Carolyn stepped out of the stall and headed for_ the sinks, her footsteps slowing as she recognized the blonde fluffing her hair in front of the mirror.
"Oh, hi," she greeted self-consciously when Gia met her gaze in the mirror. Suddenly uncomfortable, she gestured to the stall and mumbled, "I was just... er..."
"Using the facilities?" Gia suggested with amusement.
Carolyn nodded and continued to the sink to wash her hands, silently berating herself for an idiot. It was guilt over her attraction to Christian and the way she'd fled that had made her say that, as if she needed a cover for leaving the table.
Gia chuckled, and Carolyn glanced at her uncertainly.
"Sorry, but you should see your expression," Gia said with amusement. "You look as guilty as a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar."
Carolyn looked back to the sink as she washed her hands.
When Carolyn moved to dry her hands, Gia asked, "So the entertainment director, Genie, is a friend of yours?"
Carolyn smiled. "Since university. And so is Beth. She came here with me, but has been under the weather since arriving," she explained. "Which is a shame since this is the first time the three of us have been together since we roomed together at uni."
"The three of you were roommates?" Gia asked curiously.
"On campus?"
"No, we rented a house with another friend. Brent."
"Brent." Gia grinned. "One man and three women.
That must have been interesting."
Carolyn chuckled. "Brent was more like one of the girls than a guy."
Gia's eyes narrowed and then she murmured, "Gay."
"Yes," Carolyn answered, though it hadn't really been a question. "Few in school knew it though. He was still in the closet back then. His parents were older and he didn't think they'd accept him if they knew." She smiled faintly. "The funny thing is, he dragged me home as his "girlfriend" for years to keep his parents from finding out, and when he finally came out of the closet, his mother wasn't surprised at all. She'd known all along I was just his beard."
Gia turned her back to the counter, hefted herself up to sit on it, and picked up a bottle of water that had been resting beside her. She eyed Carolyn as she opened it and took a sip, then lowered it and asked, "Beard?"
"It's a fake girlfriend basically, so people don't know the person's gay," she explained, wondering what the Italian equivalent would be. Marguerite had said the band members were all Italian relatives of Julius's.
She glanced toward the door, but hesitated, not anxious to go back out while Christian might still be there.
Carolyn was afraid of making a fool of herself over the man by drooling or otherwise revealing her attraction to him. It just seemed better to avoid him. She'd go back after he'd returned to the stage and then slip away before the second set ended and avoid the lounge until the band left, she decided.
"Sit with me," Gia suggested, patting the counter beside her. When Carolyn glanced at her uncertainly, she smiled wryly and said, "I'm supposed to get to relax during the breaks, but if we go back out, guests will want to talk to me and then it's not relaxing. Talking to you is relaxing."
Carolyn didn't particularly want to go back out anyway, so moved over to settle on the counter next to her.
"So, you didn't mind being this beard for your friend?"
Gia asked at once.
"No, not at all. Brent was a sweetheart and a great friend. He still is. Besides, I felt for him. He really struggled with his sexuality back then. He wanted to be straight to please his family and basically fit in, but he just wasn't attracted to women. He had it tough there for a while. I was happy to help out," she said with a shrug.
"My cugino has the same problem," Gia announced when Carolyn glanced to the door again.
Carolyn looked back uncertainly. "Cugino?"
"Cousin," Gia translated. "He's gay, but... well, Italy is terribly into the whole machismo thing, and especially in our family, so he keeps it to himself. I'm the only one who knows."
"Oh, that's a shame. It must be hard for him," she said with sympathy, recalling many late-night talks with Brent on the subject. He really had struggled with it and it didn't seem fair to her. She didn't understand the anger and rage homosexuality caused in some people.
Some acted like they thought the individual woke up one day and said, Well, I think I'll piss off the universe today by switching my sexual preference. She was no expert on the matter, but it seemed to her that thinking a person could choose what gender they were attracted to was like thinking you could choose what you preferred to eat. Some preferred chocolate over vanilla, and others preferred vanilla to chocolate; it wasn't a choice, but a matter of taste and what appealed to their palette. Why did they think sexual preference would be any different?
"Si." Gia nodded sadly. "It wasn't so bad for a while, he had a-what did you call it? A beard?" When Carolyn nodded, she continued, "He had a beard for years. They were good friends and she would go to family functions and such with him. But she married last year and he has not had a beard since. Everyone in the family is bothering him about bringing home another girlfriend and he's afraid some of them are beginning to suspect. Especially Julius and the other boys in the band."
"This cousin is one of the guys in the band?" Carolyn asked with surprise, wondering which one it could be. She was pretty sure it wasn't Christian or Santo, and Raffaele didn't seem likely. That left Zanipolo. Of course, she could be completely wrong. It wasn't as if you could tell just by looking. Well, sometimes you could, she supposed, but not always, and definitely not if they were still in the closet.
"You could help him," Gia said now, and Carolyn peered at her blankly.
"Me? Help him? How?" she asked with bewilderment.
"You could be his beard," Gia said with a smile. "If they thought he was having an affair with you, it would lay their suspicions to rest for now and take the pressure off of him for a little while, even after this trip."
"Oh, Gia, I don't know," she began with dismay.
"Oh, but it's perfect," Gia said at once, moving to clasp her hands. "You have done this before so know how to be a beard. He will be able to relax with you and not worry that you will try to drag him to bed, or be hurt or complain if he doesn't try to drag you there because you know he can't possibly be interested."
"But I'm so much older than all you guys," she pointed out, her voice rising along with her alarm.
"No you're not. We aren't as young as we look," Gia assured her. "We just have to keep the youthful image to be in a band. And we age well in our clan," she added when Carolyn narrowed her eyes on her, looking for crow's-feet or any other telltale sign that the woman might be older than the twenty-five or so that she looked. "Besides, his last... er... beard was about your age, and everyone thinks he prefers older women because of it. They won't doubt it for a moment."
"Gia, I'd like to help, but I don't think-"
"It would be mutually beneficial," Gia interrupted persuasively. "He's smart and funny and good company... well, perhaps not funny," she muttered with a frown. "Actually, he's a little serious, but I'm sure that's just because he's always worrying about others finding out and the family turning from him. He is good company though, and could be your escort and companion while your friend, Beth, is ill."
"I don't know...," Carolyn murmured, but was growing tempted to say yes. She really hated the idea of anyone suffering like Brent had. And it would be nice to have company while Beth was ill.
"And you would be doing me a great favor," Gia said solemnly. "I worry about him. He has been so morose over it all, I fear he will do something to hurt himself. But if you were to act as his beard and get the pressure off of him, I wouldn't have to worry so much."
Carolyn's eyes widened. "It's that bad?"
"Our family is very much into machismo," she said solemnly.
Carolyn bit her lip. It really was very tempting. In fact, the only thing now holding her back was the realization that if she agreed, she would probably have to be around the band at least occasionally, which meant being around Christian, and with her ridiculous attraction to him, that didn't seem like a good-"
And I know Christian would be grateful," Gia said suddenly and Carolyn stilled, and then raised wide eyes to the blonde.
"Christian?"
The name came out a squeak. Dear God, she thought when the girl nodded. She'd been lusting after the poor guy and he was gay. How sad was that? And where the hell was her gaydar? She'd always thought her twenty-plus-year friendship with Brent had sharpened it to a fine point. Apparently not.
"God," she muttered.
"So? Will you do it?" Gia asked, and then eyes twinkling, added, "You can take lots of pictures of you and Christian together and e-mail them to your ex-husband so that he thinks you are having a grand time with a buff young stallion."
Carolyn burst out laughing at the thought, and then glanced to her with surprise. "How did you know I have an ex-husband?"
"Your finger." She nodded toward her hand and Carolyn glanced down, sighing when she saw the mark her wedding ring had left. It was like a brand of sorts, she thought with disgust. It might actually be gone now had she taken her wedding ring off back when she'd left Robert, but she'd worn it so long she hadn't even thought about it until Bethany had insisted she remove it when they left on this trip. "You're single. Advertise it," she'd said.
"He's not actually my ex-husband yet," Carolyn admitted unhappily. "The divorce isn't final. The lawyer says another three months and it should be done, but right now it's still in the process."
"Hmm." Well, then you should definitely take pictures of you and Christian and send them to him."
Carolyn chuckled at the thought, but knew she wouldn't do it. She had no interest in any kind of contact with Robert, except to sign the final divorce decree.
"So? Can I tell Christian you'll do it?" Gia asked.
Carolyn hesitated. She'd like to help him out, and the idea of company while Beth was ill was definitely a tempting one, and she was pretty sure now that she knew he was gay her attraction for Christian would die a natural death. The only real issue was what others would think.
They'd all think she was some kind of cougar, playing with someone twenty years her junior. That thought bothered her and she said, "I'd like to help, Gia. But I'm kind of uncomfortable with the idea of everyone thinking I'm having a fling with someone so much younger than me."
"Well, neither Marguerite nor Julius, nor certainly anyone in the band will think anything of it," she reasoned patiently. "As I said, they all think Christian prefers older women. But aside from that, women in Europe take younger lovers all the time, at least among our people.
No one thinks anything of it," she said with a shrug. "And you can always tell Genie and Bethany the truth so long as they don't tell anyone. As for everyone else, who cares about them? You're not likely to meet anyone from here again, that's the beauty of a vacation... Come on," she cajoled. "It would be fun having you hang with the band."
Carolyn hesitated, but then blew her breath out. "What the hell. Yes, I'll do it."
"That a girl!" Gia said with a grin. "I promise you won't regret it."
"Let's hope you're right," Carolyn muttered, already having second thoughts.
"That's my cue." Gia slid off the counter as the sound of a guitar tuning up reached them. "Back to work for me. You should return to the table and enjoy the rest of the show."
"Yes, I suppose so." Carolyn slid off the counter as well.
There seemed little reason to avoid Christian anymore.
She'd obviously been imagining the sparks that had seemed to fly between them as he'd stared at her. He'd probably been wondering if he could persuade her to be his beard.
Now that she knew the lay of the land, Carolyn was almost embarrassed by the wild thoughts that had run through her head. Shaking her head, she followed Gia to the door.
"Caro, dear, will you order Julius and me another drink if the waitress comes around again, please?" Marguerite asked as she stood up. "We're just going to go see if Gia and the boys are up to joining us or not."
"Sure," Carolyn said as the couple stood and moved toward the stage where the band was now winding up cords and putting away instruments.
"God, every single one of them is hot," Genie said, her eyes eating the band alive as they moved around the stage. "Even that Gia. I'd switch teams if I had a chance with her."
Carolyn laughed. "Sure you would."
"Okay, maybe I wouldn't, but I'd seriously consider it."
Carolyn shook her head and glanced toward the band again.
"So what about that Christian?"
Genie asked.
"What about him?" Carolyn's eyes found the man on his haunches, setting his violin in its case.
"He was asking me loads of questions about you. You might get lucky there," she said, elbowing her.
"Brent would have more luck than me," Carolyn assured her.
Genie blinked. "What?"
Carolyn nodded. "I was talking to Gia in the washroom during the break. The family's very into the macho thing and he's gay but firmly in the closet, and she asked me to be his beard."
"No. God, why are the good ones always gay?" Genie moaned, her eyes moving back to the stage. "Are you going to do it?"
"Yes," she admitted. "I don't mind helping him out, and it will give me company while Beth's sick."
"True." Genie glanced back to the stage. "You could do worse than eye candy like that to keep you company.
Of course, every single woman here is going to envy the hell out of you and hate your guts."
Carolyn laughed at the suggestion, her gaze shifting to Marguerite and Julius as they reached the band.
"Well?" Christian asked, bending down for Marguerite to kiss his cheek.
"You were brilliant," she assured him, beaming. "I was very proud."
Christian flushed, but smiled and admitted, "I meant Carolyn. Do I go back and try to sleep now?"
Marguerite bit her lip and glanced to Gia. "You didn't tell him yet?"
Gia shook her head. "I take it you read her?"
"Yes, dear, and that was brilliant thinking on your part. Absolutely brilliant."
"Thank you, Aunt Marguerite," Gia said, beaming under the praise.
"What was brilliant?" Christian asked at once.
Marguerite bit her lip, which didn't seem good, but it definitely worried him when she suggested, "Why don't we go somewhere more private to discuss it."
"We have to take the instruments back to Genie's office," Raffaele rumbled. "You can talk there."
"Won't Genie-"
"She gave us the key," Christian interrupted.
"Right, then we'll do that," she decided.
Christian glanced toward the table as he followed the others offstage, his gaze finding Carolyn. Much to his shock she gave him a tentative smile when their eyes met and Christian felt something unclench a little in his chest.
He'd been worried sick about how to woo her ever since she'd fled the table earlier at his approach. It would be impossible to woo her if she wasn't around to woo. However, it appeared that Gia's brilliant idea was actually working.
He couldn't wait to hear it.
Unfortunately, he appeared to be the only one eager to get to the office. Everyone else was moving at a snail's pace as Marguerite gushed with praise over the performance.
Christian forced himself to be patient. He'd waited for Carolyn for five hundred years, another five minutes wasn't going to kill him... hopefully.
"All right." Christian closed Genie's office door and turned to glance from his mother to Gia. "What's this brilliant idea?"
When Marguerite and Gia exchanged a glance, he felt trepidation crawl up his spine again and narrowed his eyes.
"Well?" he growled.
"Now, dear, I just want you to take everything into consideration here before you react," Marguerite cautioned, just increasing his trepidation. "You have to think where Carolyn's head is at."
"She was super-freaked at being attracted to you," Gia put in solemnly. "I mean, seriously, ready-to-run-and-never-come-near-the-lounge-again freaked."
Christian frowned, but wasn't terribly surprised. This not-aging business could be a real pain in some ways, but he supposed it wouldn't have been any easier had he looked five hundred. Then she wouldn't have given him a second glance.
"And?" he prompted, when neither woman continued.
Gia glanced to Marguerite. When she nodded encouragement, Gia cleared her throat. "So I got her talking to try to figure an angle. It was obvious that just trying to convince her to overlook your age and give you a chance wasn't going to work. She's not the kind of woman who would be comfortable with a boy toy."
"A boy toy?" he choked out, and then scowled when his father snickered.
"Yes, well that's how she was thinking of you, Christian," she said, and then pointed out, "We do look a lot younger than we are."
"Right," he growled. "So?"
"Well." Gia paused to lick her lips. "I got her talking about her friends... Genie and Bethany and... er...
Brent."
Christian stiffened, eyes narrowing. "Brent?"
"Yes, he's... er... well, he was her roommate in university.
Actually they were all roommates. They shared a house," she added quickly when he began to scowl.
"Brent was a good friend. Kind of like a girlfriend."
Christian blinked. "Kind of like a girlfriend?"
"Yes, well, you see... er... Brent is gay," she explained.
Christian relaxed. That was all right. He'd started worrying there that Gia was going to tell him Carolyn had some long-lived, unrequited love for the guy.
"Okay, so she has a gay friend," he said, not getting where this was going.
Gia glanced to Marguerite again and shifted her feet.
"Well, see he wasn't openly gay, he was in the closet, and she used to pretend to be his girlfriend on occasion to help him stay there. It's called being a beard, apparently."
Christian waited.
Gia shifted nervously again, and this time he noticed that she was shuffling a little away from him. When his eyes narrowed, she continued, "And then it struck me. She was very sympathetic to this Brent. They were good friends and she felt bad for the struggle he had and so on..." She paused and shuffled another step away before blurting out, "And so I told her you were gay."
Christian blinked once, twice, and then a third time and squawked, "What?"
"Now, Christian, just listen for a moment," Marguerite said, patting his arm.
Christian glanced toward his mother, but paused as his eyes got caught on his father chuckling silently behind her. He glared at the man, but glanced at Zanipolo when he said, "Wait, whoa. Are you serious? You told her he was gay?"
"It seemed like the perfect solution," Gia said on a sigh.
"What the hell do you mean it seemed like the perfect solution?" Christian asked with disbelief. "You told her I was gay."
"Yes, but see-"
"And she believed you?" he asked with horror.
"Yes, of course. Why would she think I'd lie about something like that?" she asked with exasperation.
"Julius," Marguerite chastised gently when his father gave a muffled guffaw.
"Sorry, darling, but he gave me such grief over my wooing of you that I can't help but think this is funny," Julius said, slipping his arm around Marguerite.
"It isn't funny," Christian growled. "She told my lifemate that I'm gay."
Zanipolo gave a bark of laughter. "And she believed it."
Christian scowled at the man, considering violence until Gia said, "Actually, at first I just said my cugino was gay and didn't tell her which one. She thought it must be you before I said it was Christian."
"What?" Zanipolo cried. "Why would she think that?
Do I look gay?"
Christian growled impatiently, and turned on Gia. "I don't see how her thinking I am gay is supposed to help."
"Is it my hair that made her pick me for the gay one, do you think?" Zanipolo asked suddenly. "Maybe I should cut it."
"It could be," Santo said, eyeing him consideringly.
"Nah. Christian has long hair too," Raffaele pointed out.
Christian scowled at them, but then glanced back to Gia as she announced, "I said you were in the closet and afraid to come out for fear the family would turn on you."
"What?" he asked blankly.
"We would never turn on you, Christian," Marguerite murmured, patting his arm. "Gay or not, we love you."
"I'm not gay," he pointed out, his voice rising an octave, and heard another snort of laughter from his father.
"Well, no dear, of course not," Marguerite said quickly.
"But if you were, we'd still love you. You wouldn't have to hide in the closet with the smelly old shoes."
"It's not literal, Mother. I wouldn't actually be hiding in a closet. It's a-never mind," he muttered and turned back to Gia. "How the hell is my being a closet gay supposed to-"
"She's agreed to be your beard," she interrupted quickly.
"I don't want a damned beard," Christian snapped. "I want my lifemate."
"Maybe I should grow a beard. Maybe that would make me look less gay," Zanipolo muttered, rubbing his cheek.
Gia ignored him. "I know you want her for a lifemate, not a beard, Christian, and this way she won't be uncomfortable spending time with you. You can get to know each other without the risk of her fleeing because of her attraction to you."
"Because she thinks I'm gay so won't be attracted," he pointed out grimly.
"Now, Christian, your being gay won't affect her attraction to you," Marguerite said soothingly.
"I'm not gay," he bellowed, scowling at his father when he released another guffaw.
"No, of course not, dear. She'll just think you are," his mother agreed.
"But I'm not!" he roared. "And how the hell am I supposed to get close to her when she thinks I am?"
"Christian," Marguerite began with concern.
"Allow me, cara." Julius took Christian's arm and urged him away from the rest of the group. It did little good since they all immediately crowded forward behind them, but Julius ignored that and put his arm around Christian as he said, "Stop thinking about the gay bit, and think about her being your beard. That's a pretend girlfriend, right?"
He frowned but nodded.
"So, you'll get to spend time with her, take her out for dinner, talk, get to know each other, and"-Julius added firmly-"
you'll get to hold her hand, put your arm around her, dance with her, and so on, like a boyfriend does. It will be expected. At least in public, right?"
Christian nodded slowly, considering this.
"We can even make sure she lets you kiss her," Julius added.
"How are we going to do that?" Marguerite asked with interest.
Christian scowled. "I don't want you taking control of her and-"
"That's the beauty of it," Julius interrupted. "We won't have to control her to get her to do anything. All I have to do is say something like, you two never kiss or anything, I don't believe you're dating, and you'll be obliged to kiss her and she'll let you to uphold her position as beard."
"Oh, Julius, you are clever," Marguerite praised.
"But if she thinks I'm gay, she'll hardly be attracted to me and want me kissing her," Christian said unhappily.
"Her thinking you're gay isn't going to affect her attraction to you," his father said firmly. "Nothing can affect that. The nanos somehow control that. She'll want you no matter what she thinks you are. All this gay and beard business does is make it so she just won't be afraid that you're attracted back. So she won't fear having to deal with, or face up to, an attraction she feels is inappropriate.
She'll have no reason to run. You'll be free to woo her."
Christian could see how that could be helpful. It was certainly better than having her avoid him and not getting to spend time with her at all. Still... "All right, but what happens then?"
"What happens when?" Julius asked uncertainly.
"Well, once I have her liking me and get her to know me, how do I then roll it over from I'm gay to I'm not?" he asked dryly.
"Oh." Julius removed his arm with a shrug. "I have no idea."
"I'm sure natures will takes it course, dear," Marguerite said at once. "The important thing is that this allows you to at least begin the wooing process."
Christian sighed and nodded wearily.
"It's not my clothes," Zanipolo said with certainty.
"My clothes are no different from what you guys wear."
"Now," Marguerite murmured, ignoring Zanipolo's mutterings. "I told the girls we were going to see if you guys were up for joining us. Are you?"
When Christian hesitated, unsure if he was ready-or even knew how-to play a gay man, Marguerite added, "If so, you can ask her to go for a walk, tell her Gia told you she agreed to be your beard and you appreciate it and then kick it off. Ask her to dinner tomorrow night, maybe."
Christian hesitated. "I don't have to talk in a higher octave or start walking or behaving effeminately, do I?"
"Is my walk effeminate?" Zanipolo asked suddenly.
"Not that I noticed," Santo assured him. Zanipolo was just relaxing when he added, "But then I don't really watch you walk, cugino."
"You don't have to walk or act effeminately," Gia said with exasperation. "There are all sorts of gay men, some more effeminate, some more butch, and then some perfectly average. They are just like everyone else, for heaven's sake."
"Right," Christian muttered.
"Just be yourself," Marguerite advised.
"Right," Christian repeated.
"Let's go get her, son," Julius said cheerfully, slapping him on the shoulder. "I want to be bouncing your babies on my knee in nine months or so."
"Oh," Marguerite said on a little sigh and rubbed Christian's arm. "My baby having babies."
"I'm over five hundred years old, Mom. Hardly a baby."
"You'll always be a baby to me," she assured him, leaning up to kiss his cheek.
Christian shook his head and turned toward the door, but heard her murmur in a weepy voice, "Did you hear, Julius? He called me Mom again."
"Si, cara, and so you are," his father said gently.
"Yes, but I missed so much of his growing up," she said on a sigh as Christian opened the door.
"You did," Christian heard his father agree solemnly.
"Maybe we should have another one to make up for it."
"It won't make up for all I missed," she whispered.
"But it would be nice."
"Then we'll start working on it tonight," Julius murmured.
"You two have been 'working on it' since finding each other," Christian pointed out dryly.
"Yes, we have," Julius agreed as they started through the lobby. "Jealous?"
"Damned right," Christian muttered. He wouldn't mind doing a little "working on it" with Carolyn. But that wasn't likely to happen for a while with her thinking he was gay. God!