Free It's Just Love by Kate Richards Page B

with
some sort of chocolate cream.” She passed him the treat, and he took a bite,
the depth of bittersweet chocolate and delicacy of the puff pastry sending his
taste buds into ecstasy.
    “That’s amazing. He held the half éclair toward her. “You
have to try it.”
    She leaned closer, and he stared. When she cast her gaze at
his face, he moved the dessert to her lips and placed it on her tongue. She
closed her eyes, chewing. “Delicious! You were right. Now, you pick one for
me.”
    He fed her a truffle, then a spoonful of mousse, and she
tucked a dark chocolate encased cheesecake bit into his mouth. They consumed
every bite of the amazing array.
    “I’m going to pay for this. I haven’t had dessert in
months.” His system would be in shock.
    She picked up a small glass that had held a rich, smooth
chocolate concoction he had no name for and dipped a finger in, swiped out the
last bit, and stuck her finger in her mouth. She sighed. “I do eat desserts and
pastries on occasion. But not like this…what an extraordinary experience.”
    “That it was.” He glanced across the room to Elise and
Charlie’s table, only to find it occupied by an Asian couple smiling at one
another over tropical drinks. “Look over there.”
    Coral turned her head and gaped. “When did they leave? Even
the cameraman is gone.”
    “Yep, and I have no idea. Probably sometime between the
truffle and the mini molten lava cupcake.”
    She stared and him and burst into laughter. “We were in a
chocolate haze.” Clutching her sides, she giggled until every eye in the room
was on her.
    Unaccustomed to such overt behavior, he waited for
embarrassment to happen, but it didn’t. Despite the headshot in the back of the
books, no one in Malibu would care who he was.
    Three A-List stars sat scattered across the room, as well as
a number of minor celebrities. Elizabeth Benner sat with—Charlie Montclief in a
shadowed corner booth. Here to see his “experiment” in action?
    In any case, Gage was small potatoes here, and his behavior
or his date’s—she wasn’t his date—his companion’s, would not be remarked upon.
No paparazzi were admitted, and if word of anything at Chez Boulangerie were to
hit the press, the employees would stand to lose their very lucrative jobs.
Malibu was a safe haven for bigger personages than Gage Middleton, best-selling
author.
    “Well, I suppose we’d better go before the haze turns into a
coma.” He stood and walked around to help her from her chair.
    “Yes,” she replied. “I only hope we do better next time. We
really fell down on the job.”
    Their non-date was better than any real date he’d had in
years, even with Perfect 10 Geena.

Chapter 9
     
    “I have one.”
    “You have one what?” Coral leaned back in the leather seat
and pressed her hand to the cool glass of the side window. Gage had raised the
top, and no wind buffeted them on the trip. She could have had him do that on
the way, she supposed, but it had all worked out. She’d never have met
Elizabeth if he had. What a story that would be to tell her
grandchildren—Elizabeth Benner, famous star, had brushed her hair.
    Their pleasant dinner and extraordinary dessert left her
mellow and relaxed. She watched the ocean fly by as they headed south on
Pacific Coast Highway, leaving Malibu and its colony of the rich and famous
behind. Ahead, she could see the lights of the cars winding along the highway,
red for the southbound, white for north. She was satisfied to sit like this
until she got home, but his comment puzzled her. What did he have?
    “I have a sailboat. You must not have heard me mention it
earlier.”
    “Oh, that’s nice. You must get a lot of enjoyment out of
it.” She pushed herself straighter in the seat. “Do you go out weekends? Ever
go to Catalina or Mexico?”
    “No.” His voice was very low. “I don’t have time to use it.”
    He had her attention. “You have a sailboat. You paid for it.
And you never use it?