CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Liam

 

I couldn’t believe my luck. If I’d tried, I wouldn’t have been able to plan it better. When I saw that skinny fuck in the bookstore, and then realized it was the same dude she’d been dancing with at Elena’s, I figured my chances were shot. But she’d blown him off, and the day had gone well. Until the phone call.

But in the end, that phone call was everything. It was my ticket back in. I was standing at the stove, checking on the demi-glace to make sure it was reducing properly, shaking my head in disbelief.

“And how do you plan to play this?” Adam asked.

By this point, no one was even being discreet anymore. My social life had become the staff project. Everyone had a fucking comment or suggestion. It was driving me nuts, but I tried to take it in stride. Toni and her big mouth. But I couldn’t be mad at her. I was too crazy about her.

“I’m not worried. We’ve spent the night together before. The woman can’t resist me,” I said. “Correction, we can’t resist each other.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Toni said, dipping her finger in the sauce. “Back up, Chef. You are not going to touch her. Sauce is perfect, you’re a genius.”

“What do you mean, I’m not going to touch her? That’s my fucking secret weapon.”

She shook her head while the rest of the staff looked on in disbelief.

“Chef. You’re trying to show her you’re not that guy. You need to win her heart, not her pussy. Remember what Adam said—make her come to you. It’s got to be her idea,” Toni said.

I glanced over at Adam and he nodded.

“So what do you suggest?” I asked the room.

The dishwasher poked his head up from his station in the corner and offered, “Just be honest. Tell her how you feel.”

I stood there, stunned. That wasn’t covered in any of the romance novels. I looked around to get a consensus, and everyone was nodding in agreement.

“Toni?” I asked.

“Yeah. It makes sense.”

Just then, the first server walked in with an order and we all got back to our stations, revving up for the night.

*

First thing Monday morning, I called Maggie.

“Hey, I had an idea. Why don’t we meet at the grocery store and we’ll pick up some stuff for dinner? I’ll cook for your folks and we’ll make a fun evening of it.”

There was silence for a moment and I wondered if I’d made a bad call. Had we reached this level of friendship yet? Was I overplaying my hand? And when the hell did I start overthinking shit like this?

“Never mind, it was just an idea—”

“No,” she interjected. “It’s a great idea. Let’s meet in an hour.”

I smiled, said goodbye, and hung up the phone. Then I jumped in the shower.

 

*

She was waiting for me by the front entrance of Lester’s General Store, the only real grocery store in town. It had a surprisingly good produce section and whenever I couldn’t make it up to the farm I stopped in. Lester also ran a great butcher shop. Over the years, the residents in Mountain Valley had changed and now they wanted better food, so he adapted. At least that’s what he told me.

Maggie looked stunning, as always. She had such an easy beauty to her. She never did anything, never wore anything special—she just exuded warmth, and that made her beautiful. I couldn’t imagine what she’d looked like all dressed up, going somewhere formal. I caught myself hoping I’d get a chance one day to find out.

Never had a woman affected me like this before. I liked women, I had a healthy respect for them, and normally, an insatiable appetite as well. But I hadn’t even thought about sex with anyone else since I’d met her. And when I was spending time with her, I wasn’t even trying to work out ways to get her into bed. She made me laugh. She made me think. She—

Oh, fuck.