Candy Crush (4 page)

He turned and left the room, closing the
door behind him. Butter jumped onto the bed and laid down, head on
her paws, watching Gabriella, who slowly let out a breath she
hadn’t realized she had been holding.

“Well, this is certainly not what I
expected,” Gabriella said to the dog, and then she began unpacking
her suitcase.

***

Instead of going to his office, Brandon went
downstairs to the kitchen. He opened a cupboard door and pulled out
a bottle of Maker’s Mark, which he considered Kentucky’s finest
bourbon. He splashed some into a glass and finished it in one
swallow. Then he leaned against the counter and let his thoughts
drift to the woman who was upstairs in his guest room.

Bathroom, he corrected, as he listened to
the creaking floorboards above his head. He heard the water switch
on and realized she was taking a shower. Which was annoying because
now he was picturing her naked and wet. He splashed more Maker’s
Mark into the glass.

Gabriella Hadley was something else. She was
just his type: beautiful and alive. On top of that, she had that
sexy southern drawl and he’d discovered it was relatively easy to
get under her skin. That was good, because he planned to thoroughly
enjoy teasing her.

Until he made the comment about biting, he
had begun to worry that she was immune to his charms. Since he’d
never met a woman whose pants he couldn’t get into, the thought was
a little unsettling. But the way she’d stiffened and blushed told
him she had been worried about what might happen between them if
she spent the night in his house. That was good, he decided,
because he had every intention of seducing her.

Not tonight, of course, because she was
clearly beyond tired and as skittish as a newborn colt. He needed a
little time, to allow her to relax, convince herself that the
little town of Holly wasn’t such a bad place and Brandon Sarantos
wasn’t such a bad guy.

He was sure he could talk her into staying
at his place at least until Saturday, which gave him three days to
work on her. Chip at her defenses. Convince her to let him in.

He finished his drink and went upstairs to
check his emails and go to bed.

CHAPTER TWO

Much to her own surprise, Gabriella did not
wake up until after nine on Wednesday morning. She stretched and
remembered that she was now in Michigan, which was in the Eastern
Time Zone, so as far as her own internal clock was concerned, it
was actually eight a.m., which was a little closer to what time she
would normally rise. She’d slept for more than ten hours and she
could honestly say she felt worlds better than she had the day
before.

Good enough to head over to her new candy
store to take stock and figure out how to get the place into shape.
She heard scratching at the bedroom door and realized Butter was
not in the room. She climbed out of bed, gasping as her bare feet
touched the cold wood floor and then walked across the room to open
the door. Butter bound in and acted as if they’d been separated for
days. Gabriella rubbed her back for a few minutes and then padded
down the hall to the bathroom.

After she did all the morning necessities,
she went back to her bedroom to get dressed. At the moment, she
wore thin pink pajama bottoms and a white cotton tank top. On the
off-chance Brandon was still here, she felt it was best to be fully
dressed. Besides, it was freezing in this house.

Once she was dressed in jeans, a blue
sweater and a pair of socks, Gabriella followed the smell of coffee
downstairs and into the kitchen. The coffee pot was turned off but
the coffee was still warm enough. She noticed a cup and a bowl of
sugar sitting next to the coffee pot and thought,
how
considerate
. She poured coffee into the cup, ignored the sugar
and opened the refrigerator. She found creamer and added it to her
coffee. As she sipped coffee, she read the note perched next to the
coffee pot:

Sweet Pea - I let your dog out and fed her.
There’s creamer in the fridge. If you stop by my office around
noon, I’ll take you to lunch. B.

The term of endearment made her smile, even
though she knew she ought to tell him to stop using it. It was far
too affectionate. There was no good reason why he could not call
her by her given name.

Then she thought about how considerate it
was to let Butter outside and feed her this morning, before he left
for work. And now the invite to lunch. Memories of her ex-boyfriend
came unbidden to the forefront of her mind.

Miguel had barely tolerated Butter’s
presence, and it never would have occurred to him to let the dog
out first thing in the morning, on the exceedingly off chance that
Gabriella was sleeping later than him. And Miguel’s invitations to
lunch or dinner were more orders than invitations. She was pretty
certain that if she did not show up at Brandon’s office today at
noon, he would simply shrug it off and go on about his day. She did
not like to think about how Miguel handled it when she did not
accept one of his “invitations.”

The term
dangerous
popped into her
head. It could be used in context of both men, but with very
different meanings. She hadn’t yet decided how she felt about that,
but she found herself hurrying upstairs and spending far more time
than strictly necessary fixing her face and hair, before finally
stepping out of the house, with Butter at her heels, and heading
towards the small downtown district.

Gabriella wore two sweaters and her heaviest
jacket, which was only lightly lined, and she was still freezing.
Definitely needed to invest in a warmer coat, pronto.

She flipped open her cell phone and dialed
her parents’ number. It was always best to call when she had a
limited amount of time, otherwise her mother would go on and on and
ask a bunch of questions, and Gabriella did not want to
inadvertently tell her anything that might let them know where she
was living.

“Hi mama,” Gabriella said warmly when her
mother answered the phone.

“Gabriella! It’s so good to hear your voice.
Did you make it okay? How is everything? Are you safe? Happy? Where
are you?” Leslie Hadley began firing off questions like shots from
a semi-automatic weapon.

“I’m fine, mama. I’m just fine. I’m all
settled in and I’m on my way to work. I only have a few minutes,
but I wanted to check in, so you wouldn’t worry.”

“I’ll always worry about you, sugar. It’s a
mother’s prerogative.”

“I know, but you don’t have to. I’m fine. So
far, this place is pretty nice. Although the weather is
significantly cooler. I need to add to my winter wardrobe.” As soon
as she said it, she cringed. She’d just given away an important
clue to her whereabouts, and just as she expected, her mother zoned
in on it.

“You’re up north somewhere? How far? Why did
you have to go so far away? When will we get to see you again?”

“Don’t worry about where I am, mama. You
haven’t heard from Miguel, have you?”

“Not since the last time we spoke, when I
told you his brother stopped by. Such a nice young man. I can’t
imagine why you think you had to run away from them. Such a good
family.”

Leslie Hadley was heavily involved with
Dallas social circles, and as far as she was concerned, Miguel was
a fine, upstanding pillar of society. Of course, that’s what Miguel
wanted everyone to think. Leslie did not understand why Gabriella
did not want to marry Miguel, and why she felt she had to run away
from him.

Gabriella remembered that last phone call,
when her mother informed her that Miguel’s brother, Hector, stopped
by the house to inquire about Gabriella. He’d told Leslie that
Gabriella had disappeared, and they were concerned for her safety.
Since Gabriella hadn’t yet told her mother she was leaving, Leslie
had been nearly hysterical, and wanted to call the police. Hector
calmed her down, convinced her he’d be better at finding Gabriella
than the police, and left to report back to Miguel.

Gabriella had called the next day and
reassured her mother she was fine, but refused to say where she was
going or what she was doing. She just needed to start her life
over, far away from Miguel. Personal reasons, she said. And then
she had cut the call short, hating the fact that she was lying to
her parents.

Still, she’d been relieved that Miguel sent
people to inquire before she called. Her mother’s hysterics had
been very real, and hopefully Miguel would assume Gabriella had
left without contacting her parents, and would therefore leave them
alone.

“I know, mama. I just had some personal
issues to work out, and I realized I’m not in love with Miguel
anymore. Listen, I have to go, I’m almost to work. I just wanted to
check in, let you know I’m fine. I’ll call again in a few days. I
love you.”

“I love you too, sugar. Touch base with your
brother, too. You know how he worries.”

With a heavy heart, Gabriella disconnected
the call.

By the time she arrived at the candy store,
she was almost warm, thanks to the walk, and ready to forget the
melancholy she felt about being so far away from her family. She
opened the front door and let herself and Butter inside. She
considered pulling the butcher paper off the windows and door, but
the place was a bad enough eyesore from the street, without adding
the vision of the mess within. She flipped on the lights and
sighed.

It looks even worse in the
daylight
.

She picked her way through the mess and
walked back to the door that led to the storage room. She opened
the door hesitantly, and when no animals scurried out, she pushed
it wide.

She was startled to see large amounts of
overstock piled in boxes, taking up more than half the room. “What
a shame,” she said out loud. “All this candy gone to waste.”

At least she’d have names and numbers of
suppliers though, she thought, deciding to try to find a bright
side. With a firm resolution, she walked back into the store and
began the task of straightening up.

Two hours later, the front door opened and
sunlight spilled into the room for a moment. Gabriella looked up
from sweeping old candy into a pile and saw Brandon framed by the
sunlight, before the door closed behind him. He whistled as he
walked towards her.

“Wow, you work fast,” he commented as he
looked around. Butter was frantically trying to get his attention,
so he obligingly crouched and scratched her head.

Gabriella had upended all the shelves and
containers that had been lying on their sides or upside down on the
floor. The cash register sat upright on the counter. Everything had
been dusted, at least a quick, cursory dusting. And now she was
sweeping and throwing away all the debris.

Gabriella straightened and pushed an errant
hair out of her face. “I’m motivated,” she said. “I poured
everything I had into buying this place. I need a form of income as
quickly as possible.”

“I’ve made some calls. You should have a
full crew here by nine a.m. on Saturday.”

“Thanks.”

“Thank Aunt Korina. And the U-Haul has been
emptied and returned to the local rental place.”

Gabriella looked startled. “Where is my
stuff?”

“In my garage. Hopefully you move it out
before it snows. I hate clearing snow off my truck.” He smiled to
show he was teasing. “Did you sleep well last night?”

“Yes, thank you. I didn’t wake up until
nine. It was heavenly.”

“I checked on you before I left and you were
still out cold. I imagine driving across country wears a person
out.”

***

Gabriella nodded noncommittally and Brandon
wondered not for the first time what she was hiding. She was not at
all inclined to talk about where she came from. And when he’d
introduced himself as the head of the DDA, he was sure she thought
he was some sort of law enforcement, and she’d been scared.

“Come on, take a break and have lunch with
me.”

She looked down at herself. “I’m a
mess.”

Brandon’s eyes swept over her person, taking
in the snug sweater and tight jeans, the flush in her cheeks and
the mused blond hair. His imagination shot straight to the gutter.
Or bedroom. Same difference, right?

“You’re beautiful, Sweet Pea. Come on.”

“I’m sweaty, which is saying something as
cold as it is here, and my hair is a mess and I have dirt all over
me. If we go anywhere it had better be McDonald’s.”

Brandon made an impatient noise. “I’m not
taking you to McDonald’s. I’ll tell you what: I’ll go get a couple
of sandwiches to go from the deli down the street. I’ll be back in
a few minutes. Do you drink diet or regular?”

“Regular.”

“Want me to take the dog, give her some
exercise?”

“Sure,” Gabriella said with surprise.

She stepped over to her purse and pulled out
the leash.

“Thanks.” Brandon clipped the leash onto
Butter’s collar and refused to accept the cash she offered before
he walked out the front door.

He returned fifteen minutes later and said,
“I just got made fun of because of your dog’s name. I’m going to
start lying to people. From now on, her name is Butch.”

Gabriella laughed as she accepted the food
and drink he offered. “She won’t answer you. Besides, Butch is a
lousy name for a cocker spaniel.”

“And Butter is better?”

“She’s five years old. You can’t change her
name now.”

Brandon whistled, said, “Here Butch,” and
held out a piece of ham.

Butter wagged her tail, trotted up to him
and ate the ham. Gabriella stuck her tongue out at him and Brandon
laughed. She’d unearthed two barstools from somewhere, so they sat
down together at the counter and ate lunch.

“You’re a hot topic of conversation
already,” Brandon commented as they ate.