The Rebound Pact (26 page)

“Come with me.
There’s something else I’ve wanted to do for a long time.” Holden gripped her hand and pulled her into the bathroom—one fit for an episode of Extreme Homes on HGTV. The shower was made from marble, glass steamed from water that sprayed from at least four shower heads. Heaven.

“Shower?”

“Oh…no no no, my love, I want to do much more than just shower with you.” He winked and then tugged her into the steamy water.

They made love
languidly, deliciously and it was by far one of the best session they’d had yet.

Chapter Eighteen

“
M
orning, sleepy head.” Gabrielle bent over Holden and kissed his neck, loving the way he looked mussed and sexed up in the morning.

He woke up slowly, gazing up at her in wonderment.
“Morning.”

“I finally made our brunch
—even though it’s five in the morning.”

“Good, I’m starved.” Holden threaded his fingers through her long silky hair.

“Today’s the day.”

He pulled her down for a kiss.
“Opening day.”

“Yup, are you ready?” Nerves had made it hard for her to sleep.

“Not really, you?”

She laughed.
“Absolutely not. I mean our plans are in place, everything’s set straight, but I myself would rather stay in bed with you all day.”

He grabbed her and rolled her back onto the bed, nuzzling her breasts through his t-shirt that she’d tossed on before she went downstairs to make them breakfast.

“How about brunch, a hot shower, and then we head to work?” he asked, gently teething her nipples.

“A most excellent plan.”

He hopped out of bed. “To the kitchen.”

She laughed and bounced out of the bed, realizing she’d shown him most of her naked ass when his eyes riveted to the spot. “What? You have all my underwear,” she teased.

“And that’s the way it should be.” He winked and gave her wicked grin.

They ate a breakfast of tofu scramble, cinnamon oatmeal muffins and fruit salad on the screened
-in porch, both half-starved from their marathon of love-making the night before.

“
I love you,” Holden said.

A slow smile spread on Gabrielle’s face and she set down her scone, pressed her hand to his knee. “I love you very much, Holden.”

“Sorry to break up the party.” Gabrielle and Holden both turned in shock as a disgruntled looking Max sauntered toward them, hands shoved deep in his pockets, the rising sun outlining his figure. “I figured you’d both be awake.”

Gabrielle swallowed the bite of muffin in her mouth and held out her hand.
Her stomach tightened, heart felt like it was in her throat. “Would you care to join us? There’s plenty.”

Max shook his head. “I already ate.
Been up for a while. I came because I wanted to say something to the both of you.”

Gabrielle gripped Holden’s hand, her stomach tightening.
“Look, Max, there’s nothing you can say. We…love each other.”

“
Okay.” Max grimaced as though the words were forced through him, but his eyes showed sincerity.

“Okay?
” She mulled it through her mind, then smiled tentatively. “Okay, what? You’ll get a girlfriend and leave us alone?”

He nodded, shook his head,
frowned. “Yeah, I have to work on that. You guys have had a thing for each other for a while. I thought after what happened in college you’d gotten over it, but—”

Gabrielle’s eyes popped open and she waved her hands in front of him, cutting him off. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, you
kno
w about that?” She flashed a glare at Holden.

He held up his hands in defense. “I didn’t say anything, I swear.”

“Everyone knew,” Max answered.

“What do you mean everyone knew?”
Gabrielle asked.

Max
laughed and shook his head. “Seriously? You clunked up those stairs in your high heels, and walked right into his room. That frat house didn’t exactly have thick walls.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” she asked, still completely shocked.

“I thought you guys just needed to get it out of your systems.” Max shrugged. “But I think now this is the real deal.”

Gabrielle smiled wide and
squeezed Holden’s hand. She jumped up from the table and hugged her brother tight, completely relieved. “Thank you for understanding, Max. I really do love him.” She glanced back at Holden, taking in his handsome face and genuine smile.

“No shit. I’ve known that for years.” He kissed her on the top of the head.
“Go sit back down, you’re practically naked. And you’d better not forget who his best friend is.”

She laughed. “I would never, Max. If it weren’t for you, I never would have found him.”

“She’s all yours, bro.” Max’s voice was serious as he stared intensely at his best friend.

“Nah, man, not
all
mine. She’s your sister, I’ll never take that away from you.” Holden stood and walked over to Max. He lowered his voice and Gabrielle could tell he was trying to hide what he was saying. “But, thanks. I really care about her, too, Max, I love her. I know you didn’t want us together. But I’ve never been able to forget about her, and when she showed up here a few weeks ago… There was nothing I could do. It just happened.”

“Dude, it’s okay. Relax. I should never have kept you apart.” Max chuckled softly. “Hell, I’d have to be blind to see that you two weren’t good together. Besides, what could be better than having my little sister together with my best friend?
Nothing. I’ll probably get to see you both more often now.”

Holden let out a long held breath, the muscles in his shoulders visibly relaxing. “You need to come back to the U.S., Max. We miss you.”

“We’ll see. I’ve been promised a pretty little intern in the fall. Maybe I’ll arrange to come back for Christmas—with a girlfriend.” He looked pointedly at Gabrielle.

Holden laughed. “And you accuse me of being a player?”

“I can’t help it if they throw women my way. Anyways, have fun with Gabs, but if you hurt her, I know where you live, work, and how to destroy you.”

Gabrielle smiled behind her napkin, pretending not to hear.

A smile split Holden’s face from ear to ear. “Noted. You don’t have to worry about a thing. I plan on making her smile every day for the rest of our lives.”

“You better.”

“Scout’s honor.”

“You were never a scout.”

“Pinkie promise?”

Max let out a roar of a laugh. “Cr
oss your heart and hope to die.” He clapped Holden on the back. “On second thought, I will take a muffin to go. See you guys tonight.”

Gabrielle let out a long breath as her brother walked away. Pure joy filled her heart.

When she arrived at the winery at a quarter after eight, Gabrielle was a little relieved to see that no one else had arrived yet. Things had been going until the last minute and a cleaning crew had come in overnight to make sure all the construction dust was gone. She wanted to get to know her equipment a little before the day started. They had a lot of prep work to do. They were booked solid with a couple hundred guests expected. Not to mention, she’d also arranged with Holden to have appetizers prepared for the winery tasting room all day for free as advertising.

She unlocked the doors to the bistro, just a
few short steps under a covered sidewalk to the tasting room. A large patio sat in front of both buildings for outdoor seating, separated by a small man-made creek filled with lily pads and a stone carved fountain of a couple sipping wine to distinguish tasters from diners. It was truly beautiful.

She stepped inside the bistro, glancing around
, and felt liked she’d stepped into another world. A mix of southern France, Tuscany and the natural ridges and valleys of Mount Airy. She walked back to the kitchen, everything shiny and smooth. A chef’s dream. She set her bag down in her office and then made sure her menus—with ingredients listed—were taped up on the refrigerators. She and her sous-chefs and the prep-cook had spent a day at Holden’s—thongs removed from the pot rack—practicing the menu. They all had it down pat, but everyone forgets under pressure.

After setting up
the mixing bowls and other utensils, her assistants started to trickle in, and then things got crazy. Bread and cakes were baking, sauces were bubbling, noodles were boiling, “crab” cakes were prepped.

By the time noon barreled by, Gabrielle could have sworn it had only been an hour. She started to panic that they wouldn’t be ready. Only five hours until the first guest was seated. The wait staff
filed in and set the tables, putting together oil dipping dishes for bread, setting out salt and pepper shakers. Belinda ordered what glasses were to be set where, and made sure her wine servers had all the bottles they needed lined up.

In the background, Gabrielle could sense Holden. She couldn’t always see him, but when he was near she felt warmer, a tingle raced along her spine and she felt happier. Whenever she spotted him, he flashed
her a secret smile—one that said he loved her and he was proud of her. She shot one of her own back. She couldn’t believe how far they’d come and that tonight was going to change everything—opening night.

Every time she thought about it, she wanted jump up and down and scream for about fifteen seconds, then she returned to making a tart or sautéing something on the stove.
When she finally took a quick break, Holden cornered her on the way out of the staff restroom.

“Have a glass of wine with me,” he said, taking her hand and kissing her palm. “You smell like garlic.”

She rolled her eyes and laughed. “Get used to it.”

“I like garlic.” His voice was soft, sensual. He could have been talking about her panties for the level of heat she felt gliding through her.

She tilted her head, her lips curling with pleasure. “I don’t think I have time for wine.”

“There’s always time for wine. Come on, just one glass. Your assistants are amazing, they won’t let things fall to pieces while you take a moment to relax.
You’ve been up since the crack of dawn and I haven’t seen you take a break since. Tonight is going to be fantastic, so take a break for just a few minutes.”

“I really do want to.”

“A glass of bubbly, just to say congrats.”

“Okay.” He pulled her into the tasting room where Belinda had poured them both a glass of sparkling wine. Holden nodded his thanks, grabbed the glasses,
then pulled her to a private table in the corner.

He set the glasses down and pulled out a chair for her. When she sat down, she didn’t realize how stiff her muscles had become from standing. Sneakers were definitely a good idea this morning.
She rolled her shoulders and stretched her neck.

“Here, let me.” His breath tickled her neck, sending her senses into overdrive.

Gabrielle closed her eyes while Holden massaged the tightness from her shoulders.

“Better?” he asked.

“Much. You have amazing fingers.”

He leaned close, his lips skimming the shell of her ear. “Just wait until tonight.” He stroked her neck lightly, tantalizingly with his fingers and hips.

She shivered with heightened anticipation and bit the inside of her cheek to keep from moaning.

“I’m not sure I can wait.” She gazed up at him.

“If it weren’t opening night, I’d pick you up right now and take you to bed.”

She giggled at the way his eyes darkened and his jaw flexed with obvious frustration. “I’ll make it worth your while to wait,” she said.

“Oh, baby, I won’t think of anything else all night.”

He pressed his lips to hers, a kiss
that was at once the most exciting and exhilarating kiss she’d had all day and too short. She wanted to grab him back, but several of the bar attendants and tasters had turned to look at them when he kissed her. Reluctantly, she let him go.