Playing with Fire (8 page)

Noelle closed her eyes so Delphine
could put on a light brown eye shadow. “How do you
know?”

“Because in that way Trent is like his
mom. Faithful, loving, and loyal to a fault. If you are the one to
snag him, I’d say you must have something very special going on for
you.”

Noelle waited for Delphine to finish
putting on the shimmery lip gloss. “I don’t know what’s so special
about me.”

Delphine took her hand and led her
over to the large mirror. "Look in that mirror Noelle. You are
beautiful and in the short time I’ve known you I can tell it’s not
just on the outside, either.”

Noelle took a long look at herself,
trying to see what Delphine saw. When she finally did, her eyes
teared up and she had to blink rapidly to fight them from
falling.

“Now don’t go crying on me. You’ll
ruin your make-up!”

Noelle laughed and dabbed at the
corner of her eye. “Yes, ma’am.”

Delphine closed the lid on the
caboodle and motioned for Noelle to follow her. “Come on, I think
my daughter left a few dresses that aren’t trashy and I’ve got some
heels for you too.”

When Trent showed up at the front desk
ten minutes later, Noelle was in a white maxi dress with a colorful
silk scarf around her shoulders. A pair of wedge heels and a
turquoise necklace from Delphine’s jewelry box finished off the
bohemian look.

One look at Trent’s face and Noelle
knew what Delphine said earlier was true. Something in the way he
looked at her really did make her feel special. It was a feeling
she hadn’t experienced from anyone other than her momma.

Suddenly she felt shy around him. “Hey
Trent.”

“Wow.”

Noelle waited for him to say something
else, but a moment later all he could do was repeat himself. She
lowered her head to hide her blush.

Delphine nudged her toward Trent. “Go
have some fun Noelle. You deserve it.”

She waved goodbye and thanked Trent as
he held the door open for her. They were barely two minutes into
their date and already it was the best ever.

CHAPTER
SIX

Trent kept sneaking peeks at Noelle
out of the corner of his eye as they walked across the parking lot
to his car. She looked almost angelic in the white dress with the
glow of the street light shining on her hair.

“You really do look stunning tonight,
Noelle.”

She gave him a look as if she didn’t
totally believe him and he held up his hands in protest. “I swear
that isn’t a line either. I truly mean it with you. Thank you for
agreeing to dinner tonight.”

Noelle laughed. “Did I really have a
choice?”

He stopped near the passenger door and
waited for her to look at him. “I hope you know I’d never force you
to do anything you don’t want to do. If you really don’t want to do
this I’ll understand. It’ll suck, but I understand.”

He held his breath for a moment while
she thought it over. Finally she shook her head. “No. I want to go
out with you.”

He couldn’t help but pull back and
study her face. “Really?”

Her laugh caused his chest to
tighten.

She nodded. “Yeah, really. Now stop
talking about it because I’m nervous enough.”

He saluted her and opened the car
door. “Then let’s get going.”

She motioned to the car, “I should
have guessed you were a Corvette man.”

Trent smiled and nodded. “Yes I am. My
Tío Ricardo used to own a body shop and he got me into cars. This
is a ’77 convertible that was a total mess when he found it at a
junk yard. We rebuilt it together. She only comes out on special
occasions.”

“She?”

“Yeah,
she
. We dubbed her Belleza Blanca
which means ‘white beauty’.”

Noelle took a long look at the car and
then him. “She looks amazing. You guys must have put in a lot of
work, but I would have never guessed you for a guy to get his hands
dirty.”

He shrugged. “I have my moments. There
are a lot of things I think you’d be surprised to know about
me.”

She looked over her shoulder at him
and smiled. “We’ll just have to see about that.”

He smiled back, liking this
flirtatious side to her. He motioned for her to get into the car
and then shut the door for her.

He walked around to the driver’s side
and slipped in behind the wheel. It was a gorgeous early November
night. The sun had set an hour earlier, and the final tinges of red
were fading into the horizon as they drove down near the
beach.

“It’s so beautiful.”

Trent looked over at Noelle. She had
her elbow on the windowsill and her chin in her hand as she gazed
out across the ocean. Her hair danced in the wind coming through
the open window.

“Yes it is. Maybe sometime we can come
here earlier in the evening and you can get the full
show.”

She looked over and gave him another
smile. Trent knew in that moment he was done for.

He drove south into San Diego to one
of his favorite restaurants. “Do you like Mexican food?”

Noelle shrugged. “If Taco Bell counts
then it’s alright.”

Trent gave her a sour face. “That
isn’t real Mexican food. I’m going to take you to this hidden gem I
know that is almost as good as what my abuela makes.”

“Your who?”

Trent laughed. “Abuela. It means
grandma in Spanish.”

Noelle tested the word and did
wonderfully. “That’s a pretty word.”

Trent nodded. “It fits her. She’s a
beautiful woman, both inside and out. But I’m a little
biased.”

Noelle smiled. “So you are close to
her?”

“Absolutely. I’m close to almost all
my family. In our culture family is everything. Just yesterday I
was at her house and there were several dozen family members
there.”

Noelle gave him a look of disbelief.
“Really? What was the occasion?”

Trent shook his head. “There wasn’t
any. It was Saturday and that means dinner at my grandmother’s
house. It’s like a standing appointment. Are you close with your
family?”

Noelle shook her head but didn’t give
any other answer. She dropped her hands into her lap and picked at
imaginary lint balls.

“You’re a very private person aren’t
you?”

She nodded, but kept her eyes on her
hands. “I have to be.”

Trent pulled into the parking lot and
turned the car off. He shifted in his seat so he was facing her.
His right arm rested on the back of her seat and her shoulder was
mere inches from his fingertips. He wanted nothing more than to
reach out and touch her, but from her body language he could tell
it wouldn’t be welcomed.

“I get the sense that there’s
something you’re hiding. Did you break the law or something? Afraid
I’ll find out and turn you in?”

She shook her head. “No laws were
broken. But there are some people who I don’t want finding
me.”

He knew if he asked much more she
would clam up - ten years on the police force had taught him that.
“If you ever choose to tell me, I swear your secret is
safe.”

She nodded. “Ok. Thanks. Now can we
eat?”

She was out of the car before he had a
chance to open her door, but he did manage to get to the restaurant
door first. As he opened it for her, the smells of home assailed
him. He inhaled the familiarity of chilies, cilantro, and lime.
“The aroma alone makes my mouth water.”

Noelle smiled and he knew she hadn’t
completely shut down on him. The hostess greeted them with a smile
and kissed Trent on the cheeks.

“
Hola, como
estas?”

He nodded,
“Bien.
Monica, this is my friend Noelle.
Noelle, this is Monica. Her brother Hector owns this place, our
families are old friends.”

Noelle nodded in greeting and Monica
showed them to a booth and took their drink order. “Lupe will be
waiting on you tonight, she’s new so be nice!”

Trent laughed and a few minutes later
a petit girl brought them a bowl chips and fresh salsa before
giving them a few minutes to look at the menu.

Trent dug right in but Noelle only
stared at the menu. “I don’t know what most of these words
are!”

He reached over and closed the menu on
her. “Please let me help with this. What do you like? Tacos?
Enchiladas? Quesadillas?”

She shrugged. “All I’ve ever tried are
tacos and burritos. My food palate is rather basic.”

Trent waved her off. “That was before,
time to start exploring. Do you prefer chicken, beef, or
pork?”

“Chicken.”

“What about beans and rice? Do you
like those?”

She nodded again.

“Okay, we’re getting somewhere. How
about a chicken enchilada platter? Enchiladas are corn tortillas
stuffed with shredded chicken and cheese and baked in a spicy
sauce. Do you like spice?”

He couldn’t help putting huskiness to
his voice. Her response was immediate as her head snapped up and
she stared into his eyes. A flush slowly crept along the swell of
her breast and made him want to follow its path with his
mouth.

He cleared his throat. “Sorry, I
couldn’t help myself.”

She shook her head. “No, don’t be
sorry. I’m just not used to this kind of attention. And as for your
question, I’m willing to try a little spice.”

Trent didn’t miss the teasing in her
tone and nodded in response. “Well alright then, it’s
settled.”

When the Lupe returned, Trent ordered
for them in Spanish.

Once the waitress left, Noelle asked,
“So Spanish is your first language?”

He shook his head. “My mother is
Hispanic and we grew up living with her and my grandmother. My
grandmother was very adamant that we learn her language. Nowadays
she speaks English, but not too much. She knows I prefer it so we
mix them and speak Spanglish.”

Noelle raised her eyebrow.
“Spanglish?”

He nodded and laughed. “Yeah, Spanish
and English mixed. She will be in the middle of a sentence and
switch languages.”

Noelle nodded. “Oh, you did that to me
once, when we first met.”

Trent thought back to that day and
found it hard to believe it was only a week ago. “Usually I don’t
mix them unless I’m talking with family or something has me riled
up.”

She tilted her head. “I riled you
up?”

Trent laughed and pinched his fingers
together. “Just a little bit. You’re feisty like my
abuela.”

Her smile faded and her shoulders fell
just a bit. “That’s bad, I’m sorry.”

Trent shook his head. “No way, don’t
apologize. I like feisty. It means you’re spirited and stand your
ground. I like a strong woman.”

Noelle gave him a sad smile. “I don’t
know that I’m very strong. And standing my ground has gotten me in
a lot of trouble.”

Trent wanted to ask her something that
had been on his mind since their first meeting, but now wasn’t the
time. He’d observed enough to know someone had treated her poorly
and he wanted to track the bastard down and teach him a lesson on
respecting women.

He could feel his temper rise and took
a long drink of his water. He decided it was safer to move onto a
new topic. “So what do you like to do for fun?”

Noelle shrugged. “Today was my first
day off since I got here and I just laid around in my jammies all
day. I like going to the beach. What kind of stuff do you do when
you aren’t working or stalking me?”

Trent smiled. “I don’t know. That’s
been my favorite pastime for the last week.”

She smiled again and he knew he’d be
willing to do just about anything to keep it on her face. “Well you
seem to be pretty good at it.”

He waved his hand. “Aw thanks, I do my
best.”

Noelle relaxed back into her seat.
“You have a good sense of humor. I like that.”

Other women had complimented Trent
before, but in his arrogance he’d brushed them off as if the
admiring remarks were to be expected. Coming from Noelle, however,
the kind words took on a whole new meaning. Before he could say
anything else the food arrived.

Trent waited for Noelle to take her
first bite so he could see her response. She quickly grabbed for
her water and took a drink. “Wow - that’s got some kick to
it.”

“You don’t like it?”

She shook her head. “No, I like it; I
guess I wasn’t as ready as I thought. Might take some getting used
to is all.”

Trent took a bite of his rice and
tried not to say anything. She must have read his mind.

“I was talking about the food, not
you!”

He nodded. “Sure, whatever you have to
tell yourself. It’s okay if you like me, you know.”

She shrugged. “But I don’t know. I
mean it’s not that I don’t like you, it’s just I don’t know how
okay it is to go there with you.”