Читать книгу Private Parts - Tori Carrington, Tori Carrington - Страница 9

THE WOMAN WAS DOWNRIGHT distracting. And for the life of him, Troy couldn’t decipher whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Bad thing. Definitely a bad thing.

More than at any time in the past year, it was important for him to give his full attention to pulling this contract together. And thoughts of Kendall Banks’s long, long legs weren’t helping him do that.

To the contrary, they were inspiring him to think of a different business altogether. Monkey business.

“Would you like a cheese plate with dinner?”

“Huh?” Troy registered that he stood in the kitchen of the large Metaxas estate, and that Thekla Kalomiris, the housekeeper—who, along with her husband of thirty-five years, Frixos, took care of everything at the house and surrounding property—was talking to him.

He looked down at the cold beer bottle in his hand, barely remembering taking it out of the refrigerator.

“A cheese plate,” the Cypriot turned American citizen repeated. “Would you like one to go along with dinner tonight?”

He squinted at her.

“Roast lamb.”

“Ah. No. No, I don’t think that’s necessary, Miss Thekla. Thank you.”

He wandered into the connected dining room, looking out the French doors at the expansive deck that offered one of the most stunning views in Washington State.

“Long day,” Ari commented, coming to stand next to him.

“No longer than any other.”

“Come on. Even you have to be stressed after that meeting earlier.”

Ari turned toward the large table that could easily seat eighteen but was set for six tonight.

“Actually, I’m relieved.”

“Bullshit.”

This from another meeting attendee, Caleb Payne, who, in addition to being Philippidis’s ex-employee, was also dating Troy and Ari’s younger cousin Bryna, thus explaining his presence at a family dinner.

Caleb poured a finger of whiskey into a cut crystal glass and then took a long pull. “That despot is up to something. I know it.”

Troy held his gaze. “Well, if anyone would be familiar with the way Philippidis operates, it’s you, Caleb.” He raised his beer to him. “That’s why I like having you on this side of the table. If you spot anything unusual, speak up.”

“Oh, trust me,” Bryna said, taking the glass from Caleb’s hand and downing the remainder of the contents. “He will. I swear, it’s all he talks about lately. Nonstop. Even in bed.”

“Oh, TMI,” Ari said, raising his hand.

“I concur,” Troy agreed.

Bryna smiled widely, apparently having gotten in her daily jab that made the brothers cringe at how quickly she was growing up. More than a cousin, she was like their younger sister considering she’d been raised by their father after her parents died when she was twelve.

“What does TMI mean?” the elder Metaxas asked as he entered.

The four looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

“Never mind, Dad,” Ari said, pulling out the chair at the head of the table for him. “Just another acronym that will be passé before you have a chance to commit it to memory.”

Percy Metaxas grimaced as he sat down. “Damn kids. Always reinventing the wheel.”

“Not reinventing, exactly,” Bryna said, taking the seat to his left. “Just adding a little oil every now and again.” She briefly squeezed his hand. “I’m sure you got great use out of your own oil can when you were our age.”

Percy’s grin was large. “Nothing that I can repeat in polite company.”

Troy considered his half-empty beer bottle and placed it on the bar. “Since when are any of us considered polite?”

Percy looked around the table. “Isn’t there someone missing?” Finally his gaze settled on Ari. “Where’s Elena?”

Troy tried to hide his frown as he took the seat to his father’s right. Would there ever come a time when he’d hear her name and not instantly remember what had happened six months ago?

He could only hope that his renewed business dealings with Philippidis would provide him that relief. Because it wasn’t doing him or his brother any good to continue to hold on to past grievances.

“She’ll, um, be here in a minute,” Ari said, taking a seat two up from Troy, leaving the one between them for his fiancée.

As if on cue, the woman in question hurried into the room. “Ari’s too much of a gentleman to share that I can’t seem to hold my liquor anymore.” She ran her elegant fingers over her swollen belly. “Sometimes it seems her favorite place is resting against my bladder.”

“His,” Ari said. “And what do you mean liquor?”

“She didn’t mean literally, cousin,” Bryna said, shooting him an eye roll. “Elena probably hasn’t tasted a drop of alcohol since she got pregnant. She loves that baby even more than she loves you, I think.”

Ari looked panicked where he held out a chair for Elena.

She laughed. “Impossible. I might be able to love our child as much as … but I could never love her more,” she said.

Ari appeared instantly relieved. “Him. You could never love him more.”

“Why don’t you two just find out the gender and be done with it?” Percy asked. “It was cute for the first five minutes, but it’s starting to irritate even me now.” His smile softened his words. “Besides, I’d like to know which sex my first grandchild is.”

“Sorry, Dad. You’re just going to have to wait like the rest of us,” Ari said.

Troy sat back, silently watching them interact. The roast leg of lamb was offered up with potatoes, with Bryna helping Miss Thekla serve. The cook refused to join them when they invited her to sit, as she did every time the invitation was extended. They all knew she preferred to take her meals with her husband in their suite of rooms just off the kitchen.

Everyone conversed easily, with Bryna touching Caleb’s sleeve every now and again, and Ari talking to the baby growing in Elena’s belly. The elder Metaxas seemed to enjoy dinner in a way that he hadn’t done since Troy’s mother had passed away. The more people that were added to the table, the happier he seemed to grow. And that afforded Troy a measure of relief that no number of successful business deals ever could.

For a time, he and Ari had been concerned that they hadn’t lost just one parent, but both, with Percy sinking into some sort of listless funk which none of them seemed capable of helping him out of. His interest in the family business waned, interaction with his two sons was rare outside his occasionally showing up at the dinner table, and Troy had worried that his only wish was to join his wife in the great hereafter.

Then, just before Troy and Ari had traveled to Greece, Percy was diagnosed with prostate cancer … and he’d decided not to be treated for it.

Troy understood that it was a viable option. That his cancer was slow growing and wasn’t likely to be the cause of the end of his life. But it had created enough of a scare for his two sons and niece.

Then a pregnant Elena had accepted Ari’s marriage proposal and was spending more and more time at the house. And Bryna had insisted that they accept Caleb even before he had crossed enemy lines.

And just like that, Percy Metaxas seemed to have found a new lease on life.

“You should have seen him,” Ari was saying, making Troy realize that he’d zoned out from the conversation. “His tongue was practically dragging on the floor.”

Troy narrowed his gaze, hoping his brother wasn’t talking about him.

“And then,” Bryna said, putting her hand on Caleb’s shoulder to pre-empt him from saying something first. “He completely forgot where he was. Ari had to remind him that there was a meeting he needed to conduct.”

Troy nearly choked on the lamb he was in the middle of swallowing.

Percy chuckled. “Troy? Our Troy? Impossible. No one is capable of throwing him off his game. Especially not a woman.”

“Oh, but this isn’t just any woman, Mr. Metaxas. This one—” Caleb’s words stopped as Bryna elbowed him in the ribs. He chuckled good-naturedly and put his arm around her, pulling her back against his front. “This one is tailor made for Troy.”

Ari chimed in, “Light to his dark, and just as tenacious.”

Tenacious? Troy wasn’t sure he’d use the word to describe Kendall Banks. He remembered the way she’d brushed the back of her knuckles against his taut stomach and grinned. Well, okay. It wasn’t the only word he’d use to describe her.

He blinked to find everyone staring at him.

“What?” he fairly croaked.

A heartbeat later, the entire table erupted in laughter at his expense.

And he joined in.

KENDALL REASONED THAT she probably should have gone home. It was nine-thirty on a Friday night and all was not well.

She sat in her room at the bed and breakfast, listening to the complete silence around her. Mrs. Foss, the owner, had long since disappeared to her own rooms downstairs, and it seemed the entire town had retired for the evening.

She supposed it would be a pretty good bet that the single pub on Main Street would have some business. But she couldn’t seem to generate any enthusiasm for a solo outing.

She squeezed lotion into her hand and rubbed it over her left leg, repeating the ritual with the other. She’d taken a shower and wore undies and a short pink robe her sister had gotten her last Christmas. She put the lotion bottle on the nightstand and sighed. She could always get dressed and drive home to Portland now. Spend the weekend doing the holiday shopping she still needed to see to. Lord knew nothing was going on here. Meetings were suspended until Monday.

And it was becoming increasingly clear that yummy Troy Metaxas intended to honor his belief that you shouldn’t mix business with pleasure, no matter how overtly she flirted with him.

She flopped back onto the mattress, twirling the robe’s silky belt around her finger.

Okay, so she wasn’t used to such rejection. Not that she got every man she set her sights on, but having to face that man every day took its toll on a girl.

She should have gone home.

She pushed up off the bed, looked for her slippers, couldn’t find them, then stepped to the door, quietly cracking it open. Caleb Payne was also staying in the bed-and-breakfast in the room at the end of the hall, but she hadn’t seen him come back yet. And guessed he might not, seeing as he and Bryna Metaxas seemed to have something hot and heavy going on.

Otherwise, the place was quiet and empty.

Padding silently down the hall and then the stairs, she wondered where Mrs. Foss had stored the homemade apple pie she’d offered her a piece of earlier. Just a small slice, she told herself. Something decadent to make up for the other decadent somethings she might have had if Troy wasn’t so damn stubborn.

She knew he wanted her. Saw it in his eyes every time their gazes met. So why was he fighting so hard? Why didn’t he just give in and enjoy what she was offering up? A little no-strings sex never hurt anybody. In fact, it usually helped.

Kendall certainly could use some right about now.

A floorboard in the foyer creaked under her foot. She made a face and tried to be a little more careful, staying just to the side of the well-traveled paths of the old house in the hopes that she wouldn’t run into another old board determined to give away her intentions.

The fanlight above the oven was on in the kitchen. And right there on top of the stove sat what she was looking for, covered in plastic wrap.

Oh, yes. A piece of apple pie would definitely hit the spot right now.

She quietly got out a dish and served herself up a helping, wondering if there was any ice cream to be had with it. Bingo! She took a carton of French vanilla from the freezer, scooped some out and then put it away.

Mmm …

Nothing was so good as a forbidden treat indulged in when nobody was looking.

She began padding her way back to her room, licking her fork, when a shadow appeared at the doorway.

Her heart skipped a beat as she recognized who it was. And it wasn’t Caleb. Rather it was a treat better than homemade apple pie, even with ice cream. Troy Metaxas …