Pretty Packages (17 page)

Kentucky
regretted that last thing the most because it put him around Fabian even more. It had been a tormenting two weeks to hear the man call Giada in his presence, complain about how much he missed her, and talk about how he planned to take their relationship to the next level when he returned stateside.

Meanwhile, Giada had moved most of her stuff into storage a week ago, was staying with Kentucky’s stepmother now, and was only accepting Fabian’s calls in order to help him stay focused on his tour. And even then, she only spoke to him for a short time.

When Fabian wanted to know why she suddenly didn’t have as much time for him, Giada cited her hectic new schedule at the law firm she’d recently been hired by. This same law firm practically hired her on the spot, by the way, right after conducting the briefest of interviews.

Giada also told Fabian that she was spending a lot of time in the library in preparation for law school in the fall. She did not tell him that she stopped studying at 9 p.m. sharp every night so that she could spend the next three hours talking to his bodyguard.

Kentucky
felt kind of guilty going behind Fabian’s back like this. He was normally such a straight shooter, dealing with problems head-on.

But what about the kids?

Kentucky
just couldn’t risk messing things up for all the kids who were counting on him. He also couldn’t risk losing Giada again. He loved her. And she obviously loved him, too. Why else would she be going to such lengths just for him?

Him!

Though any mirror could point out who was the more attractive man, Giada’s preference for
Kentucky
made him feel like the most gorgeous man on the face of the earth. The things she whispered in his ear at night before they went to sleep made him feel loved and so very, very wanted. The way she sighed with contentment when he whispered endearments back to her confirmed those feelings.

Finally the two weeks were up. It was time to go home. In fact, the three men were on the private jet Bartley rented to take them back stateside right now.

Fabian and his blond manager sat side by side on the plane.
Kentucky
sat across from them working on the personal laptop computer Bartley lent him to check on a few stocks and company profiles he had his eye on.

Once again, Fabian started talking about Giada. He talked about how he couldn’t wait to go home to her, about how he planned to surprise her with a marriage proposal as soon as he saw her face-to-face.

“M-Marriage?” Bartley choked out. “This is my first time ever hearing you speak of Giada in more serious terms.”

“Yes,” Fabian replied. “I’m in love with Giada. I realized it after missing her so much these last two weeks.”

Kentucky
lifted his gaze from the laptop. He fought hard not to frown.
He
hadn’t intended on proposing to Giada for at least another three months, giving her more time to prove herself and also him time to save for the perfect engagement ring and honeymoon trip. Fabian was talking about proposing today!

“Do you think she’s gonna accept?”
Kentucky
asked, keeping his face neutral.

“Of course she’s going to accept,” Bartley blurted out. “Gold diggers always accept marriage proposals from rich guys!”

Kentucky
and Fabian frowned.

“Watch your mouth about my lady, or you’re going to find yourself with one less client,” Fabian warned with flashing eyes.

Less a few teeth is more like it,
Kentucky
added silently, unaware that his fingers had balled into a fist on the keyboard.

Though Bartley did not know that
Kentucky
and Giada were secret lovers, had he forgotten that they were supposed to be old friends? But then again,
Kentucky
had kept so much distance from her during this assignment that Bartley might have thought he didn’t really like her, either. He might have thought that he only tolerated her for his stepmother and client’s sake.

“I’m sorry, Fabian,” Bartley quickly apologized. “It’s just that you fall in love so easily. How do you know she won’t be like the last one? Remember how much
Charlotte
took you for?”

The woman he referred to was another gold digger who tried to trap Fabian with a baby. That baby turned out to be some other man’s, despite the fact that Fabian paid for nine months of medical care, living expenses, and shopping sprees for mother and child.

The other two women Fabian had been obsessed with had had to take restraining orders out on him for stalking. They’d had to pay dearly to make those cases go quietly into the night. Bartley even had to promise the judge to keep a closer eye on his client to make sure Fabian didn’t get obsessive again.

“Giada may have started out like
Charlotte
, but over the last two weeks, she has shown me that she is very different. Not only has she found a job at a prestigious law firm, but she has impressed all the right people there to the point that they are willing to pull a bunch of strings to help fast track her right into law school. All she has to do now is pass all of her exams and complete the necessary admissions procedures for the school of her choice. Again, we’re talking all of this in just two weeks’ time. I call her my little go-getter now.” Fabian chuckled alone. No one else found anything funny.

“Did you say she’s going to
law
school?” Bartley genuinely looked surprised.

“Yes, law school. I always knew that my lady was one smart cookie.” Fabian grinned, looking very proud of “his” woman.

“If you knew this about Giada, why didn’t you insist that she put her intelligence to good use before now?”
Kentucky
found himself asking.

Fabian gave him an arrogant look. “Because having a woman with a career didn’t suit me before now. A man like me needs a woman that can be available to him 24/7. Yet, after remembering how Giada helped me with some contract issues recently, I figured it wouldn’t be too bad to have a lawyer in the family after all.”

The kids. The kids,
Kentucky
rehearsed, forcing himself to calm down before he wrung Fabian’s skinny neck on this plane.

There was no trace of guilt now.
Kentucky
could feel no remorse for a man who would deliberately stifle a woman’s personal and professional growth for his own selfish benefit.

“Anyway, Giada texted me just today to tell me that she has found another place to live because she wants to start standing on her own two feet again,” Fabian continued, unaware of how close he’d just been to danger. “I’m hoping I can get home in time to persuade her to change her mind about that last thing. There’s no need for her to leave now that I’m going to make her my wife.”

Kentucky
looked down at the computer again. Inwardly he realized that Fabian was going to be a little bit harder to get rid of than originally thought. As his eyes zoomed in to the computer screen, he also realized why Bartley hated Giada so much, why he wanted her gone.

The man was gay!

In his distraction,
Kentucky
had accidentally clicked on the Favorites icon. Now he saw a string of adult Web sites that Bartley had saved from the Internet, all referring to man-on-man action. There was even one that counseled gay men with secret crushes on their male bosses.

On second thought, maybe he’s bisexual.
Kentucky
recalled how Bartley would often pursue ladies of the night in every port they docked at.
Either way, he is definitely in love with his boss
. Even now he noticed how impassioned Bartley looked at Fabian whenever the singer wasn’t watching.

Filing this new information away,
Kentucky
quickly clicked off the Internet altogether and closed the laptop. He needed to focus on Fabian’s conversation right now. He needed to know what else his competition had planned for Giada.

Whatever those plans were,
Kentucky
could only hope that she loved him enough to reject them and the man behind them.

Chapter Fifteen

Kentucky
went straight home after he left the airport. Giada was supposed to meet him there. His stepmother had dropped her off after work and given her an extra key to the place. This way, Giada could cook
Kentucky
that special welcome-home meal she promised. Hannah had supplied the dessert.

On the ride home,
Kentucky
called to find out if Giada had done that other special thing she promised—officially break up with Fabian.

“I just got off the phone with him, baby,” Giada replied after his inquiry. “It didn’t go too well at first. Before I could get past hello, the man was telling me that he loved me.”

“I know. He confessed it on the plane. I would have given you the heads-up, but somebody was always around.”

“I wish you had, because I was in total shock when I heard that. Even so, I told Fabian that I wasn’t in love with him, that, in fact, I was still in love with an old flame. And that I realized I wouldn’t be any good to a new man until I tried to make things work with my old man first. I also told him that I had already moved out of the condo and wouldn’t be coming back.”

“What did he say to that?”

“After a long moment of silence, Fabian said he understood. Then he extended the same invitation to me that Alexandra did to you, except with a little twist. Fabian said that if things didn’t work out with my old flame, I could look him up again. He also told me that if I ever needed any help with school expenses or was running low on money, that I could call him up for that, too.”

“In other words, he’s trying to get you to follow his wallet instead of your heart,”
Kentucky
said, clenching the steering wheel tightly. It was a good thing he was already on his street now, because he was fast becoming too angry to drive.

“Fabian could offer me the moon, Kenny, and I still wouldn’t go back to him. I want you, baby.

Only
you. I love you, Kenny,” Giada said fervently.

Kentucky
relaxed his hold on the steering wheel. “I love you, too, baby,” he whispered into the phone.

Giada inhaled sharply and then moaned. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to hear you say that to me?”

“About as long as I’ve been waiting to tell you. I’ve been in love with you since our first time, too. Now seemed like the perfect time to let you know that.”

“I wish you were here now. I would rip your clothes off and ride you until the sun came up again,” Giada said.

“I am here.”
Kentucky
blew the car horn as he pulled into the driveway. “So put dinner on hold and get ready to ride ’em, cowgirl.” He smiled when he heard her squeal with delight.

When
Kentucky
entered the kitchen a few short minutes later, Giada was putting the salad she prepared into the fridge. The moment she saw him, she ran and jumped upon him. As she locked her arms and legs about his neck and waist, he received a kiss that oozed with love and instantly ignited passion . . . so much passion.

Kitchen.

Bedroom.

Shower.