Read Online Redeeming Rafe by Alicia Hunter Pace - Free Book Online Page B

they took my black-eyed pea dip from me.”
    The two of them looked at each other like they were seeing deep into each other’s souls and discovering new secrets of the universe. What would it be like to have that?
    “Poor baby.” Neyland patted Gabe’s cheek. “I hope you don’t faint.”
    “You would pick me up.” When Gabe said this, the usual light banter was gone from his tone and replaced with deep, tender conviction. Abby felt as if she were spying on something special and private.
    Gabe and Neyland must have felt that, too, because they shook their heads a little and laughed.
    “You look wonderful, Abby,” Neyland said.
    “Like some kind of flapper girl,” Gabe joined in.
    Abby smoothed her hands over the blush champagne silk slip of a dress. It was old. She’d bought it to wear to the symphony during the
Great Gatsby
craze a few years ago. She’d only worn it once, because with its thin straps and hemline that ended four inches above her knees, the dress showed more of her than her usual style.
    “I love the jewelry,” Neyland said.
    Abby fingered the rhinestone headband and ropes of faux pearls. “Can’t be ‘some kind of flapper girl’ without the trappings,” she said lightly. Gregory hadn’t liked this outfit, hadn’t liked the excessive jewelry, even if it wasn’t real. He’d thought she’d looked like she was dressed for a costume party. Was that the real reason she hadn’t worn the dress again?
    “You’re beautiful,” Emory said. “I couldn’t wear that. It was meant for you.”
    You couldn’t wear it, because you actually have breasts.
Abby would have said it out loud if Gabe hadn’t been present. Instead she smiled—until the smile froze on her face.
    She felt him before she saw him. Rafe Beauford could fill a space and suck the air out of the universe the way Gabe never could—Jackson either, superstar that he was. Why didn’t the rest of the world see that?
    He stepped into their little circle and looked her up and down.
    “Speak of the devil,” Gabe said. “And you’re wearing my clothes.”
    “I’m not the devil. That’s you. I’m only a minor demon. And, yes, I am wearing your clothes.” Still, he didn’t take his eyes off Abby, though he did pull at his tie as if it were choking him.
    “We were beginning to wonder if you were coming,” Emory said.
    “Yeah?” His eyes shifted to Emory for a brief second and then landed, again, Abby could have sworn, on her nonexistent breasts. Then he raised his huge, beautiful eyes to hers. Surely Gabe’s eyes weren’t that blue or his lashes so long and thick. They couldn’t be. There wasn’t that much eye beauty in the world to go around. Her stomach took a nosedive. “I stopped by the nursery,” he said proudly.
    That brought Abby back to earth.
    “Really? Did you actually go inside? Or did you just hang over the door and give them cookies?”
    “I … uh …” His face went scarlet.
    Abby needed to walk away from Rafe and his eyes while she still could. “If you’ll all excuse me, I’m going to check on the food.”
    • • •
    Damn it all to hell. Where had Abby gotten those pearls? They looped around her neck about ten times and landed in as many places from her collarbones to her hips.
They were long enough to tie her to a bed.
    Not that he was into that kind of thing.
    Rafe watched her walk away from him. Another man would have been watching her hips sway or the hem of that little nothing dress brush against her long legs. And that was worth watching to be sure, but it was the sight of those pearls that made him want to follow her and run his tongue up the back of her neck. The pearls were almost hidden by wisps of white blond hair, but not quite.
    Not quite
would do a man in every time.
    What was wrong with him, anyway? For crying out loud.
Pearls?
Had he developed some kind of sick fetish? To test the theory, he quickly turned to look at Neyland, but she wasn’t wearing pearls—just some kind