door behind her. She picked up the
black ball from her desk. “Okay, great and powerful Eight, do I
choose Dane?”
She flipped the ball over to peer at the answer. “Better not tell you
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now.”
“Should I choose Spencer?”
She flipped the ball again. “Ask again later.”
Damned thing was as indecisive as she was.
* * * *
Eyeing the contract, Spence had to give Wren credit. She wasn’t
going to put up with any bullshit. Play by the rules or lose a golden
opportunity. She could make or break his shift to catering. The same
for Fletch—and her cocky son of a bitch brother—since they’d
decided to go into catering the same week. Both of them needed this
first prestigious contract.
Dane clearly had his sights on their judge, too. Not that Wren
wasn’t worthy of the hard-on she inspired. Her low-cut tank top and
tight blue jeans outlined an amazing body. Did she have a seductively
hidden tattoo to go with the pierced belly button? Maybe a red heart
on her perfect ass? He’d conduct a thorough search when they burned
up the sheets. And she might have a mix of purple, blue, and green on
her pixie head, but he looked forward to finding that natural red in her
panties. That she’d been the inspiration for more than one wet dream
back in high school was incentive enough to make a play for her. Her
enticing curves were a bonus, and the interest in her eyes only
encouraged him. After dinner.
He picked up the pen, signing by the X. Time to get down to
business. He turned to pull open the refrigerator door and study the
contents. Yeast. Fresh basil, thyme, oregano, dill, mint, parsley,
and...cilantro. Hmm. Raspberries, strawberries, lemons, limes. And an
eclectic assortment of vegetables, meats, cheeses, and...edible
flowers? Interesting. He moved to the counter, lifting lids on the
canisters. Granulated sugar, cane sugar, unbleached all-purpose flour,
graham flour. A fully stocked spice rack.
His imagination buzzed with excitement over the foods he could
90
Mellanie Szereto
create. A pallet-pleasing combination of flavors and textures designed
to catch the eye with a unique blend of colors and shapes. His feast
would easily win the contract.
And then dessert. Wren à la mode . God, he’d waited a long time
for the real thing.
* * * *
Dane scribbled notes as he checked out the available ingredients
in his station. Herb-stuffed veal cutlets with steamed asparagus and
pearl onions. A bed of spaghetti squash topped with grilled
portabellas and cannellini in a Roma tomato-Marsala sauce. Leek and
carrot bisque. Crusty basil-pecorino focaccia. Roasted red pepper-
eggplant wontons and sesame wafers with pesto. Spinach salad with
lemon vinaigrette. Let Andrews come up with courses as fucking
creative as those. He would go crawling back to his trendy bistro after dinner, and Wren would provide the evening’s best course. Rack of
swan and pussy au jus —the perfect complement to his perfect meal.
But first, the business of securing this catering gig, not that he minded a little competition among friends.
He concentrated on chopping basil and some well-disguised
cilantro for the pesto, wielding a duplicate of his favorite knife over
the pungent leaves. Wren knew the importance of good tools. His
cock twitched.
Click, click, click . He looked up at the sound of heels on the tile floor. Ah. The woman with superb knowledge of tools is back. Mixing the herbs into the bowl of olive oil, garlic, toasted chopped pistachios, and sea salt, he grinned. “Want a taste, sweetheart?”
He held out the spoon.
She pursed her full red lips, narrowing her eyes at him. “Trying to
influence the judge?”
“Not at all.” At least not the way she thought. “I’m curious
whether or not you can identify my secret ingredient.”
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91
She relaxed slightly and stepped toward him.
Holding the spoon beyond her reach, he waited. One more step .
He
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