A Convenient Arrangement(36)
“Mmhmm, it’s really good.”
“Did you go there last night?”
“Takeout.” Gwen walked toward the kitchen. Pans of dead food still sat in the sink. “He tried to cook but totally killed dinner.”
“He cooked for you? On a first date?”
“Well, it’s not exactly the first date.”
“Oh my God, what have you been hiding from me? Are you having a relationship that I don’t know about?”
“Not a relationship, definitely not that.” Not yet, Gwen didn’t say the words, no reason to jinx herself. “Just somebody I really like. We’ll see how it goes.”
“My, my, my. Much sneakier than I would ever suspect. Hiding an entire man from me? He must definitely like you if he tried to cook. That usually doesn’t go well for them. You know, my husband never cooked for me.” Gwen could picture the pointed look Aubrey was now shooting toward Justin, with a grin on her face to emphasize that she was teasing. “Okay, well if you change your mind, you know where to find us. Have fun. And don’t forget Sunday dinner tomorrow.”
Gwen’s jaw dropped open. Before she could stutter out a response, Aubrey was gone from the line. Tomorrow? Oh my goodness, Sunday dinner tomorrow. At Justin and Aubrey’s, with all the Travatis and the extended family. Oh my gosh…she’d been planning to go and then thought maybe she shouldn’t but she’d promised and… She slid the phone into her pocket. What the heck was she going to do?
*
The cold air jolted Leo. He and Renley walked across the street and entered the park. A jogger darted by, his fluorescent green jacket a streak of color. The path was clear of snow and the sky was a sharp crystal blue, the clear kind that only hung overhead on a cold winter day. Renley had done his business, but there was no way Leo wouldn’t give his faithful buddy a walk. He’d already texted his dog walker and asked him to swing by in a couple hours to pick up Renley for an overnight. Leo hoped that he’d be staying with Gwen.
His chest heated. He wanted her. He liked her. She made him smile, and her smile and humor made him feel good.
His phone buzzed and he pulled it from his coat pocket.
“Hey.” His breath puffed a tiny grey cloud into the winter air.
“You sound out of breath. Working out on a Saturday?”
“Just walking Renley.” Leo glanced at the sky again, the spires of the skyscrapers reaching into the bright blue above the leafless trees. Happiness, like a warm spill of sunshine, burst through his body. “Cold, but damned beautiful.”
“What the hell, man,” Justin joked. “You on happy pills today?”
“Naw, brother, just taking in the beauty of the world.”
“Okaaay, who the hell stole my brother’s phone?”
“Ha. What do you need? This call work or personal?”
“A bit of both, actually. First, we’ve got a meeting with Devon and Theresa Bennett this week. Seems the deal with the feds is set, but there are some details about Devon testifying that she needs to discuss with all of us.”
Leo’s belly tightened. A long sigh escaped his lips. The only good thing coming out of Devon’s deal with the U.S. government to testify against a Russian mobster was the immunity from prosecution he’d receive. But the aftereffects of his testimony—well, those could be a tsunami of pain for the entire family.
“Okay,” Leo said, and let it go. He refused to let his concerns about his little brother ruin his time with Gwen. Not today. “What else?”
“Aubrey’s stir-crazy.”
“That’s to be expected, right? I mean, she usually goes like a gerbil on speed, and now she has to lay in bed all day. That would suck.” Leo would hate being trapped in bed all day for weeks…unless, of course, it was with Gwen.
“She wants some people to come over tonight. Just family. Justin and Shelly are in, Devon is coming, Mrs. Bello. Aubrey wanted me to call you too.”
“Sorry, man, I’ve got plans.” Renley pulled at his leash.
“Charity event? Hookup?”
“Neither. I just, you know, last night—”
“Oh, that’s right. The cooking for the woman thing. The not-a-convenient arrangement-but-not-a-relationship-yet thing. How the hell did that go?”
“The food was a disaster.”
“But if you’ve got plans for tonight, it couldn’t have gone too badly.”
A smile spread over Leo’s face at the thought of Gwen still tucked away in his apartment. They’d head over to her place, and he would spend the rest of the day curled up beside her, eating good food and having great sex.