Uncorked (2 page)

“Yeah, of course,” said Jason. “I
think six of us are a big group, don’t you?”

“Subjective is the word, right?”

“Right. Don’t you think she’s
cute?”

“She is, but I wish you told me
what you were doing.”

“Why? So you’d find an excuse not
to come.”

“Contrary to what you might
think, I’m completely capable of handling my own affairs.”

“I’m aware of that, but I just
wanted to get things in gear.”

“Right.” Mitch responded then
looked across in Chella’s direction. His gaze collided with hers.

She’d been caught eavesdropping.
She quickly looked away, completely flushed with embarrassment.

Chella was not amused at being
set up. She glanced at Vicky and Kacy, but they simply returned her annoyed
look with innocent smiles. Knowing it wouldn’t be appropriate, and not wanting
to complicate an already uncomfortable situation, she decided it was best to
brush it aside and try to enjoy the night.

After the appetizers, Kacy got a
phone call and had to leave because she had an emergency with a patient. Both
she and Paul quickly said their goodbyes.

After the entrees, Jason got a
call saying the alarm at his boat rental office on Coronado Island had gone
off. Mitch and Chella told them they’d take care of the bill, and Vicky and
Jason left, too.

“I hope everything will be okay,”
said Chella.

“Me, too,” Mitch replied,
chuckling. “I’m not so sure our friends are being honest with us, though. It
seems a little convenient.”

“I have my suspicions, but I’m
not so sure they’d go that far. Especially on Vicky’s birthday.”

“I was under the impression that
I was attending a much bigger dinner party with lots of people.”

“And I was under the impression
that Jason’s cousin Christy was the sixth person attending. So you can imagine
my surprise when I saw…”
Mr. Sex God
“you,” Chella replied, laughing.

“Well, I have to admit, despite
the fact that I had no clue I was being set up, I’m glad I met you. You have
this way of commanding one’s attention.”

Charming!
“Is that so?” She replied,
blushing from ear to ear.

“You do. You’re beautiful, in
more ways than one, from what I can tell.”

As are you.
“Are you this charming with all
the girls? Or have you reserved that especially for me?”
Shit… I actually
said that aloud…

“It’s the truth. I have no hidden
agenda, Chella. Why do I get the feeling you don’t trust my kind too much?”

Until then, she had managed to
keep eye contact with him, but when he blatantly asked her the question, she
glanced away, opting to look at the view instead. The conversation turned from
playful to serious, and she needed to change that—fast. Trusting a man she just
met with painful details of her complicated past did not seem like a bright
idea, no matter how attracted she was to him.

Smiling, she completely ignored
his question and moved into safer territory. “So tell me more. Earlier you
mentioned your company brought you to San Diego?”

“Yes. For years I partnered at a
commercial real estate firm in Santa Monica. Once that relationship
disintegrated, and my partner offered to buy me out, I agreed. Soon after, an
opportunity came up here for me to own my company, so I took it. Now I’m here.”

“That’s great. Do you like it
here?”

“From what I’ve seen, yes. I
haven’t seen too much yet. I’m just settling in from my move. This is the first
time I’ve been to Shelter Island. It’s beautiful here.”

“Yes, it is. I’m so lucky to be
able to call it home. I hope you get to see more of San Diego soon. There are
some really beautiful spots, especially on the coast.”

“I hope so,” Mitch said. “So tell
me about yourself. What do you do?”

“I’m an Assistant Marketing
Manager for the cosmetic division of Sheyenne International.”

“Sounds exciting.”

“It is. It keeps me on my feet.”

“And what do you do for fun?”

“I love tennis, both playing and
watching. It’s one of my favorite things to do, and I love to read. You?”

“That’s funny. I’m heading out
for a match with a colleague tomorrow. Would you like to join me?”

 Surprised by his invitation, she
started to think of all the reasons she shouldn’t. She didn’t want to risk
being seen with him, but the words came out of her mouth before she could stop
them. “Sure, what time?”
Damn. Did I just say that out loud? I have to start
watching my mouth around this man. Looks like I’m Miss Loose Lips around him...

“Around eleven? I have a rental
right now, but I have to pick up my new car tomorrow. I hope it doesn’t make me
late.”

“Sounds like a plan,” she
responded, taking a fortifying sip of champagne.

“I have a better idea. Why don’t
I pick you up earlier? You can come with me to pick up the car, and then we
could go play tennis. Afterward, you could give me a tour of the city—if you
don’t have any plans, that is.”

“Sure, that would be great.”
What
are you doing? Are you out of your mind? You barely know the guy for a couple
of hours and already you’re going bumming around with him in the morning?
“I don’t have any plans. We’ll make a day of it,” Chella replied
. Then
again, he can’t be that bad. Paul and Jason are his friends! He and Jason were
roommates at college for two years… and they wouldn’t try to set me up with
some asshole either… they know better! I hope…

“Well, we’d better get going. We
have a long day ahead of us.” Mitch flashed Chella a charming smile.

“I guess we should,” she replied.

As he got up, he assisted her
with her jacket. His hand brushed against her neck.

Chella felt a flicker of nerves.
Goose bumps raced along her skin, and she was certain her nipples hardened. She
was grateful she had the coat on to hide the effect this man had on her.

“Do you have a car?” asked Mitch.
“Are you going to be okay getting home?”

“I have a suite here.”

“Really? That’s an interesting
living arrangement. I thought this was a hotel?”

“It is,” She replied, slightly
apprehensive, knowing the true reason she had opted for this type of living
arrangement.

“May I walk you to your door?”

“Sure, if you like.”

“I’d be more than happy to. Come
on, let’s get you home.”

They started toward her second
floor suite. Along the sidewalk, they ran into a woman who seemed to be having
a problem with her daughter’s stroller wheel.

“Need help?” Mitch asked the
woman.

“That would be great thanks,”
said the woman. “It’s jammed or something. It won’t move.”

Mitch stooped down to inspect the
wheels.

“I’ve double-checked to make sure
the brakes aren’t locked, and it still won’t work.”

Chella stepped aside to give
Mitch room to work.

Mitch pulled out a small stick
that was jammed between one of the wheels and the frame. “The culprit.”

 “Thank you so much,” the woman
said. “You two have a great night.” She waved them goodbye and walked into her
nearby room.

“Thanks,” Chella and Mitch
chorused.

“That was very kind of you,”
Chella said.

As they started walking, Chella’s
heel stuck in the grass. She fell onto the concrete pavement, face-down. Sharp
pain shot from her wrist to her shoulder. She tried to get up, but the bit of
weight she put on it sent her into excruciating pain.

“Ouch! Oh my goodness, something
is wrong,” she yelped, holding onto her wrist, still flushed with
mortification. Her wrist had already started turning into a collage of black,
blue and burgundy.

 “Oh God, are you okay?” Mitch
asked, helping her to feet.

Are you flipping kidding me? I
can’t believe this. How many more embarrassing moments do I have to go through
in one night?

“The pain is agonizing…”

 “Let me see,” Mitch said, gently
holding her hand and examining her wrist. She was in terrible pain, but was also
acutely aware of how his warm hands felt against her skin. She was close enough
to him to take in a trace of his aftershave.

“It might be broken or badly
sprained. It’s already swollen.”

“It hurts like hell. Please don’t
move it.”

“Come on. We need to get you to a
doctor for an x-ray,” Mitch said, picking her purse up from the ground. “Can
you hold it up?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll see if the concierge has a
first aid kit so I can make you a sling.”

“Thanks,” she replied.

Fifteen minutes later,
Chella and Mitch arrived at the
hospital emergency room.

 “Thanks for bringing me here,”
said Chella, “but you’ve done more than enough. You can go home. I’ll be okay.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You haven’t
even seen the doctor yet, and you expect me to leave you here alone?”

“I’m a big girl. I can take care
of myself.”

“And exactly how do you intend to
fill out that clipboard of paper work? Need I remind you that you have an
injured wrist? And unless my observations were completely off, you’re
right-handed.”

“I’m sure I can get someone to
help with that. Really, I’ll be fine.”

“I get it. I understand. There’s
confidential information on the form. I’ll let you deal with those blanks, but
I won’t leave until you’ve seen a doctor.”

“Are you always this stubborn?”

“Yes,” he replied, gazing into
her eyes and smiling at her. “I’ll be right here if you need anything,”

He walked across the waiting
room. There were five people in the lobby, but no one appeared to have ailments
obvious to the eye. The nurse was about to escort Chella to an exam room when
sirens blasted through the area. Moments later, ER staff rushed through with a
couple on gurneys who had just been involved in a terrible car accident. The
nurse apologized and told her she’d have to wait.

Walking over to Mitch in the
waiting room, she looked at him, disappointed. “This is going to be quite the
wait. Thank you so much for everything you’ve done, but, seriously, I’ll be
good.”

“I’m not leaving you here alone.
Is there someone you’d like me to call? A sister or brother?”

“No, thanks. I’m an only child.”

“Well, I’ll wait with you. Can I
get you some water or something to drink?”

“No, thanks. I’m sure this is not
how you envisioned spending your Friday night. I hope our friends were just
fooling around with us, because it’s just been too much bad luck for one
night.”

“Jason sent me a text.
Everything’s okay. It looks like something on a shelf right below the
air-conditioning vent fell down and triggered the alarm sensors, so all is
well.”

“Thank God.”

“You’re in a hospital with an injury,
and you’re thinking about other people. That says a lot about you.”

“Well, they’re our friends. I had
every intention of calling when I walked into my suite, but we both know how
that turned out.”

“I can call them if you like.”

“Please, don’t,” Chella replied,
yawning. “Let Vicky enjoy her birthday.”

“You’re tired?”

“Exhausted. You wouldn’t
believe.”

“Are you still in a lot of pain?”

“Yes, but once I keep still it
feels better
.” Is he always this attentive?

Moments later, the nurse escorted
her to a room where she asked her more questions and x-rayed her wrist. Between
the questions, the interruptions and the staff breaks, an hour had gone by and
Chella still had not seen a doctor. When she asked the nurse how much longer it
would be, she said probably another hour because a few more accident victims
had come in with life-threatening injuries. Chella asked her to tell Mitch to
go home. At this rate, she wouldn’t make it home for another few hours.

Eventually, she saw a doctor. The
good news was that her wrist wasn’t broken; the bad news was that the bone was
badly bruised, and it could take weeks for the pain to go away. Apart from
icing it to keep the swelling down, taking painkillers and Micro-current
therapy, there was nothing else that could be done. Four hours after initially
entering the ER, she was able to leave. She stopped in the corridor, looking
through a directory for a number to call a cab. Before she had a chance to
dial, Mitch turned a corner of the hallway.

“I can’t believe you’re still
here,” said Chella. “You are one persistent man.”

“That I am. How are you? No cast
must be a good sign.”

“It’s not broken, but the bone is
badly bruised. It might take weeks for the pain to go away.”