand what she was saying.
“You kissed Giovanni Castillo! No way! Where? When? What happened? Is he a good kisser?” Giggling, she slapped her forehead with her palm. “What am I saying? Of course he’s a good kisser! He’s dreamy and he reeks of raw, potent masculinity.”
Raw, potent masculinity?
Paige was shouting, and Elise feared one of Demi’s family members would hear the racket and come running. She smelled alcohol on Paige’s breath, and guessed her best friend had added tequila to her virgin margarita when no one was looking. “It was a harmless five-second kiss,” she lied, hoping to downplay the encounter, even though she’d fantasized about Giovanni all night. “It didn’t mean anything, and we both agreed it wouldn’t happen again.”
“Yeah, right, and Sariah’s actually going to adopt a pig!”
A laugh exploded out of Elise’s mouth and Paige wore a proud smile.
“You haven’t been on a date since Obama was president, but you expect us to believe you didn’t enjoy kissing Giovanni and that you’re not dying to do it again? Girl, please. You’re lying, and if you don’t come clean, I’ll contact that fine-ass polo player myself.”
Elise glanced at the door, her pulse thundering in her ears. “Keep it down. Someone might hear you and tell Rosario, and I’ll be fired. Is that what you want?”
“No, of course not, but I want you to tell the truth.”
“Yeah,” Sariah agreed. “It was hard, but I told you guys how I was feeling about Demi’s pregnancy. We’re girls, and that’s what we do. We confide in each other.”
Checking her watch, Elise frowned and shook her head. “We should get back to the party. We’ve been in here for twenty minutes, and Demi’s going to wonder where we are.”
“Oh, please,” Sariah said sarcastically. “Demi’s too busy posting and tweeting to come find us. Now, quit stalling and tell us what’s going on at work.”
“I don’t know where to start.” Elise shrugged. “Everything happened so fast.”
“And we want to hear every juicy detail, so spill it.” Paige hopped up on the counter, crossed her legs and clasped her hands around her knees. “Where did he kiss you?”
On the lips, but I wished he’d kissed me everywhere!
Her throat was dry as images of Giovanni flashed in her mind, but Elise parted her lips and pushed the truth out of her mouth. Her friends’ opinions mattered to her, and she wanted their advice about how to deal with her attraction to Giovanni.
Opening up to her girlfriends was cathartic, better than a session with her therapist, and by the time Elise was finished telling Sariah and Paige what had happened with Giovanni in the storage room yesterday, she felt a hundred times better.
“I’m so happy for you!” Sariah draped her arms around Elise’s neck and squeezed tight. “This is the best news I’ve heard in months. Imagine, my best friend dating one of the most famous athletes in the world. Wait until I tell Aamir. He’s going to flip.”
“Get it, girl!” Leaping off the counter, Paige danced around the soaker tub with glee, wiggling her hips and snapping her fingers. “Giovanni doesn’t go around kissing people, so he must like you a lot. How exciting!”
Elise started to speak but someone banged on the door and she trailed off. Was Rosario in the hallway? Was she listening in on their private conversation? Her heart thumped. Did Rosario recognize her voice and figure out Elise had a crush on her brother? Before Elise could decide what to do, Sariah opened the door.
“Back downstairs, ladies,” quipped a petite silver-haired woman in a peach dress. “It’s time for party games, and Geneviève wants everyone to return to the great room.”
Tucking her clutch purse under her forearm, Elise followed her girlfriends out of the bathroom, eager to return to the party. But when her cell phone rang and Giovanni’s name and number popped up on the screen, she froze. There had to be a good reason for why Giovanni was calling on her day off, though Elise couldn’t think of one. Curiosity burned inside her. She was dying to know wha
t he wanted, but she couldn’t risk someone at the party overhearing their conversation.
Her phone stopped ringing and Elise sighed in relief. She’d call him when she got home. No, Elise decided, fervently shaking her head. She’d delete Giovanni’s number from her phone, put all thoughts of him out of her mind once and for all, and pretend he’d never called—or kissed her passionately in the storage room.
Chapter 10
Giovanni marched into the polo club on Sunday afternoon, noticed the lobby was filled with celebrities, political figures, wealthy and influential members and their equally esteemed guests, and stopped dead in his tracks. Christmas decorations were swathed around the columns, dangling from the ceiling and around the windows, and he suspected Elise was to blame for the over-the-top decor. From what he’d seen, she was a chef, an event planner and a restaurant manager all rolled into one, and even though he wanted to dump the decorations into the closest garbage bin, Giovanni was impressed by her talent and creativity.
Surveying the scene, Giovanni took off his sunglasses and unbuttoned his double-breasted wool coat. I have to look at these decorations for the next three weeks? he thought, strangling a groan. You’ve got to be kidding me! I know Elise loves Christmas, but this is torture!
The lobby had been transformed into a winter wonderland and everywhere Giovanni looked, he saw garlands, tinsel, mistletoe and poinsettias. Stars had been stuck to the ivory walls, fake snow covered the hardwood floors and round tables were laden with appetizers. A soaring evergreen, decorated in layers of twinkling lights and glass ornaments, commandeered the corner of the lobby, and was surrounded by dozens of presents. Worse still, Christmas music was playing on the sound system and guests were singing along.
Giovanni shook his head in disbelief. Wow, what a star-studded turnout. He’d never expected hundreds of people to attend the Holiday Cocktail Party, let alone an Oscar winner and a former US president, but what shocked him most of all was Elise’s red, eye-catching outfit. His gaze trailed her around the room, watched her every move.