A.O.E.M.: Dinner For Three Read online

  Fighting to keep back the threatening tears, Chelle wiped her eyes and looked up just in time to catch her two former friends and employee smirking at their cleverness and slapping high fives on each other as they congratulated themselves on the success of their planning. A speaking glance passed between the three cohorts and Chelle frowned, wondering what the traitors were up to.

  Roberta pursed her lips. “You know, Chelle, there is a way you can avoid all this.”

  “There is?” She perked up. “I’m all ears. Tell me how!”

  Looking a little discomfited, the tall lanky woman pulled out a crumpled letter. “While you were at the hospital, we took the liberty of going through your mail.”

  Chelle eyed the letter in her friend’s hand with a frown. She recognized that envelope. “More like you went through the trash. I’m sure I’d thrown that piece of junk away.”

  “See, that’s where you’re wrong! It’s not junk. It’s an award letter. One offering you a two-week all-expenses-paid vacation on a tropical resort.”

  Chelle heaved a sigh. How many times had she dealt with situations like this? Roberta and Jenna were too impulsive, too trusting. She was the group skeptic, the one who had to test everything, try all avenues. She never accepted any advertisement at face value.

  “Let me see that letter.”

  Bobbie handed it over. In a sing-song voice, Chelle began to read. “Congratulations, Michelle! You’ve won an all-expenses-paid two week vacation on beautiful Chimera Island.”

  She looked up. “Who told them they could call me by my first name?” She glanced back at the letter and continued. “Located in the geographical center of the Bermuda Triangle, Chimera Island offers both mystery and natural beauty beyond compare.”

  “Okay, see… how do you determine the geographical center of a non-existent place? And Chimera? Even the name is made up. It’s from Greek mythology.”

  Garnette grabbed her hair at the sides of her head and snarled. “Would you get on with the reading and save the comments for later?”

  “All right, but I was just trying to point out how hokey this letter is.”

  “READ!”

  “Sheesh, keep your panties on.” Chelle gave the letter a shake and held it out a ways to allow her eyes to adjust to the smallish writing. Her glasses prescription was old and she needed bifocals, but her hectic work schedule took up all her time. She never quite got around to making an appointment to take an eye exam and be fitted for new glasses. She didn’t much care -- her old ones were working just fine. When she wanted to read something close up, she simply took them off. No problem.

  “Only the most adventurous traveler is welcome on Chimera, and we’ve determined that’s you, Michelle Rios.” Michelle groaned and rolled her eyes. “Give me a break!” She tossed the letter on the desk. “Now that’s the limit, girls. When and how did they determine I was an adventurous traveler? Huh? I’m telling you, this letter is pure scam! In fact, if some poor schmuck actually took them up on those free weeks -- you know what would happen? They’d find themselves paying outrageous prices for the food or the hotel nights wouldn’t be included. The list goes on and on. But one thing I know… nothing is free.”

  “This letter is legit.” Roberta snatched the letter back up and stuck out her stubborn chin.

  Chelle sighed again, knowing she had a battle before her. Once her friend got that mulish look on her face, there was no moving her. “It can’t be, Bobbie.”

  “Yes, it can. I called the number listed and got the details for you. I asked all the questions I could think of, and they were totally up front and open with me. In fact, when we got around to the issue of credit cards, they suggested you not bring one as nothing costs anything once you get on the island. And they don’t allow tipping.”

  Chelle raised a scornful eyebrow. “So the food is free?”

  “Totally.”

  “And the laundry facilities?”

  “Gratis.”

  “What about tours?”

  “On the house.”

  “Room service?”

  “Zilch.”

  “What about the shops? I know there must be souvenir shops there.”

  “You’re allowed to bring an empty pilot’s bag -- I think they said a twenty-one incher -- that you may fill with souvenirs.” Roberta held up her hand, forestalling Chelle’s dogged questions. “Chelle, I checked. Everything is free, and I mean everything. Up to and including gourmet cooking lessons from your favorite chefs, the Tasty Twin Chefs.”

  Chelle gasped in shock. “Get out of here!” Both hands flew up to her chest and pressed against her suddenly pounding heart.

  “I thought that would change your tune. Your favorite chefs are on that island, waiting for you.”

  “Get out! Are you really trying to tell me the Tasty Twins are on Chimera? Do you know how long I’ve followed their career? All of a sudden, a few years ago, they just fell off the cooking channel. I haven’t been able to find a trace of them on any other TV channel or in the news.”

  Jenna looked disgusted at Chelle’s excited exclamations. “I can’t believe the only men you’ve ever shown an interest in can only be seen on reruns of the cooking channel.”

  Michelle stuck her tongue out at her cousin. “Shut up, Jenna. At least I watched and learned how to make a lot of the dishes they showcased. You know you used to drool over them, too.”

  Jenna stamped her foot. “I did not drool over the Magnificently Matched Males as you called them.”

  “Who are you trying to fool? I’m the one who passed you the napkin to catch it all.”

  “Oh, you did not!”

  “Did so!”

  “Not!”

  Chelle held up her right hand and turned her face away from Jenna’s irate expression. “Tell it to the hand cause the ears are busy getting the lowdown.” She nodded at Roberta. “Go on, Bobbie. Tell me more.”

  “Well, the person in charge said the two chefs had signed an exclusive contract to run the island’s three restaurants for an undisclosed length of time. They will be overseeing all the eating-out experiences on Chimera Island.”

  Garnette rubbed her bony hands together. “Oh, that sounds like kismet, Chelle. Perhaps you’ll meet your favorite chefs on the island, and one of them will fall in love with you. I bet that’ll take your mind off the job.” She looked her boss over with a critical eye. “Lord knows you need to do something to regain your health. You’re so scrawny, I probably could have taken you.”

  Chelle snorted, thinking how unlikely it was that one of the twins would fall in love with her. “Huh! Not even in your dreams, skinny hag.”

  “Look, Chelle,” Jenna interrupted, “you have a choice. Either you go to Chimera or you stay and get coddled by Mom and Dad.”

  Put like that, Michelle didn’t have any problem making up her mind. “You’ve gone through all this trouble to research the letter, I suppose you’ve booked my flight. So, tell me… when’s my plane leaving?”

  Chapter Three

  Michelle stepped off the plane and paused to fill her lungs with the rich balmy air sweeping across the smooth green of the landing field. She hadn’t relaxed this much in over a year and could feel her blood pressure dropping by the minute.

  From the time she arrived at the airport to find a private plane waiting for her and been escorted into the first class section and given her choice of drinks, she’d felt like a queen for the day. So far, the letter had proved to be legit. Drinks and meals on the plane had all been free and served with a deference and level of service she’d never received before. It was as if she’d won a spot on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. She kept waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  Now, disembarked and ready to begin her adventure, Chelle looked around and caught her breath. The island was beautiful! Tall, swaying palm trees laden with green coconuts grew in abundance everywhere her enchanted gaze lit. Bushes of lush blossoms in a rainbow of colors stunning in their intensity, dotted the landsc
ape, home to brilliantly hued fluttering butterflies and other exotic insects.

  This place was truly a paradise. She couldn’t swear Chimera lay in the heart of the Bermuda Triangle, but she did know there couldn’t be another place on earth as mystical and inviting as this cool tropical retreat. She couldn’t wait to get to her assigned bungalow, unpack and hit the beach.

  Wondering where the welcome wagon was, Michelle followed the flight crew across the field to a low-lying building that looked more like a grass hut than the island’s airport. Inside, large fans rotated lazily, stirring up a breeze that efficiently cooled the shadowed interior.

  A lone worker stood behind a long mahogany counter, sorting what looked like index cards and stacking them in neat piles. Every so often, she’d turn and stuff them into one of the cubbyholes on the wall behind her. No one else was around. The flight crew had checked in and checked out, scattered to wherever they stayed while on the island.

  Never one to hang back, Chelle took a deep breath for courage and approached the woman behind a long counter. “Good afternoon. My name is --”

  “Michelle Rios,” the woman interrupted with a smile. She held out her hand. “Welcome to Chimera, Ms. Rios. I hope your stay proves advantageous.”

  Well, Chelle mused, that’s an odd way of greeting someone. “So far so good, thanks. Look, I was wondering when I could expect someone to meet me and show me to my bungalow.”

  The woman never lost her smile, though her eyes hardened for a moment. A genteel sigh lifted her chest as she picked up the phone and pressed three buttons. “Good afternoon, ma’am. Ms. Rios has arrived and Puck has not showed up here to greet her.”

  Michelle tapped her foot and shifted her small overnight bag to her other hand, flexing the feeling back into her cramped fingers.

  “… very good, ma’am, I’ll inform her.” The lady set the handset gently in its cradle before turning the wattage of her smile to brilliant and bathing Chelle in the resultant glow. “An escort will arrive in a few minutes. Until then, is there anything you’d like in the line of snacks?”

  Chelle shook her head. She was already snacked out.

  “In that case, there’s a pile of current magazines on the table over there.” The woman pointed across the room, indicating a low occasional table next to a comfortable looking conversation pit. “Help yourself.”

  “Thank you.” Michelle drifted over to the couch and sank down on the firm cushions. After sorting through the thick pile of glossy magazines, she settled down with the current issues of Essence and Jet.

  Michelle had read one magazine and was skimming the other one when a commotion over at the door drew her attention. Placing a finger in the page to hold her place, she glanced up and over to where the receptionist still stood.

  A tall, black-haired man, elbow propped on the countertop, was talking to the young woman, his voice intimately low and gravelly. Tall and muscular without being brawny, he towered a good foot taller than the petite island employee, though it was hard to judge his true height from where she sat.

  Just as her eyes began the descent to his lower regions, he turned his head and met her interested gaze. Even from across the room, the look in his golden eyes was hot enough to melt steel.

  Oh my God, it’s one of the Tasty Twins -- right here in front of me!

  Chelle struggled to catch her breath. Light-headed, one hand fluttering before her face and the other one pressed to her chest, she sucked in quick, shallow breaths. Hyperventilation lurked in her near future, but try as she might, she couldn’t manage to drag in enough oxygen.

  She felt faint. The chance of actually meeting the Corelli twins face-to-face was the main reason she’d decided to give in and accept the two-week vacation the letter offered. Chelle bit her lip.

  With a final word to the woman at the counter, Jonathan or Jason Corelli straightened up and started across the room, a glint of knowing amusement lurking in his honey-warm eyes.

  Face burning with embarrassment, Michelle lowered her gaze, surreptitiously tracking his inexorable approach from under lowered lids. She had to have the worst case of hero-worship ever recorded in the annals of single women. Her heart stalled, breath caught as she realized one of the stars of her nightly fantasies was heading right for her.

  When his tennis shoes finally came to rest beside her more formal pumps, she swallowed hard, only then becoming aware of a set of enormous paws stationary a few paces back. That brought her head up fast.

  Michelle loved dogs and this one was a beauty. Huge and bristling with muscle, the dog had a healthy, shining coat of pitch-black fur. Its golden eyes, large and intelligent, shone in the dim light of the lounge. His tail wagged enthusiastically, an indicator of his friendly temperament.

  “Hi, boy!” she crooned, offering the back of her hand for the dog to sniff. She held still as the giant muzzle came close, nudged her hand. A long broad tongue came out and lapped her exposed skin before the dog butted his large head against her hand, demanding she pet him.

  “What a beautiful dog. What breed is it?” She chanced a glance from under lowered eyelashes and caught her breath, overwhelmed by the nearness of one of her idols. How strange. His dog’s eyes are almost the exact color of his.

  His lips moved so she knew he spoke, though the roaring in her ears kept her from hearing his words. Chelle struggled to make sense of what he’d said. “Excuse me?”

  “His name is Jason and he’s a wolf, not a dog. Don’t worry though,” he reassured her when she snatched her hand back and sank against the couch cushions. “As wolves go, he’s pretty tame.”

  Chelle eyed the dog, able to see the build and musculature more common to a wolf than a domestic dog. She didn’t know how she’d missed seeing those telltale signs earlier. A low mournful whine caused her to look at the dog’s sad eyes -- no, wolf’s sad eyes. She could have sworn it wordlessly begged her not to judge it by its wild cousins’ bad reputation.

  With a sigh, she relaxed. Leaning forward, she brushed her hand over the crown of its head, scratched behind the upthrust ears. “I guess I’m safe, huh, boy? You could have gnawed my hand off earlier if you’d wanted to.”

  “You will always be safe with us,” the Corelli twin promised. “Neither Jason nor I would ever hurt you.”

  This time Chelle paid attention to the name he used and almost lost it. She bit back a snicker, not sure how Jonathan would take her laughter, but no way could it be a coincidence! He must have done it on purpose. “Jason? You must be Jonathan, then. You’ve got a lot of nerve giving your pet wolf the same name as your brother.”

  The man’s gaze sharpened on her. “You recognize me?” He answered his own question. “Of course you do. You obviously know enough about us to know my and my brother’s name.”

  Chelle ducked her head, a hot wash of color bathing her cheeks. Gathering her courage, she lifted her head and met his gaze -- her own direct and honest. “Yes, I did recognize you. I’m a huge fan. I mean, I’ve followed your careers for years.” Her voice strengthened as she warmed up to her favorite subject. “I’ve taped every episode of Adventures in Dining off the Food Network. I was frantic when you suddenly disappeared, just sank out of sight -- slid under the radar of both TV and the gossip rags.”

  Oh God, I can’t believe I’m gushing like this. Michelle wanted to sink into a hole in the ground and pull the earth down after her.

  “I’m Jonathan Corelli, but you know that.” He held out his hand and waited for her to take it. After a few millennia, he waggled his hand in her face. “Come on, how fair is that? You’ll greet my wolf but you won’t shake my hand?”

  Feeling at a disadvantage, Michelle pushed off from the couch and stood on shaky legs. Gulping, she held out her hand and squeaked, “As you can see, I’m terribly pleased to meet you, Mr. Corelli. My name is Michelle Rios and I used to be able to string whole sentences together.”

  His smile softened his entire face. “Sounds like you still can. But please, call me Jona
than or Jon. Here on Chimera, no one stands much on ceremony. May I call you Michelle?”

  She nodded, at first too star-struck to do more. With an inward curse, she shook off the stardust. “Better yet, call me Chelle.”

  “Well, Chelle, since I had to sign for some supplies that came in on the same plane as you, the director asked me to see you to your bungalow. Is this your bag?” He pointed to the medium sized bag tucked at her feet.

  “Oh, yes. Thank you.” Flustered, she watched him collect her bag and then placed her hand in the crook of his arm when he offered it to her with old world charm. “I’ll be glad to get somewhere I can freshen up. It was a long airplane flight.”

  “Don’t get me wrong -- you smell as fresh as a daisy, but I have to agree Chimera is indeed distant from the everyday world. Most visitors come to appreciate that isolation before their stay is over. Perhaps you will, also.”

  If that isolation meant being able to spend time with the sexy hunk walking beside her, Michelle was all for it. “I just might, at that.”

  Jonathan looked askance at the dainty pumps adorning her feet. “We’ve a bit of an uneven walk to your assigned bungalow. Are you going to be all right in those shoes?”

  “I’ll be fine,” she assured him, holding tighter to his arm, “as long as you don’t drag me through rough forest.”

  “The majority of Chimera is uncivilized, but even the wild parts are beautiful and worth seeing. Just hold on to me. I’ll see you safely through it.”

  Chelle shivered as his velvety voice slid right through her, caressing parts that had lain dormant for more time than she cared to remember. Little did he know how she wished she could hold on to him and never let go. Hell, she’d fucked men who touched her less intimately than the sound of this man’s voice. This holiday was certainly beginning to seem worthy of her enthusiasm.