“Not for us.”
“I don’t understand.Howdo you own the company?”
“I inherited it.”
“From your father,” she said quietly.
“Yes.”
“Wow.”
“You said that already.”
She rolled her eyes. “It’s kind of a ‘wow’ thing to tell someone. Especially someone like me.”
“Why especially you?”
“Because I live for food. And chocolate is a huge weakness of mine. These bars,” she said, lifting it between them, “Have gotten me through some seriously awful times in my life.”
“The healing power of chocolate?”
“Something like that,” she agreed.
“Good to know.” He lifted his glass towards hers. “Cheers.” It was a simple salute, nothing particularly sensual, and yet the way his eyes met hers sent a sizzle into her bloodstream. She moved her glass closer to his, fingers tingling.
“What’s it like?” She asked, mouth dry.
“The wine?”
“No, I can tell the wine is excellent,” she said on a soft laugh. “Working with chocolate all day every day.”
“I don’t actually workwithchocolate,” he said. “My office is a high rise in Rome, about a hundred miles from the main factory.”
“Tell me your desk is at least made of chocolate? So you can have a nibble whenever you’re in the mood?”
He moved closer to her, the smile on his lips taking her breath away. “At the risk of ruining all your fantasies, I should tell you, I don’t even particularlylikechocolate.”
She gasped. “You can’t be serious?”
“Deadly.”
“Are you human?”
He reached for her free hand, lifting it to his chest. “You tell me?” He placed her palm over his heart, so she could feel the solid, steady beating, and her insides twisted sharply in response.
“Your heart beats, but not for chocolate.” Charlotte was pleased the words emerged without even a hint of sense, given that her brain was turning to mush. “You must have some other weakness?”
“Must I?”
Of course not. Looking at the man, she felt only strength and determination. “Everyone has an Achilles heel,” she said, sure there must be a chink somewhere in his armour.
“If that is true, I have not yet found mine.”
“What about women?” She said, pulling her hand free and putting some much-needed space between them.
“Are women a weakness?”
“For some men.”