Chapter 16

“Can I safely assume that you aren’t involved with anyone Gabrielle?” K.C. replied his voice deep as he sat up in his chair.

 “No, I’m not dating anyone. I would not even consider going out with you if I was seeing someone else. I'm lousy at juggle balls much less multiple men.” She told him firmly as she got up and collected the dirty plates and utensils.

“My friend Camille, the owner of the car rental agency where you got the Rover from just called to invite me to a party at Mr. Stewart’s house tonight. We can go together if you want?” she finally said casually even though she was far from calm.

She wanted to have some control over what happened between them as much as possible but she could tell that K.C. was not a man to be led around by any appendage unless he chose to be.

“Sort of like a non-date huh? Jarrod had mentioned that he was going to organize something and sent me a text to confirm. What time do you want me to pick you up?” he asked realizing that she was very cautious and still needed reassurance.

They had been cleaning up as they cooked so there were not a lot of dishes left to wash up after Rielle put the leftovers in a plastic container so that K.C. could take it with him much to his delight.

They agreed on six when the sun was still up so that K.C. who had been to Jarrod’s house the day before could see his way in the light. He left and Rielle released a big sigh as she looked down at her inexpensive black watch to see it was three o’clock.

She went to check on the laundry and picked it up enjoying the fresh scent of her sheets and towels from the sunshine. Her landline was ringing when she got inside and she put the phone on speaker so she could fold her clothes and talk at the same time.

“Hello?” she said and heard Andrea’s voice mingled with Georgie and knew they were doing a multiparty chat.

“What’s up girl?” She smiled hearing the enthusiasm in her friend's voices.

“You guys ready for tonight?” she replied folding her underwear.

“I am dying to see Jarrod’s house, I hear it’s a showplace.” Andrea said excitedly.

“It is, he has a gorgeous view of Royal Palm Beach and he stole away one of the chefs from the Turtle Bay Hotel who is worth her weight in gold so the food is going to be the bomb.” Georgie confirmed reminding them that her mother had sold him the house.

“I was surprised when Jarrod invited us to his house especially after Camille practically ignored him the whole time they were there. Luckily I was there or we would have missed out on the opportunity to see his beautiful home and I get to pick his brain and Michael's about their lives and the work they're doing.” Andrea gushed ever the journalist.

"Wait a minute, you sound very chummy with Mr. Stewart and Hernandez." Rielle teased as she finished folding her laundry.

"Unlike Camille I know a good career opportunity when it's staring me in the face. I'm not sure what her deal is, but I for one am not going to pass it up. Either one of the two men would make a great story." Andrea told them. 

The conversation quickly turned to clothing choices. They had always checked each other that way after they had attended a party as teens and two of the girls had shown up in the same dress. It was funny now but at the time it was devastating to Cam and Georgie.

The phone call ended with Rielle saying she had to wash her hair and the other women hung up. She didn’t look too closely at why she didn’t tell them she was coming with K.C. because she knew they would have grilled her mercilessly about what was going on between them. 

Rielle called Camille’s phone but it just rang and she figured the other woman must still be at work. She finally hung up and hit the ground running with her preparations.  

She washed her hair in the shower with her favorite coconut shampoo and conditioner and blow dried it until it was nearly dry before putting in some big rollers to give her thick hair a bit of body and then brushed her teeth.

She painted her toes and fingernails with clear polish and looked at the white cotton maxi dress with a light mauve pattern embroidered on it laid out on her queen sized bed. It looked great against her skin with a form fitting top that fell away to skim her torso and was lined but she still wore flesh colored boy shorts and a strapless bra.

Rielle had a suite of silver jewelry that she had received from her parents for her last birthday and she pulled them out now. The hibiscus earrings, necklace and bracelet were locally made and one of her favorites and she had a pair of silver thong sandals.

She quickly smoothed lotion into her skin paying attention to her feet because wearing socks and sneakers all week was hard on them. She had gone to the spa at the Regency Mall to get her legs and bikini area waxed in preparation for the volleyball tournament and her skin was silky smooth.

Rielle took out the rollers and flipped her hair upside down in the bathroom and finished blow drying the tousled waves and fluffed her hair. She applied taupe and pink mineral eye shadow and swiped her usual pink lip gloss on her lips. The spraying of her favorite scent on her pulse points completed her toilette before she went back into her bedroom to dress, put on her jewelry and sandals.

The jewelry added the right touch and the wire necklace settled beautifully against her collarbone. She grabbed a blue denim jacket from her closet in case it got cooler since the house was on a cliff right above the beach.

It was funny, she had spent four years in Maryland surviving some brutal winters and now could barely stand the stiff breeze that blew at night during the winter. Her blood had definitely thinned since returning home.

Gabrielle had been concentrating on getting dressed and allowed her preparations to push away the knowledge that she was going to be enclosed in a vehicle with K.C. for the fifteen minute ride to the exclusive community of Royal Palm Estates on the northern side of the island but now it came back. The attraction between them was very potent and she needed to remember that.

Now that she was dressed, with a few minutes to spare, she sat on the edge of her bed and wondered if he had told his friends he was bringing her with him or if like her was keeping it to himself.

She had enjoyed being with K.C. today and let’s face it looking at him was definitely no hardship she thought to herself. Seeing him interact with his friends and hers would help her to make up her mind about taking a chance on starting a relationship with him in light of the fact that he would be leaving at the end of the hotel renovation.

Michael had stayed at Jarrod’s to pump the other man for information on Georgiana Caldwell and K.C. took the time to do some catching up with his parents. He didn’t tell his mother that he had met someone because he knew that would not go over well with her.

She had been very upset when she learned that the company had bought a property on the island and that K.C. was going to be the lead architect and project manager for the restoration.

The original owners had gotten into some trouble with the banks and Aurora had gotten a good deal on the boutique hotel. He would meet with the job site manager, Lewis Coleman on Monday to check out the site before he would begin working on the drawings.

K.C. got dressed and had to actually prevent himself from leaving the house too early. He couldn’t wait to see Gabrielle again unsure of why a woman he had known less than twenty-four hours could draw him so. He couldn’t recall ever having such a reaction to a female he hadn’t even kissed yet as he made his way out the gate of the Hawks Nest as it was called by the locals.

The houses were often known by a name rather than an actual address he had learned from Gabrielle. After seeing her colorful island style home he wondered what she would think of this modern concrete and glass two story house done in white and cream with dark wicker furniture and an infinity pool that blended with the oceanview.

For that matter he wondered what she would think of his large Denver home that was also modern and really too large for one man. He had finished building it before he even started dating Tiffani but for some reason she had never liked the house and had wanted him to sell it despite the fact that he had put a lot of  himself into it. 

He knew that she would have to feel a bit more comfortable with him before he would be able to get her to come here but was determined to have her see the sunset from his patio here. The fact that she appreciated something so simple yet profound spoke to him on a deep level.  

K.C. slid in The Evolution of Robin Thicke CD and dropped his aviator sunglasses over his eyes before he drove off in the Rover to pickup his date. He had a similar car back home and had a satisfied smile on his face befitting a man who's world was right.