Page 14 of To Have and To Hold

He grinned, knowing her plans had been thwarted.

She turned determined to just ignore him now as he spoke to the waiter, but he was making it difficult with his finger rubbing her skin through the light purple and floral-print dress that she wore with matching pumps on her feet. That small caress made her feel warm and her thoughts began to scatter.

“Fish cake?” A female server stopped at her side.

Just from the spicy scent, Coco’s mouth watered in anticipation of biting into the deep-fried salt fish cake, skewered on a toothpick; she picked it up and dipped it into the complimentary sauce. The sweet heat of the sauce built slowly in her mouth. She enjoyed that it was light and help to finish off the tasty treat.

She moaned when the savoury flavours hit her tongue and she enjoyed the crisp, baked flour done right, not too soft or hard to bite into, flaking off into her mouth along with the taste of the seasoned fish inside.

She heard, “God damn, this is good. Baby, what is this called?”

Warmth spread through her at Colin’s voice holding admiration and the term of endearment that slipped past his lips so easily. She turned to see his eyes alight with discovery as he took another bite and then it was gone. She uttered a sound of outrage when he took the last of her piece and popped it into his mouth.

Chewing and then closing his eyes. “Not a lot of ingredients, but the perfect amount of onions, parsley, thyme.” He frowned. “Hot pepper. The batter is just right. Not heavy or greasy.”

His eyes opened and looked down at her expectantly. “It is called a fish cake.” She grumbled, eyeing him icily.

“What? I am sure there will be more of it.” He sounded hopeful and craned his neck, watching the waiters pass by with the cakes, but anyone knew that if you didn’t take enough by the time they came around again, it would be all gone.

“Flying fish and Cou Cou, Ma’am.” Another waiter stopped at her side with a baked, Cou Cou stuffed flying fish rolland once again before she could finish it, Colin helped himself to hers.

She growled low in her throat, and he grinned. “What? I don’t want to come across as being greedy by taking more off the trays. Now that was flying fish.” He looked at her as if she should be proud that he recognized one of the many popular fishes in Barbados. But the demon wasn’t letting her eat and enjoy them too.

Now if they came around with bite-size macaroni pie and he tried that shit, he would be leaving here in a body bag.

He finally left her side to go and talk with the chef when they came out with the breadfruit stuffed with fish filling. She was able to snack on the bite-size macaroni tidbit in peace when it came around. The food was doing what alcohol could not—get an immovable force to finally move and she smirked.

Coco sipped on her drink as her eyes scanned the throng of guests, looking for Jackie. She smiled when she spotted her at Keith’s side, then turned to see where her parents were. They appeared to be engaged in conversation with a circle of older men and women, and she grinned because she could see they were finishing each other’s sentences. They tended to do that when they were excited or upset with you. She thought it was a beautiful and weird quirk they had and couldn’t wait to see how her and her husband had the same mannerisms or speech like other couples she’d met.

Even her friend Zahara and her husband just needed to share a glance and they would gravitate to each other when on opposite sides of the room. Her friend Ambra and Michael had a weird cat-and-mouse game going on that seemed to work for them but getting involved had earned her the wrath of Michael, bringing Colin back into her life.

Her thoughts turned to Colin and she was surprised to realize she missed his warmth beside her; even though it was fake, it felt nice to have the attention of a man and to feel him holding her protectively.

Coco shook her head to dispel the sadness and loneliness descending on her suddenly; for just one fleeting second, she’d dreamed of this being reality, but Coco had always been practical and she had to get through this trial for now. Later, she would begin to untangle herself from the mess, but for now what was done was done. Placing her empty glass on another tray, she moved through the crowd in search of the washroom.

Her head was starting to feel fuzzy, and she was flushed after consuming those two wines. Coco was still a lightweight when it came to alcoholic drinks, and though one or two glasses was normal for her if she drank at all, she’d been drinking on an empty stomach and was starting to feel the effects.

Spotting the signs for the ladies’ room, she turned down the corridor and was nearly knocked off her feet by a woman in red.

Chapter 6

Colin popped another piece of the bite-size macaroni pie in his mouth and chuckled when he kept thinking of the deadly look that had graced Coco’s face every time he took her food away from her, but he couldn’t help himself. The food had been so good, so he’d headed in search of someone who looked like a harassed event planner. Eventually, he found the man instructing the staff out in another hallway that belonged to the event space rented for tonight. It was a huge mansion on an estate that owners would rent out while they were away travelling.

He’d been excited to meet the chef at tonight’s event and now had his contact information. He agreed to come to Colin’s kitchen and teach him some of the recipes in exchange for Colin recommending him to some of his clients for their events.

But he wasn’t kidding himself thinking it was the only reason he wandered off; he used it as an excuse to get away from her for a moment. The moans she’d uttered when she’d eaten the appetizers had been so hot. He fought the urge to be the reason for those moans escaping her, to have her tasting him instead. His gut had clenched when he wanted so bad to lick and suck the little shimmer of juice from the fish on her lips; all common sense went out the window. But he’d caught the eye of her ever-watchful father, the man leaning all the way back until it seemed he might fall over next to his friend. Even across the room, Colin could read the look:don’t make me come over there and beat sense into you in front of everyone because I will, try it.

He’d straightened up and gave her some space because he wanted this to work and not blow it by angering her parents, even though he felt for some reason her mother was on board with all of this. He needed this to make his grandfather happy.

He and his brothers had been furious and still were but when their grandfather told them about his condition, nothing else mattered to them but trying to grant his wishes, even if they thought it was insane for him to try and get them to pull this off in a year.

They’d all met and discussed trying the best way to go about this without hurting someone or themselves in the process and wondering who they could approach with this insane idea.

Coco had popped into his brain and the image of her in a wedding dress and walking down the aisle next to him had stirred something in him that he’d thought he buried a long time ago. He squashed that idea immediately, but once he’d thought it, the image of her being the one to marry took root and wouldn’t let him go.

Not like he hadn’t thought of her off and on throughout the years. Hell, he’d even checked in on her to see what she was up to. Finding out that she’d graduated and had her diploma, deciding to settle and start her business in Boston, staying within reach of him. He wasn’t home that often as he travelled around as a chef and had gone to Switzerland to cook for Michael Brooks and the date who won his romantic getaway package.

Later, he found out it was his female best friend. She was a beautifully stacked woman in all the right places, what she wore—the revealing and barely there red lingerie fit her perfectly, showcasing all of her assets for Michael’s pleasure and viewing. It surprised Colin when he found out who shewas because they didn’t look like friends when he happened to be there. The sexual electricity flowing between them had even excited him, and he wasn’t a eunuch. Ambra was a gorgeous woman and she’d stirred his interest when he’d laid eyes on her sitting at the table, but he knew from the possessive way Michael watched the woman that if he even tried to make a move, he would find himself in a hospital. That didn’t stop him from having a little fun and poking the bear a bit.

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