Gideon followed her gaze and saw Justice walking in with Patience. The two of them took seats together in the second row. Isabel writhed in her seat.
“Looks like he’s not coming,” Noelle said. “Good news or bad news?”
Isabel slumped back in her seat. “I can’t decide.”
Several more people walked into the conference room. Gideon recognized the Stryker contingent. Rafe and his business partner, Dante, who owned a large real estate development company. Shane Stryker had a horse ranch. His brother Clay had started a Haycation business on the Castle Ranch. Rafe’s wife, Heidi, sat with them. She sold goat cheese and soap.
“Is anyone sitting here?”
He looked to his right and saw a petite blonde standing there. She had big hazel eyes and looked like she was maybe twelve.
“This is a meeting for adults,” he said. “Did you mean to be somewhere else?”
She laughed and settled next to him. “I’m twenty-four. Want to see my ID?”
He was sure the chagrin showed on his face. “Sorry, no.”
Her grin stayed in place. “Don’t worry. I’m used to it. It’s a size thing. I’m small and cute so people assume I’m still a child. The occasional tantrum doesn’t help the maturity meter, that’s for sure.”
He glanced to his left and thought about sliding a few seats over.
“The thing is,” she said in a conspiratorial whisper, “I’m not supposed to be here. Technically I haven’t started a new business.”
“You find city meetings compelling?”
“I’m thinking of opening a business. A street food cart. What you would call a trailer. I’m still renovating.” She paused, as if waiting for a reaction.
“Like a taco truck?”
She winced. “Okay, sort of. Slightly more gourmet than that, although I do love a good taco. Street food is very big these days. There are fairs in L.A. and San Francisco celebrating street food.”
“Good to know.”
“I’m Ana Raquel Hopkins, by the way.”
“Gideon.”
She tilted her head. “You’re the radio guy. You play that old ’60s music, right? My best friend’s grandmother loves you.”
Good to know he was popular with the seniors, he thought grimly.
“She says that bedroom eyes are what everybody talks about, but a bedroom voice is much better.” Ana Raquel grinned. “She’s going to be so excited I met you. I’m going to tell her you’re really hot. You know, for an older guy.”
He was thirty-six. Not exactly ready for his AARP card. But to a twenty-four year old, he was on the far side of interesting.
He looked toward the front where Mayor Marsha had stepped up to the podium.
“Thank you all for coming,” she began. “I thought it would be a good idea for those of you starting a new business in town to get to know each other. This isn’t going to be a formal presentation. I wanted a chance to welcome all of you to our community and answer any questions you might have. Also, I’ll be bringing in members of the city government you’re most likely to have contact with. I’m going to start with Felicia Swift. She recently took over our festivals, and we’re delighted to have her expertise and energy.”
There was more talking, but Gideon didn’t bother to listen. Instead he studied the leggy redhead and let his mind drift back to the feel of her mouth on his. She made love without inhibition. There was only the moment and the pleasure.
He liked that she didn’t play games. She was brutally honest. A man would always know where he stood with her. Not that he was looking to get involved, but she was a temptation.
“Wow!”
He turned to Ana Raquel and saw her staring at him.
She swung to face Felicia. “So you two are together.”
He stiffened. “Why do you say that?”
“Because of how you were looking at her. Jeez, if a guy ever looked at me with that combination of passion and need, I’d probably go up in flames.” She flopped back in her seat. “Is it hot in here, or is it me?”
He shifted uncomfortably. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
She grinned. “Right. I get it. You don’t want everyone to know. I can be discreet. Trust me, I know how sensitive guys can be.”
“I’m not sensitive. Don’t you have a trailer to remodel?”
“Yes, but that can wait. This is way more interesting.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “Felicia and I are dating.”
“For how long?”
“Our first date is in a couple of weeks. A party.”
“Seriously? You’re going to wait that long for your first date? I don’t think you’ll last. Besides, look at her. You think someone else isn’t going to make a move?”
“It’s not like that.”
Ana Raquel patted his shoulder. “Sorry to tell you, but when a man looks at a woman the way you looked at her, it’s always like that.”
Gideon shifted his attention back to the presentation. Felicia was done speaking, and someone else from the mayor’s office had taken her place. He found himself glancing toward the woman in question, studying the curve of her cheek and how she was listening attentively, no doubt committing every word to memory.
She looked at him and smiled. Beside him, Ana Raquel muttered what sounded like a very smug “See?”
He ignored her.
But after the meeting, he found himself walking to the front of the room. He paused by Felicia, clueless as to what to say or do.
“Hi,” she said. “Wasn’t this great? I think Mayor Marsha is wise to help the new business owners create a social bond. We do better as a society when we have an emotional connection with each other. There’s strength in community.”
If he asked, she could probably write down the mathematical formula for the origin of the universe. He would guess she knew more than most engineers about flight and strength tolerances and everything else learnable. She spoke close to a dozen languages. But, as she’d admitted very recently, she’d never been on a date.
They were going to that party, he thought. It should be enough. But it wasn’t. He’d been her first lover—a fact that still made him break out in a cold sweat. Still, he couldn’t help thinking that he didn’t want some as**ole taking advantage of her.
“Would you have dinner with me?” he asked. “Tonight? At my place?”
She pressed her lips together. “You’re asking me to dinner?”“Yes.”
“Like a...”
“Date.”
“We already have a date. For the party.”
“Did you want to wait until then to have dinner with me?”
“No. I enjoy spending time with you. Thank you. Dinner would be nice.”
“I’ll see you at seven.”
She nodded.
He turned and saw Ana Raquel by the door. She grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. He held in a groan.
CHAPTER SIX
FELICIA KNEW WINE was a traditional gift when invited to dinner. She’d gone online and read about several other interesting options, including bringing a dish for the meal, or dessert, along with flowers or other hostess gifts. However, she was fairly certain Gideon wasn’t the pretty-silver-frame or napkins-in-a-matching-holder type.
She arrived on time, wine in hand, and knocked on the front door.
In the few seconds it took him to answer, she worked on her breathing to slow her heart rate and reduce her anxiety to something closer to anticipation. Nervousness wasn’t pleasant, and considering she hadn’t eaten much all day, the sudden need to throw up surprised her.
Perhaps she’d taken too long worrying about her appearance. She’d tried on several outfits, and although none of them had been inappropriate, she hadn’t been satisfied with any of them. Jeans had been too casual and a dress had seemed too formal. She’d finally decided on white crop pants and a dark green silk T-shirt. The V-neck dipped low enough to show the shadow of her cleavage, which men seemed to like. She wasn’t sure the choice was flattering but realized she didn’t know enough about fashion to be sure. It wasn’t an area she’d ever had reason to study.
The door opened, and Gideon stood in front of her.
“Hey,” he said, his voice low and sexy.
She felt her stomach muscles clench. “Hi.” She held out the bottle of wine. “I went online and found several options for dinner. Not knowing what we were having made the choice more difficult, but statistically at a barbecue one is more likely to eat red meat, so I went with a full-bodied red wine.”
He smiled at her. “We’re having steaks. Come on in.”
She followed him into the house.
Days were still long this time of year, and sunlight poured into the house. She could see through the great room to the deck beyond and the view that seemed to stretch for miles. The last time she’d been here, she’d only sensed the vastness beyond. Now it was clearly visible.
Trees carpeted the side of the mountains. Beyond them was another set of mountains and between them a distant valley.
Gideon led the way into the kitchen. It was large, with dark cabinets and stainless appliances. Overhead lights reflected off the granite countertops.
He opened the bottle of wine, collected two glasses then poured. Felicia took one, he grabbed the other and they went out onto the deck.
Close up, the view was even more impressive. She walked to the railing and pointed halfway down the mountain.
“You can see where an avalanche tore up trees,” she said. “That group in the middle is significantly shorter. Based on how quickly these trees grow each year, I would say it happened sometime in the past forty years.” She looked to the left side of the house. “With this area leveled off, it’s unlikely to happen again, but it must have been a powerful event to observe.”
Gideon smiled. “Assuming you weren’t watching it from below.”
She laughed. “Yes. One would want to be above or to the side of an avalanche.”
She was aware of the furniture on the deck. They weren’t exactly where they had been last time, but if she turned slightly, she could see the lounge chair where they’d had sex.
Wanting surprised her with an intense surge. She found herself thinking about stepping closer to Gideon so she could lean against him and have him hold her. She wanted to kiss him and touch him.
“Are you working tonight?” she asked.
“My shift starts at eleven.”
She did the calculations in her head. “So a sexual encounter is unlikely.”
He’d been swallowing and now started to choke. She monitored his coughing to see if she should offer assistance, but decided he would recover. A few seconds later, he caught his breath.
“It’s not a time issue,” he told her, his voice raspy.
“I suppose that’s true. We could not have dinner.”
He shook his head. “I was thinking more along the lines of this being a first date. I’m not the most traditional guy around, but I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to wait. Maybe get to know each other.”
“Oh.” She considered that. “Establish an emotional bond before having physical intimacy. You’re right. That’s how it usually happens.”
Although she’d very much enjoyed making love with Gideon, she could see the appeal of waiting. From what she’d been told, sex was even better with someone who mattered. She couldn’t imagine making love with Gideon being more pleasurable than before, but finding out would make for an excellent experiment. Plus, if she wanted a normal kind of life, she needed to act in a normal way.
“You’re right,” she told him. “This is a first date. We should get to know each other.” She turned to face the house. “How long have you lived here?”
“Just over a year. Some guy from L.A. had bought the land and started construction only to realize he didn’t like being this far from the big city. I bought it from him and had it finished. Made a few modifications.”
She would guess he’d put in more windows, maybe the skylights.
“What happens when you get stuck up here because of weather?”
“I’m prepared. There’s a generator, and I keep plenty of food on hand.”
“Occupational hazard,” she said.
He shrugged and picked up his wine. “Being prepared isn’t a bad thing. What about you? Where did you grow up?”
She drew in a breath. Right—he wouldn’t know about her past. That night together four years ago hadn’t had much in the way of conversation.
“Outside Chicago.” She paused, cautious about the details of her past. People reacted in unexpected ways when she told them how she’d grown up. “I wasn’t the easiest of children,” she began. “I was reading by the time I was two, doing complex math equations at three. When I was four, I used items I found under the kitchen sink to make a bomb.”
Gideon raised one eyebrow. “On purpose?”
“I knew there would be an explosion, and I thought it would be funny. I wasn’t trying to destroy anything. My parents didn’t see it that way.”
“Got in trouble, huh?”
“They felt I needed a more structured environment. Somewhere I could be mentally challenged. I was more than they could handle.”
She knew she was making excuses, saying what she’d always said. While it was true, it also avoided any emotional reaction to the stark reality. Her parents had been afraid of her. They hadn’t wanted her around.