A Secret to Keep (9 page)

“Well, I guess you’ll be disappointed today because I’m not going to dinner with you.”
Don’t cave Sloane
.
Stay calm. Damn, he smells divine.

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” All she wanted was to get out of the room and away from his hypnotic gaze. Trying to sidestep him, she moved to head towards the door, but he stepped in her path to block her.

“Why’re you being so obstinate? You said I could ask questions at any time, remember? I simply want to take you to dinner so we can talk about how we’re going to proceed.”

“What do you mean, how we’re going to proceed?” She was trying to regain her composure; she had not been in this close proximity to Gates in a long time and his cologne made it hard for her to catch her breath. Her chest constricted when her eyes met his and she realized her facade was fading fast.

“You want to be able to take good news back to Antony and Isabella, right?” His eyes sparkled and she could tell he was enjoying toying with her. Of course she wanted to be able to tell her boss good news, but at what cost, and what did Gates have on his mind?

“Of course I do.”
Stop looking at me like that. Please.

“Then have dinner with me.” His voice whispered on the wind and she had to brace herself to keep her knees from giving way.

“You’re blackmailing me into going to dinner with you? Are you serious? If I don’t go are you just going to automatically decide to go with D&S?” She was trying desperately not to give over all power to him, but failing miserably.

“It’s not nearly that serious Sloane. That’s not me. I don’t have to blackmail any woman into going out with me. I merely want to talk to you about the project. But, if you don’t want to go, out of fear of your boyfriend being mad at you…then hey, far be it from me to get in between a happy couple.” He reached out and gently moved a lock of her hair behind her ear. His finger grazed her ear and she could feel a tingling sensation run down her ear and neck to wake up a place that had lain dormant since she left him over a year ago.
Please don’t do this to me.

“I’m not worried about Chase, and he’s my fiancé.” As the words exited her mouth, Sloane knew Chase was going to slaughter her. She’d practically elevated their ‘fake’ relationship to a whole other level without consulting him.

“Oh, I’m sorry, fiancé,” Gates said slowly. He paused and she couldn’t tell what the emotion was crossing his face. Whatever it was, he quickly recovered. “Then if you aren’t worried about him, we can go.” He took her hand in his, continuing to hold her gaze, and began drawing circles in her palm with his thumb. Every bit of the bone and cartilage in her body was surely starting to melt.
      

“Gates.” The cotton filling her throat made it hard to form his name, much less get it out of her mouth.
Please God make him stop.

“Come on, you’re really too uptight. Stop thinking about it, just come with me.”

Finding it harder and harder to concentrate as he gently massaged her hand, she relented.
What can it hurt?
If he pressed, she would embellish the truth about her and Chase some more and he could leave quicker. She was never one to be able to resist Gates’ charm and she meekly gave in. “Okay.”

Practically dragging her down the hallway, Gates took her briefcase from her and kept her other hand in his as they made their way to the parking lot. Once there, he opened the door to his rented Mercedes for her and they sped off through traffic.

“Gates, exactly where are we going?” She could no longer sit in silence as she watched the city skyline whiz by; it looked like they were headed away from any conceivable restaurant nearby.

“It’s a surprise.” He offered up cryptically, glancing at her before turning his attention back to the road.

“Um,” she sat up as she watched him pull onto the road for the airport.

“Just sit back and relax.”

Before she knew it, she and Gates were sitting on his private jet. “This is a bad idea.” Mumbling to herself, she knew she needed to get up and get off of the plane, but she couldn’t make her body listen to her brain. She gripped the armrest as she heard the pilot inform them they were ready for take-off. “What is this?”

“Dinner. I told you that. We used to do this all the time, remember?”

She bowed her head and sighed, thinking about the many times Gates would surprise her with spur-of-the-moment trips when they first started dating. It never ceased to amaze her how at any time she could be whisked away to some exotic island or a metropolitan city for dinner or a play and she never had to pack. It was always done for her, or if it was truly spontaneous, by the time they landed, she had a whole new wardrobe for the duration of their stay. It was something she missed by not being with him anymore. They were always so impulsive and it was somewhat thrilling to have that same freedom again.

“What’re you trying to do here Mr. McCall? I’m the one who should be trying to impress you so you agree to back the Reyes project.”

“Sloane, I’m going with the Reyes project. There never really was any doubt in my mind about it. I’d be a fool to stir up a controversy like that in the community. Plus it’s a great project and it gives me good publicity.” She watched him sit back in his seat with a smug, satisfied look on his face.

“So, wait a minute. This was all a ruse? You never intended to go with D&S’s plan in the first place?” Sloane seethed as she felt the jet start its ascent into the sky. “Gates McCall, you jerk! You had us practically jumping through hoops to impress you. I’ve been stressed out and canceling plans all week and now you’ve kidnapped me and blackmailed me into going to dinner with you?”

“I didn’t kidnap you. You agreed to come.” Laughing, he ducked as she threw one of the small accent pillows at his head.

“Turn this plane around. Oh, I can’t believe you.”

“Aw come on, yes you can. And you know you really don’t want me to turn the plane around.” She wanted to choke the life out of him, but she had to admit a little bit of her didn’t mind being whisked away. She always loved his spontaneity and the fun they had together.

Sighing heavily, she crossed her arms and looked at a highly amused Gates. “You’re such an annoying-” She was trying to stay mad at him but was failing miserably. Why did this man still get to her?

“Oh, come on, don’t be mad. Plus, I didn’t think you’d mind visiting a little place in Charleston that has our names written all over it?”

Realizing immediately the place Gates was referring to, she could feel her resolve fading. “Oh, my gosh, Gates are you serious?”

“I’ve really wanted some great seafood lately, so…”

“I haven’t been there in a long time.” Sloane gushed as she thought about
Hyman’s Seafood
and the awesome food the family owned restaurant produced. The place was usually so packed there was a line that ran down the street from the door; and people were happy to wait in line. Many celebrities had eaten there and little gold plaques were all around the restaurant marking their seats. The first time Gates took her there was on a long weekend trip and she instantly fell in love with the charming little town with its old-fashioned streets and the wonderful smell of pralines. She enjoyed shopping on Market Street and staying in the
Charleston Place Hotel
. Charleston had history and it was a quaint city. For someone of Gates stature, it would seem a little out of place for him to want to go to such a ‘normal’ place for dinner, but that was just it. The Gates she knew was merely a simple guy who loved the little things in life even though he was afforded anything he could ever imagine.

“Why’re you doing this?”

“Why am I doing what?”

“Taking me to dinner in Charleston, in one of our, uh, my favorite places, and being nice to me like you used to a long time ago?” She watched him shrug and sink into the leather seat before tilting his head to look at her.

“Am I truly that horrible?”

“I’m just saying I haven’t seen this side of you in a while.” His demeanor had changed tremendously from when she first saw him in Antony’s office. He actually looked relaxed and it reminded her of their time together.

“Maybe seeing you after all this time reminded me of better times between us, and I missed that.” She wasn’t sure what to think of his response. This definitely was like the old Gates she knew, but she wondered how long it would last. “Look, I don’t pretend to think for one minute things are what they used to be. I guess I just wanted to spend a little time with you before I went back to New York for good. So much has changed. You have a fiancé and…a son now.” Sloane’s breath caught in her throat at Gates’ comment and confirmation he’d seen the picture of Brayden. “I guess in a way, I wanted to apologize for what went wrong between us.”

“You’re kidding, right? Gates McCall doesn’t apologize to anyone.”

“Only to you.” He watched her with an intensity that made her shift in her seat and she was forced to look away. This was not going at all like she thought it would. What happened to the animosity he had for her?

Breaking the concentrated silence between them, the pilot notified them they should prepare for landing in 10 minutes.

“Thank you.” She couldn’t believe he had apologized to her and the only thing she could do was mutter the words ‘thank you.’
Only to you. What was that supposed to mean?
His actions since he ran after her in the parking lot of Elijah’s had dumbfounded her to no end.

“You’re welcome.”

###

“Ooo, I’m stuffed.” She couldn’t believe how much she’d eaten, but everything was so good and it had been so long since she’d been to
Hyman’s
. She and Gates had a great dinner and conversation and even managed to laugh while they ate. He asked her about her life and how she liked living in Wilmington. Sloane answered the questions without giving up too much information and was able to steer the conversation in other directions. It was especially helpful that Gates’ phone rang intermittently throughout dinner. “Too bad the flight isn’t that long, otherwise; I’d probably get a great nap in.”

“Well, I thought before we headed back, you might want to walk off some of this. We can head up Market Street and grab some pralines for old time’s sake.” They exited the restaurant and began walking down the street.

“Gates, really, we should be getting back. If we leave now, I can get back for my plans. And I’m sure you probably need to get back. I mean your phone has been going off most of the afternoon.”

“I own the company. They’ll be okay.” He smiled as he switched the phone to silent. “Plans with Chase?”

“Yes.” She knew Satan had a special chair for her beside him in Hell for lying to Gates again, but she couldn’t help herself. She didn’t know any other way to get herself out of this situation.

“Look, we’ll go back, but not before we take a carriage ride.” Grabbing her hand, he paid for the carriage that just happened to be on the corner and before she knew it, they were off and trekking through Charleston streets.

“Gates, I really do have to go home.” If she didn’t know better, she would swear he was stalling for time.

“We’ll go back. Relax and have fun okay; or do you not remember how to do that?” he challenged.

“I know how to have fun. I simply don’t like to be forced into it.” Crossing her arms she sat back on the red crushed velvet seat and listened to the rhythmic click of the horse’s hooves on the asphalt as they meandered through the city streets.

“No one’s forcing you to do anything. You agreed to come with me.”

“Yes, but now you’re just holding me hostage.” She wanted to be mad at him, but she couldn’t. How is it a man could be that captivating to make her forget about everything else around her? She slowly relaxed while listening to the hypnotic click clack and watched the beautiful scenery go by. The stately beauty of the old houses bathed in the shade of the hundreds of years old gnarled trees. The salty ocean air mixed with the smell of pralines made her fall in love with Charleston all over again. It was amazing how a few moments of solace in the ocean-laced breeze could relax even the most overtaxed mind.

“You smell that? There’s no way we can come all the way to Charleston and not get some. That’s a sin.” Gates lips curved upwards and she couldn’t resist grinning back at him.

“Okay, okay. I have to agree with you there.” As their ride ended, Gates helped her exit the carriage and they walked until they arrived at
River Street Sweets
. The candy store was another family owned business and their candy was to die for. She had their catalog at home and every once in a while, especially at Christmas, she would order candy for her or her friends.

Exiting the shop, each with a box in hand, they both burst into a fit of giggles as they ate their sugary confections.

“Look at us; we look like two big kids eating something neither of us really needs.” Sloane noticed the relaxed look on Gates’ face. His features were softer now than they were earlier and it was nice to be able to spend time with him while in such a mellow mood.

“I know.”

They headed to the parking lot to retrieve their rental and Sloane turned to Gates as they got in and pulled out. “Thanks. I know I gave you a hard time today, but it was nice of you to bring me to dinner.”