Infiltrating Your Heart (29 page)

Right then, Mercedes seems to remember
something. She looks back at me.

“Gabriel, I’m sorry,” Mercedes says.
“I failed to realize you must have brought your car. Should we drop you to where
you parked?”

“No, thanks. It won’t be necessary.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Today’s your day, angel. Worry
about yourself.”

Mercedes smiles at me.

“’Kay.”

Mr. Roberts continues in the direction where
he was heading. He looks at me in the rearview.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking, but
you two seem quite tight to have known each other for a few weeks.”

The man’s perceptive. I wonder if
Mercedes got that trait from him.

“What can I tell you, Dad?” Mercedes
says with a shrug. “Sometimes, you just know.”

I love this woman. Completely and
undeniably.

Ten minutes later, we pull into a
steakhouse. I look around, seeing a lot of cars parked outside. A few people
have just arrived. Some of them are wearing black gowns.

Mercedes finds parking. The three of
us step out of the car and walk to the restaurant together. Just then, we see
Mercedes’s friends arrive. We wait for them outside the restaurant entrance.

“Hi again,” Nadine greets us. “Ready
to go in?”

“Yeah,” Mercedes says. Her friends
follow us inside. Mercedes tells us that a few friends are waiting for her at
some tables inside. We find them soon enough. They’re at a corner of the
restaurant.

“Hi, Mercedes!” says a short girl
with blonde curls. She’s wearing a black gown, too.

“Nice to see you, Vanessa.”

Mercedes introduces me to her
friends. I’m glad they don’t seem intimidated by my presence.

We sit down at Vanessa’s table. I
look at Mr. Roberts. He seems surprisingly at ease among all these young
people. Not that he’s that old.

Vanessa strikes a conversation with
me.

“What do you do, Mr. O’Hara?”

“I work at the Silver Crest, a gym. My
friend Luke and I own it.”

“Luke?” someone asks. “Is that gym
the one that's near the Golden Gate Park?”

“The same. Do you know him?” I ask
the guy.

“I’ve only seen him a few times. I go
to that gym.”

“You don’t happen to have signed up
for fitness classes there, have you?”

“No.”

Looking at this guy, I don’t
recognize him. It’s obvious he hasn’t signed up for one of my classes.

Our food arrives a few moments later.
We dig right in. Mercedes is sitting across from me. I watch her as she eats.
Her table manners impress me. It looks out of character for a woman of her
background. Maybe she took etiquette classes.

Vanessa interrupts the silence when
most of us are halfway done with our plates.

“Mr. O’Hara, how did you and Mercedes
meet?”

I look at Mercedes. She smiles to
herself.

“Honestly, we bumped into each other.
It was an unexpected meeting.”

Nadine laughs.

“Was it something embarrassing?”

Mercedes stares at Vanessa with wide
eyes.

“If that were the case, I’m sure
Mercedes wouldn’t want me to divulge it,” I say politely. Mercedes shoots a
thankful glance my way.

“I’m sorry. Your story just seems
interesting. Two people falling in love at first sight.”

Mercedes blushes again. I chuckle.

“Like
Mercedes said. Sometimes, you just know.”

~*~
Mercedes

Dad, my friends, Gabriel, and I spend
a great time during the rest of our lunch together. I try to make the most of
it. This is perhaps the last time I’m seeing a few of my classmates, at least
for quite some time. Some of them will move out of town to settle elsewhere.

As for me, I’m not going anywhere. I
want to be wherever Gabriel is. Even if he weren’t here, I wouldn’t move from
San Francisco. I love that the sea is within reach, and the heat isn’t
unbearable to me. Any excuse to wear a bikini is good.

When we’re outside, I turn to
Gabriel.

“I’ll drive you to your car so you
can go back home,” I tell him. He shakes his head.

“If you don’t mind, I want to follow
you.”

That’s what I was hoping he would
say.

“Sounds great. What do you say, Dad?”

“He can come with us.”

The three of us go back to my car.
Gabriel gives me directions to where he parked his car. When we get there, he
walks over to it. We wait for him to start his car before driving forward.

Moments later, we arrive at my father’s.
I watch Gabriel in the rearview mirror. He parks his car next to mine. We both
step out.

“I’ve graduated,” I say with returning
excitement. “Someone pinch me to make sure I’m not dreaming.”

Gabriel laughs. Without warning, he
twirls one of my nipples through the fabric of my gown. I yelp, and quickly
look behind me to check on Dad. He has his back to us, walking toward the front
door. “My father’s there,” I protest, turning back to Gabriel.

“He wasn’t watching.”

Smartass bastard.

“That wasn’t exactly what I had in
mind, though. You naughty ass.”

“Oh, really?”

Gabriel caresses the side of my face.
I look up at him. This all feels so surreal. First, I found a man that, despite
my intentions, has me head over heels. And now, I’ve graduated from college.
Life is smiling at me.

“I have a surprise for you,” Gabriel
says. My eyebrows furrow.

“What is it?” I ask. In response,
Gabriel pulls out his smartphone. He sends a text, and then puts it back in his
pocket. We wait.

“What is this all about?” I ask.

“Look to your right.”

I do what Gabriel says. A white SUV
comes around the corner and turns in our direction. When it’s in full view, I
notice it’s pulling something behind it.

When the SUV stops in front of the
house, my jaw drops. There’s a black and yellow Jet Ski with a red bow attached
to the front. It looks brand new.

“Just a little something I thought
you’d like,” Gabriel says, pulling me next to him. I squeal.

“You got me a Jet Ski! Wow, Gabriel.
Thank you!” I say. I’m so happy I could jump.

I walk toward the Jet Ski as the
driver of the SUV steps out. I notice it’s a woman. She smiles at me.

“Hi! You must be Mercedes.”

My excitement fades a shade. I turn
to Gabriel.

“Mercedes, this is my friend Ciara.
Ciara, meet the woman who’s stolen my heart.”

So this is Ciara? I smile, and go to
her to shake hands.

“Nice to meet you,” I say. “By the
way, you weren’t waiting for us over there, were you?”

Ciara and Gabriel laugh.

“No. I called her when I pretended to
go to the restroom just before we left the steakhouse.”

“Oh,” I say.

“I’ll leave you two to yourselves
now. I have to go to work. We’ll catch up another day, okay?”

“Sure,” I tell Ciara. She nods at
Gabriel, and then climbs into her SUV. Ciara drives until the Jet Ski is next
to my car. After that, Gabriel unhooks it.

“That’s it. See you later, guys,”
Ciara says. She waves at us. We do the same, and she leaves. We stand there looking
at my fantastic graduation gift. I walk to it.

“It’s gorgeous,” I say, feeling a
wide grin coming back to my face.

“It’s a Sea-Doo Spark,” Gabriel tells
me. “It comes in a variety of colors, but I guessed you’d like this one.”

“Yellow is nice. I love it.”

Dad walks over to us. He looks at the
Jet Ski, his eyes wide.

“Wow. This is some bike.”

I laugh.

“It’s my graduation present from
Gabriel.”

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

“It’s a Jet Ski, Dad. It’s not like I
can get road rash out at sea.”

Gabriel suppresses a smile.

“Mercedes knows how to swim, and
besides. I’ll be there to make sure nothing happens to her.”

“You protect my princess, okay?”

“I will, Mr. Roberts.”

Dad nods, and then he excuses himself
to go back inside. I decide to go after him.

“I need to get out of this gown,” I
say. “I’m toasting in it now.”

“It’ll be my honor to take your
clothes off.”

The statement makes me go deep red.

“Thanks, but don’t let my father hear
you say that.”

Gabriel laughs. He pulls me toward
him.

“I’m tempted to take you to my place
now, but I’d hate to steal you from your father on such a happy day for both of
you.”

I look up at Gabriel, desire flashing
in my eyes.

“That’s all that’s stopping you?”

Gabriel shrugs.

“We have all the time in the world,
angel,” he replies, and then kisses me in the mouth. I close my eyes. Every
time Gabriel’s lips touch mine, I fall into bliss. He pulls apart and adds,
“Today is for your family.”

As much as I’d love to spend my day
with Gabriel, I’m glad he wants me to be with my father. He’s right. I should
spend time with my family today. Now that I think of it, Sharon could be here
any moment.

Gabriel caresses the side of my face.
I cherish the touch. Then he takes a couple steps back.

“I’ll see you tomorrow. We can spend
the weekend having fun on the beach.” Gabriel’s eyes dart to my new Sea-Doo.
The corners of my lips turn up.

“That sounds perfect.”

Gabriel blows me a kiss. He then
turns and gets into his car. After revving the engine, Gabriel pulls out of the
driveway. I watch him go.

I turn toward the sleek machine now
standing next to my car. It’s not too big, but I wonder if even my Infiniti will be
able to tow it around. Perhaps I should get myself an SUV or a truck as a
graduation present to myself. I’ve had my old Jetta since I was seventeen.
Dad and Sharon helped me buy it for getting my driving license.

I should check my bank account to see
how much money I have available. The thought reminds me that I haven’t taken
any assignments this week. I’ve never gone so long without doing my job.

I hope
my boss isn’t furious.

After walking back inside the house,
I’m met with a curious silence. I look around.

“Dad?”

I wonder if he’s up to something. I’d
expected him to be waiting for me in the couch. I go to his room and see it’s
empty. Frowning, I walk out of it.

There’s a noise at the front of the
house just as I’m about to enter my bedroom. I walk to the living room. When I
get there, I see Dad and Sharon.

“Hi, baby,” Dad tells me. “Look who’s
here.”

“Sharon!” I say, walking toward her.
We both lock in an embrace. This woman is like a mother to me. I’m glad she was
there for me when my mother wasn’t.

“I missed you, child,” Sharon says.
“You’re so grown up! I can’t believe it.”

I laugh.

“How was your graduation?”

“It was perfect! Dad was there, and
my friends, and…” I pause, realizing I haven’t told Sharon about Gabriel.

“And what?” Sharon asks. She shoots a
quizzical look at Dad, and then back at me.

“Mercedes has a boyfriend now,” Dad
explains. Sharon raises her eyebrows.

“For real? About time, baby. I was
wondering why you never brought a man home to meet us. May I know who this
supremely fortunate fellow is?”

“His name’s Gabriel O’Hara,” I say
with pride.

“He’s the one who got her that water
bike thing you saw outside,” dad says to Sharon.

“He did? Then you must be serious
about each other.”

“We are,” I agree. Sharon gives me a
wide smile.

“I’m happy for you, baby. It looks
like you’ve finally found love.”

What can I say? I’m not about to deny
that. Gabriel has most definitely stolen my heart.

“I’ll go get you both some water,” Dad
says, retreating to the kitchen. Sharon and I sit on the couch.

“Here’s your graduation present,” she
says, reaching into her purse. Sharon pulls out a small box. It’s slightly
larger than a credit card. I take it, and open the box when Sharon nods.

“A gift card,” I say.

“To J. Crew. As you’re going to be a
businesswoman soon, I felt a shopping spree was in order. For
professional
clothing,”
she adds.

That last sentence brings a smile to
me. If she knew what my idea of ‘professional’ clothing is. As in, what I wear
to the job.

“Thanks.”