Chapter 11: Warming Up

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched, but are felt in the heart.
-- The English Patient
 

Luis opened his eyes and smiled lazily as he looked at the watch on Gwen’s night table. It was ten-thirty in the morning and he knew that he had nowhere to be just then. His shift didn’t start until late in the afternoon and it was just fine with him. Closing his eyes again and then yawning indulgently, he rolled over in the bed and hoped to cuddle next to the woman he had made love to the night before. When his hands hit the empty mattress behind him, his eyes flew open. The place beside him was already cool indicating that Gwen had been awake for quite some time. He didn’t have to ponder much longer as to where she was because he heard someone banging something from the kitchen. Shaking his head, he removed the covers from his body and slipped into his pants. He started to look for his shirt, but decided against it when he heard more banging.

Slowly, he walked to the kitchen and his expression of curiosity turned into that of amusement at what he saw. Gwen was standing near the stove, her hair done up in a messy bun. His shirt from the night before was the only thing she was wearing, her legs looking long and healthy. Her face was scrunched up in distaste as she stared at the can in her hand. She banged it against the counter again, eliciting Luis’s much controlled laughter. She jumped. “Luis! God, why don’t you just give me a heart attack?”

“I’m sorry,” Luis said laughing as he drew closer to her. “You looked cute.”

“Cute?” Gwen said, a smile making its way across her face. “I don’t think anyone has ever said that I looked cute. Especially when I am a mess.”

“Well,” Luis said as he ran a finger across her collarbone. He smiled wickedly as he felt her shiver. “Cute isn’t that bad. And you don’t look like a mess. You look sexy, too. I don’t think there is anything sexier than a woman in wearing my T-shirt…and nothing else.”

“Not even a woman in a thong?” Gwen asked curiously as his arms came around her waist. “I thought men preferred their women in the skimpiest clothing possible.”

“Not all men,” Luis answered seriously. “There are different kinds of sexy, you know. Of course, I prefer you with no clothing, but right now, that’s just a technicality.”

Gwen closed her eyes and Luis’s hands came up from her waist, slipped faintly over her breasts and started to unbutton the second button on his shirt. He got further satisfaction as she trembled when he started to kiss the side of her face. His lips curled into a smile as he heard the can in her hand fell to the ground with a thump. “I have to clean the kitchen. And make breakfast.”

“You cook?” he asked as his lips traveled down her neck.

“They taught us that at finishing school,” Gwen replied, her voice shaky. “Among other things.”

“What were you making?” The third button on his shirt slipped through his fingers and she let out a lusty moan that made blood rush to his ears.

“Eggs,” she answered softly as her hands traveled up his bare back in a slow, lazy motion. His fingers brushed against her bare breast and she shivered again. Then she pulled away, looking flustered. “We can’t. Not right now. I’ve got a million things to do today and I can’t afford to let you seduce me in my kitchen.”

He grinned crookedly. “You didn’t mind last night.”

She blushed as he remembered how they had come into the kitchen to get something to drink and ended up half-naked on the floor. “We really need to start waiting until we get to the bedroom.”

“Why?” Luis asked, pulling her closer. “It’s so much fun like this.”

She laughed but managed to duck from his kiss. “Hold that thought, lover boy. I really need to get this kitchen and my living room cleaned up so I can start living here like a normal human being.”

Luis nodded and dropped his hands from her waist. “You’re right. I’ll go take a shower and then we’ll have breakfast and I’ll help you clean before I go to the station house.”

“You would?” she asked happily. “Thank you!”

“As long as I get rewarded,” he grinned devilishly.

She matched his grin with one of her own. Teasingly, she pressed her lips against his and then winked. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

He stood there for a minute as she returned to the stove and shook his head. The woman was going to drive him insane with sexual frustration. It was bad enough that he couldn’t just sleep with her once to be satisfied but now she wouldn’t let him have her because she was too busy. He ran a hand through his hair and started to walk towards the bedroom. “I’ll be back in a few.”

He took a quick, extremely cold shower and the changed into the extra clothes he had brought from the station the night before. When he walked back into the kitchen, Gwen was already reading the paper and sipping coffee from her big, blue mug. He watched her from the doorway, her head tilted to one side, her hair falling messily around her face and a serious expression dawning over her gorgeous features. She looked so comfortable, so domestic that he felt something tug at his heart. She looked up at him and smiled brightly. “Hey there, your eggs are in the fry pan over there. Do you want me to heat it up for you?”

“Thanks,” he answered, his voice coming out strange. “I’ll do it myself. You just finish reading.”

“Okay.” She made an odd face at him but then just shrugged as he walked over to stove and turned on the gas. What was wrong with him? He was making his situation with Gwen out to be more than it was.

Sometimes, these things get out of hand. Antonio’s voice rang in his head. His brother had warned him that people usually ended up wanting more than the other to give. No, that’s not going to happen with Gwen and me. We know what we want and it’s nothing serious.

“Luis?” Her voice derailed his train of thought.

“Yeah?” he asked turning around, his hands on his hips.

“I just wanted to let you know that my friend Jade knows about us,” she admitted, putting the paper down. “She kind of pried it out of me at breakfast yesterday. She won’t tell anyone, she’s promised me that much and I trust her. I just thought you should know.”

“Well,” he said as he brought the fry pan to the table and started emptying the sizzling eggs on his plate. “We’re even. My brother Antonio knows about us too. He’s not about to tell anyone either. So we have nothing to worry about.”

“Okay,” she said with a nod. “Just as long as no one who could get hurt by this information never finds out. Jade will never tell Sheridan and I assume your brother would never tell Theresa or Pilar.”

“Was Sheridan at breakfast yesterday too?” Luis asked, concerned.

“Yeah,” Gwen answered softly. “She was. She’s my best friend Luis and we’re just getting our friendship back on track. I would never do anything to jeopardize that. Least of all tell her about us.”

“I know that,” Luis answered, smiling at her gently from across the table. “It’s just that those warning bells in my head haven’t started to ring yet and Antonio is doing a good job of replacing them. But I think we both know what we’re doing.”

“I know what you mean.” Gwen stated. The phone ringing over Luis’s head interrupted their discussion. Gwen got up to answer as Luis started his breakfast. “Hello? Yes? This is she…really? Okay, yes…I’ll be right there. Thank you!”

“What happened?” Luis asked, noting her excited squeal.

“Daddy woke up!” Gwen answered, pure joy in her eyes. They said he just opened his eyes a few minutes ago! He’s out of the coma!”

Luis whooped and gave her a comforting hug. “That’s great Gwen. What are you still doing in my clothes? Get dressed and get to the hospital.”

She laughed and pulled out of his embrace. “I can’t believe he’s awake. Luis, would you mind terribly if I left you to clean up the mess in the kitchen.”

“Not at all,” he answered and kissed the tip of her nose. “My shift doesn’t start until this afternoon. I’ll tidy this place up as much as I can by then.”
She smiled brightly and kissed him soundly. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome kid,” he said as she rushed out of the kitchen and went to get dressed.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

“Gwendolyn,” Jonathan Hotchkiss croaked out as she approached her father’s bedside. Gwen smiled brightly, tears shining in her eyes and hugged him. He laughed as she buried her face in his neck. “Not so tightly, sweetie.”

“Sorry,” she said, half crying and half-laughing. “You don’t know how much you scared us. Never do that again.”

“I’ll try,” he answered with a chuckle and removed her hair from her forehead. “How’s my little girl?”

“She was just horrible until she got the best news in the world today,” Gwen replied with a smile. “Daddy, I love you so much.”

“I love you too, honey.’” He kissed her forehead and smiled at her. “You look so well. Healthy and happy. Are you loving New York so much?”

“New York is great,” Gwen answered, knowing that that was not the reason she was happy at all. Guilt washed over her briefly as she thought about how she had spent night after night with Luis while her father’s life hung in the balance. “I like it there.”

“Do you want to stay there?” Jonathan asked as she pulled a chair closer to his bed. “I could get you to head the company there if you like. We need a strong woman just like you in the wing. So what do you say?”

“I don’t know.” The answer surprised her. A few weeks ago she was all set to talk to her father about making her the chairman of Hotchkiss Enterprises, New York. She had it all planned out. But at that moment, she didn’t want to leave Harmony. “Right now, I want to concentrate on helping my father get through his convalescence period.”

“Well then just keep your mother out of this room for as long as you can.” Jonathan stated wryly which cause Gwen to laugh out loud.

“You’ve still got that sense of humor.”

“I was just in a coma, Gwen. I wasn’t reborn.”

“Jake is here.” Gwen stated with a smile. “Do you know how long it’s been since this whole family has been together? I can’t even remember that far back.”

“I know,” Jonathan replied and patted her hand. “And that is mostly my fault.”

“How do you figure?” Gwen asked disbelievingly.

“Because I let Rebecca take control of this family.” Jonathan answered gravely. “But I’ve been given a second chance and I think it’s time I made some changes in my life. Did something that made me happy.”

“I don’t get where you’re going with this,” Gwen answered confused.

“I’m divorcing your mother.” Jonathan announced. “I wanted to let her know first, but I guess it wouldn’t hurt to let you in on it.”

Gwen’s shock was considerable but Jonathan’s announcement was anticipated. “I understand. I just don’t know why you waited this long. She cheated on you.”

“Honey, if there is one thing I learned from life on this planet, is that life has a way of working out for the better.” Jonathan explained. “You do something that you never wanted to because sometimes you have no control over it. Sometimes, you do some things because they feel right.”

“Are you saying that it felt right with Mother?”

“No,” Jonathan answered. “Your mother and I were just a freak accident. The only good thing that came out of this marriage was you and Jacob. I guess I kept your mother around because I thought that’s what you and Jacob wanted.”

“We want you to be happy.” Gwen answered. “Rebecca doesn’t make you happy.”

“No, but you do.” Jonathan answered. “And I realized that you and Jacob are all I need. And all I want is for you to be happy. Live where you want, do what you want, marry the person you want…I am glad you didn’t marry Ethan.”

“Really?”

“It was Rebecca’s dream, not yours.” Jonathan answered.

“I know.”

“Live your life, Gwen.” Jonathan answered. “With whomever you want to live it with.”

“I will, Daddy.” Gwen stated with a smile as Luis’s face flashed briefly in her mind’s eye.