'Since I'd prefer that we weren't interrupted by business, how about six-thirty in the evening, a half hour after the shop closes?'
'Perfect. I'll be here.'
She penciled in the appointment on her calendar, and as she did so, her arm brushed his jean-clad hip. She valiantly tried to ignore the heat of him, along with the tightening of her breasts that the chaste touch evoked. She could only imagine the sparks they'd ignite if they ever rubbed skin to skin.
He moved off her desk, straightened, and reached into his back pocket to withdraw his wallet. He pulled a check from his billfold and set it in front of her. She glanced from the staggering amount on the check, all the way back up to his deep, drown-in-them-forever blue eyes.
'What's this for?'
'A down payment for your services,' he said matter-of-factly.
'I'd rather wait until services have been rendered and I have a better idea of what you owe.' She pushed the check back towards him. 'You don't even know if you'll like the desserts I create.'
'Then we'll just have to keep working at it until I'm completely satisfied.' He didn't seem at all bothered by that possibility. 'Besides, I have no doubt you're worth every penny and you'll give me my money's worth. I also know that exclusivity doesn't come cheap.'
No, it didn't, but talk about blind trust in her abilities. She shook her head, certain any further argument would be futile. 'Okay, fine.' If his bill was less than what he'd just given her, she'd issue him a refund. But, boy, would all that money look good in her business account.
'So we have ourselves a deal?'
Since he was towering over her, she stood, too. There was one issue she needed to address before she had her lawyer draw up a final contract and deliver it to Jack. 'There's something I need to ask you.'
He slid his fingers into the front pockets of his jeans. 'Sure. Go ahead.'
She didn't know an easy or tactful way to express her concern, so she just let it out. 'I got the distinct impression at the Commerce dinner that your girlfriend wouldn't be too thrilled to find out we're working together. Is she going to be a problem for me?' The last thing Kayla wanted or needed was a jealous woman bad-mouthing Pure Indulgence and ruining her hard-earned reputation.
'I broke things off with Gretta the night of the dinner,' he told her, and there was no regret in his voice. 'So there's no girlfriend or significant other for you to worry about. I'm single and unattached.'
That revelation pleased her, more than was prudent, and she couldn't stop the secretive smile that curved her lips. She'd just found the perfect test subject for her aphrodisiac desserts.
Chapter 3
Jack walked into the kitchen area of his restaurant, a last check to make sure that everything was in order before he headed over to Pure Indulgence for his appointment with Kayla. It was fairly busy for a Sunday night, but thanks to his manager and well-trained staff there were no huge problems for Jack to worry about.
A steady stream of appetizers and dinner orders lit up the computer screen of the fully integrated system he'd purchased a few months ago, which kept the kitchen organized and his employees efficient. Behind the warming station his head chef made sure that the cooks processed and prepared the entrees at a steady pace, and still produced the high quality and visually appealing dishes that Tremaine's Downtown was known for.
Satisfied that all was running smoothly, he headed toward his manager, Rich, who was helping to garnish plates and double-checking the dishes before the waiters and waitresses served them to their customers.
Rich wasn't only his right-hand man since Tremaine's Downtown opened six years ago. They'd grown up together in the same impoverished neighborhood and Rich had been his best friend since the age of ten. The two of them had both lost their fathers early on and were raised by single mothers who'd scraped to make ends meet. They'd also been two rebels with plenty of cause, but instead had channeled their energy and young ambition and made something of their lives. He shuddered to think how easily they could have gone the other way.
The two of them had been through a lot together, and managed to remain as close as brothers, supporting one another in everything they did. Jack couldn't imagine his life without Rich in it.
'I'm taking off for the night,' Jack said as he came up to his best friend. 'Do you need me for anything else before I leave?'
'Nope. I have everything covered just fine.' Rich slanted him an inquisitive look as he handed a waitress a dish she was reaching for, taking in Jack's casual shirt and khaki pants, instead of the suit and tie he normally wore when he was working at the restaurant. 'Where are you off to? Hot date tonight?'
'No.' Not yet, anyway, Jack thought. Kayla definitely made him feel hot and bothered, but despite their mutual attraction, she'd erected a barrier between them that he was determined to gradually break down. As for a date, he hoped that would come in time, as well.
'You know the woman I mentioned who is updating our dessert menu?' Jack asked, reminding Rich of his plans. 'I'm meeting with her tonight at her shop.'
'And you get to sample her desserts?' he asked slyly. 'Sounds like a fun way to spend the evening.'
Jack grinned. 'I'm not complaining.'
Rich's sandy-blond eyebrows rose in surprise. 'Do I detect some interest there?'
'Yeah, you do,' Jack admitted.
His good friend let out a long, low whistle. 'It's been a long time since
Jack understood exactly what Rich was getting at, along with the significance of his interest in a woman. He'd almost given up hope in finding a woman who didn't have a hidden agenda where he was concerned, until Kayla, who wasn't at all impressed by who he was, or by his success.
He felt on equal footing with her-personally and professionally-and it was a novel sensation he liked a whole lot.
'She's not like all the other women I've dated.' Kayla was intelligent, quick-witted and amusing, with an underlying sensuality that intrigued him from the first moment he'd met her, and continually drew him in deeper with each meeting. But there was no telling how things would progress between them, or if she'd act on the attraction that burned hot and bright whenever they were near one another.
Jack most definitely intended to find out.
'Right now I'm seeing her for business purposes,' he told Rich, trying to be pragmatic about the situation. 'But we'll see what happens.'
The orders into the kitchen picked up, and Jack left the restaurant before he was late for his meeting with Kayla. He made it to her shop with five minutes to spare and knocked on the front glass door, which was locked against any last-minute Sunday-evening shoppers.
She came out of the back room and made her way around the counter to the door. Today she was wearing a pale blue T-shirt that looked a size too big, but didn't do much to hide her generous breasts, if that was her intent. The long hem ended at her thighs, covering a good portion of her body, and from there stonewashed denim took over. Despite the less-than-figure-flattering outfit, her hips swayed sensually as she walked-a direct contrast to her sensible and discreet choice of clothing.
She opened the door, her friendly but shy smile telling Jack she was glad to see him.
'Hi,' she said huskily, her warm green gaze filled with a slow, simmering awareness he felt thrum through his blood, as well.
'Hi, yourself,' he murmured in reply, and wondered how in the hell he was going to keep his hands off her tonight. He wanted to kiss her in the worst way, wanted to release that clip holding her blond hair on top of her head and sift his fingers through the silky-looking strands. He ached to feel exactly how she fit against him-from her soft breasts, her belly, to her thighs-and everywhere else in between.
Before he followed through on those fantasies dancing in his head, he stepped past her, into the fragrant bakery, and she locked the door behind him.
'Come on back to the kitchen,' she said, immediately all business. Then she said over her shoulder as she led
