remember?â
His full lips hitched upward. âI figured that didnât apply here at work.â
âIt applies to you, no matter where we are.â
âI take it youâre not planning to chew me out?â he drawled, moving inside and closing the door behind him.
âI donât think thereâs anything of your ass left to chew,â she teased. His gaze grew hungry, and she knew he was about to make an off-color comment, so she rushed on. âI just wanted to thank you again for last night.â
âYou already did, so itâs not necessary. Iâm sure youâd do the same for me if I found myself in dire need of your ninja skills.â
Laughing, she shook her head. âYouâd better hope that never becomes an issue. My ninja skills are sadly lacking.â
Closing the distance between them, he moved around her desk and said, âWant to tell me why you really called me in here? Could it be because you missed me?â
He was so close, she had to look up at him from her chair. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him not to be ridiculous. Then his hand covered hers and he knelt beside her chair, leaned close, and brought their lips together gently.
Pure heaven. This man kissed like nobody sheâd ever met, his lips exerting just the right amount of pressure, his tongue seeking hers. She explored him in return, tasting a hint of coffee and cinnamon. Delicious.
Common sense struggled to reassert itself and she pushed him back, breaking the kiss. âWe shouldnât do this.â
âYou said
shouldnât
, not
canât
. Thatâs pretty telling.â He appeared smug.
âIâm your boss, Gray.â
âOnly on paper. You said yourself that Ethan has the final word where Iâm concerned. Or anyone in his kitchen, for that matter.â
âHow do you think the rest of my staff would react if they found out I was seeing one of them?â
âWhy would you care? They answer to you, not the other way around.â He paused. âDo you have a policy prohibiting employees from seeing each other socially?â
âNo, of course not.â
âDating?â
âNo,â she admitted.
âAnd if you found out some of them were dating right now, what would you do?â he pressed.
âNothing.â She sighed. âAs long as they kept the lovey-dovey stuff away from the customers and didnât let it distract them at work, I wouldnât say anything.â
âThere you go,â he said with a wicked grin. âYouâre not breaking your own rule because there isnât one, and youâre not setting a double standard. So live a little. All work and no play makes Anna a sad girl.â
âNow you sound like my mother.â
âShe must be a smart woman.â
âYou can judge for yourself. Sheâs arriving for a visit next Friday.â
âYou bringing her here, to the restaurant?â
She nodded. âItâll be her first time in New York since we opened. Iâm rolling out the red carpet.â For all the good it would do where her mom was concerned. But one could hope.
âGood for you both. Maybe Iâll get to meet her while sheâs here.â He seemed genuine. He stood. âI get off in an hour. What do you say we go for a walk, then I buy us a bottle of wine to share at your place.â
âWhy not yours?â
âThatâs fine with me. Itâs just that my place is sort of bare. Iâm afraid itâs a typical bachelor pad, without much furniture or ambiance.â
Hesitating, she wondered if she was really going to do this. In the next instant, she told herself to stop overthinking it.
âMy place it is.â
That smile of his could melt her all the way to her toes. He seemed pretty pleased with himself as he sauntered to the door.
âOne hour. Canât wait.â Then he was gone.
One hour never passed so slowly.
***
As
Tim Lahaye, Jerry B. Jenkins