An Uncertain Affair (The Affair Series Book 2) (11 page)

I
stowed the few things I had unpacked back in my suitcase and filled the cooler
with my measly offerings while Sergio broke up the fire.

The
Ramirez compound consisted of three buildings including two guest cottages that
flanked the main house. It had obviously been there for a very long time, what
with the weathered shingles and cobblestone driveway. Inside, everything was
perfectly appointed for comfortable beach living without being pretentious. The
main living space was one large open room, with the kitchen, dining, and living
areas only separated by the furnishings that defined them.

“This
is fantastic,” I said.

“It
has been in our family for three generations. We did a fairly major renovation
a few years ago to bring it into the twenty-first century, but we kept the
integrity of the structure.”

I
stowed my cooler items in the refrigerator while Sergio turned on some soft
music and built another fire. I poured the wine as he rolled up his sleeves to
cook dinner.

“What
can I do to help you?” I asked.

“You
can sit with me and help me sort through this mess with Adele while I make us
something to eat.”

“Why
don’t you start again from the beginning?”

Sergio
talked and cooked. I listened. He got very emotional as he described how the
events had unfolded. Despite the distraction of rehashing the conflict with
Adele, Sergio produced a beautiful meal in no time. I set the table facing the
fire. Sergio seemed completely drained and introspective as he carried our
plates to the couch.

“Let
it go for tonight. You need some rest to give you some perspective.” He was
very solemn. I put my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. “Let’s just
relax and enjoy finding each other here.”

I
could feel his spirits lighten, and a soft smile came over his face. “You’re right,
my sweet Bridget,” he said, lifting his glass in my direction. “You’re a blessing
that I shall savor all night.” He leaned over and kissed me tenderly.

While
we ate, Sergio told me about some of his childhood memories at the compound. He
said he and Cy spent many hours flying kites and building sand castles that
seemed like fortresses, only to find them swept away by the evening tides. He
said it felt so unfair to work that hard building something and have it wash
away overnight.

We
cleaned up the dinner dishes, and Sergio pulled out a bottle of champagne.

“I
know it’s not quite New Year’s Eve yet, but finding you here is reason enough
to celebrate.”

“I’ll
buy that!” I said, laughing with him.

“How
do you feel about some bubbles to accompany the bubbly? I have some bath oils
that will soothe your soul, and there’s room for two,” he said with a gleam in
his eye.

“A
hot bath sounds divine.”

Sergio
disappeared toward the master suite. I was standing by the fire, enjoying its warmth,
when I noticed a table full of family photos all taken in and around the
compound. Among them were pictures of Sergio and Cy as boys, some with their
parents and some by themselves. There were pictures of Sergio with a woman I
presumed was his wife, and there were pictures of Cy with Nicole that appeared
to be fairly recent. I wanted to ask Sergio about them, but I decided to wait.
He’d already had an emotionally charged day, and I wasn’t sure how he might
react talking about these memories.

Sergio
returned to escort me to the steamy tub. The light from several dozen candles danced
around the room. Bubbles blossomed with the scent of lavender on the rising
surface of the water in the enormous tub. We slowly undressed each other,
taking moments to kiss newly bared skin as our layers of clothes dropped to the
floor. Sergio held my hand to steady me as I stepped into the steamy water. As
we sat down side by side, the lavender bubbles melted away the last of the
stress of the day. Sergio visibly relaxed as he let out a very long sigh and
reclined.

We
sipped the cool champagne, and then Sergio lifted the glass from my hand and
set it on the edge of the tub. He wrapped one arm around me and caressed my
breast as his other hand parted my folds under the water. His fingers began a
seductive dance to unearth my clit. His erect crown was peeking through the
bubbles on the surface, enticing me to caress it with the soothing foam, arousing
him even more. I was getting lost in the waves of titillation that rolled
through me as he delicately worked to bring me to the peak of pleasure. When he
finally took me over the top, the orgasm shattered to my core. He smiled a
knowing smile and kissed me passionately. Breathless, I fell back against the
side of the tub. He pulled himself up on the edge for a moment, tore open a
condom and sheathed himself. As he slipped back into the water, I got onto my
knees and straddled him. I lowered myself on top of him, slowly taking him deep
inside me. He gripped my thighs tightly attempting restraint to savor the
moment as long as possible as I moved up and down, but he couldn’t resist any
longer. His expression twisted with ecstasy as he came hard.

Sergio
let out a deep moan, “Oh, Bridget…. You’re so beautiful.”

“You
make me feel that way, Sergio. You’re amazing, and I love being with you.”

“You
just bring so much joy to my life. Things have been very hard for a long time,
and you’re a bright light bringing me out of a very dark place.”

“That
makes me very happy.”

We
languished in the tub for a little while longer. When the water started cooling
off, we climbed out, and Sergio handed me a fluffy terry cloth robe.

“We
keep these here for our guests,” he said as he held the robe for me to slide
into and kissed the back of my neck. He donned one, too, and picked up the ice
bucket. “Shall we finish the champagne in front of the fire?”

“That
would be an awesome end to an amazing evening.”

The
chaise by the fire was big enough for the two of us to snuggle together and sip
champagne.

“I
can’t remember the last time I was this happy,” Sergio said. His smile was warm
and genuine as he held me and kissed me tenderly. It was a magical night. I
didn’t want it to end.

We
crawled into bed as exhaustion finally crept in, and fell asleep in each
other’s arms. I had crazy dreams -- I was running in limbo. Objects kept flying
at me, but I couldn’t see what they were. I woke up in the middle of the night
and, for a moment, was unsure of where I was. My heart was pounding, and I’d
broken out in a cold sweat. I had unconsciously woken Sergio in my panic as I
came out of the nightmare.

“Calm
down, my sweet. What’s wrong?” Sergio said, putting his arms around me, holding
me tight.

“Oh,
my God, Sergio,” I said, coming back to reality. “I just had a crazy dream.”

“You’re
okay,” he said, softly, and didn’t relax his hold on me. He was quiet for a few
moments and finally whispered, “Who’s Adam?”

Instantly,
I tensed up and pushed away from him. “Why did you ask me that?”

“You
were calling for Adam in your sleep. I realized we haven’t talked about the men
in your life other than the fact that you don’t have a boyfriend. Do you want
to talk about it?”

“There’s
nothing to talk about,” I said matter-of-factly.

“Okay,
if you say so, but I hope you feel you can tell me about things from your past
if you want to. I care deeply for you, Bridget,” he said, calmly, and kissed me
on the forehead.

“As
I said, there’s really nothing to talk about. Adam’s a man I knew for a very
short time before I came here. There was no history or relationship between us.”
This was the truth. We hadn’t known each other long enough to say we had a relationship,
even though I felt as though I’d known him all my life.

“Fair
enough,” Sergio said with a comforting smile. “I just want to know what makes
you happy and unhappy so I’ll only do things that make you happy.” He looked
into my eyes and pushed my hair off my shoulder, kissing the bare skin.

“You
make me very happy, Sergio, and if you ever do anything that doesn’t, I’ll tell
you. There’s no comparison between you and anyone else who has ever been in my
life,” I proclaimed, throwing my arms around his neck and pulling him close.

He
slid his hands up my sides and tantalized my nipples, rolling them with his fingers.
He slid one arm behind my back and pulled me into him. His desire was unmistakably
growing again. He took control of my mouth with his, and we kissed deep
passionate kisses. We made tender love into the wee hours of the morning and finally
fell asleep in each other’s arms again.

**

When
I woke, Sergio was sleeping hard. I slipped out of bed, wrapped myself in the
terry robe, and headed to the kitchen to make coffee. Once it was brewing, the
family photos caught my attention; I went over to survey them a little more
closely. After a few moments, I sensed something behind me. Sergio was leaning
against the door frame, looking very sleepy and very sexy.

“Good
morning,” I said.

“What
time is it?” he asked with one eye still shut.

“It’s
around nine. Can I pour you some coffee?” I asked.

“Yes,
a double, please,” Sergio said, joking. He shuffled over to the breakfast bar
and fell into a seat, rubbing his eyes trying to wake up. I put the coffee down
in front of him and joined him at the bar.

“Pretty
motley-looking group, wouldn’t you say?” Sergio said, gesturing toward the
family photos.

“You
were pretty cute as a youngster. You and Cy looked even more alike when you
were boys.”

“Yeah,
people used to think we were twins. Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

I
looked away, not wanting to get into that conversation, but I answered, “I have
a sister, but we don’t stay in touch.”

“Cy
can be difficult, too. Sometimes I wish we weren’t business partners.”

“You
seemed to be having fun with him in those pictures,” I said, implying the next question,
What happened?

“We
got along fine for most of our lives until about two and a half years ago. Cy
was trying to open Buena Comida on his own. It was his concept, his baby, and he
was looking for investors when he met Nicole. Their love affair totally
consumed him. They actually spent a lot of time out here at the beach. The
affair got very serious very quickly, so serious that he left his wife. Then his
divorce got really ugly, and he was completely distracted by his personal life.
I was in the throes of
Top Chef
so I couldn’t even think about helping
with Buena Comida. Then my wife died….” Sergio paused, his eyes tearing up.

“It’s
okay -- you don’t have to talk about it,” I said, rubbing his back.

“It’s
all right. I want you to know about it,” he said, and took a deep breath to
compose himself. “Things were very crazy after Marissa died. Buena Comida was
doing very poorly. The investors were all over Cy looking for payback, not just
from him, but from Ramirez Restaurant Group. I had to step in to try to save it.”

“I
can’t imagine how hard it must have been for you to focus on the restaurant and
deal with your wife’s death. Did Cy help at all?”

“He
has always been resentful of me and all the attention I got, so I asked him to
stay out of it, handle his divorce, and get his life back together. He feels
like I stepped in to try to take credit for the concept, rather than save it. I
think deep down he knows that if I hadn’t taken over, we’d all have been ruined
financially.”

“Have
you ever tried to talk to him about it?”

“A
few times, but he won’t discuss it. He says we have too much that needs
attention in the present to focus on the past. He still seems so angry, and I’m
not sure he’ll ever get over it. He’s alluded to the fact that if he had been
at the helm when Buena Comida took off, he would have gotten the recognition he
deserved for it. And if he had managed the restaurant
and
his personal life
properly, he might have.”

“Was
Adele working with you when you were trying to turn things around?”

“Not
at first. My assistant at the time wasn’t strong enough to handle it. She left,
and I had a very big mess on my hands. Nicole was the one who recommended Adele
to me. They’d worked closely together with another chef, and it seemed like Adele
could help me dig out.”

“Does
she understand the situation with Cy?”

“We
never really talked about it, but we both saw Buena Comida losing traction with
Cy’s distractions and his personal popularity declining from his highly visible,
heated divorce. Thankfully, that part of it died down for a while. After
Marissa died, Cy’s wife left Portland and stopped talking to the press about
the affair. The media wouldn’t let go of it, though. When the divorce became
final and the judge sided with Cy’s wife on all counts, we saw a slight decline
in business again while it was in the news. Adele has a great business mind, and
knew how to spin the PR to get us through it. After that, we were busier than
ever and getting rave reviews.”