The Prince and the Pie Maker

by Shanae Johnson

  “You’ll pick me as your best man,” said Zhi. “Your brother will have your stag party at the opera.”

  Alex laughed, knowing that his best friend was probably right about Leo’s party planning. But picking a best man was the least of his concerns. He had to figure out how he would convince his fake fiancée to consider giving their pretend relationship a real shot.

  Chapter Twenty

  “He wants to take you on a romantic getaway!” Esme’s high-pitched squeal sent a vibration through Jan’s wineglass.

  “It’s not romantic.” Jan pinched the bridge between her nose to regain her sense of equilibrium. “It’s work.”

  “A prince wants to whisk you away for the weekend on his private yacht to a small town in Spain for work.” Esme used air quotes. Her dark eyes sparkled with light as she stared down her best friend.

  “He doesn’t need an excuse to take me anywhere. He is my fake fiancé.”

  “Is that what he said?”

  Jan paused in taking a sip of her wine. Alex hadn’t used the word fake in a while. He hadn’t even used the word work the other day. “He said that I was his fiancée, and he didn’t need a reason to wine and dine me.”

  Esme pressed her lips together and tapped her feet to the beat of Jan’s racing heart. Her friend looked as though she were about to burst into a red heart-shaped balloon and float away.

  Jan sat her wineglass down, uncertain she could manage its weight any longer. She got up and began pacing the room. They were in Esme’s waiting room. She was supposed to be interviewing more ladies-in-waiting, but she’d had them wait while she took an audience with Jan.

  “It’s not like that, Essie … not really.”

  Jan thought back to the other day when he’d kissed her when they were at the restaurant under fire from a photographer’s camera. She’d lied and told him the coast wasn’t clear so that she could have another taste of him. Alex hadn’t had his back to the window. They’d both been standing perpendicular to it.

  But he’d asked her to look. Meanwhile, he’d only had eyes for her. He hadn’t confirmed what she’d told him. It had been as if he’d wanted a reason to keep going as much as she had.

  And, oh boy, did Jan want to keep going. She’d never been kissed like that. Like she was a tasting dish, not just an amuse-bouche. She’d felt like she was the main course and dessert rolled into one. She was sure Alex kissed like that on the regular. A man didn’t get that good without practice and a lot of it.

  “I don’t think it’s like that for him, Jan.”

  Jan sat down and reached for her wineglass. She tipped the glass and threw it all down her throat. The burn was just what she needed. She could not fall for this man. It would be such a cliché rolled into a disaster.

  A fake relationship where, over the course of events, one party falls for the other. Alex hadn’t fallen for her. She was sure of it.

  Pretty sure.

  Somewhat certain.

  She glanced at the morning paper, and there was her proof. He’d gone out last night, and his exploits were splashed on the front page. There he was at a gentleman’s club getting a kiss on the cheek from a scantily clad dancer.

  Jan’s eyes traveled down the picture. In Alex’s other hand, he held a fork. Her gaze traveled to the dish on the table before him. The picture was in color, and the plate of food looked delicious even in print. She wondered what it was? What it tasted like?

  “That doesn’t mean anything,” Esme said, yanking the paper from the table and tossing it into a bin.

  Jan could beg to differ. She had no claim on Alex outside of their business arrangement. She supposed she should tell him to keep a low profile in his exploits so that she didn’t get embarrassed.

  But at some point in this venture, she would be the one to get embarrassed. They were going to call it off. It didn’t matter who did the calling off. She’d be alone afterward, and Alex would be gallivanting around with women like always. Just like it had been with Chris.

  How had she gotten herself into the same situation? For the rest of her life, she’d have to watch the man she had feelings for go off with other women. And none of them would be her.

  She dropped her face into her hands.

  “Jan? Honey, what is it?”

  “It’s a disaster. I can’t believe I made the same mistake.”

  “What mistake?” Esme tugged at her wrists.

  Jan refused to let the tears fall. She’d made a business decision. She knew how this was supposed to end. It was just that she never thought she’d feel more than wariness for Alex.

  But then there had been those kisses. There was the way he’d held her. The way they cooked together and mixed spices. She’d never had that with anyone. For a cook, that was the height of intimacy.

  “You have feelings for him?” said Esme. “Don’t you?”

  Jan nodded her head, still hiding her face.

  “Sweetie, I think he has feelings for you too.”

  Jan dropped her hands then. She huffed in exasperation at Esme. The woman had always excelled in seeing things that weren’t there. One day, Esme’s imagination would get her in trouble. But seeing as the woman had a king and a castle, it didn’t look like that day was coming any time soon.

  “I was talking to Leo,” she went on, “and he said he’d never seen Alex look at a woman the way he looked at you when you came to his defense the other day.”

  Jan shook her head. She would not be pulled into one of Esme’s fairy tales. They may have worked the one time for Esme. They would never work for plain girls like Jan.

  “Really, Jan, think about it. He chose you to cook with him. He chose you to partner with him. He chose you for this fake engagement ploy. Leo would give him the money. Heck, I would give you two the money. Did you know that being a queen is an actual job with an annual salary? My point is that nothing of those options, which he knew were open to him, would tie you to him. I think subconsciously, he wants you.”

  Could Esme be right? Jan didn’t know what to think? She wasn’t even sure what she wanted?

  Did she want Alex to be falling for her? She had sworn she’d never get married. That she’d never tie her life to anyone else. But she’d signed on the line to be partners with Alex, a business partnership that she hoped would last a lifetime. Did she want that partnership to extend outside of the kitchen?

  Jan thought back to that kiss the other day, and her lips tingled. Her heart fluttered. There was her answer.

  “But what about the paper?” Jan inclined her head to the paper in the trash.

  Esme sighed and retrieve the crumbled paper. “I want you to look at something. Look in his eyes.” Esme pointed to the creased and crinkled Alex on paper. “He looks annoyed, not amused. In fact, look at his hand. He has a fork. He was eating, and she interrupted his dinner.”

  Jan had seen the food, but not the annoyance in his gaze. Even now, she focused more on the dish than on Alex. There was a bit of jealousy that rose. But she realized the envy wasn’t over the girl.

  It was over the dish. Jan was jealous that he was eating someone else’s food. And without her.

  “I think you should talk to him,” said Esme. “Tell him how you feel.”

  The mere thought of the possibility of rejection made Jan’s spine ache. The idea of making herself that vulnerable to another person scared her. Could she trust Alex with her heart?

  She’d trusted him with her livelihood, her future security, and her career. Those had long since mattered more than her heart.

  “Jan, whether you want to believe it or not, there’s a thing between you two. I saw it with my own eyes back during the pie competition.”

  He’d kissed her then too. It was just casual that time. It had been nothing like the way he’d kissed her the other day.

  The kiss after the pie making competition had been a firm press to the lips; a congratulations. The kiss the other day had been one where he’d savored her like she was the last bite of a
brownie. Alex did love chocolate.

  “I’ll talk to him,” she agreed.

  Esme squealed and danced in her seat. “We’re going to be real sisters. Royal sisters.”

  Jan sighed. Esme might be ready for her friend to walk down the aisle, but Jan wasn’t in a hurry. She would talk to Alex about the thin line between fiction and reality in their relationship. But she didn’t have to talk to him right now. She had time.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Alex spread the plans for the restaurant over a worktable in the kitchen. Already, contractors were measuring floors and ordering supplies. Interior designers were assembling color swatches and had furniture catalogues opened in the other room. The three backers had already wired the first installment of investments. As Alex updated them on the progress, they were set to send the full balance of what they’d promised.

  It was all coming together. He was going to have everything he had never dared to dream of, including a few things he’d never thought he’d wish for.

  Like Jan.

  The fake engagement was turning into something very real. Something he’d never thought he’d wanted. But he never thought he’d wanted fried grasshoppers until he’d tried the chapulines in Mexico.

  Now that he’d had a taste of Jan, he wanted another bite, another nibble, another sip of her every day. Possibly, even, for the rest of his life.

  No. Definitely for the rest of his life. He didn’t like the thought of a day without Jan. A day without her smile. An afternoon without a hard-won grin from her lips. A night without cooking next to her and then dining beside her.

  But Alex wasn’t prepared to tell her any of that today. He was still getting used to the new feelings himself. He knew Jan had a hang up when it came to marriage. He’d never abandon her, not at the altar, not in life. He’d take these few months of their fake engagement to show her that. He’d wine and dine and romance her until she knew there was nowhere else she wanted to be but inside his arms.

  With that thought, Alex felt giddy. He felt as though he were at a candy store that served all his favorite treats. The best part was that he and Jan could make all of those treats in real life.

  Before he could have any of his just desserts, he had to focus on the business at hand. They would be serving a preview meal for some of Cordoba’s most popular food critics. For the first time in his life, Alex cared about getting a good report in the newspapers. What the critics said the night of the dinner could make or break their future.

  But he wasn’t worried. Not in the slightest. He believed that much in his little pie maker and her abilities. He didn’t hear her enter the room, but he turned and there she was.

  Jan was dressed in simple jeans and a T-shirt. She looked breathtaking. Literally. Alex forgot how to breathe for a moment as she walked toward him.

  But as she got closer, he noticed that her face looked different. Gone was the no nonsense certainty. She was looking down at the floor, not up at him. She twisted and chewed at her bottom lip. Her hands rubbed against the sides of her jeans. She shoved them into her pockets. Then took them out and crossed her arms.

  She was fidgeting.

  “Hey,” he said.

  “Hey,” she parroted. She took a deep breath, as though to steady herself, and looked up at him. Her gaze even seemed cloudy with indecision.

  “How are you this morning?”

  “Good. Good,” she said. “How was your night?”

  Before he could answer, she cringed. She brought the heel of her palm to her forehead and cursed under her breath.

  “I’m sorry,” she groaned. “I didn’t mean that. I meant, how did you sleep?” She groaned again, turning away from him and pinching the bridge of her nose. “Not that I’m accusing you of sleeping with anyone.”

  “Jan? What are you talking about?”

  “I saw the papers.”

  “The papers?”

  “It’s none of my business. We’re just business partners.”

  Oh, those papers. They must have printed the photos with Alex at the club the other night with the dancer. He made his way over to Jan on quick feet. He didn’t care what anyone else might think of those photos, but he had to clear that up with her.

  Jan held out her hands before he could get to her. “I just have to ask one thing of you.”

  “Anything.”

  “Can you be more discreet with other women? I am your fake fiancée and—”

  “Nothing happened.”

  “You don’t have to explain.” She shut her eyes as though shutting out his voice, and the reality he was trying to detail for her.

  “Actually, I do.”

  Her arms were down at her sides, and he was able to sweep her into his embrace. She gasped when his arms came around her. Her eyes opened wide with surprise. Her lips parted, and he breathed in her sweet breath. He nearly forgot what he was trying to say as he fought not to take her lips.

  “I was with Zhi, remember him?”

  Jan nodded. A few of the clouds scattered from her gaze.

  “He wanted to put money in the dancer’s skirt. I was closest to her.”

  Alex’s right hand came to rest on Jan’s hip. Unlike the dancer last night, Jan was fully clothed. Not an inch of her midriff was showing. She was the most desirable woman Alex had ever encountered.

  “I saw the flash go off,” he continued. “It was a set up. The dancer was in on it. More fodder for their headlines of the playboy prince. I was only there for the food.”

  “I did see your hand on the fork. What was it?”

  “What was what?” Alex’s mind was on Jan’s hands which were resting on his chest. He wondered if she could feel how his heart raced at her touch.

  “What was the dish? It looked amazing.”

  “It was delicious. It was Marrakchia, a Moroccan dish. I had it when I traveled there a couple of years ago. The chef did a good job, but having it on the streets of Marrakesh is the only way to go. We’ll travel there soon.”

  “After our trips to France and Spain?” She grinned.

  “Anywhere you want to go.”

  Jan’s gaze went to the floor again, and she tugged at her lip. But this time, there were no clouds of doubt in her gaze. There was no worrying of her lips.

  “So, you believe me then?”

  Jan’s lips tugged into a sheepish grin. “I was honestly more jealous that you were eating without me than I was that you were entertaining another woman.”

  Alex threw back his head and laughed, but he didn’t loosen his hold on Jan. He gazed down at her, completely transfixed by the woman with a delectable palate that he wanted to taste again and again.

  “I wasn’t with another woman,” he said. “I wouldn’t do that to you. Your reputation means a lot to me. I’m going to protect it as best I can. But they’ll try more things. Photoshop is my biggest enemy.”

  “I’m sorry you have to put up with this. That people don’t see you the way I do.”

  They were standing so close together. They were breathing the same air. Their chests rose and fell in unison.

  “How do you see me?” he asked.

  She looked down at the floor again as though unwilling to show him the depths of her emotions. “I love how passionate you are about food. How excited you get to try something new. How you’ll pick a dish apart and then want to put it back together but make it better.”

  “You make me sound like you.” He reached up and brushed a stray hair behind her ear. He promised his lips that they’d make the same trek soon. “We are pretty much alike, aren’t we?”

  She’d lifted her gaze finally. There was admiration in her eyes. It was a far cry from adoration. There were facts in the flecks of her eyes, not conjecture. Jan knew him. He knew her.

  He knew she’d had strawberries for breakfast. He could smell them on her breath. He’d had a couple too. What he didn’t know is how they’d tasted on her tongue.

  “Jan?”

  “Hmmm?”

&nb
sp; “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.