“Jan?”
“Hmmm?”
“I was thinking—”
“That’s where we always run into trouble.” She grinned.
“We should probably go on a few actual dates since we are engaged.” Alex traced another path from her temple to her ear though there were no strands of hair out of place.
“You mean for the press?” Her head tilted ever so slightly until her cheek was resting in his palm.
“I don’t care about the press.”
“You don’t?”
He shook his head. But she didn’t see. Her eyes had fluttered closed as her head rested in his hand. He was so close that his nose stole an Eskimo kiss. “I like eating with you. I like sharing new experiences with you. I like being with you.”
“Me too.”
“You busy tonight?”
Her eyes opened and her gaze fixed on him. She looked as hungry as he felt.
“Yes,” she sighed. “I am.”
He frowned.
“So are you. We have to prepare for the critic’s dinner. That’s why we’re here right now.”
“Right. I forgot.”
She smiled, and it lit up her whole face. Had he ever seen her smile like that? He wanted to taste it. His eyes dipped to her lips.
Jan wet her lower lip. Alex could read the signs. That motion was a clear sign meaning she knew he wanted to kiss her.
When she held her place, he knew she wouldn’t pull away, she was going to let him kiss her. He wasn’t going to have to wait as long as he’d planned to win her over. He might decide the battle at that moment. A loud crash sounded from the other room, tearing them apart.
Alex groaned. “Hopefully, the contractors won’t ruin the place before we get a chance to open it. I’ll go see what they’re up to.”
“I’m gonna head down the street to the market to find some fresh ingredients.”
“I’ll come find you when I’m done with them, okay?”
She nodded, her cheeks pinking, but she held his gaze as she went out the back door of the kitchens. Alex rushed to the other room to get the contractors in order. The sooner he did, the sooner he could get back to Jan.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Jan kept pressing her fingers to her lips. She’d been doing that for the past few days every day since her first kiss with Alex. If she were honest with herself, she’d admit she’d been doing it for a month since the very first time he’d pressed his lips to hers.
With each subsequent kiss, he’d fed a fire in her. Now she was burning up inside. The only time she felt relief was when she was in his arms.
Oh, boy, did she have it bad.
She was happy to know that she wasn’t alone. Alex hadn’t professed his undying love for her back in the kitchen, but he’d made it clear that he was feeling something too. Alex, the uncatchable catch was somehow, miraculously, unexplainably hooked on her.
On her; Jan. The plain pie maker. Jan the jilted. Jan had a suspicion she wouldn’t be jilted this time.
No, he hadn’t promised her forever. Not a love kind of forever. But he’d promised her a business kind of forever. The romance, or whatever it was blossoming between them, might last a few weeks, a few months. They might even have a few years.