Chapter 4

4

Adrian pulled out his phone, and moments later Joe appeared and led them across the courtyard and into the bustling kitchen filled with laughter.

There were ten people in there, Three men and seven women, all seated at a huge table with the exception of a black woman–Laura?—Who was standing at the stove, brandishing a wooden spoon as she spoke.

Everyone stopped talking and turned to look at them expectantly, the men getting to their feet to greet them as Joe made a quick round of introductions and then ended with his wife. She’d abandoned her cooking, the wooden spoon quickly dumped on the worktop as she came towards them, hands stretched in welcome.

‘I’m glad you’ve both decided to come over and join us. I hope you’re hungry?’

‘Absolutely, it smells amazing in here.’ Shawn said with a laugh, and was astonished when Laura hugged him.

‘Oh, bless you. I love compliments, really. And you’re Adrian.’ She said, letting go of Shawn and hugging Adrian too. ‘I can’t tell you how pleased I am to meet you.’

‘Yeah, you’ve been her hero for years.’ One of the sisters—Jessica —commented.

Adrian gave a self-effacing chuckle. ‘Thank you. That’s a real compliment, coming from another chef.’

‘Oh you know, there are chefs and chefs!’ Laura said with a laugh. ‘Darling get them a glass of wine. I’m sure they’re ready for it. Traveling with a baby is a nightmare.’

‘I’m on it,’ Shane got to his feet and kissed his wife on the cheek. ‘Red or white?’

Adrian chuckled and glanced over at Shane. ‘Judging by the gorgeous smell, I’d say nice robust red.’

‘That’s one of our recipes.’ Laura said with a grin. ‘I’ve adapted it to showcase some of our ingredients, so I hope I’ve done them justice.’

Soon they launched into chef mode. But just as soon, Adrian and Shawn has learnt a lot about the family.

Adrian looked around the table, watching the people, reading their faces, trying to guess their thoughts. He’d done his research so he knew who they were. He found it paid to be prepared—life was challenging often enough that he didn’t want to deal with Unnecessary surprises.

His manager, Lucy Grant had sent him a short biography of each of every member of the Winston family. All except one.

There was Shane and Andrea Caruso. Andrea was a high powered criminal defense attorney, a 5’8 with chocolate skin, long wavy black hair parted to the side and green eyes. Obviously intelligent and attractive.

Then her husband, Shane Caruso who was a chief legal officer was very tall, with light skin, mouse hair and blue eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses. Never afraid to show off his wife. He couldn’t see why not.

Jessica Winston. A 26 year old who graduated studying business studies. Physically, Jessica was in good shape. She was very short with dark skin, black hair and green eyes. Very calm and soft spoken, he noted.

And Joe’s brothers—who were twins but looked nothing alike. Christopher was slightly overweight but otherwise in good shape. A management consultant. He was very tall with cocao skin, grey hair and green eyes. He had one distinguishing feature including a mole on his right cheek. Married to the loving Kayla.

While Matt was in good shape. He was tall with pale skin, black hair and black eyes. Worked as a counsellor who enjoyed jigsaw puzzles, swimming. Married to Annabelle Ruth, a 29-year-old former cleaner at a studio. The two Italian brothers did all the could to assist in running the palazzo.

There was Joe of course and his wife, Laura who had a very fine build. Dark glowing skin, her hair was curled into a black Afro, brown eyes and a face shaped oval with a natural dimple on both cheeks that appeared even when she talked. He watched Laura talk for a few moments but his mind had already moved on to the next person at the table.

Kelly Winston. Her biography hadn’t been sent along with the others. She looked just like her mother. Darker than the rest of her sisters. Her skin was as rich and deep as any stately home mahogany.

There was something about her afro that was so beautiful and bold. It was the shadows that showed in her eyes that had gotten to him. They were evidence of the kind of vulnerability he tended to avoid like plague. He had all the emotional upset in his life he could cope with. And one thing was for sure, he didn’t need a woman in his life.

But was she single??

She was an attractive woman. Standing behind her as he’d entered the room earlier, he’d caught a soft scent of jasmine, which could have come from any one of the women in the space but somehow he had known it belong to Kelly.

He found it interesting when Kelly had voiced her concerns, did that mean that she was the only one with concerns because the Winston family has been nothing but sweet to him.

He turned his head properly to look at her. Her dark chocolate brown eyes, the color of which contrasted sharply with her dark complexion, looked back at him and as he watched he could see her roll her eyes. She held his gaze do and he could see the challenge in her brown eyes demanding he convince her of the merits of this project.

Well challenge accepted, he thought. He smiled at her, giving her the smile he’d always used on his mother when he’d wanted to get his own way, but this time there was no answering smile. No response at all from Kelly Winston, unless he counted the turning of her head to look away. Not the outcome he wanted, he had to admit, but there was still time.

‘The journey was great, though,’ Adrian heard Shawn say. ‘And our accommodation is perfect. Thank you all so much. It’ll make it easier for all three of us.’

‘You’re most welcome.’ Joe said, pouring himself a glass of wine, and he and his two brothers immediately engaged Shawn in a conversation about the wine.

‘How long have you know him?’ Lauren asked him, perching on the chair next to Kelly in a break in her cooking. He tried to move his eyes from Kelly.

‘Oh, it’s been forever really. Our families used to be neighbors when we were kids or long before I was born.’

‘Gosh. That’s a long time.’ Jessica said tossing a look at Shawn.

‘It is.’ He chuckled. ‘I use to test my recipes on him when we were kids, he was a willing victim.’

‘Victim?’

Adrian’s smiles with a teasing squint. ‘I was a little adventurous so there were a few disasters along the way.’

They all laughed, even Shawn who he realized had paying attention. Well they all laughed except Kelly.

‘I like to think his palate’s been refined a little bit since then.’ Shawn folded his arms beneath his bulging chest.

‘A little bit? Faint praises? Really Shawn?’ Adrian said wryly and Shawn just shrugged with a grin.

‘Well, I wouldn’t like to swell your stupid head.’

Adrian rolled his eyes teasingly. ‘Oh God forbid.’

Everyone laughed again but as much as Adrian couldn’t help himself from staring at Kelly to see she wasn’t a bit interested in their conversation which moved on as the food was put on the table.

After the last plate was cleared out, he saw Kelly rush out of the room and everyone seemed to split in groups again. Danielle cried out, the monitor flashing right in front of Adrian. He looked at Shawn. ‘I’ll go.’

‘You sure man?’

‘Absolutely.’ He turned to the others. ‘I hope you’ll excuse me. Thank you for this wonderful meal and evening.’

And with that, he withdrew and headed across the beautiful courtyard to the suite of his room. He pushed the door open a little further and peered into the travel cot. The baby was fast asleep and breathing quietly and evenly, whatever had disturbed her clearly not enough to wake up properly, Adrian turned away from the bedrooms and headed to the kitchen

He was tired beyond belief, his brain worn out. But he couldn’t go to bed, he just couldn’t so he decided to walk will do. He grabbed the baby monitor and slid out.

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