“Yeah, of course. One sec.” She jogs into the closet she calls an office and comes back out with bills in her hand. “My treat. Get me an iced vanilla latte with an extra shot.”
Joey looks at me. “You want something, Nikolai?”
I’m on a first name basis now with her staff?
“No,” I frown, but when she shoots me a dark look, I add, “Thanks.”
“He’s engaged,” she says to me once Joey’s gone. “You don’t have to look at him like he’s your enemy.”
I raise an eyebrow. “I’m a possessive man, Charlotte. And I don’t like sharing.”
“He’s my employee. And like I said, he’s engaged.”
I hook my thumbs into her jeans at her hips and pull her closer to me. “But he spends all day with you.”
“Not getting what you paid for?” she asks then looks down. “I’m sorry. A bad joke.” She wiggles her way out of my grip and rubs her neck.
“The shop seems to be doing better. There was a long line when I got here.”
“Yeah. That big name sandwich shop a block down closed up shop. No notice, no warning, just closed for business. Since then, we’ve seen a lot more customers. Someone said something about the health department closed them down, but I’m not sure how true that is.”
“Seems like a good reason for a shutdown like that,” I say, keeping my tone neutral.
She gapes at me for a long moment. The dots are connecting right before my eyes.
“You had them shut down.” I can’t tell if she’s angry or impressed. Her eyes are narrowed, but there’s a light to them I haven’t seen before. “You actually did that?”
“You said you needed a way to get more customers in the door.”
“Not like that!” She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “You can’t just do that, Nikolai.”
I moved closer to her again, capturing her face in one hand and leaning down to kiss her. I’ve been waiting over an hour to kiss her lips and I won’t deny myself any longer. She tastes like honey and feels like heaven pressed against me. My mother once told me my father just felt right to her. That he just fit. This must be what she was talking about.
Her lips are puffy when I pull away, her eyes searching mine.
“When you need something, I’ll get it for you. That’s how this works. And I’ll do it however I need to do it.” I release her. “You’ve been working a lot of nights. I don’t like it. I can send a guy over to help or you can hire someone.”
“You don’t have to send anyone. I’ll take care of it.” Her voice is softer now, more pliable, but there’s still that fierceness I’ve come to expect in her eyes.
“We have a family party this weekend.”
“We?”
I smile. “Yes, Charlotte. We. A christening for my cousin’s baby. So make sure you have the deli covered this weekend.”
“The whole weekend?”
I nod. “The entire thing.”
She studies me for a long moment. “I’ll take care of it.”
“Good.” I lean forward and kiss the top of her head. I don’t trust myself to touch her anywhere else right now or I’ll have to drag her into her office and really touch her.
“Nikolai,” she calls me as I reach for the door. “Thanks for bringing my phone,” she says with a wobbly smile.
“Of course.” I leave her, but I have a feeling no matter how far into the city I drive today, she’s going to be front and center in my thoughts.