Sold on You by Sophia Knightly Page B

them tomorrow."
    "Okay." Gabriela ordinarily wouldn't have left dirty pans in his sink, but she was anxious to get away from Marcos, especially after the horrid evening they'd spent entertaining his dear Nicole. She dried her hands on the dishtowel, then hung it up. Of their own will, her fingers crept up to touch the pearl necklace. "Marcos, I feel horribly guilty about accepting these pearls. I'll return them to you when this is over."
    "She wanted you to have them."
    Gabriela shook her head vehemently. "No, she wanted your future wife to have them," she corrected. "Now that I've gotten to know Abuelita Coqui, everything has taken a different turn. I've never felt so ashamed of myself!"
    "I'm not feeling very proud of myself either. Especially after seeing how frail she looked when she almost fainted." His anxious gaze darted toward the sliding door. "This isn't the time to talk about it. We'll discuss it tomorrow."
    He was right. They could hardly come up with a resolution with his grandmother within hearing distance. Reluctantly, she nodded. "I'm leaving then. I have to get up early in the morning."
    "What time do you wake up?"
    "Six A.M. I'm planning on walking the beach at sunrise before I head to work."
    "Where do you walk?"
    "Near the pier in North Naples. Will you be checking in on Christy tomorrow?"
    He smiled. "Yes, of course. I'll see her during rounds and if everything's in order, she can go home."
    "Good. She was a little upset today because she hadn't heard from her family. Her mom called just as I was leaving, but her father and brothers hadn't come by to see her."
    Marcos shook his head in disgust. "That's a shame. Hopefully, they'll come around soon. She's going to need a lot of support."
    "I'll say."
    "Thanks for preparing such a great meal tonight. I'm sorry you had to play hostess to Nicole, but it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't invited her to join us."
    "I thought you would like it," she fibbed.
    "Well, I didn't. You two are like oil and vinegar."
    "She was vinegar all right!" Gabriela felt a fresh wave of anger toward Nicole, just recalling the brazen woman's territorial behavior toward Marcos.
    Marcos ignored her suddenly sharp tone. "Are you really planning to take Abuelita Coqui sightseeing tomorrow?"
    She gave him a look that made it clear she kept her promises. "I said I would, didn't I?"
    He reached into his back pocket and extracted his wallet.
    Gabriela recoiled, insulted that he would attempt to pay her in the kitchen as if she were hired help, like his cleaning lady. She stayed his hand. "You don't have to pay me yet."
    "I wasn't going to. Here's my Saks card. You'll need some more clothes for the week."
    She should have realized that seeing Nicole again had reminded Marcos that Gabriela's unglamorous appearance needed help, "Your grandmother seemed to like me just fine tonight, even though I was wearing glasses and my hair was pulled up," she challenged, her chin jutting out in defiance.
    He smiled at her and tapped her nose. "Yes. She thinks you're beautiful. She told me so this morning."
    "Oh. That's nice of her." Marcos's warm smile disarmed Gabriela, and she suddenly felt defenseless. Part of her ached for him to say that he found her beautiful, too. But this was just a game for Marcos and she needed to remain impersonal—like him. Against her better judgment, she found herself wanting to attract him, even though she wasn't the type of woman he ever dated. He'd only chosen her because she was Latina, with old-fashioned values, a woman his grandmother would like, not him. That had been painfully obvious tonight when she'd observed the farewell kiss Nicole had given him.
    The witch!
    Gabriela refused to take his card. "Keep it. I'm sure I can find something in my closet that won't embarrass you." Eager to leave, Gabriela reaches for her purse, but the shoulder strap got caught on the seat. Flustered, she yanked on it and caught Marcos watching her.
    "You're mad at me," he said with a