Beauty and the Feast by Julia Barrett

off and head home for a couple weeks. The weather would be perfect back in
Iowa
. She could ride her horse, get back to her roots. Regain some sense of control because right now, Eva was feeling dangerously out of control, especially when she thought of Gabriel Abbott and his lips, his tongue, his fingers…
    “Hey, Mom, how are you? How’s Dad? Yeah? Mom, listen, I’m thinking of coming home for a visit…”
    * * * *
    Gabe worked at his computer, unconsciously whistling a Bonnie Raitt song.
    “Wow.”
    He looked up. His assistant stood in the doorway.
    “Must have been some weekend. I’ve never heard you whistle before.”
    The corner of Gabe’s mouth turned up. “Yeah, I guess you could say it was.”
    “So I take it everything went swimmingly with your dinner?”
    Gabe hesitated. “Yes, and no,” he replied.
    “Hmmm,” Marsha looked interested. “You gonna see her again?”
    Gabe started. “Who?” he asked.
    “How quickly you forget… Who do you think?” Marsha rolled her eyes. “Stephanie Lindstrom.”
    “Oh, uh, no, I don’t think so.”
    “Really? Because she’s on her way up right now. She just called from the lobby to see if you were in.”
    Gabe shoved his chair away from the desk and rose to his feet. “Fuck.”
    “That good, huh?”
    “ That has nothing to do with this ,” Gabe replied. “ This is not what you think. And neither is that ,” he added when he saw the look on Marsha’s face.
    They both heard a noise in the front office.
    “Think quick,” Marsha advised as she stepped out of the way.
    Stephanie blew past her, looking her usual attractive self in a form fitting business suit. Her pinstriped skirt stopped a few inches above her knees and her tailored jacket showed off a pair of formidable attributes. She had no problem balancing on her expensive, silver-gray spike heels. Already a tall woman, with the heels, Stephanie appeared quite imposing. At this moment, Stephanie Lindstrom was giving off the vibe of a woman who was not to be trifled with. Gabe sighed and pasted a smile on his face.
    “Stephanie, what brings you here?”
    Stephanie glanced back at Marsha. Marsha took the hint and left Gabe’s office, closing the door behind her. Stephanie strolled to Gabe’s desk and leaned against it. If Gabe had been interested, he was quite certain he would find the way in which her skirt hiked up her thigh very seductive. If he’d been interested he might have paid more attention to the way she crossed her arms, thrusting her breasts forward as she formed her rosebud mouth into what she obviously hoped would be an appealing little pout.
    “I’m still a bit put out with you for hauling me back home so abruptly on Saturday night. With no explanation and no phone call the next day, I might add. I suppose,” she continued, “I could be convinced to forgive and forget.”
    She uncrossed her arms and leaned back on his desk, smiling brilliantly at Gabe.
    Gabe tried to figure out how to put a sentence together, a sentence that wouldn’t make her think he was nothing but a lowlife. Stephanie was the first time he’d ever changed his mind when it came to seducing a woman. Usually the kind of woman who caught his eye got at least a few months of his undivided attention, even if she was merely arm candy. Stephanie Lindstrom was far from arm candy. Despite her statuesque appearance, she was one tough cookie. She was sharp, observant, wealthy in her own right, and she could play hardball with the big boys. In fact, from what Gabe had learned about her, she relished a good fight. She could also flirt with the best of them.
    “I’m sorry about that,” Gabe began. “I honestly didn’t intend to mislead you. Something did come up and—”
    “You’ve worked it out?” Stephanie interrupted.
    “Not exactly.”
    Gabe caught a sudden flash of irritation in her eyes. It vanished as quickly as it appeared. It wouldn’t be wise on his part to play disingenuous. Gabe decided honesty