Escape to Heaven (Heaven on Earth Book 1) (5 page)

Chapter Four

Adele cleaned off dishes and placed them in the dishwasher while the guys picked up trash and straightened the living room. Adele laughed under her breath while remembering the looks of astonishment on the faces of Ethan, Tony and Tyler when Stefano had walked into the house. It had been priceless!

Their jaws had dropped and their eyes narrowed, first in anger, then in suspicion. Not suspicion at Stefano, but at Adele. They knew exactly what she had done and why. Too bad - she wasn’t apologizing for it. Each of them had pulled her aside separately to ask what in the world she had been thinking. They all wondered why she had invited him over to her home after only meeting him yesterday.

To a one, they each asked her, “Why is he here, Adele?” And sure, while the argument of, “This is my house and I can invite people over if I want” would have been valid with any other group of men, it had not worked with this bunch. So, trying to placate them and help them understand, she tried another approach. Adele explained that Stefano was new to the area and needed to meet some people. She went on to explain that she had seen him in the market earlier and since it was the Christian thing to do, she had invited him over for lunch. With all the guys here, she felt it would be a good chance to introduce him to everyone. It was a plausible story and for anyone else, it probably would have worked. However, after her impassioned speech, all of them had given her looks of disbelief and shock. Not surprisingly, none of them had believed a word she said.

The worst part was when Noah cornered her in the kitchen. He lightly placed his hands on her shoulder and turned her around to face him, not letting her escape. His words put it right out there on the table for her to deny.

“Adele, I know what you’re doing. We get it. You’re ready for us to stop hovering.”

“Noah, it’s not that.” She sighed deeply and knew she had no choice to be honest. Confrontation was not her forte, and she really didn’t want to force the issue. However, she
did
need them to give her some freedom and let her do her own thing.

“Well, maybe it is a little bit. But Noah, you should have seen the three of them in the gym yesterday. They were like a pack of wolves protecting their lone pack cub. Stefano seems like a nice guy, and he just wanted to talk to me. Why can’t I get to know someone new?” Adele knew she sounded like a child, but damn, enough was enough. Everyone looked up to Noah as the unofficial father-figure of the group. It wasn’t that he forced the issue or tried to take control, but he was the oldest of the group and it just seemed natural to everyone, including him. As a result, when he called her to task, it never felt good.

“Adele, I won’t push you on this. But you know you threw us for a loop inviting him over here today. Next time, just give us a little warning, okay?” Noah pulled her into his arms for a big bear hug. Considering that he was six feet five inches and all muscle, that’s exactly what it felt like. She wrapped her arms around him and smiled secretly. While he was the one each of them looked up to, he was also the one who gave her the most freedom.

“I will, Noah. I really like him, though, and I want to get to know him better. Although I don’t think I’ll be telling the guys that bit of news anytime soon. They might try to skin him alive, and I don’t want them chasing him away.”

His deep chuckle reverberated throughout her body. “They’re just looking out for you, little one. So, this is the guy from the gym yesterday? Tyler, Ethan and Tony all called me yesterday about him. I think Ethan hates him the most, but that’s to be expected. Since Daniel only met him today, he’s still undecided. Then again, you know he doesn’t like meeting new people.”

“Yeah, well, Ethan can be a big bully sometimes. I should kick his ass for the comment he made earlier. How rude was that, insinuating that Stefano was in the Navy instead of the Marines. I thought they were going to come to blows. Being a Navy SEAL, Ethan should know better.”

“Well, I think Stefano handled himself quite well. I wouldn’t worry about him too much.” Sighing deeply, he tightened his arms for a fraction of a second before he loosened his grip. “All right. I’ll get the guys to lay off of him a bit, but only on one condition. Next time, you warn us first. You may be grown and we may only be a hodgepodge family, but we protect what’s ours. The guys and I still feel it’s our right to protect you, even though you don’t think we need to.” Noah set her back from him and looked into her eyes, giving her his “don’t test me” glare, which in the past had resulted in quite a few confessions she’d never meant to give.

“Got it. I will next time. Promise.” She gave him a grin and punched him lightly in the arm. “So, where have you been anyway? I know you weren’t away for work, and I haven’t seen you in almost a week.”

When a blush crept up his face, Adele was shocked. She’d never seen him blush, and now she was very curious about what exactly was going on.

“I had to help a friend out of a situation. It was nothing. Why are you being so nosey anyway?” He tweaked her nose and walked away. Damn, she’d never seen him end a conversation so quickly. Now that was very interesting.

She walked back into the living room and noticed Stefano standing near Tyler. They were chatting about sports, the one topic guaranteed to make them best friends, especially if it involved football. The chair near Daniel was open, so she made her way over there to pick on him for a bit.

“Daniel, where was Noah last week?” Both Daniel and Noah served together in the Navy, and they had been friends prior to meeting the other three.

“Why do you want to know?” He gave her a sideways glance, and she knew he had some information. This made things very interesting, and now she knew they were hiding something from her.

“Come on, Daniel. No fair. I know he wasn’t away on a mission, because you were here all last week. If he was away doing something for work, you would have been with him.”

“Adele, you’re being nosey. Leave Noah alone. He had something to take care of.”

“Well, you’re no fun at all.” She turned to him with a gleam in her eye. Fine—if he wasn’t going to spill the beans on Noah, then she’d move on to her next favorite topic. “So, what have you been up to? Who are you dating now? When do I get to meet her?”

“There’s no one, Adele. Why are you bothering me anyway? Why don’t you go talk to your new friend?”

“Because he’s talking with Tyler. I don’t need to talk with him.” Cheeky, yes, but she loved needling the guys.

“Fine, but quit asking me about women I’m dating. I’m not talking to you about them because none of them have qualified for ‘meet the family’ status. Drop it, pipsqueak.” She hated that fricking name, and he knew it.

“Damn, all of you guys are so cranky today.” Adele stood up and kissed Daniel on the forehead, knowing how he hated when she did that.

She walked over to Stefano and Tyler, determined to have a good time in spite of the guys. Something was going on with each of them, and she wanted to know what. They had been extremely distracted lately, and Noah and Daniel were acting as if they were hiding something from her. She didn’t like it one bit.

Her thoughts now focused on what Noah and Daniel could be keeping from her, Adele decided to take a detour into the kitchen. A fresh margarita and that big bowl of chips sitting in the kitchen were calling her name. Plus, she didn’t really want to interfere with Tyler and Stefano’s conversation. Thinking about the day and all that had happened, she knew her explanation to the guys had been partially true. She
had
invited Stefano to the cookout because he was new to the area and thought it would be a good idea for him to meet some people. Of course, the other reason for the invitation was that he’d intrigued her, and she wanted to understand her strong reaction to him.

It seemed that after five long years, she was finally attracted to a man who made her want more. Stefano wasn’t making any overt moves in front of the guys, but she noticed him looking at her with a hooded gaze at times. It wasn’t just a friendly, just-wondering-what-you-were-doing gaze either. No, he looked at her as if he wanted to devour her, one nibble at a time. His wicked half smile promised serious pleasure if she ever allowed him the chance. He walked with a confidence and swagger that screamed to the world that he was a bad motherfucker and would prove it to anyone who wanted to test him.

When Tyler had discovered that Stefano was a former Recon Marine, they had formed an instant bond. Not that Tyler was letting him off easy, but at least one of her brothers wasn’t treating him like a leper. Eventually they would all get used to him, but she knew it would take time. Good thing she had made the decision that he would be around for quite a while longer.

*****

Stefano had noticed Adele walk into the kitchen and kept one eye on the kitchen door, waiting for her to return.

“You know, if you keep staring after her, Ethan’s going to come over here.”

He turned back to Tyler, the only one—other than that guy Noah—who wasn’t looking as if he would enjoy seeing him laid out flat on his back in acute pain. “So, how do you all know Adele? No one has volunteered that information just yet.”

“We met her at the gym. She came in about four years ago and met me, Noah, and Daniel. We all just clicked. About a year later Ethan joined our group. Six months later, we met Tony. She keeps us in line and we come eat her food every weekend. We’re good for each other and balance each other out in our own unique way. It’s an arrangement that’s worked for years, and we don’t plan to change it. The six of us are a family, everyone knows it, and that’s the way it’s always going to be.”

Stefano noticed the side look Tyler threw his way and knew that last statement was meant just for him. No, he decided, he wasn’t going there right now, but he picked up the message Tyler was sending his way.

With a subtle nod to acknowledge Tyler’s last statement, Stefano decided he needed a change of scenery. “Hey, I need to get another beer. Want one?”

Tyler smiled, not fooled for one second, and lifted his bottle of beer, which was still three-quarters full. “Nah, man, I’m good.”

Stefano walked away and headed into the kitchen. While he did want another beer, he was more concerned with seeing Adele. When he entered the kitchen, his eyes were immediately drawn to her. She was facing away from him, standing by the window overlooking the expansive backyard. Earlier in the day, they had all been out having fun outside while Ethan manned the grill, everyone fully enjoying the nice fall weather and the view. The lawn and flowers were well tended and looked as if someone paid special attention to the landscaping. He had been surprised to find that Adele did everything herself and continued to maintain it now, even with her busy schedule. Adele truly had a beautiful home, and it was clear she took pride in maintaining it and keeping it looking nice.

Taking in the lovely vision in front of him, Stefano knew things would never be the same now that he had met Adele. She was a sight to behold and he could spend all his days and nights with her, simply enjoying her company. Although he’d first noticed her beauty and was attracted to her physically, he now realized she was a genuinely good person, and that made her exceptional. She had welcomed him into her home and tried to make him feel comfortable in a new city. He hadn’t experienced much of that over the years due to his non-stop travel. And once he had ascended to the title of CEO, he had fallen into the cycle of maintaining a certain level of separation from his employees and friends.

Opportunities to slow down and simply appreciate the kindness of others had been few and far between. But he was enjoying this now and couldn’t wait to spend more time getting to know her better.

All the things he didn’t know, but wanted to learn went through his mind. What made her tick? Did she laugh at commercials? Did sappy movies make her cry? How did she like her coffee, black or with cream and sugar? Was she afraid of thunderstorms? What did her skin smell like after a shower? Eventually, he would find these things out, but he knew it would take time. Time he would freely give because he was willing to wait for her. Patience was not one of his virtues, but come hell or high water, he would give this woman whatever she needed in order for her to trust him in her life.

He could see himself coming home to her every day. Walking into the kitchen to find her waiting for him or taking over the yard work from her, giving her a chance to just relax. Surprisingly, the thought entered his mind that his mother would really like Adele.

It was about time he started thinking less about work and focused more on his personal life. Adele seemed like just the person he needed in his life to help him pay attention to what was important. His main focus for the past twenty years had always been the mission. First, in the Marines and then once he left the military and moved into the private sector, everything he did was to help his “troops” perform better and his company grow bigger and stronger. He had a reputation of being a hard ass, but he would never apologize to anyone about the way he ran his business. He held people to a higher standard, and either they got on board or they got the fuck out of his company.

He recognized that maybe it was time to take a step back and refocus his efforts on his personal life. Starting with Adele. He walked toward her, intent on getting some private time away from all the nosey guys in the other room. Adele tensed as he approached, and he knew she had heard him walk into the kitchen. She wasn’t immune to him after all. Good. This was just the opening he needed.