The Organized Bride (Billionaire Marriage Brokers Book 2) Page 8

  The elevator opened and Gabe let MaKayla out first. She waited for him to catch up a step and said, “I almost forgot: is he supposed to work for me and you? He joked about being part of the package, but I wasn’t sure if I should believe him or if he was being overly helpful.”

  Opening her door, Gabe sighed. “I’m not sure I want to be a part of a package that includes David, but he’s right: he should be working for both of us, so don’t be afraid to use him.”

  MaKayla moved to the open door and stopped to place her hand on his chest. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something. Gabe’s heart pounded so loudly, he thought the sound echoed off the building. MaKayla blinked, pulled her hand away, and then quickly climbed into the vehicle.

  Gabe shut her door, and as he walked around to his side of the car, he debated pressing her to tell him what she was going to say, but decided against it. They were already too familiar for the short amount of time they’d spent together, and it was probably better if he didn’t force confidences.

  She had already taken the medication and was sorting through the files in her bag when he put on his seat belt. Pulling out a pen, she made notes as he maneuvered into traffic. They were a few blocks from the office when MaKayla clicked her pen a couple of times, contemplating him.

  “We need to talk,” she said.

  Gabe chuckled. “There are not four words strung together in the English language that can stop a man’s heart faster than ‘we need to talk.’”

  MaKayla relaxed against the seat.

  “Has our marriage already come to that point?” He tisked his tongue. “We didn’t even make it two full days.”

  “Stop it, I’m serious.” MaKayla gave him a playful smile. Apparently, the way to break through her hard candy shell was teasing.

  No wonder she’d warmed up to David so quickly. All Gabe had done was throw budgets and meetings at her. He wondered if she’d find it strange if he laced his fingers through hers and just held on. Probably. He’d better keep his hands at two and ten on the wheel.

  “I need to know what to tell people when they ask about us. What’s our story?”

  Safe topic. “I told David we were set up on a blind date—which is true; I just didn’t mention that the date included the Justice of the Peace.”

  “Nice.”

  “Thanks.”

  “How long have we known each other?”

  Gabe pulled the car over. “Hold that thought. I’m going to run into this deli and get you some soup and another cup of tea. You stay here and rest.”

  He hurried inside. While he waited for them to ladle the soup and make the tea, he checked the calendar on his phone. He and Natasha had broken up at the end of February; add a month of self-pity, and he could have been up for a blind date in mid-April.

  When he paid for the soup and climbed back in the car, he said, “Six months.”

  MaKayla looked up from her iPad. “What?”

  “We’ve known each other six months.”

  “Oh, okay. And why the sudden secret marriage?” She took the lid off the soup and blew on the steaming contents.

  Gabe buckled his seat belt. “I’m going to need some help with that one.”

  MaKayla looked up as she thought. “I’m the daughter of a crime boss. If my father finds out he’ll put a hit on you.” She pressed her lips to hide her smile, and that dimple appeared again.

  Gabe fell right into her game as if he were falling into a pile of feathers. “That’s not how I remember it. As I recall, your father begged me to take you off his hands.”

  MaKayla narrowed her eyes, accepting the challenge. “I think it was you who did the begging—and bribing. I distinctly remember there were bribes involved.”

  Gabe chuckled as they pulled into the valet parking and waited for the car ahead of them to move out. Dropping his right arm from the steering wheel and turned toward MaKayla suddenly very serious. “If I did, it is only because you bewitched me. You have cast a spell over the office and every man there is enchanted by you.” He reached out and brushed his thumb across her cheek, finally. “Not one person has asked why I married you or why I kept you to myself for so long.”

  “No one?” squeaked MaKayla.

  There was a heavily charged silence between them as they stared into each another’s eyes. Gabe brushed her cheek once again, and MaKayla’s eyes fluttered shut.

  “I can take it from here, sir,” said the valet as he pulled the door open.

  MaKayla’s eyes popped open and she scrambled to collect her belongings. She drank the soup on the way in and threw the container in a tall, golden garbage can. She downed as much of the tea as she could before they reached the ballroom. Handing him the half-empty tea cup, she told him thanks, and he caught a glimpse of that barely-there dimple that he was growing awfully fond of awfully fast. He hated to let her go, wishing he could sweep her right out of the hotel and back to his place, where they could curl up under a fluffy blanket, watch a movie, and sip more herbal tea. He doubted she’d let him. MaKayla’s work ethic was admirable, and he didn’t want to try to change that. Instead, he’d hang out at the hotel bar again and make sure she got home.

  “What’s up?” Brian asked as he reached to shake Gabe’s hand over the mahogany.

  “I’m hoping the Lakers are up by ten.”

  “Why don’t we find out?” Brian smiled as he turned on the television, and they made small talk for a couple hours.

  When he had a few minutes to himself, Gabe took a good, hard look at where things were going with MaKayla. He enjoyed her company—in fact, he enjoyed it too much. With each touch, laugh, and teasing comment, he felt his heart opening to the possibility of a relationship with her. He couldn’t let that happen. He’d married her so that his charities would have the attention and care they deserved. The company wasn’t at a point where he felt like he could step down just yet; he was working toward that and figured it would take at least this year and then maybe a few months after that. Pamela had assured him they could extend the contract at any time or draw up a new one if MaKayla was willing.

  He hoped she’d want to stay on. The way she’d landed on her feet these last couple of days despite her head cold was admirable. She was the perfect person for this job, and he wasn’t about to throw a fling into the mix. If it didn’t work out between the two of them, then he’d be right back where he started. Nope, he needed to tamp down any thoughts about MaKayla that didn’t include work.

  A couple hours later, Gabe was disheartened to see MaKayla drag herself onto the stool next to him and lay her head on the bar. She was beat. This week couldn’t get over fast enough. He quickly paid for the soda he’d nursed, leaving another generous tip for Brian, who was working toward a master’s degree in business.

  Before he left, he handed Brian his card. “Give me a call when you graduate.”

  “I will; thanks, man.”

  MaKayla could barely hold herself up.

  Gabe slipped his arm around her—only for support, not because he liked having her close—and she leaned into him. She fit perfectly into the space next to his body, and he had to remind himself that being attracted to MaKayla and acting on that attraction were two different things. The fact that she accepted his help was a testament to how horrible she felt. “Rough night?” he asked.

  “Uh-huh. There was a fire.”

  Gabe raised his eyebrows. “Like a ‘this guy jumped on a table and made a scene fire,’ or a fire fire?”

  “Fire fire.”

  “What happened?”

  “A server was in a rush and knocked over one of the serving stands, the things on wheels. There was a candle under the serving dish and it sparked a grease fire as the sauce splashed all over.”

  “What did you do?”

  “The cook put out the flames with baking soda. I rearranged the serving order, redefined portion sizes to make up for the lost food, and helped clean up the mess.”

  “And you used your last bit
of strength.”

  Yawning, MaKayla nodded.

  Gabe helped her into the car and climbed in. Resisting the urge to take her hand, he kept both hands glued to the wheel. He’d promised himself that he was going to keep those boundaries and he would do it if it killed him—which it just might.

  By the time he pulled up to MaKayla’s, his fingers ached from gripping the wheel. Once again, he relegated himself to waiting at the curb to make sure she got safely inside. Just one more night, he told himself, one more night and he’d be able to take her home and take care of her. Oh, he wouldn’t go into her room, he would refrain from going there, but he could at least make sure she was settled in the house. That was the polite thing to do; after all, she would be his guest, and as a good host he would ensure her comfort. That’s all he was planning to do, be a good host. Yep, he’d be the best host there ever was.

  Chapter 12

  For MaKayla, Friday went much the same as Thursday, except she started her day at Gabe’s office and spent her afternoon at the hotel. Once again, Gabe met her in the lobby, made her tea, handed her pain pills, and walked her to her office.

  As she was straightening up her files so she could head to the hotel, Gabe came in and dropped a white lunch sack on her desk. “You can eat it in the car on the way over.”

  “Smells good.”

  The worry lines on Gabe’s forehead evaporated. “If you can smell it, then you must be getting better.”

  Those lines had been there the whole week, and she’d thought they were a permanent fixture. It hadn’t occurred to her that he worried that much over her well-being. She couldn’t pin this guy down. One minute he was hovering over her, and the next he was handing her his credit card and an expense account. They shared a few laughs but didn’t share anything personal. The whole situation had her second-guessing herself. Part of the problem was the way her pulse spiked when Gabe entered the room. She didn’t know if she should hold his hand or hand him receipts.

  Another puzzler was Gabe’s almost fanatical and fastidious devotion to charity work. Rob had explained that Gabe leveraged as much of the company profits as possible into charities to offset taxes. It was a huge win-win as far as MaKayla was concerned, but there was something in Gabe’s demeanor that changed when he talked about the abuse center. She suspected that underneath his tie and button-up shirt was a tender heart. She hoped she could spend more time with that Gabe and less time with the boss.

  “I think I am improving,” she agreed. “It was probably just a twenty-four hour bug that held on because I’ve been so busy.”

  They walked out to the elevator together and Gabe pressed the button. “I have a dinner meeting tonight, so your driver will get you home.”

  MaKayla suppressed her disappointment. Gabe had given her much more of his time than she deserved lately. He probably had to catch up on a lot. “That’s fine.”

  The elevator opened and they both climbed inside.

  “What time do you think you’ll be over tomorrow?” he asked.

  “The movers are coming at seven. It shouldn’t take long. I rented a furnished place, so most of the furniture stays. Maybe ten?” She thought about all the things she was going to need to take with her to Gabe’s and mentally started filling and labeling boxes. It was going to be a hectic morning.

  “Everything’s ready. Hopefully you’ll be settled before noon.”

  “I should be. Most of my things are going to storage. My sister, Brooke, said she’d help, and Trish will be there to direct the movers to the storage unit BMB set up.” She put a tentative hand on his arm. “You don’t mind if Brooke comes, do you? She knows about us—I mean, the prenup.”

  Gabe’s eyebrows went up.

  “She’s a lawyer—well, almost a lawyer—and I wanted her to review it for me.” She pulled her hand away, hoping she hadn’t overstepped her bounds by inviting people to his house.

  Gabe let out the breath he’d been holding. “She should come. It would be nice to meet her.” He scratched the back of his head. “I have a confession. When David was asking questions yesterday, I told him you had a sister. I didn’t mean to offer to set them up—I don’t even know if she’s single—but it kind of came out that way.”

  MaKayla tipped her head as she thought about Brooke and David. “They are really different personalities, but they might complement one another. Who knows when things will work out between two people? Look at us: we have a great rapport and we’ve only been married for three days.”

  “Well, we’re still in the honeymoon phase.”

  MaKayla laughed. This was the Gabe she liked best. “Do you turn into a bear after three months?”

  The elevator opened and Gabe walked her to the waiting car. “A bear? No. An ogre, maybe.”

  “Don’t worry about that; I’ve worked with plenty of ogres.”

  She put her hand on his shoulder before she knew what she was doing. She looked at her hand and wondered why she kept doing that. She wasn’t normally a touchy-feely person, but touching Gabe grounded her in a way that made it both easier and harder to think. It was easier to block out the rest of the world and focus on him, and harder to remember the reasons she wanted to keep her distance.

  She pulled her hand away. “Why don’t you tell him to bring over pizza at noon, and I’ll tell her not to say anything about the prenup? It will be laidback, and if they hit it off, he can ask her out; if not, there’s no pressure.”

  Gabe lightly touched her lower back. “Sounds perfect.”

  Ducking into the car, she settled her bag on the seat next to her and smiled as the driver pulled away from the curb. She just had to make it through tonight and then she’d be done with the hotel and able to focus on Gabe. Well, not on Gabe, per se, but on her marriage. Not the marriage, but on why she married Gabe, which was to do a job for him and then open her company. Yes, it was all about the job.

  Opening the lunch bag, she found a cup of chicken noodle soup, two packages of crackers, and half a turkey sandwich with avocado. This job does have its perks.

  Moving into Gabe’s house was another one of those perks. She was looking forward to not paying rent, not fighting with the landlord about the dripping faucet, and not hearing the neighbors yelling at odd hours of the night.

  But moving in with Gabe did have one big drawback, and that drawback was Gabe. When they started teasing, she kept finding her hands on his arm or his shoulder.

  It wasn’t like he was discouraging her. Kissing her hand yesterday had nearly sent her to the cardiac center. Thankfully, the heart center was on Gabe’s list of regular charities, and they probably would have taken good care of her.

  Then, last night in the car, when he’d brushed her cheek with his thumb, she thought someone had sucked the air out of the vehicle. If the valet hadn’t opened the door, she would have passed out from lack of oxygen.

  If she wanted those moments to stop happening, then she needed to set the example. The trouble was that she wasn’t sure she wanted them to stop. Gabe brought a sense of excitement to her days that she hadn’t had before—ever. When she’d woken up, this morning had been a thrill, because she knew she’d see him. Her reaction to his touch was probably a consequence of the daydreaming she’d done before the wedding. Picturing him as this rogue business-type who rode in on a Harley had been a lot of fun. MaKayla enjoyed looking at the bad boys, but she was totally thrown off by Gabe’s tenderness. It was unexpected, and judging by the way she soaked up the attention, totally charming.

  The last two days of flirting, if she could call it that, was an indulgence she’d have to forgo now that they’d be living together.

  She nodded once to herself, as if agreeing that it was the best solution, while a rebellious part of her snickered in the background, eagerly anticipating her next opportunity to be close to Gabe.

  Chapter 13

  MaKayla stuffed her dirty clothes into a pillowcase and threw it to Brooke, who walked it out to her car. Trish’s voice echoed d
own the tiled hallway. “Those two boxes are fragile, so please make sure they’re labeled correctly.”

  Grabbing a flat box from the entryway, MaKayla folded it on her way back to the bedroom. This box was for her stuffed bear and the other items from her childhood that she’d rescued before her parents sold their house. In her closet was a shelf full of finger paintings, English papers, and report cards that spanned across kindergarten through twelfth grade. That could go to storage, but Stuffy Bear, defender against all things nightmare, was going with her to Gabe’s house.

  Brooke passed through and set to work emptying the medicine cabinet. Within a few minutes Trish called, “Kitchen’s done.”

  “So is the bathroom,” said Brooke.

  Trish poked her head in the bedroom, “What’s left in here?”

  MaKayla used the huge tape dispenser to close Stuffy’s box. “This is the last box for Gabe’s, and I think we’re ready to go.”

  Trish reached out to take the box from MaKayla. “I’ll take that and send the truck off.”

  “Thanks.”

  Brooke stood by the door with an armful of dirty sheets as MaKayla sat on the bare mattress that stayed with the apartment. “Are you going to miss this place?” Brooke asked. She had a strange look on her face, like she was the one moving and her life was flipped. This was a change for both of them. No more morning runs. No more late-night ice cream binges.

  MaKayla looked around at the empty walls, shelves, and open closet. She’d been so proud to move in, to be able to afford rent without a roommate. Quite grown-up. But she soon found out that working long hours meant that all she needed was a place to lay her head and she missed having built-in friends around.

  Well, that was about to change. Good things were on the horizon. She had a new job full of perks. The work was stimulating and the office environment was positive. Plus, she didn’t have to stare at that ugly Berber carpet every day. She was moving out of her condo and into an actual house. She might not own the house, but by the end of her year she’d have a nice down payment saved and be able to afford something in a good neighborhood. And, best of all, she was meeting new people. Good people. People she could see herself hanging out with even after the marriage was over. People she was about to introduce Brooke to as well. This was a good thing, for both of them.