Bare In Bermuda (35 page)

“She's gone,” he said. “Go on.”

Gloria left, and Eduardo took her place. He captured her hand across the space between their chairs and brought her fingers to his lips.

“Did you move?” Henna asked.

“Yes.” He released her hand and picked up the newspaper he'd brought with him.

“Did you make your calls?”

“I did,” he said.

“Who did you call?”

“My banker to tell him to transfer funds, my overseer to check in on my world, and the airline to book a ticket for you.”

“For what?” Henna feared and anticipated his answer.

“So you can return to Colombia with me,” he said.

“I...” She stared at him open-mouthed. “Shouldn't we talk about this more?”

“What is there to talk about? I thought we were monogamous people who no longer required condoms?” He gave her a large wink. “We had a discussion. I remember.”

“How about instead of my going to Colombia with you, you come to San Francisco with me? You drop your life for the next few months while we sort out what we really mean to each other?” She stared at him with narrowing eyes and a growing irritation in her craw. Love might have come up and bit her in the ass, but that didn't mean she had to abandon who she was to run off with a man.

Eduardo looked pensive for a moment. “Okay. Gloria has proven that she can manage the plantation without me, and she has my father to rely on if there really are problems.” He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles again. “I will go to San Francisco with you.”

“You will?” She stared at him. “You really would do that?”

He shrugged. “Why not? Why would I ask you to do something for me that I wouldn't do for you? I understand that you have patients and your practice. If I want for you to come to Colombia with me eventually, you need to take steps to make it happen.” He kissed her fingers again. “I love you. I can't just expect you to stop being you because it's what suits my needs.”

“You really will go to San Francisco with me,” she said. “Is this what it's like when someone really loves you? They do things that may inconvenience them just because it's what you need?”

“Of course.” He smiled then his brows dipped into a serious frown. “Can I talk about Pilar without it making you angry?”

“You don't need to ask me that every time you want to talk about Pilar,” she said. “I would never get angry with you for wanting to share with me. You had a happy marriage. That's a good thing. And can I say she must have been fantastic to have had such good taste in men?”

“Thank you.” He bent over and kissed her. “I hate Paris. I hate the French. I hate the way they drive. I hate their irritating, pretentious, annoying, sniveling—”

“I get it,” she said, trying not to laugh. “You don't like the French.”

“Pilar…” He slashed the air with his free hand. “Loved France. Loved the French. She thought it was heaven. I hated it. But I went. For her I went every year for two weeks in the spring. For her, I put up with the Parisian drivers, the bistro waiters, the sales people and the—”

Henna tried but failed not to laugh. “I'm sorry. Does it help that I love Spain a lot more than I've ever liked France?”

“Spain,” he said. “I love Spain. They speak Spanish in Spain. They don't put cream and butter on everything in Spain.”

“Understood,” she said. “France bad. Spain good.”

“The point is,” he said. “For Pilar, I went to France. For you, I will go to San Francisco. This is what we do for the ones we love.”

“We go to Paris when we really want to go to Spain?” She looked at him and wondered where he'd been all of her life, because it was only after she'd met him that she'd really started to live.

“Or we go to San Francisco when we really want to go to Colombia.” He bent and kissed her again. “I'll change the airline reservations. You don't mind that I don't fly coach?”

Reality hit her like a bucket of ice water. “I don't know if I'm ready for this. I've never lived with a man.” She looked at him. “I don't want to shock you, but I'm a bit set in my ways.”

“No?” Eduardo laughed. “You? Set in your ways? I never would have guessed.”

“Stop it.” She wrinkled her nose and kissed him. “You're teasing me.”

“Sometimes,” Eduardo said, kissing her fingers. “You must take a leap of faith.”

“A leap of faith,” she said.

“Don't think,” he said. “Just do.”

Chapter Fifteen

The day was cold, wet, and gray as the plane dipped below the cloud line and made a final turn for the runway at San Francisco International Airport. Henna kept her eyes closed and her hands firmly gripped the armrests.

“Are we going into the water?” Eduardo sat at the window after she insisted they switch places before landing. “It looks like we’re going into the water.”

“I know.” Her eyes were squeezed shut and her heart thumped.

“It really looks like we’re going into the water,” Eduardo repeated. “There is runway somewhere up ahead, right?”

“Hopefully. Sometimes planes end up in the bay.”

“Isn’t it shark infested?”

“Eduardo. Stop talking.”

His hand wrapped around hers, removing her fingers from their grip on the armrest. “I’m a very good swimmer.”

She opened her eyes and looked at him. Their morning had started in Bermuda, and the day was going to end in San Francisco. Bringing him home with her seemed like a great idea when they were surrounded by pink sands and lilac scented breezes. As the wheels touched tarmac and the plane bumped to the ground, she had second thoughts. Home was where she lived. Home was where reality lived.

Why hadn’t she suggested they meet up in a couple of months after she’d had a chance to think and consider her options? Life with Eduardo eventually meant moving to Colombia. That was non-negotiable and she knew it.

The plane pulled up to the gate and they were the first off. Their bags were already on the carousel when they arrived. The benefits of flying first class were widely apparent. Simon was picking them up. That too had seemed like a good idea in Bermuda.

She turned on her phone as they walked into the arrivals hall. Simon was waiting with his cousin Meadow and their soon to be married friends Jasper and Milo.
I’m going to kill him.
Simon smiled, Meadow waved, and Jasper and Milo yoo-hooed. She might have to kill all of them. Or just ignore them. Just walk past the four of them and to a taxi.

Eduardo laughed. “Your friends?”

“Yes.”

“Am I the new monkey in the zoo?”

“Yes.”

“Come on. It’s going to be fine.” He put an arm around her and walked to her friends.

“Eduardo. Simon, Meadow, Jasper, and Milo.”

“Hi!” the four shouted in unison.

“
Enchante!
” Milo, a six-foot-four black man whose stage name was Queen Cleopatra and was the headliner at the Dragon club four nights a week, offered his hand to Eduardo. “So very pleased to meet you. My fiancé Jasper.”

“Hello,” Jasper purred. Jasper, otherwise known as Mr. Jasper or Mr. Jasper’s Tease and Talk Beauty Parlor for the Fabulous, was such a gay cliché the LGBT Alliance had considered placing sanctions against him for perpetuating stereotypes. Jasper took Eduardo’s hand and grinned. “Or Hola-la-la-la-la-la!!!”

Eduardo took his hand back. “Hello.”

“Seriously? Why don’t you just start humping his leg?” Meadow nudged Jasper to the side. Meadow was just like Henna. Mid-thirties. Driven. Successful. Educated. Alone. It took a lot of effort not to automatically give Meadow that pity look she knew so well from her own experience. Meadow was great. Maybe there was some destiny in her future. “Meadow. Really nice to meet you. My boyfriend is making dinner. He’s Spanish. I figured the two of you can commiserate about how crazy the rest of us are.”

Simon was last. If nothing else, having food poisoning had done wonders for that ten pounds he needed to lose.

“Simon,” Eduardo said. “Good to meet you.”

“Same,” Simon said. The hard part of bringing Eduardo to San Francisco had happened. He’d met her four closest friends. He’d been shown the true heart of her life and hadn’t cringed.

“The van is outside,” Milo said.

“You brought the van?” Henna asked.

Milo had a van. More specifically, The Queens of Africa, the troupe that made up his drag show, had a van. Henna had no objection to a van on principle. It was a practical vehicle that served a function. It was also purple and had a group shot of the three Queens of Africa emblazoned on the side.

“I was going to bring my car,” Meadow said. “But they hid my keys.”

Jasper pulled a set of car keys out of his pocket and handed them over. “The van is more fun.”

****

After dinner, Henna sat with Simon as their hosts cleaned and Eduardo took a call outside. “He’s seriously Eden’s father-in-law?” Simon asked again.

“Yes.”

“He does not look old enough to be a grown man's father. I'm going to be honest, I was sort of expecting a silver fox. Cripes. He looks younger than me.”

“You're too hard on yourself.”

“Sure I am. How's Eden?” He lifted his beer to his mouth and drank deeply. “Annoyingly happy?”

“Pretty much,” she said.

“So tell me what I really want to know. What’s up with Waverly?”

“She called Meadow to find out if she could legally have me committed. She thinks I'm having a nervous breakdown. I'm staying with Meadow by the way. I figured you needed some privacy. A thirty-five year old man in your guest room does not equal privacy.”

“Poor you,” she said. “Can Waverly have you committed?”

He laughed. “No. Leaving her was the sanest thing I've done in years. But just to be on the safe side, Meadow's looking into it for me.”

“I never should have introduced you two. I wholly blame myself.”

“I blame you, too.”

She looked up at Simon.

He gave her a smile and put an arm around her shoulders. “I'm just messing with you. You know, just between us, the thing with Eden…” He shook his head a little. “Might have broken my heart a little. I'm kind of glad I didn't have to be there, pretending to be happy for her.” He finished up the last of his beer then set it down. “What the hell was I thinking?”

She put her head on his shoulder. “You would have made an awesome brother-in-law.”

“You know I would have,” he said. “Now I'm alone. Fuck me. Waverly is starting to look good again. I must be desperate.”

“Your destiny will find you. You should meet the
bruja
. She'll give you a picture of the girl of your dreams.”

“I'm going to keep that in mind. I may have to get the hell out of town quickly if Waverly starts sending lawyers after me. God help me, she might really try to have me committed. Not that I couldn't use the rest.”

Later, after the dishes had been washed and they’d had too much wine and a taxi had taken her and Eduardo to her house, Henna walked him up the steps to her bedroom. “You’ve met my friends,” she said as she turned on the light. “Feel free to run.”

“I like your friends.” He left their suitcases near the door. “I like this side of you. I have to say I never thought you’d have friends like Milo and Jasper.”

“Gay friends?”

“Outrageous friends. I figured all of your friends would be more like Meadow. She’s a lot like you. Very serious on the outside, but I imagine very passionate on the inside. Tony is very nice by the way. I admire him. I know what it’s like to be a young father, and he’s managed without the advantages I had.”

“What about Simon?”

“I can understand why Simon would consider a homosexual relationship with Tony.”

She laughed loudly. “What?”

“Never mind. Simon is a good man,” Eduardo said. “He is a very good man with a large heart. A lot of compassion. That is apparent. I can see it in his eyes and his hands. I’m going to invite him to Colombia.”

“I thought we were going to wait a month to see how things go before we decide whether or not I go to Colombia.”

“Henna,” Eduardo said. “Whether you go to Colombia or not, I’m going to invite Simon, Meadow, Tony, Jasper, and Milo to visit. They’ve been very kind and welcoming to me. I don’t know that you realize how much they love you and want you to be happy. If you insist on sabotaging what we could have, that is your prerogative. But I think they see how good we could be together. I think you know how good we are together. You just need something that only you can give yourself to make you believe being with me is the right choice.” He passed her on the way to the bathroom, stopping to kiss her. “Don’t stand in your own way. Now I’m going to shower then take you bed and make sure you don’t start believing good sex happens only in Bermuda.”

She very nearly told him that she was tired and could use some sleep. Nearly. She wasn’t going to stand in her own way. “Can I join you?”

He grabbed her hand and walked with her into the bathroom. She followed Eduardo to the bathroom and without waiting for an invitation stepped into the shower behind him. The water was colder than she liked it, and without a word Eduardo adjusted the temperature to make it more comfortable for her. His back was still to her as his body blocked the direct stream of water so she had to content herself with pressing her body against his and letting the water that ran over him run over her. She took the soap and lathered it against Eduardo's back. Every muscle, scar, and mark on his body was known to her.

Her soapy hands smoothed over the hard muscles of his ass down to his firm thighs then back up, sliding between his crack. A small sigh inaudible over the rush of the water escaped his lips. She nudged the middle of his back, and he leaned forward, spreading his legs slightly as he pressed his hands against the tiles, ducking his head so the stream of water splashed down his back.

As her hands drifted over his ass, massaging and spreading his cheeks, his cock stirred and grew hard until the tip rubbed against his stomach. Eyes closed, he craned his head back and let the water hit his face as she dropped to her knees behind him. Her teeth nipped at his ass playfully, placing a smile on his lips. She placed her hands between his thighs, gently urging him to spread them farther apart. His head dropped forward and his forehead pressed against the wall between his hands as he braced himself for what was to come. Fingers grasped him in the curve of his cheeks, just above his thighs pulling him apart. The feel of her breasts against his calves, combined with the gentle probing tongue that ran a line down his crack, sent a surge to his cock, making it grow until the tip thumped against his stomach.