Free Sold on You by Sophia Knightly Page A

underneath his trouser leg and curled around his ankle.
    "What's wrong with you?" Abuelita Coqui asked, her tone reproachful.
    "Nothing," he muttered, sending Gabriela a quelling look.
    "I was complimenting Gabriela's meal," Abuelita Coqui said, urging him with her eyes to say something nice.
    "Oh. The meal." He paused, distracted by Gabriela's big toe as it slowly slid up his calf. "Yeah, I guess it's good."
    "That didn't sound very enthusiastic," Gabriela chided. She took off her glasses and peeked at him through long, curly lashes. Her mischievous grin was all blatant flirtation, something he'd never seen her do. "Don't you like my cooking?" she said softly.
    "I like your cooking just fine," he replied, not amused by her antics. When Abuelita Coqui looked down at her plate, Marcos took advantage of her decreased hearing at eighty-five to mutter under his breath, "That's the only thing I like right now."
    "How do you know Marcos?" Abuelita Coqui asked Nicole.
    "Nicole is an anesthesiologist," Marcos said before she could answer.
    "Yes," Nicole said, smiling slyly. "I've worked closely with your grandson this past year."
    Gabriela placed her hand on Marcos's biceps and squeezed, hard, digging her nails in. She put her glasses back on and said pleasantly, " Amor, can you pass me the bread?"
    Marcos handed Gabriela the breadbasket with a look of disbelief. Was he doomed to spend the evening between two women hell-bent on making him uncomfortable? While his grandmother indulged in small talk with the two rivals, he glanced at Nicole's cool blond beauty. His gaze shifted to Gabriela, whose soft cheeks were flushed rosy from cooking and whose green eyes twinkled with mischief behind horn-rim   glasses. In contrast, Nicole's cheekbones appeared too sharp and her fair coloring looked washed out despite her carefully applied makeup.
    Even though it reached to her collarbone, Gabriela's soft burgundy sweater invited stroking. He had to stop himself from reaching over to tug at a tiny tendril of her curls that had escaped from the confining clip, just to feel its silkiness. In comparison, Nicole's sleek bob and daring red dress seemed contrived and calculating. Ordinarily, he would have been turned on by Nicole's sexy dress. But tonight he couldn't take his eyes off Gabriela, utterly delectable in a soft sweater that emphasized her full breasts and a casual pair of pants that highlighted her small waist and delightfully round bottom.
    "Have you seen much of Naples, Mrs. Calderon?" Nicole asked.
    "Not yet. Today, Marcos took me to Mass and then later to brunch at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel," Abuelita Coqui said. "There was a wonderful jazz trio playing while we ate."
    "What a shame you won't be staying long enough to see the sights!" Nicole said. "Marcos told me that you'll only be here for the weekend."
    Abuelita Coqui smiled. "That was the original plan, but I'll be staying on a few more days so I can get to know Gabrielita better." She beamed at Gabriela. "It's not every day a grandson gets engaged."
    Nicole narrowed her eyes and gave Gabriela a scathing look.
    "I'll make arrangements to take tomorrow afternoon off so I can take you sightseeing, Abuelita," Gabriela offered with a fond smile.
    "Lovely! I would like that," Abuelita Coqui said, beaming.
    Nicole groaned dramatically. "It must be nice to have the type of job that you can take time off whenever you like," she said, her tone condescending. "As physicians, Marcos and I don't have that luxury. We're devoted to our patients." Nicole's frosty blue eyes peered at Marcos over the rim of her glass. "You're not very talkative tonight, Marcos."
    "His mind must be on his patients," Gabriela said. "As you mentioned, Marcos is quite devoted." She gave Nicole a pointed look. "You saw how kindly he attended to Christy Ramirez last night when she was agonizing with painful contractions. It's a shame that defenseless girl had to suffer unnecessarily."
    Marcos couldn't believe it when Gabriela