Part 5 (1/2)
”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 embarra.s.sed; 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. G.o.d 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 catch her breath. d.a.m.n, 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 furnis.h.i.+ngs 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.
”h.e.l.lo?”
”Hey, Tina.” Gina returned to the kitchen thinking she should put the rest of the food away. ”What are you and Sam doing tonight?” She dug through a box, pulled out all the pasta products, and carried them to the walk-in pantry. She remembered Jess had referred to it as a butler's pantry. As if...
”Sam's working tonight so I'm going home to make myself dinner. Why?”
Gina nudged the box filled with refrigerated food toward the refrigerator. Ben had bought enough to feed a family of five. There was so much perishable food, most of it would end up going bad if she didn't cook and freeze meals. She'd gone to bed hungry enough times to never allow that to happen. No, wasting food was not something she ever did. ”You want to come over after work and see my new place?”
”Tonight?”
Milk, cheese, eggs. ”If you're too tired, I understand.”
”Gina, what's wrong?”
”Nothing. I'm fine.” He'd bought her two boxes of b.u.t.ter? It would take her a year to go through that much. ”I just thought you'd like to see where I'm living. Hey, why don't you pack a bag and have Sam come here after his s.h.i.+ft.” Steak? She checked the label. Filet mignon. Nice. ”I'll have dinner ready by the time you get here. We can have a sleepover, and then have breakfast with Sam before work in the morning.”
”You want to have a sleepover?”
Gina heard concern in her sister's voice. Madre de Dios Madre de Dios. ”Forget about it. It was a stupid idea. You're right.”
”I'll be there right after work. I don't even need to stop at home. I know you'll have something I can wear tomorrow.”
”You don't have to. Really, I'm fine.”
”Give me the address.”