Infiltrating Your Heart (6 page)

“My employer enforces a strict
no-dating policy.”

I roll my eyes.

“That sucks.”

“Damn right.”

I take another bite of my lunch. I’m
halfway through finishing now.

“What does she look like?”

I wait for Roderick to answer as he
thinks.

“She’s got reddish brown hair, with
light tan skin and an amazing body. I doubt she’s single, though.”

“Oh, well.”

We’re silent for a minute, thinking.

“How are things with you and Evelyn?”
Roderick asks to change the subject.

“Good. In fact, we’re going to have
dinner with her parents tonight.”

“I don’t know how you can ever get
used to going to that house,” Roderick says. “It’s huge. I’d rather have a
small house. No need for so much space.”

“I don’t care about the house.
Anyway, it’s not like Evelyn and I are going to live there when we marry.”

Roderick perks up at that statement.

“Are you planning to marry her?”

I ponder over the question.

“I plan to propose to her soon.”

“Dude!” Roderick says. “That’s
fantastic news!”

I don’t answer that. I’m pretty
excited myself. One of my biggest dreams is to have a happy family. I think I
can have that with Evelyn.

“How do you plan to propose?”

“That’s secret,” I tell my
overexcited friend. Okay, maybe he’s not.

“It’s great to finally see you guys
take the next step. You’ve been dating for almost four years.”

“We have,” I agree, remembering.
Evelyn and I met in college. I first saw her during my junior year, ten months
after breaking up with my previous girlfriend. It broke my heart a little,
which is why it took long before I started dating Evelyn.

I finish my food and prepare to
leave.

“I need to go, Rod,” I say, standing
up. “There’s some stuff I have to buy for work.”

“Okay,” Roderick replies. He’s almost
finished with his food. “See you later.”

“Same,”
I reply before taking off.

~*~
Mercedes

Today, I’m finally going to meet
Gabriel O’Hara. I’m standing in front of my mirror, adjusting my makeup. I want
to look irresistible. In fact, Patrick demands that I look that way. Although
he says I’d look desirable wearing just about anything, Patrick would rather
not take his chances of Gabriel not liking me.

I look at myself from all angles to
make sure I look just right. I’m wearing a violet blouse with inch-thin straps.
The V-cut shows a modest amount of cleavage. I paired the blouse with a pleated
cream-colored skirt that reaches to a couple inches above my knees. Expensive
black sandals complete my look. As I stand there, I think to myself that it’s
been a long time since I dress up without wearing fuck-me high heels. This is
refreshing.

After making sure I look perfect, I
stand up and apply my perfume. I decide to leave my glasses behind. I want to
make the best impression possible. Once I’m ready, I walk out of my room. I
only have to wait now. Patrick said he would call to let me know where Gabriel
will be.

To pass the time, I watch TV. I want
to grab a cookie from my jar on top of the fridge, but I don’t want to have to
brush my teeth again.

A quarter of an hour later, I hear my
familiar ringtone. I grab my purse from on top of the coffee table and pull out
my smartphone.

“Hi.”

“Good afternoon, Mercedes. It’s
Patrick.”

“I know,” I reply. It comes out
chillier than I intend.

Patrick scoffs. I’ve got to try to be
friendlier towards him. He’s never done me any wrong.

“You’ve got such a sunny
personality.”

I laugh.

“So do you.”

“You need to move. Gabriel is going
to be at the Sports Authority shortly.”

Patrick gives me an address. It’s not
that far from the Academy of Art.

“And remember: make sure that your
first encounter seems accidental. You don’t want Gabriel to think that you
intended to run into him.”

“Of course not. I know what to do.”

“Good. Get going, then.”

I hang up and then put my phone back
inside my purse. After grabbing the remote, I turn off the TV.

Here it goes.

I head outside to my car. I’m already
quite full of anticipation. Patrick told me he wouldn’t text me a photo of
Gabriel until I get there. It’s not fair.

A little while after, I pull up into
the parking lot in front of the Sports Authority. Patrick already texted me the
photo a couple of minutes ago. I know because I heard my smartphone beep. I
pull it from my purse and check the messages. Then I click on the photo.

Holy shit.

Gabriel is handsome. He’s no Chris Hemsworth,
but he’s a man any wife would be proud to have. It seems Patrick wasn’t kidding
when he said any woman would love to be handed to his brother on a silver
platter. The only thing I’m not happy about now is that Patrick spoiled the
surprise. If I’d met Gabriel without seeing him before, I would have been
breathless.

Well, maybe that’s a good thing. I’m
glad that I’m a pretty good actress.

I take a deep breath, and step out of
my car. I’ve got a good plan to run into Gabriel. Trying to seem calm, I walk
right into the store. I’ve visited it a few times to buy my exercising
equipment. Keeping a great body shape is beneficial to your health. And it
keeps me looking good, which is crucial for my job.

I hope Gabriel is still here. I want
to find him before he sees me. That will turn the tables in my favor.

Wishing I could don sunglasses
indoors, I walk around the store. I make sure to appear to be searching for
something
rather than
someone.
As I walk, I think I could use the opportunity
to buy new exercise pants and sports bras. A bike would be useful, too.

I walk through the clothing section,
keeping alert for any sign of Gabriel. Patrick hasn’t told me anything about
his brother, so I’m not sure where to look.

After grabbing a couple pairs of
exercise pants and a sports bra, I go to the fitness section. When I walk past
a corridor, I halt in my tracks.

Gabriel is there, holding a
heavy-looking dumbbell. I look at his arm. He looks ripped, all right. Gabriel
must pump serious iron.

Don’t look nervous. Don’t look
nervous.

Now that I know where Gabriel is, I’m
going to keep an eye on him. I want to bump into him at just the right moment.

Gabriel loads some barbells of
different weights into his cart. He’s already got other stuff in it.

Seemingly done, Gabriel turns and
walks out of the corridor. I walk into an adjacent one. Just when he’s about to
walk past me, I step out. I time it with care to bump into Gabriel and
not
into
his cart. This moment is crucial. I can’t make myself look like a fool.

I walk straight into him. My would-be
purchases fall to the floor. Gabriel looks in my direction. He grabs me by the
arm to keep me from falling.

“Oops!” Gabriel says, looking
apologetic. I can’t help but look open-mouthed at him. There’s nothing like
seeing a person in the flesh. He looked handsome in the photo, but he seems
dazzling in person. My gaze drops down to his jaw. He’s got sexy stubble.

“Um…no problem,” I reply. Gabriel
looks at me like I’m the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. His eyes look
down my entire body, stopping longer on my chest. He then looks at the floor.

“Oh, sorry,” Gabriel tells me. He
bends down to pick up my merchandise. When he hands it to me, I smile.

“Thank you.”

Gabriel nods. He still looks dazzled
by me. To tell you the truth, I’m also dazzled. I didn’t expect that.

“Anytime,” Gabriel says. He flashes a
smile that just about melts me into a puddle. What I’m feeling is real. This is
no acting on my part.

After a few seconds, I blush. I’m a
little embarrassed at my behavior. I wish I
was
acting.

“Sorry, I d-don’t mean to keep you,”
I stammer.

“It doesn’t matter. I—er, you look
stunning, if you don’t mind my saying so.”

I look down at what I’m wearing. Now
that he says it, I feel a bit overdressed. What must Gabriel think now? That I
dress up just to go shopping?

“I don’t mind,” I reply, laughing
softly. I look down before his eyes can hypnotize me further. Right now, I’m
starting to feel like a moth to a flame. Gabriel’s the one that’s supposed to
be feeling like that.

When I raise my eyes, I sense that
Gabriel feels drawn to me. I decide to turn on the charm a little bit more. I
need to make myself impossible to forget.

“What’s your name?” I ask. To my
surprise, he laughs.

“Funny. I was about to ask the same
question.”

“Oh.”

We both laugh together. I don’t know
what’s up with us now. I’m sure we look like teenagers.

“I’m Gabriel O’Hara,” he tells me,
holding out his hand. I reach to shake it. His grip is firm, and his skin is
just a little rough. The muscles are well-developed.

“I’m Mercedes,” I say, looking at him
through my eyelashes. You may not guess, but this is a practiced move.
“Mercedes Roberts.”

Gabriel nods, as if he really wants
to memorize my name. That flatters me.

“Mercedes,” he says. I like the way
my name sounds coming from his lips. “Nice to meet you.”

“It’s my pleasure.”

We stand looking at each other. I’m
on full seduction mode. I hope that he’s mesmerized.

Gabriel admires me for a few seconds
longer. He then looks at his watch.

“I’m sorry, but I must be on my way.
I have work.”

“Oh. I didn’t realize I was keeping
you waiting.”

“Don’t sweat it. I’d waste time
admiring a gorgeous woman any time.”

My eyes widen. He thinks I’m
gorgeous!

“You’re not bad yourself,” I tease.
He laughs again. “Maybe we could run into each other some other time?”

Gabriel’s eyes light up.

“That would be great. Um, I work at the
Silver Crest. It's a gym nearby. We could meet there.”

I have other ideas, so I reach into my purse.
I pull out a pen and a little notepad and write my number on a page. When I’m done,
I hand it to Gabriel.

“Call me anytime,” I tell him.

“Sure,” Gabriel replies, reading the
paper. He seems thrilled that I gave him my number without his asking. “Have a
good day, Mercedes.”

“You, too.”

Gabriel nods, and I let him go on his
way. I look at the stuff I’m holding. There’s just something else I need before
I go.

I sigh as I walk. Things went
considerably well. If I’d come up with an actual plan, I couldn’t have had
better results. For now, I must wait until the next time I see Gabriel. I hope
it’s soon.

Gabriel

All day, I’ve been thinking about the
woman I met today. Mercedes Roberts. I don’t know why, I can’t help it. I know
I have a girlfriend I intend to propose to, but I’m a man. You don’t just forget
a woman like Mercedes.

Right now, I’m standing in front of
the bathroom mirror. I’m getting ready to pick up Evelyn so that we can go to
dinner with her parents.

As I stand there, I look to my right,
where the door is. I’ve hung my day clothes there on hooks. Hesitant, I slip my
hand into the pocket of the pants I wore earlier today. My hand grasps the note
Mercedes gave me.

I should just forget about her. She’s
just some woman I met at the store. Why should I be so interested?

While I’m thinking of tossing
Mercedes’s note into the trash, my phone rings. I pull it from my pocket,
slipping the note there without thinking.