Read McDonald_TWT_GENVers_Feb2014 Online

Authors: Donna McDonald

Tags: #Contemporary Romance, Humor, Holidays

McDonald_TWT_GENVers_Feb2014 (7 page)

BOOK: McDonald_TWT_GENVers_Feb2014
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Joe slapped the table in triumph. “
I knew it
. I knew I was right. He asked you out.”

Sabine nodded. “Yes, he did ask me—but I said no.”

When Joe looked deeply disappointed, she wanted to laugh. “Come on. It was not the kind of evening a newly divorced woman should take too seriously. I’m not ready to date a normal guy yet, much less one that looks as good as Todd Lake does. Martin already did enough damage to my ego. I’m not ready to risk letting another guy have a go at it. Besides . . . I would only be an additional complication in the man’s complicated enough life.”

Joe shook his head. “Pulling the freshly divorced card doesn’t work with me either, Sabine. I know you and Martin were over long before you two divorced. Don’t you know how lucky you are to find someone actually worth dating?”

“I didn’t say Todd Lake wasn’t worth dating. Don’t put words into my mouth,” Sabine ordered.

To make a point, she filled said orifice with another bite of tasteless food while she watched Joe throw up his hands. She loved him, but he was definitely a drama queen when he didn’t get his way.

“Sabine, you got your very own valentine delivered neatly into your hands and you threw the damn card away before you even read what it said. That was a very dumb move, woman. You need to take flowers to where Todd Lake works and apologize for your cowardice.”

“Give it up, Joe. He was the wrong valentine, or at the very least, not one meant to be mine for more than one dinner. In a week, he will have forgotten all about me. I’m just one tiny fish in the vast sea of his adoring female fans.”

“No. I don’t buy that at all. I saw the way he looked at you Friday night. Unless you were super bitchy to him over his pineapple concoctions, his heart is breaking right now because of your refusal. The man was interested—like sincerely interested. Do you know how rare that is?”

“Shut up, Joe.”

“No, I won’t shut up, and don’t give me that disbelieving look. I swear, talking to you is like talking to a wall sometimes. If Martin wasn’t my brother, I’d go kick his ass for making you feel like you’re not attractive. Because you are, even if you are older and curvier than that bony plastic doll Martin married. Hell, even my Todd said you were hot. He made me think he was going to turn out to be bi the way he went on and on about you.”

Sabine hid her face in her hand. “Joe, can we
please
drop this discussion? When I start dating again, it’s going to be some normal guy. Todd Lake is going to end up with one of those soccer mom workout queen types. The man’s muscles have muscles. The only working muscle I have is my brain.”

“Oh, I bet you have a few others he would find appealing. I bet he has some you’d like as well. That’s the full benefit of actively dating, sweetheart.”

Sabine pointed her empty fork at her torturer. “I will get laid in my own time and in my own way. I’m not using that sweet man for casual sex no matter how gorgeous he is. I like him, but he’s just not right for me. Now
please
. . . let’s change the subject. Finish your dinner before it gets even more inedible. Last night may have just ruined me for cooking my own food.”

“I’m hoping it’s ruined you for a lot more than that,” Joe said, picking up his fork. “Want to bet he comes up with a way to be in your life?”

Sabine laughed at Joe’s endless optimism. “Valentine’s Day is over, Joe. You can drop the romantic stuff now.”

“Fine. I’ll skip the romance. But I bet dating sexy Todd Lake is going to look like a much better prospect when you see the double-D assets my new sister-in-law got compliments of your retirement.”

Sabine snorted and glared. “Why are we friends?”

Joe made a smoochy motion with his lips and kissed the air. “Because as a man who fell in love with you at first sight, I immediately saw the signs when Todd Lake did the same thing.”

“This is the sad story of my love life. My husband left me for a skinny woman and a gay man loves me madly,” Sabine said.

She rested her fork on her plate and gave up trying to eat.

“And this has got to be the worst meal I’ve ever cooked for another human being. Don’t eat it, Joe. I’ll give you money to buy takeout on your way home.”

Joe looked at his food and back at her. “You’re just having withdrawals. Plus, I’m a way better friend than that. Now go open a can of pineapple for dessert. After I eat this, I’ll sing Blue Hawaii while you dance the hula.”

Sabine thought of what Koka might say if he ever heard Joe being flippant about his homeland and culture. He would probably make some incredibly nasty insult in his native language and say it meant something benign like “thank you for smiling”. But she would know the truth by that little huff of exasperation Koka would make when Joe looked merely pleased at the poetic sounding Hawaiian words.

“Are you thinking about Elvis before or after the banana sandwiches?” Joe asked.

Shaking her head at his teasing, all Sabine could do was laugh at them both.

***

At her request, her day nurse, Denise, opened the newspaper and began to read. Suddenly, she laughed. Pekala searched the younger woman’s face trying to decide if she wanted to know what had been said or not.

“My old eyes make it too hard to read. What does it say?” Pekala finally demanded.

“Your grandson called the woman
enchanting
,” Denise said, emphasizing the old-fashioned word.

“That’s beautiful. Why is that funny?” Pekala asked, wrinkling her wrinkles in her confusion.

Denise laughed again. “The woman said he was a great chef.”

Pekala chuckled at Sabine’s understatement. “No wonder he’s off lifting weights instead of cooking us dinner. She said nothing to give him any hope.”

“How long will he stay mad over this?” Denise asked. Her personal infatuation with her good-looking employer had died swiftly with the first sample of his sullen moods. The man never smiled—not really. He was kind to Pekala, but that was the only evidence of warmth.

Pekala shrugged. “Who knows? Koka is very much like my husband who only smiled over one thing. I did my best as his wife to make sure he smiled often.”

***

Koka pushed the bar and the weights up until his arms trembled. Then he let the bar drop down with a loud clang into the bench brackets where it struck metal against metal. Normally, the sound made him cheerful because it meant the workout had ended. A professional trainer had started his program, but he continued it because he enjoyed the results.

Until today.

Now he was sweaty, tired, and still frustrated beyond what a sane man could handle without going mad. Sabine Blakeman was all he could think about—including her incessant teasing and that soft, hot mouth of hers connected to his. She had licked his kiss from her lips after, and he had been afraid to move for fear of what he would do.

The woman had intrigued him from the moment she had stood up in the auction and yelled at Felicity—or Hayden—or whatever that woman’s name had been that he’d dated as a favor to Edwina. Neither she nor her name had lingered in his mind for a second whereas the soft, round blonde with a warped sense of humor continued to star in the endless fantasies playing through his mind non-stop.

He should have really kissed her. He should have devoured her while he had the chance because her disgust would have been better than the torment of not knowing what the rest of her was like. The lightning bolt of lust that had struck him was worse than what he’d felt for his first love—the mother of his child—the woman who had slept with a seventeen-year-old when she was in love with another man. He thought nothing would ever compare to the torture of watching his first and only love marry someone other than him, but he’d survived it finally. There had been other women since that first one—temporary women. Certainly, he was not an easy man and most women hadn’t lingered long.

But he’d thought he’d understood a lot of things about love and life and himself until he’d talked to Sabine. The woman had told the newspaper he was nothing more than a great chef. Well, he was a lot more than a chef. And at thirty-seven he should have a more grounded sense of himself. So why didn’t he?

Losing his parents as a teenager had hurt. Losing the mother of his child had hurt too, but at least he’d gotten to keep his daughter—mostly. Now she had gone to college and his life was more empty. But if he lost Pekala too . . . No. He would not let himself dwell on that loss.

Pekala was ready to go. She had told him as much. “Just send my body home to the islands after” had been her only command to him.

But what kind of life would he have without her support? Of what real value was a TV show that bored him in a dreary city where sunshine was rare? It paid well, but fame was not what he wanted for his life. Gaining more fame was not worthy of being his dream. He wanted to see pleasure on the faces of those he fed. That was the purest joy. Only kissing the soft-mouthed Sabine had held near as much satisfaction for him.

“When was the last time I felt like I had to have a woman or die?” He asked the question aloud hoping his mind would provide a quick answer. But he honestly couldn’t remember wanting a woman this badly since the first one he had wanted half his life ago. Sabine’s kiss had made the longing even stronger than when she had stood to bid for him. Had he really fallen in love so quickly?


Ka Honi Mai Me Ke Aloha,

Koka whispered, thinking once more of his mouth on hers.

As he went to shower, he prayed fervently to the goddess for another chance.

Chapter 7

What was the matter with the woman? Sabine was ignoring his phone calls and had turned voice mail off her phone so he couldn’t even leave her messages. He hadn’t lowered himself enough yet to actually chase her down at her place of business, but he wasn’t far from doing that.

First, he had an idea that would let her see him again in a public situation where she might feel safer. But it would provide him another chance to convince her to go out with him.

“Edwina, I want you to invite Sabine Blakeman to guest on the show,” Koka said flatly.

Edwina stared at the most difficult talent she managed in complete disbelief. “You want me to ask the auction woman to come on your show and do a guest spot? Do you know what she does for a living?”

“Yes. I had Sabine thoroughly investigated. As you know, the last stalker made me cautious. I investigate anyone now that makes me nervous, even in a good way,” Koka said.

Edwina blinked in shock. “You had the woman investigated? Well I sure didn’t see that coming. Sabine Blakeman’s online profile at the PR company she works for says she’s an image consultant. That means she helps people improve their public persona. Inviting her on the show is like giving her company thousands of dollars worth of free advertising. I don’t know if the execs will go for it.”

“Ask anyway,” Koka ordered. “She’s ignoring my phone messages and I want to see her again. Be discrete though. Sabine will be less likely to rebel against this if she thinks this is your idea.”

Edwina snickered at the high school approach Koka was taking, but fortunately caught the full laugh before it escaped. “Not to be crude, but I just have to ask this. Why are you chasing a chubby, older blonde when attractive women fall at your feet wherever you walk?”

Koka frowned at Edwina’s description of Sabine. “Chubby? I don’t think she’s chubby at all. But Sabine’s physical attractiveness is not the only reason I’m interested. I like her, Edwina. Sabine is
Ke Aloha
. I am only asking you to help fate along.”

Edwina studied her most finicky talent while he stared serenely back at her. The man’s expression gave nothing away. Surely Koka had to know how strange his request was, at least the part she understood. He knew damn well she didn’t speak Hawaiian.

“The woman couldn’t have been that good,” she said.

“Do not harass me over the first real favor I have asked of you. Just do this, Edwina. You said we needed to start inviting guests on the show. You invite Sabine and I’ll do one with the woman that wrote that book you love.”

Her eyebrows shot up in the air. “I stand corrected. Evidently, she was that good. Okay, you have a deal.”

“But Edwina—no Sabine, no author either,” Koka warned.

“Oh, I got that was part of the deal,” Edwina said sharply. “No worries. I’m just as good at my job as you are at yours, Chef Lake.”

“I am counting on it,” Koka declared. “It’s my last resort before I go to her work.”

Edwina shook her head. “Is that one woman really worth all this trouble?”

“Her ex-husband married someone much younger right after they divorced. From what I learned, there were several younger women before that one. Sabine sees herself through his eyes still. It makes my sincere interest in her seem unbelievable. However, she knows I reject that reasoning which is why she is avoiding me. She knows I would make sure she puts her past away.”

“I can’t believe you seriously got all that from one dinner with her. You never fail to surprise the hell out of me,” Edwina declared. “Now
I
want to talk to her just to see what kind of woman snagged the heart of
The Sexy Chef
.”

“You know I hate that moniker,” Koka said.

“And yet you wear it so damn well,” Edwina declared, grinning at his glare. “I’ll get back to you after I’ve spoken with her.”

“Thank you. This means a lot to me,” Koka said, breathing a sigh of relief as he walked to Edwina’s office door.

At least he had done something productive today about resolving his problem with Sabine. He would have to content himself with that until she showed up.

***

“No, Blanche,” Sabine said. “This involves my personal life, not my business one. The man asked me out. I said no because I wanted to say no. End of story. The rest is no one’s business but mine.”

She ignored Blanche’s look of disbelief and went back to her paperwork.

“Maybe you didn’t hear what I said. Todd Lake’s producer called
Anthony
. They want you on his show to promote their matching contribution to the charity
Seattle Live
supported. What the hell happened on your date, Sabine? The man is chasing you full out. And why in the hell are you running away so hard?”

BOOK: McDonald_TWT_GENVers_Feb2014
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