The Rebound Pact (14 page)

“Exactly.”

Even still, the questions kept lingering in his mind: Was he good enough? Was it possible for
them to have more?

Gabrielle
could tell Holden was keeping something hidden from her. He looked distracted. She tried to help him focus by sidling close, but that only seemed to make him withdraw more.

Maybe he was getting tired of their games. Max had warned her Holden was a player, that he would never
be serious. But he’d had a long-term girlfriend, so obviously there had been at least one meaningful relationship. She wished he felt he could confide in her. She wanted to help him get through the pain, comfort him as he moved on.

Then again, every time she was around him, her emotions went nuts. Her mind screamed for him to drop everything and declare he wanted her for more than a rebound.

She had a good thing going here. She was going to be the head chef of an up and coming restaurant. They would use her menu. It was an opportunity she didn’t want to mess up.

She disengaged herself from Holden’s arms. This was hard for her. She wasn’t the recreational sex type of girl, and yet she couldn’t stop touching him, thinking about the next time they would be together.

“So, what is on the list for today?” She turned in a circle to check out all of the barrels and other equipment. “Tell me how it all works? I mean, I know some of the process, but it’s such an exact science.”

He leaned against one of the barrels and directed his gaze on her.
She felt exposed, like he was testing to see what her flavors were and she hoped he found her delicious.

“Well, we harvest the grapes, then go through them by hand to make sure no stems or rotten grapes are mixed in, then they are crushed, the juice and skins put into those tanks over there to ferment.
” He pointed at row of large stainless steel vats. “Depending on the wine, fermentation could take a couple weeks to a couple months. We check their levels and flavors, then they are extracted and the skins removed. We mix the flavors to create the wines we’re looking for, then they are barreled and left to age. Our whites don’t take as long as our reds.”

“What do you mean mix the flavors?”

“Each wine has its own flavoring. By mixing the grapes and putting them in certain barrels we can create different flavors, like a heady hint of vanilla or cherry, and others are crisper, lighter. Our rosè is a mix of red and white wines.”

“I can’t wait to see how it’s done.”

“September will be a busy month.”

“Speaking of which, what did you think of my notes on the kitchen?” she asked hopefully.

“I checked over your changes, spoke with Darren and Hank and they agreed they’d work out. I was hoping we could look over the equipment together today. You could show me what we need and we can price them out.”

“
I’d love to. I did some research on pricing based on some of the equipment I’ve used in the past, and I also contacted my friend, Darla, who started her own restaurant in New York City and she gave me a few pointers.”

“
Let’s go into my office and take a look.”

Her stomach quivered at the thought of being alone in his office. The door closed.
Gabrielle followed Holden into his office, having more than a little trouble not staring at his tight butt. His was an ass made for grabbing. She groaned inwardly. Why did he have to wear such snug jeans? And his t-shirt clung to his muscles. She wanted to run up behind him and jump up onto his back, wrap her legs around his waist and beg him to run with her back to his house.

It was hot outside today.
Perfect for a dip in his pool—naked. She opened her mouth to suggest maybe they go for a swim later when her cell rang. Thank God for the distraction! When they were at work, she had to concentrate on work, not sex. Holden shut the door and took a seat at his desk.

She pulled her cell
from her purse and gaped at the caller ID.

Len.

She hit the end button. There was no way in hell she would answer his call.

“Do you need to take that?”

“No,” she croaked and thrust her cell back into her purse. She could feel heat rising in her cheeks and over her chest.

She walked on unsteady legs toward the chair opposite his desk and sat down a little too heavily. Her cell rang again.
Gabrielle gritted her teeth trying to ignore its incessant buzzing but it echoed through the room.

“Maybe you ought to get it, I’m not going anywhere.” He flashed her one of his winning smiles
that made her melt.

How many times had she wished he’d smile at her like that and here she was…getting all goo-goo
eyed. Len wasn’t going to ruin this moment for her.

“That’s okay.” She let it finish ringing and scooted her chair closer to his desk so she could show him the printouts of the kitchen equipment. She pulled the folder from her purse and set it down when her cell rang again.

What the hell did Len want? She wanted to shout with her frustration. The dick hadn’t bothered to call her since they’d broken up. And now back to back calls? “Maybe I ought to…” She trailed off, her voice so strained. She could only hope he was calling about the deposit they’d split on the condo.

H
olden waved away her hesitation like it was no big deal. “It’s fine, I’ll be right here.” He clicked on his computer, jiggling the mouse back and forth.

She flipped open her cell and pretended not to know who it was. “
Gabrielle Dane.”

“
Gabrielle.” Hearing Len’s voice made her already unsteady legs even more wobbly. Though he was a complete ass, hearing his voice brought back to mind all the reasons why they’d been together. Why she’d thought to have fallen in love. All apparently not good enough for him. A lie she’d lived and gotten burned for.

She opened the door to Holden’s office and hurried outside to get a measure of privacy
and some fresh air. She felt like hyper-ventilating. Just the sound of his voice brought with it a load of anger.

“What do you want?”

“I made a mistake.” His voice sounded apologetic.

She wasn’t buying it. “I will have to disagree with you there.”

“Why?”

There was no way she was going to get into it with him. Not now. Not ever. She was moving on.
“I can’t talk to you about this. It’s over. Please don’t call me again.”

“
Gabs, baby, don’t do this.”

“Don’t call me that.” His calling her by her childhood nickname only turned her stomach.
Even though she was starting to heal, knew their breakup was better for her, the pain still settled like a lump in her belly. “I wasn’t good enough for you a week ago. Nothing’s changed.”

“You are good enough, I just didn’t realize.”
It felt good to hear that, even if she didn’t want him back.

“Therein
lies the problem. And, thanks for enlightening me.”

“Stop
. Can’t we just talk about this?” He sounded desperate.

Gabrielle couldn’t help wondering if he had some other reason for calling. Like his reputation and perhaps their breakup was making waves in his campaign.
Probably had an event coming up and now that she wasn’t working a La Peche he hoped she was free to go. Well, she didn’t give a shit.

“No. There is nothing to talk about. I’m moving on.”

“Have you already found someone else?” His voice sounded accusatory.

She sighed deeply, wishing she could say she had
. While she did have Holden temporarily, as much as she wanted more, that wasn’t anything. Just a rebound. “No, I haven’t found anyone else. I’m not interested in a relationship. Not with you and not with anybody.”

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. She hoped that would put an end to his calls.
Wanted desperately to hang up and block his number.

“Wow. That’s harsh. After all we had.” Len actually had the nerve to sound angry with her.

She laughed bitterly. “You broke up with me, remember?”

“I was drunk. I was upset you’d missed my campaign event.
It was fourth of July, for Christ’s sake.”

“Doesn’t matter.
It’s over. I missed a lot of your events and I was going to miss a lot more.” Damn did it feel good to say that.

“Can you at least think about it?”

Gabrielle scoffed. “No. Like I said, I don’t want a relationship. Not now. Not in the immediate future.”

“Fine.
Good riddance then—”

With a flick of her thumb, s
he hung up, refusing to listen to him go into one of his tirades. There was no reason to anymore. She felt semi-liberated. Brushing Len off, hanging up on him, made it all seem more possible to say goodbye to the pain of his rejection. Gabrielle smiled and tucked her cell back into her purse.

Back to kitchen plans. She walked back into the office and came fa
ce to face with Holden—a disgruntled looking Holden.

“What’s wrong?”

He pointed to the window. The wide open window that faced the front of the building where she’d just been.

“You okay?” he asked. There was an odd look in
his eyes. He crossed his muscular arms over his equally muscular chest.

“I’m fine.” Dammit. She hadn’t wanted him to overhear her conversation. She tried to remember everything she said. The one thing she lied about would be the
one thing that she didn’t want Holden to hear:
No, I haven’t found anyone else. I’m not interested in a relationship. Not with you and not with anybody.
Not because she expected to have a relationship with Holden…but him hearing her say that ruled out the possibility of their rebound ever turning into something more.

H
olden cleared his throat. “Let’s look over the equipment. I have a lunch meeting with Hank and Darren.”

For the next uncomfortable half-hour, she showed him what she’d found.
Squirmed in her chair. Len’s voice echoed in her head, and Holden’s disgruntled expression haunted her. He approved everything and gave her the go ahead to order it using his credit card, which he handed her.

He stood up, stretched.
“I gotta go. You can use my computer to order everything.”

She nodded, wishing she could say something that would take away the chasm that had built between them.
Somehow her conversation with Len had changed them.

“What time should I come over for dinner?” she asked.

“Oh, uh…” Holden checked his watch.

He was stalling. Shit.
A sourness burned in the pit of her stomach. She had a right to tell Len those things, just to hurt him. And Holden had no right to be irritated about it. They’d made a pact. No strings. No emotions.

“Holden, look at me.”

He did, but briefly. “Same time as last night.” His response was clipped, but at least he wasn’t denying her. He wasn’t accepting her, though, either. Dinner was a business meeting, an approval of her menu.

Shit. She knew slee
ping with the man of her dreams—her boss—would ruin everything.

Chapter Ten

H
olden did not have a meeting set up.

In fact, he’d just needed to walk away from
Gabrielle for a few minutes. Hearing her say she hadn’t found anyone else, that she never wanted a relationship with anyone, affected him more than he cared to admit. And that pissed him off. He didn’t want to feel anything for her. Didn’t want to worry about feelings or emotions. Or the possibility of her not being around. Thirty days was their limit, and it seemed like those days were flying by.

His mind tunnel
ed back in time. To her, staring at him in shock and not understanding how he’d gotten into bed with her. That’d hurt like hell. He thought he’d gotten over it. Was trying to get over it, but every time he looked at her, his interest only grew, and after yesterday, and the wild sex…

He slammed into the warehouse, shut the door behind him and leaned his head on the door.