Evenings at the Argentine Club (24 page)

Antonio nodded. “So what did we do wrong?”

After a prolonged silence, Victor said, “We didn’t listen to our own parents and moved to America.”

“Yeah. I guess we weren’t exactly perfect kids, either, were we?”

They finished their beers in silence. Finally, Victor said, “Let’s switch to coffee. I have to drive back.”

Antonio agreed. “Moving to America may not have been the best idea in the world, but I love my American son and my independent
wife.”

Victor didn’t say anything, but Antonio knew he also loved his wife and daughters. But right now, he didn’t know how to show
it. Antonio hoped he figured out how to open up to them before it was too late.

E
ric put on a tie and looked at himself in the mirror. Damn, he looked good. He fingered his lapels. Expensive suit, crisp
white shirt, fresh haircut, clean shave. He smiled a lady-killer smile. Yep, he was blessed. But he wanted female confirmation.
In particular, he wanted to see the look of appreciation of one female. “Victoria,” he called.

“Yeah?” she answered from her own room.

“I need your opinion.” He didn’t actually want to go to this high school reunion. He’d reconnected with the people he’d wanted
to see again on the dinner cruise. But he was sort of excited about going out with Vicki. She’d moved in almost a month ago,
and seeing her every day was nice. Who was he kidding—it was great. A beautiful woman to share breakfast with in the morning,
read newspaper articles with on Sundays, laugh at silly things that happened during the remodel, and unwind with at the end
of the day. The daily grind was growing more and more special each day. But he liked the idea of dressing up and going out,
too. He felt like they’d skipped a few important steps. Not if they were going to remain just friends and business partners;
in that case, things were as they should be, but that was not what he wanted at all. He wanted the dates, the romance, the—

She walked into his room looking like… wow, like a magazine model. No, better than a magazine model, dressed in a form-fitting,
smoky-colored dress with a scoop neckline that displayed a respectable but enticing amount of cleavage. She’d lost a lot of
weight since she started her diet. He didn’t want to ask her how much, but if he had to guess, he’d say probably about twenty
pounds. Not that it mattered to him. She looked beautiful regardless. And maybe it wasn’t the weight loss at all that made
her shine but her new confidence and endless excitement about everything.

“What?” she asked.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her. “You look amazing.”

“Thanks. So do you.”

Turning to look at himself in the mirror, he remembered why he’d called her. “Do I?”

She walked farther into his room. “Very handsome.”

He turned to face her, fingering his gray and blue tie. “I’m not sure this is the right tie.”

She gazed into his closet and pulled out a more colorful satin bow tie. “This one.”

“No,” he said. “I’m not going to an awards show.”

“Then no tie at all. This one makes you look like you’re going to work on Wall Street.”

He pulled off his tie and unbuttoned his top button. “Better?”

“Much.”

He wanted to touch her. “Are you ready to go?”

“Not that I want to go, but yes.”

“Why don’t you want to go?”

“I don’t know. I’m nervous.” She angled her head. “Should we forget it and not go at all?”

He placed a hand on the small of her back. Hell no. “I’d be nervous if I were you, too. Guys are going to be jumping out of
their skin to get their hands on you tonight. But don’t worry—I’ll protect you.”

“Eric,” she laughed. “You’re crazy.”

“And their wives are going to be pissed big-time. You’re going to make some enemies.” He guided her to the front door.

She wrapped an arm around his waist. “I’m so glad you’re going with me.”

“I’ll be right beside you all night. Let’s go.”

He knew they weren’t a couple. She hadn’t shown much interest in anything romantic. And since that day at the club when Victor
and Jaqueline had their fight—the day she reminded him that she wasn’t just a girl he could fool around with and move on,
he was reluctant to start anything he couldn’t make permanent. But tonight he didn’t give a damn. Victoria would have to make
a verbal and maybe even a physical objection if she wanted him to keep his hands to himself.

On the drive, she chatted easily about this and that. Nothing in particular. A neighboring dog that kept jumping the fence
into their backyard—that would be fixed as soon as they put up the new fence in a week or so. A TV show she watched in her
bedroom the night before. A new recipe she wanted to try in the kitchen next week. Eric enjoyed listening. Most of the time
he had nothing to listen to but his own thoughts or the radio. No wonder his father always looked so content when his mother
was in the same room.

He rested his arm behind her seat. “I feel a little guilty that I haven’t called my parents in a week. I’m surprised my mother
hasn’t called to tell me what a terrible son I am.”

“She’s busy planning a cruise vacation with my mom.”

“A what?”

“They’re going on a cruise together.”

He kept his eyes on the road, but wished he could look at Victoria instead. “That’s a shocker. My mom is going somewhere without
my dad?”

“My mom said they’re going to enjoy a relaxing ladies-only vacation.”

“Why would they want to do that?”

“Because it’s fun to hang out with your girlfriends.”

This time he glanced at her quickly. “Sure, before you’re married. After you’re married, you go places with your husband.”

Victoria laughed. “Oh, really?”

“Don’t you think so?”

“I don’t see anything wrong with spending time with your friends every once in a while.”

“Hmm.” He contemplated that as he drove. He bet his dad wasn’t thrilled about his mother going away without him.

Once they got to the Marriott in Burbank, Eric valet-parked the car and took her arm. She hesitated for a second, and he thought
she was going to ask him not to touch her as they walked in, but she didn’t.

They were greeted at the door and offered name tags.

“Want a drink?” Eric asked, as soon as they walked in.

“No.” She glanced around the room. “Oh, God, there’s Susana. Let’s avoid her if possible. She will definitely make me feel
like I’m back in high school. I get my fill of her at the club.”

Mrs. Apolonia’s daughter had never been the nicest person in the world, but Eric sort of felt for her. How else could she
have turned out, when her mother was such a busybody? “Fine by me. How about that drink? It’ll help you relax.”

“I’m relaxed.”

“Liar.” He ran a hand up and down her back.

“Okay, maybe I am still a little nervous about how I look.”

He dipped his head closer to her neck and whispered, “You look hot in that dress.”

She smiled and angled her head. “Really? Hot?”

“Totally?” Her lips were so close he wanted to swoop down and taste them.

“Thanks.” She reached across and squeezed his hand. “I appreciate that.”

He smiled.

“Hey,” a voice interrupted. “Eric Ortelli?”

Reluctantly Eric turned away from Victoria and found himself facing an old friend he had lost touch with. They started chatting
and catching up on their lives since high school. The next three hours were filled with more of the same. A friend. An acquaintance.
The varsity football player everyone knew, who now worked at SportMart. Shaking hands with one person, then another. The evening
was interesting, but mostly he wanted to go back home with Victoria. He wasn’t sure how she felt, but she seemed to be in
a great mood and not in a hurry to leave. She received lots of compliments on her looks and that made tonight worth it.

For a while he lost sight of her when he found a couple of friends he used to hang with, and they started discussing those
carefree high school days when all they really cared about were girls.

“Things haven’t changed all that much,” his friend said.

“Not really,” Eric agreed. “In fact, I better find Victoria.” He held out his hand. “Good to see you again.”

“Call me, Eric,” he said, and handed Eric a card.

“I will.” Eric strolled the hall, searching for Victoria, and found her standing with a couple.

“You remember Giselle,” Victoria said. “She’s now married and has two children.”

He didn’t remember her. “Hi,” he said.

“Oh, yeah, I do remember you,” Giselle said. “Are you two married?”

“No, we’re—”

“Dating,” Eric interrupted, because she’d been telling everyone all night that they were business partners, and that was getting
on his nerves.

She turned her head and stared at him.

He put an arm around her. “Dating,” he repeated. “Living together, actually. And no, we don’t have any kids.” Since that always
seemed to be the follow-up question.

Giselle smiled. “Wonderful.”

The music system in the background played an early 1990s ballad, “More Than Words,” about a woman in a guy’s life not needing
words to show her love, just her body. Sounded good to him. Actually, he’d never liked sappy love songs, but tonight, all
the Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and Bryan Adams lyrics of passion and emotion were getting to him. He let his hand slip
down and took Victoria’s fingers in his grip. “Let’s dance. Excuse us.”

He pulled her into his arms.

“I’m not even going to pretend to understand what that was about,” she said.

They danced to Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby.” Eric held her close. “Sorry Victoria, but you’re full of shit and I couldn’t
listen to it anymore.”

Her arms rested stiffly on his shoulders. “Why am I full of shit? You were the one who lied. You were implying something else
with that ‘living together’ comment.”

“Are you seriously going to stand in my arms and look in my eyes and tell me I’m nothing to you but a business partner?”

“I didn’t mean it like that, Eric. You know we’re friends. But we’re all theoretically friends here. I think the fact that
we’re working together is sort of cool and different.”

Maybe he was being overly sensitive, which wasn’t like him. He pulled her closer and lowered his lips to her ear. “I want
you to admit that something is happening beyond friendship. We’re not kids anymore, Vicki.” He lifted his head. “I’m attracted
to you. I love being with you. I think about you all the time, and I look forward to waking up because I know you’re going
to be there. I… why are you looking at me like that?”

One of her hands crept up his neck and behind his head. “Because I really want to kiss you.”

He angled his head and brushed his lips against hers, then eased back, letting their breaths mingle, before dropping down
for a fuller, deeper kiss. He pressed his lips hard against hers, passionately taking possession of her mouth, enjoying the
taste of her kiss.

When it ended, he took her hand. “Let’s go home.”

They said quick good-byes to a few friends and promised to keep in touch. Eric couldn’t have cared less if he ever saw any
of those people again. At least that was the way he felt at that moment.

He took Victoria home. The second they walked through the front door of their house, he took her hand and, before she could
say a word, shamelessly flattened her against the freshly painted living room wall. He kissed up her soft, sweet-smelling
neck as his hands moved along the curve of her waist. Sexy, curved waist in the Kate Winslet style that he loved.

She breathed heavily and moaned, “Eric.”

He covered her berry-painted lips with his mouth and molded his body against hers. His body was on fire. Her hands traveled
down his back, to his buttocks, maybe encouraging him, maybe just getting used the feel of his body close to hers.

Drunk with desire and frustrated with the voice in his head that cautioned him not to rush into something from which there
was no going back, he slowed down. His hand moved up her body a little at a time until he reached her breasts. The feel of
them, even covered by a bra and a dress, made him growl like an animal. “Victoria, I want to touch every inch of you.”

Her lips found his again. “Touch me, then,” she whispered hotly against his mouth.

Damn. Those three words nearly made his mind blow a fuse. One hand skimmed down her body, pulling on her dress, sliding it
up her leg until his hand could slip under. Her skin was pure silk. His fingers played with the lace of her panties. The heat
of her body penetrated the fabric. And he wanted to be consumed by it. Now. Immediately. “I want you so bad.”

“Let’s… go to one of the bedrooms.”

He lifted his head.

Her voice was tight. Her eyes dark with passion.

Dropping a kiss on her neck and another on her shoulder, and sliding his hand back down her leg, he asked, “Is that what you
want?”

“What do you think?”

“I mean, really what you want?”

Her face was flushed, and she looked confused. “Things have gone from zero to ninety in a matter of hours, haven’t they?”