He smiled at Gigi, and her body went haywire.
So what if he’s gorgeous? And smells good. And is phenomenal in bed. One night does not a relationship make. Not even one as good as what we had.
If Gio hadn’t arrived, Kane might have already returned to London. Or the States. For all she knew, Kane might consider her a one-night stand, who unfortunately was his best friend’s sister. It wasn’t as if he’d ever even taken her on a date. Or even asked her out on one.
She forced herself to look away. As far as she could tell, he hadn’t brought apology roses either. A few minutes ago Gigi had worried he wouldn’t show up, but now that he had, it was no longer enough.
I’ve never asked a man to tame a dragon for me.
Maybe it’s time I do.
* * *
Nothing makes an empty-handed man look worse than standing beside another man who brought five hundred fucking pink roses. And then to have them handed out to people who walked by? Thanks Gio. It’s going to be a long dinner. Now I get to endure it while feeling like an even bigger ass.
Julia was already tucked against her husband’s side, smiling up at him. Apparently all had been forgiven there. Gigi, on the other hand, was refusing to look at Kane even when he walked over to greet her. He leaned down to kiss her, and she offered him her cheek as if they hadn’t just spent the night tasting every inch of each other’s bodies. Was she playing it cool because her brother was there, or was she still angry? Kane couldn’t tell. He wasn’t a man used to being unsure of himself in any situation, but he didn’t know how to navigate this one.
He and Gio had come to somewhat of a truce, one that relied on not discussing Gigi. It put Kane in the difficult position of wanting to talk to Gigi alone and respecting a friendship very important to him. They might disagree now and then, but . . .
“Gigi, look at me. Are you okay?” Kane asked softly enough for only her ears to hear.
She looked up at him from beneath her beautifully long lashes, and his heart constricted in his chest. “I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
He placed a hand lightly on the lower part of her back as he leaned down to say, “Nothing could keep me away. I’m an ass. I told myself to take it slowly with you, but that whole plan went to hell the moment I saw you again. Something happens to my brain when I’m around you.”
Gigi raised a hand to caress the side of Kane’s face. “I know exactly how that feels.”
“Our table is ready,” Gio said gruffly. He and Julia led the way through the door, into the reception, and down the stone stairs into the elegant dining area. They were seated in a quiet corner near a window that looked out onto the secluded garden terrace.
Had Gio and Julia not been there, the meal might have been followed by a romp in one of The Witchery’s notoriously decadent upstairs suites. Unfortunately, it didn’t appear any part of the night before would be repeated that evening.
After ordering drinks, the four of them studied their menus in silence. Kane reached over and took Gigi’s hand in his. Gio made an audible displeased sound from behind his menu, proof he was watching them even as he appeared not to be.
Gigi cried out softly and hunched over, pulling her hand away to rub at her leg beneath the table.
Julia blushed, then raised her own menu higher, saying, “Sorry, Gigi, I was aiming for Gio.”
Kane choked back a laugh.
Gio lowered his menu. “You think this is funny, Kane?”
Kane lowered his own menu and met his friend’s glare calmly. “If by funny, you mean amusing because it’s the most painfully awkward dinner I’ve had the pleasure of being invited to, then yes.”
“It’ll be fine if you can keep your hands to yourself.”
“Then we should make it a quick meal,” Kane said only because he was getting tired of apologizing for something he couldn’t change. He felt a sudden, sharp kick from Julia beneath the table and winced.
Julia smiled from behind her menu. “Good. My aim is getting better.” She closed her menu and leaned toward the two men. “Gigi and I had a fabulous day, and we’re about to enjoy what I hope will be an equally amazing dinner in a beautiful magical restaurant. If the two of you want to engage in a male pissing contest, take it somewhere else.”
Gio let out a long sigh. He looked back and forth between Gigi and Kane. “I don’t like this, but I guess there’s nothing I can do about it. If you’re not good to my sister, Kane, I’ll have your balls on a platter.”
A waiter cleared his throat beside the table. “That is not currently one of our specials, but instead may I suggest some Oban native oysters from Argyllshire.”
Julia covered her smile. Gigi raised her napkin as she did the same. The look Gio shot the waiter would have caused many powerful men to shake in their shoes, but the waiter was young and quite unimpressed, which only increased Gio’s irritation. Kane let out a laugh that couldn’t be held in.
“Give us a minute,” Gio said to the waiter then turned to his dinner mates. A reluctant smile spread across his face. He raised an eyebrow at Gigi. “You, too?”
Gigi shrugged and lowered her napkin, smiling widely for the first time since they’d entered the restaurant. “You should have seen your face.”
With that, the tone of the meal lightened. Gio asked Gigi if she intended to stay in Scotland. Her answer was interrupted by the waiter returning to take their orders, but after he left she continued to describe how she’d fallen in love with the small city. “I love it here. There are so many layers to this city. When I first came here I thought I would easily fit right in. Because of the language, it felt like a quaint version of London to me. But the longer I stayed, the more I realized how very different it is, in a thousand wonderful ways. The joy became seeking out those differences and embracing them. And somehow, over time, it became home to me. Now I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”
Gigi described how much her friend Annelise had helped her in the beginning and how their friendship had morphed into being business partners, and although Kane had heard the story before, he loved watching Gigi tell it. Part of it, though, gave him an uneasy feeling he had trouble labeling. He hadn’t thought much beyond how to get Gigi back in his arms, but hearing her talk about her business and ties in Edinburgh made Kane question something he hadn’t considered. He’d assumed if things worked out between them, she would naturally follow him back to New York. What if that wasn’t the case?
There was so much he wanted to ask her. In New York he’d focused on his physical attraction to her. He found he also wanted to know what she was thinking, her favorite music, if she liked or hated thunderstorms. Anything and everything about her. He wanted to know it all. “You said you and Annelise are working on a side project right now? What is it?”
Their food was delivered, and Gigi pushed hers around her plate while seeming to debate if she wanted to answer his question. Finally she looked across at Gio and said, “I didn’t want to mention it to you, Gio, because I don’t want it to be an issue. After Papa died, I asked to go to school in London. My mother paid for a private school by working two jobs and selling off many valuable items from the palazzo. I want to return those items to her.”
Kane fell a little bit in love with her just then and took her hand in his again. “I’m sure that means a lot to her.”
Gigi raised her eyes to his. “She doesn’t know I’m doing it. Which might be for the best, since I’m not doing it well. Some of the items are quite rare, and the collectors who purchased them don’t want to part with them. It doesn’t matter how much money I offer them.”
Julia tapped her hand on the table in inspiration. “Such a shame. Too bad someone can’t help you with that.”
Gio started to say, “I could—” but stopped when Julia put her hand on his arm and shook her head.
It wasn’t very subtle, but Julia wasn’t subtle by nature. Her sincere desire for those around her to be happy more than made up for that tiny fault. Kane gave Gigi’s ha
nd a squeeze. “I have many contacts in Europe. Some of them might be able to loosen the grip of those collectors.”
A hopeful expression lit Gigi’s face. “You would do that for me? It’s an extensive list.”
There were many things Kane wasn’t sure about when it came to Gigi, but he was sure if she wanted something as badly as she wanted this, he would move heaven and earth to make it happen for her. “Give me the list and what you know about where each item went, and I’ll get them for you.”
Gigi’s eyes lit up. “Like a quest.”
Kane wouldn’t have described it that way, but his chest puffed up with pride, nonetheless. “If you want to call it that.”
Gigi rose slightly from her chair and gave Kane a grateful kiss, full on his lips. It started chastely, but quickly deepened.
Gio growled audibly.
Kane didn’t care. It only took one touch from Gigi to make him forget where he was and who was there. He was on fire for her, just as she instantly became for him. She dug her hands into his hair and held him with the same desperation he felt.
A sharp kick to his shin from Julia brought him back to reality, and he reluctantly broke off the kiss. He and Gigi sat back and let out matching, shaky sighs. They exchanged a guilty, passion-filled glance before attempting to return their attention to the others.
Julia said cheerfully, “The food here is amazing, but I’m getting tired. Let’s see if we can get that check.”
Chapter Seventeen
‡
After dinner, Gigi and Kane walked hand in hand farther up The Royal Mile to the castle at the top. The courtyard was still open even though the castle grounds were closed. Kane sat on a cement wall overlooking Edinburgh and pulled Gigi forward between his legs. The air was charged with their attraction to each other. Gigi was one touch away from mauling Kane publicly like a randy teenager. He took both of her hands in his and gave her a lusty smile, apparently having similar thoughts.
“Your apartment was wonderful, but my hotel is closer,” he murmured against her neck in a bedroom voice that filled Gigi’s mind with stimulating memories of how they’d spent the night before. The evidence of his urgency was pressed deliciously against her abdomen.
The memory of how he’d felt in her hand, her mouth, deep inside her, had her quivering with need. Her body craved his. All she had to do was say yes and the pleasure from the night before would be hers again. Maybe it was the castle beside them, or Julia’s earlier observation that Gigi deserved better than she asked for, but Gigi wanted more than hot sex with a man who may or may not have feelings for her. The maiden Julia had referenced wouldn’t have asked her knight in shining armor to tame a dragon, only to sleep with him as soon as he agreed to. No, she would have waited for his victorious return.
Gigi pulled back slightly from Kane, still holding his hands, but breaking all other contact. “I don’t want to sleep with you again. Not yet.”
For a moment Kane looked so shocked it was almost comical. “Last night was amazing for me. You didn’t feel the same way?”
Gigi blushed. “It was incredible.”
“But?”
Unable to look him in the eye while trying to express herself, Gigi kept her eyes focused on the top button of his shirt. “My mother spent half of her life with a man who wouldn’t leave his wife for her.”
“I’m not married,” Kane said.
Gigi gave his hands a squeeze and looked up. “Hear me out.”
Kane opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it and nodded.
“My father said he loved us, but he could only love us so much, you know? He had another family who needed him. I didn’t realize how much it had affected me until recently. I’ve kept my expectations of people very low so they won’t disappoint me. I think that’s wrong. I don’t want half of anyone.”
A storm raged in Kane’s eyes. “I don’t know what to say, Gigi.”
Emotion brought tears to Gigi’s eyes, but they weren’t from sadness. At least, not about what Kane was saying. They were tears of growth as Gigi faced a part of herself she’d denied. “I know, Kane. What can you say? We’ve really only had one night together. But that’s my point. We did this—us—backward. I know how I feel around you. I know how tempting it is to give in to that feeling, but I need more than that.”
Kane let out a long breath and looked away for a moment then back. “What do you want, Gigi?”
Gigi looked deeply into his eyes and spoke from her heart. “Everything—or nothing. If that’s not what you’re looking for, let’s end this now. You offered to help me find my mother’s things, but I’ll understand if you don’t want to do that anymore. I don’t regret last night, but it can’t happen again, not yet.”
Kane’s face was tight with emotion. Gigi wasn’t sure what he was thinking. She moved to disentangle her hands from his, but he held her firmly before him. “I promised to get your mother’s items back to you and I will, but only on one condition . . .”
Gigi held his eyes and swallowed hard. For a brief second she worried he would make her an offer that would change how she felt about him. Could she blame him if he did? She’d slept with him so quickly he might think the worst of her. She fought back the insecurities begging to surface. Insecurities tied to having a mother who had been someone’s mistress. Would that be his offer?
Kane brought one of her hands to his lips. “I want you to come with me when I negotiate for the items. We’ll get them back for your mother, but we’ll get them back together.”
Panic brought a shake to Gigi’s hands. “You understand I don’t want to—”
Kane kissed the inside of her wrist. “I got that.”
Gigi scanned his face for a clue of how he felt about it. “And you’re okay with it?”
Kane pulled her back against him, looping his hands behind her waist. His arousal was still proudly prominent in his trousers, the feel of it against her almost made Gigi change her mind. She licked her bottom lip and fought against the desire growing within her.
When he spoke, his voice was deep and sure. “It’ll be torture to be around you and not take you where we’ve been, but if waiting is important to you, then it’s important to me.”
Fresh tears spilled down Gigi’s cheeks. She grabbed his face between her hands and kissed him soundly. He returned the kiss, but instead of deepening it, he ended it by lifting his head with a groan. “Go easy on the gratitude, though. I’m only human.”
* * *
Kane had spent the last three weeks traveling back and forth between Edinburgh and London. His plan for additional headquarters was still very much up in the air but only because he was now looking into Scotland’s viability as a location. He didn’t want to admit yet that it had anything to do with Gigi, but he didn’t think he was fooling anyone.
Although he hadn’t said anything to Gigi yet, he’d also spent an hour or so each day tracking down the items on the list Gigi had given him. If the request to purchase an item was easily granted, he completed the transaction and had it shipped to a storage facility he’d rented near Venice. If the collector requested to meet him in person, he sent the information to Marge in New York so she could adjust the flight schedule and lodging for what was growing into a several-week agenda.
When he’d first informed Marge of the trip, he’d told her he was helping Gio’s family with a project. He’d revealed more than he’d meant to when he asked Marge to make sure the lodging she chose for each stop was both efficiently located and romantic.
Marge had sputtered in surprise. “Romantic? Are you taking Gigi with you?”
Part of him had wanted to tell her it was none of her business, but since she was making the arrangements for the trip—it was essential for her to know who to plan for. He’d said, “I sure hope so.”
As if the news hadn’t shocked her at all, she’d calmly clarified, “One room or two?”
He’d sighed, “Two.”
“Oh,” she’d said. “Don’
t worry, it’ll all work out. May I say something on a personal note?”
“No.”
That didn’t stop Marge. Of course. “You’re doing this the right way. Your friendship with Gio is too important to rush into something that could jeopardize that. Plus, you’re old enough to understand that it’s time for you to stop hopping from one woman to the next. This is good for you.”
Her words had rung too close to the opinion of someone else Kane knew. “Have you been talking to my mother?”
Marge had laughed. “She was here yesterday with your father. He looks so happy to be in the office again. Your mother said he could play here until you give them grandchildren and then spoiling them will be his only occupation.”
“Goodbye, Marge.” Kane had hung up with a pained chuckle. Coming from a close family had benefits and drawbacks.
Time had flown by. He’d had dinner with Gigi several nights a week. They’d stayed as far away from her apartment and his hotel as they could. It was frustrating, but surprisingly satisfying in a way. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eagerly anticipated anything as much as he did seeing her each evening. They had an unexpected number of things in common, and one of those was an appreciation of Edinburgh.
At first, it had been nothing more than a small city to Kane, one that just happened to be where Gigi lived. However, the friendly nature of its people was winning him over. He and Gigi often nursed a drink at one of the local pubs while swapping stories about their lives. They discovered they both found the stare of housecats unnerving. Although they liked different music, they laughed at the same comedians. When they compared their bucket lists, there were several items they had in common. Their age difference didn’t matter now that Gigi was older.