A Little Slice of Heaven (10 page)

Shaking her head, Gianna grinned. No doubt Hayley referred to her coworker at the real estate office. Ryan McKnight, a nice enough guy who always looked like he dressed in the dark.

“
Now, the second kind claims he hates to shop,” Hayley continued, “then spends hours looking for the right garment. If the buttons on a dress shirt are spaced an eighth of an inch too far apart, he’ll complain to the salesman. The salesman will convince him to try the shirt on anyway. He’ll walk around the store in it for three-quarters of an hour, asking you every five minutes what you think. And regardless of what you say, he won’t buy the damned shirt because of the abominable spacing of the buttons. Your Kyle sounds like the second kind of male shopper.” Theories aired, Hayley relaxed and folded her arms over her chest.
Your Honor, I rest my case
.

“
Did I hear my name?”

Gianna whirled to see Kyle standing in the doorway. Fire consumed her neck and cheeks. How long had he been there? Had he overheard their conversation? No, a ridiculous thought. Hayley would have said something earlier.

She whipped around again to take note of any guilt in her best friend’s face. Judging by the sparkle in Hayley’s eyes, he’d only appeared in the doorway a moment ago.

“
Good morning,” Hayley purred in a smoky, come-hither voice Gianna didn’t recognize.

Great. A good-looking man walks into the restaurant and suddenly I’m sitting with Scarlett Johansson.

“
You must be Kyle.” The new voice floated through the air, wafting like heavy perfume on a spring breeze. In one fluid motion, Hayley rose and extended a hand. “I’m Hayley. Hayley Jeffords.”

“
Kyle Hayden,” he replied, shaking her hand.

Still burning with humiliation, Gianna felt a new emotion tighten her face. Envy. With her peaches and cream complexion, thick honey blond hair, baby blue eyes, and luscious curves—all packaged in a five-foot-three-inch frame—Hayley had a way with men. Everything about her suggested she was a helpless female in dire need of a big, strong, handsome man to carry her off to a faraway kingdom and make love to her for hours on end. Hayley was a human candy box, for God’s sake.

When near her, Gianna always felt like a clumsy stork. Too tall for most men, long-legged and gangly, hair usually unkempt, blotchy skin with a smattering of freckles over her nose.

Hayley flashed a wink. “This one’s perfect for the wedding, Gi. You couldn’t have obtained a better specimen if you’d sent a detailed description to Santa Claus.”

Ears buzzing with the full impact of Hayley’s remark, Gianna dropped her head to the table to hide her face in the crook of her arm. If only she could bury herself deep in the earth, far from Hayley’s smirk and Kyle’s curious stare.

Over the noisy bees in her head, she heard Kyle ask, “What’s the deal with this wedding anyway?”

“
You mean she hasn’t told you?”

Hayley’s gaze bored into her neck with the power of a speed drill, and she lifted her head to form some kind of explanation. Too late.

“
Frank dumped poor Gianna for this woman, Rachel,” Hayley provided. “Then, he booked the most expensive catering hall in the county for the wedding. Now to add insult to injury, Rachel had the audacity to invite poor Gianna to this shindig!”

“
Hayley, you call me ‘poor Gianna’ once more, I’m gonna—”

“
Shut up and drink your coffee.” Hayley softened the blow by giving Gianna’s hand a quick squeeze, then fluttered an index finger at Kyle. “Now, you are the perfect weapon for poor Gianna’s revenge. I only wish I could see Frank’s face. Next to you, he’ll resemble a weasel. A weasel in a tuxedo, but a weasel, nonetheless.”

“
Hayley,” Gianna murmured. “Could we please change the subject?”

Hayley’s tongue cluck dismissed her. “You’ll have to play the role of smitten suitor. Really cozy up to poor Gi, lots of slow dances—-you
can
dance, can’t you?”

“
I’ve had a few lessons,” Kyle replied, leaning one hand on the edge of the booth near Gianna’s shoulder.

God, he smelled good. Like sun and citrus.

“
Mmm,” Hayley said, fingers dancing across her chin. “I figured as much. Society waltzes and such, right? In the good old days?” Panic flashed in her baby blues. “Oh, but Frank mustn’t find out you work here. God, that would ruin everything. Gianna said you were a stockbroker or something before you met her. Right?”

“
Or something.” His words held a trace of laughter, as if he only humored Hayley until a more interesting topic stole his attention.

“
Okay, that’ll work. You’re still a stockbroker. Now, where did you two meet? You can’t tell people you met in the garbage.” She held up a hand. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s a cute story for your grandkids someday, but totally inappropriate for this crowd.”

Grandkids? Gianna’s coffee erupted in her throat, and she coughed. Who’d said anything about grandkids? Or kid-kids, for that matter? This was supposed to be a one-night date, nothing more.

“
How about if I say I saw her across a crowded room? I swept her off her feet, and then we flew to the moon on gossamer wings of love.”

Hayley didn’t recognize the sarcasm lacing Kyle’s suggestion, but Gianna did. Flinching, she reached for Hayley’s wrist to stop her, but Hayley was on a roll. And no one stopped a rolling Hayley. “Ooh, I like that! Love at first sight. The guests will eat it up with a spoon.”

“
All except Frank and Rachel, of course,” he added.

Can’t
she tell
he’s
toying with her?

“
Of course.”
Apparently not.
“But you’ll really have to dress the part. And not in little Joey’s hand-me-downs.” Heated eyes scanned him from the top of his head to his midsection. “As much as they do for your physique and my heart rate, you’ll need something more devastating. We want Frank to think poor Gianna came out on top in their sorry little episode. Plus, the wedding’s a formal affair. God, I hate the idea of putting someone as scrumptious as you into a rented tux!”

“
Don’t worry. I already told Gianna I know where to get my hands on a decent tuxedo for the occasion.”

“
Well, that may take care of you, but poor Gianna still needs a decent dress.” Hayley’s calculating gaze moved from Kyle to Gianna, giving off vibes of day-old fish lying on a bed of cracked ice. “Maybe you could borrow the little green number in my closet.”

To break eye contact, Gianna waved her off. “Forget it, Hayley. It would be way too short on me.”

“
You’re probably right. That dress is a petite, after all. But we’ll have to find something…”

“
Why don’t you let me worry about the details? I’ll find something to wear.”

“
Like what?”

“
I don’t know.” Gianna placed her hands palm up on the table. “I’ll find something. Will you drop the subject already?”

“
I can’t drop the subject. You have to look
purrrrrrrrfect
for this event.” One finger under her chin, she tilted her head, first to the right, and then the left. You know what you need?”

Borrowing a phrase from Kyle, Gianna replied, “A better caliber of friends?”

Hayley’s lips twisted in a frown. “I’ll ignore that. You need a fairy godmother. Someone who can give you a head-to-toe makeover before you see that no-good, cheating rat again. Like so.” She raised a hand and pretended to wave an invisible magic wand. “Bibbidy-bobbidy-boo!” Then she studied Gianna with a critical eye. “Hmmm...no change.”

No surprise. “Why don’t we hire an actress to play my part for the day?”

“
I’d love to, but Frank knows what you look like,” Hayley said with a wide grin. “I’m not trying to hurt your feelings, sweetie. But think. When a woman is in love, she gets this glow.”

“
I thought pregnancy made a woman glow.”

“
That’s a different glow. Love has a glow all its own. When you’re in love, you look like you, but happier. Everything’s wonderful in your world. Right now, you look like your world’s been flushed down the toilet. We need to artificially create an in-love glow.”

To keep from slapping Hayley silly, Gianna sat on her hands. “Gee, is it too late to call in George Lucas and his special effects team?”

Kyle and Hayley both stared as if she were a new specimen in the science lab, and she prayed lightning would strike her dead on the spot. No such luck. She’d have to make her own escape from this situation. “Don’t you have to go to work, Hayley? And Kyle, I bet Claudio could use some help in the kitchen.”

“
Actually,” Kyle replied, “I just realized I forgot something upstairs. I’ll be back in a flash.”

****

Kyle turned to leave the dining room, but still caught Hayley’s next remark. “Damn, I wish I’d been invited to this wedding! I’d give anything to see Rachel’s face when you walk in on Kyle’s arm. She may have stolen Frank from you, but you definitely got the best man.”

Gianna sighed, mournful as a phantom moaning in a graveyard. “Hayley, let the wedding go. Please.”

Her patience was obviously stretched to the breaking point. No wonder, with a friend like Hayley. God, the woman exhausted him within five minutes of their meeting. And what gave her the right to tell a complete stranger about Gianna’s troubles?

When he closed the door, he lost the conversation, but didn’t care. His mind still whirled around the subject they’d discussed when he first walked into the restaurant. What had he overheard? Something about Gianna getting turned down for a loan? Well, that explained what happened at the bank the other day. At least to some degree. He still had no idea why she needed a loan.

For such a transparent woman, Gianna certainly kept a lot of secrets—big secrets. No matter. He’d found out the secret behind the wedding, hadn’t he? He’d learn all about the loan, as well. Five more minutes in Hayley’s company should be enough. Which was fine, because five minutes was about all he could stand of Hayley’s company.

Right now, though, he had a phone call to make. With an itchy trigger finger, he dialed the number. God, hadn’t they heard of touch-tone phones in this town time forgot? While he waited for the secretary to pick up, the rings buzzed like angry mosquitoes in his brain. When she finally answered, he got right to the point.

“
Rory Abernathy,” he barked.

“
Just a moment, Mr. Hayden,” her slightly nasal voice replied. “He’s expecting your call. I’ll put you right through.”

Good old Doreen, the epitome of efficiency. Even with everything that had gone wrong, some things never changed.

A second later he heard a click. Then a booming male voice came on the line. “Kyle? Is that you?”

He didn’t bother to confirm his identity. If the secretary could recognize him, Rory should as well. “Did you get my package in the mail?”

“
It was on my desk first thing this morning.” Rory’s tone filled with open admiration. “I don’t know how you managed, but I guess congratulations are in order.”

Yeah, right. Like he didn’t picture Aurora slipping farther and farther out of reach as he stared at the papers Kyle had sent.

“
Stuff the congratulations. I’m only calling to make sure you hold to your end of our deal.”

“
What are you doing for this
Villa Mare
place? Consulting work?”

Since he had no intention of telling Rory about his life as a busboy, he deftly set the conversation on course. “According to the rules, I’m entitled to two favors for my little package.”

“
Okay, so what do you want?”

“
First, I want a set of formalwear. My Dior tux will do. And not just the tux. The whole outfit. From the skin out.” He paced the kitchen as far as the coiled phone cord would allow. “Underwear, shirt, socks, and dress shoes, too. Lana knows where everything is.”

“
Yeah, well, about Lana…” Rory’s tone changed from the exuberance of admiration to condescending pity.

No need for a brick to fall on his head. “She’s gone, right?”

“
Moved back to Boston two days after you left Manhattan.”

All motion stopped. Not that Lana’s swift departure surprised him. After all, they’d said their goodbyes when he told her of the sudden change in his finances. What surprised him, though, was how the news made him feel. Numb. No sadness or sense of mourning, no bitterness or thoughts of betrayal. Her loss affected him with the same ambivalence he’d feel for a clipped toenail.

His eyes focused on the photograph of Gianna standing with her brother during his graduation.
Gianna would never abandon the man she loved. Hell, Gianna wouldn’t abandon a stranger fallen on hard times.
 

He’d known her two weeks and already understood that should tragedy befall someone close to her, she’d sell her soul to buy that someone a new start in life. Long past time someone bought something special for Gianna in return.

“
I’m sorry,” Rory said. “If you want to go back on our agreement, I’ll understand.”

“
Oh, sure. You just want to get your hands on Aurora.” His pacing resumed, this time quicker. “Thanks anyway, but I’ll stick to the original deal. I’ve got twenty-eight days left, and I can do that standing on my head if I have to. Now, about the tux—”

“
I’ll get the tux. What else?”

His attention returned to the photograph, and he smiled. “Call Lucinda at Bergdorf’s.” With the terse moderated tone of a drill sergeant, he barked out a list of what he expected Rory to do and how Lucinda should handle her role. “Have her cook up some kind of sweepstakes or free gift or something. You got all this?”

“
Yes. But one question. What’s all this for? I mean, Gianna Randazzo. Isn’t she the one who signed the paycheck you sent me?”