Flavorful Seductions

by Patti Shenberger

  “Would you care for a cup of coffee?”

  Kate shook her head. “No, thanks. I’m fine.”

  Her steps faltered as the door closed behind her and she stood facing the man in question.

  Adam Belfour was seated behind a massive desk, his eyes intent on the computer screen, a phone pressed tightly to his ear. He motioned for Kate to take a seat, never breaking contact with the call or the computer.

  Instead of taking her seat, Kate stood, staring out the massive floor-to-ceiling windows of his office. From here she could see half the city. If the view was this pretty in the daylight, she could only begin to imagine how the skyline would light up at night. She let her gaze wander to the credenza, the massive desk and the framed photographs on the far wall.

  The office was bigger than three rooms of her apartment combined.

  After a second Kate realized Adam was staring at her. He’d finished his call and was now leaning back in his chair, quietly watching her.

  “Sorry, I got lost in the view,” Kate said.

  “As did I,” Adam said. “Please have a seat. I apologize for keeping you waiting.”

  Kate stifled a grin as she watched Adam Belfour stare at the heavily laden basket of goodies. He was probably afraid she’d spill something on him or throw the basket at him should things get ugly. Settling the basket carefully on the edge of his desk, Kate settled herself in one of the two plush chairs placed in front of his desk. Even his office chairs felt like sitting on a cloud, they were so soft. Kate stifled the urge to sigh at the comfort level now cushioning her backside.

  “Thank you for coming.”

  “It’s the least I could do after…after last night,” Kate finished.

  “About last night, we do need to discuss what…” Adam never got the chance to finish his sentence when the office door opened.

  “Adam, I wanted to drop off the file you’d asked me about.” A petite blonde breezed into the room waving a red file folder. But it was the rest of her that caught Kate’s attention.

  The woman was majorly pregnant. And gorgeous, and dressed to the nines, even in maternity clothes.

  Kate’s heart dropped like a stone to the bottom of her stomach. Crap, all the while she’d been fantasizing about the man and here he was married with a child on the way. She should have looked closer at the photographs on the wall.

  He kept his private life more heavily guarded than Fort Knox, Kate thought.

  “Oh my, is that cookies? I swear I smelled oatmeal raisin. Though nowadays, anything food gets my attention,” the woman finished with a giggle, though her gaze was locked on the basket.

  She was so cute hinting at what might be in the basket Kate forgot all about feeling sorry for herself. Sort of.

  Kate moved forward and slid the basket in the direction of the woman. “Yes, there are actually four different kinds. There’s chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter and sugar cookies.”

  The woman lifted up the red and black tissue paper and peered into the basket. “Oh. My. God. These are from Sinful Sweets. I’d know that tissue paper anywhere. I love their stuff. It’s the best I’ve ever eaten.”

  “Thank you. I always like to hear a customer rave about my cooking,” Kate said.

  “You’re her. You’re Kate Carlisle. I’m so happy to meet you. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve told about your shop.”

  Kate inclined her head. “Thank you again. I really appreciate that. Word of mouth is the best form of advertising I can ask for.”

  “Why do I get the feeling this is more about the cookie’s than the file?” Adam asked, leaning forward in his chair, and reaching for the red folder.

  The woman stepped neatly out of his range and leaned forward to grab another cookie. She swiveled to face Kate, neatly avoiding answering him.

  “How do you two know one another? Adam’s never said a word to me that you were acquainted.”

  “We ah…ran into one another last night at Le Bleu,” Adam said.

  Literally, Kate thought.

  “Really?” The woman’s focus was more on the cookies than his words. Then she looked over at Adam and broke into a huge grin. “I thought you had a business dinner last night. Oh, Adam, you hired Kate for my baby shower, didn’t you?”

  “What?” Kate and Adam both blurted out the word at the same time, their gazes locking on one another, then turning back to her.

  Her stomach plummeted to her toes as the last thing Kate wanted was to be catering his sister’s baby shower. And from the expression on Adam’s face, he was thinking the same thing. Yet that was still the furthest thing from her mind given the previous night’s dream.

  * * * *

  Adam stared at his sister. How the hell was he going to get out of this one? Then a thought struck. This might be the perfect way to settle the events of last night with Kate Carlisle. He didn’t need her money, but he was most certainly in need of a caterer and she fit the bill. Especially after the warm and glowing words of praise his sister had lavished on her. And if Tessa already knew the product, then it was the perfect solution.

  “Actually, that’s exactly what I did,” Adam said.

  “I don’t think that’s a good…” Kate interjected.

  The look on her face was one of surprise.

  “Kate Carlisle, meet my sister, Tessa Randolph. Tessa’s apparently one of your biggest fans, so how could I not hire you to do the baby shower?”

  Tessa gave a squeal of excitement and flung herself into Adam’s arms, her exuberance nearly knocking the chair back against the credenza. “You are the best big brother ever. I take back every mean thing I’ve said about you in the past twenty-four hours. And trust me, after yesterday there were plenty of things said.”

  Adam winced as he recalled the shouting match which had ensued after Tessa’s baker dropped the ball on the shower at the last minute. How she had accused him of being cold and unfeeling about a celebration for his unborn niece or nephew.

  Apparently baby showers were a bigger deal than Adam ever knew. Tessa had quickly corrected him.

  Tessa turned to Kate and gave her a quick hug. “You have no idea how thrilled I am to know you’re doing the dessert. This is absolutely amazing. I will be the envy of all my friends to have you doing the dessert. I have to go call Richard and tell him the good news.”

  Without a backward glance, Tessa fairly flew from the office, the file still clutched tightly in one hand and the basket of cookies in the other. She called out the words, “Eating for two, you know,” over her shoulder as she pulled the office door shut behind her.

  As Adam suspected, the file had nothing to do with it. Her nosiness was the main objective in finding out who was in his office and what they were doing there, especially if it were a female. The cookies were only an added bonus.

  His matchmaking, though well-meaning, little sister had taken it upon herself to make sure he would someday be as happily settled down with marriage and a baby on the way as she was. While he envied Tessa the happiness she’d found with Richard, at the same time he couldn’t imagine settling down with just one woman for the next fifty years or so. It took the spice and variety out of life.

  The last thing Adam wanted was to be tied down. He liked his life just as it was. To come and go as he pleased, do what he pleased, when he pleased. If that meant jetting off to Cozumel for the weekend, taking along only his latest female companion and a toothbrush, then so be it.

  Somehow, he and Tessa had yet to get on the same page in that regard. And she wasted no time in letting him know that every chance she got.

  Adam looked at Kate, who seemed overwhelmed by the goings on in his office. She sat quietly in the chair, staring down at her hands, her teeth worrying her bottom lip.

  “I’m sure it would have been better to discuss this with you ahead of time.”

  “That would have been nice,” Kate replied quietly, still not meeting his stare.

  “If it’s a problem, I can make other a
rrangements. I’m sure Tessa will understand.” Adam knew he was on slippery ground. Kate didn’t owe him anything more than a dry cleaning bill for his suit coat, if even that. She certainly didn’t have to take on the job of catering the baby shower by means of apology.

  But Adam hoped she would since it would earn him brownie points with his sister.

  Kate lifted her head and stared at him. “If you think I’m going to break your sister’s heart over a cupcake-covered coat, think again, Mr. Belfour. If her heart is set on desserts from Sinful Sweets, then that’s what she’ll get. I will need a little more information in order to prepare for the upcoming baby shower.”

  Adam watched as Kate dug in her purse and pulled out a notepad and pen from her purse.

  “Such as?” he asked, leaning back in the chair.

  “Date? Number of guests? Color of the decorations? Location? Theme? Any food allergies?”

  Kate stopped talking and looked up at him.

  Adam didn’t have a clue on some of the answers other than the location. Theme? Food Allergies? What had he gotten himself into?

  “The shower is being held at Ballywick Country Club. Saturday, November 17th. Time is one o’clock to five o’clock. I have no idea as to the rest, but I’ll get you the information by the end of today.”

  She rose from the chair. “Thank you. After that, we’ll call it even.”

  She stuck out her hand and waited for him to shake it. Adam pushed himself to his feet and grasped her small hand firmly in his, feeling the heat of her skin sear his, sending spirals of fire up his arm. A live wire couldn’t have felt any hotter, Adam thought.

  The way Kate’s eyes widened at the contact told Adam she felt something as well.

  He watched Kate drop the notebook and pen back into her purse, walk to the door and leave his office without a backward glance.

  Adam dropped down heavily in his chair and thought about their meeting. Somehow, nothing was what it should have been. He had planned to say don’t worry about the suit coat, but after his sister’s unannounced arrival and the chaos that followed, this was so far off his radar it wasn’t funny.

  Leave it to his sister to change things up a bit and in a big way. He had no way to gracefully back out of the deal without looking like a heel in his sister’s eyes. And that’s the last thing Adam wanted to do. Hurt his baby sister in any way. No, he’d go through with it.

  Adam looked over at his computer and frowned.

  Now, he needed to get the information for Kate in order to stay in his sister’s good graces. And that wasn’t any easy task to do.

  A small part of Adam was looking forward to seeing Kate Carlisle again. He shifted in his chair as the front of his trousers grew snug. Unfortunately another part of his anatomy was also looking forward to seeing Kate.

  She was sexy, whether she knew it or not. Despite those long legs that promised a man a first class ride to Heaven and back. Her long brown hair was captured at the back of her head in one of those clip things, but Adam already knew it would feel like silk between his fingers. And her lips were all soft and pouty when she realized she was trapped just as he was, thanks to Tessa. Lips he would have no trouble nibbling and tasting for hours and enjoying every minute of the treat.

  Normally she wasn’t the type of woman he went after. The women he was attracted to were blonde, tall, aloof, wanting nothing more from him then his cock and access to his credit card. Preferably the credit card if the past had shown Adam anything.

  But something about Kate screamed take me now and who was he to ignore the obvious?

  Adam groaned in frustration. The last thing he needed right now was a complication of the sexual variety.

  How long had it been since he’d been out with a woman? Spent quality time in their company? Spent the night making love and waking up for a repeat performance the next morning? Business was his mistress and he’d made it a policy never to mix business with pleasure. Until now.

  Too long it seemed since his body was now behaving badly. He needed to get laid and soon. Quite possibly with Ms. Kate Carlisle, if the circumstances were right.

  Chapter Three

  Kate toyed with the fringe on the throw pillow. Why did she feel so guilty for feeling happy when it turned out Adam Belfour wasn’t married? And the fact that the baby wasn’t his. And that the woman in his office turned out to be his sister, not his wife was icing on the cake. The list went on and on.

  From his broad shoulders made for wrapping her arms around in passion, to his firm lips that Kate knew could kiss away even her darkest days. But it was his eyes that held her attention. They sucked her in, made her forget what she was saying and worse yet, made her want to do things she’d never done with anyone before.

  She tossed the pillow to the far end of the sofa in frustration. The realization that she wanted to get to know him better, on a more personal level, sent heat cascading throughout her body.

  Kate shook her head. No, she didn’t. Besides, the man was now a client and Kate had always had a strict rule never to date anyone she was working for. Even though she was the boss, she wasn’t about to change her rules. It was just a flight of fancy, nothing more. She didn’t need a man in her life. Not now and possibly not ever. All she needed was to make Sinful Sweets a success. After that, well then she’d decide on what direction her life would take.

  Kate grabbed the newspaper, eager to get her mind off things better left unvisited. Scanning the front page, she turned the page to the horoscopes. While never a true believer, it always gave her a kick to see what was in store according to the astrologist. Kate wondered if they actually knew what they were talking about, or just pulling words out of thin air to make someone else’s life more exciting.

  Today is a day not to look a gift horse in the mouth. Be very careful entering into new agreements. Make sure to explore all avenues before signing on the dotted line or shaking hands to seal the deal. Maybe a kiss to seal the deal would sweeten the pot, birthday girl Gemini.

  The words bounced through her brain before settling in her psyche. A shiver skittered down her spine. Great Heavens it was as though the astrologer was talking directly to her. She thought back to her meeting with Adam Belfour. She had shaken hands and agreed to become the caterer for his sister’s baby shower. If truth be known, she would have agreed to anything in order to keep Sinful Sweets up and running. But thankfully, she’d hadn’t said those words out loud to Adam Belfour.

  Yet somehow Kate had the feeling before the day was out, the man would know everything he needed to know about Sinful Sweets and the woman who ran it.

  Tossing the paper down next to her, Kate closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. No, it was only words on paper, made up to keep the viewers coming back for more. It didn’t mean anything. She opened one eye and peeked over at the page.

  With a quick look at her watch, Kate grabbed the paper and headed for the recycling bin. Dropping it inside, she brushed her hands together, noting to her dismay that her palms were sweaty. This would never do. She needed to pull herself together before she faced the man in question. And in about three hours, she would be doing just that. Walking toward the stairs, Kate let out a deep sigh. Whether she was ready for this or not, it was show time. And the fact she lived just above her shop, made it very convenient never to be late for work. It was time to show Adam Belfour just how good she really was.

  The bell over the door chimed and Kate looked up to find Adam Belfour hovering in the open doorway. She put down the tray of cupcakes on the front counter and smiled at him.

  “Please come in, Mr. Belfour.”

  Adam stepped over the sill and into the shop. “Please call me Adam.”

  Kate nodded, saying nothing in return. She turned to her part time counter help. “Lisa, you can go ahead and head out. I’ll close up tonight.”

  The young woman looked at Kate in surprise. “Are you sure, Kate? I’d be glad to finish up in here.”

  Kate shook her head. “Nope.
Go home and enjoy your evening. We’ve got a lot of baking ahead of us the rest of this week.”

  “Thanks! See you tomorrow.” She pulled off her apron, grabbed her purse from under the counter and was out the door in the blink of an eye.

  Kate followed her to the door, threw the lock and turned off the neon Open sign before turning back to face Adam. Now that they were alone in the shop, without anyone else, the quiet seemed overwhelming. And the one large space suddenly seemed incredibly close and intimate with him standing only a few feet away. Stuffing her hands in her pockets, Kate walked back to the counter, hoping her bout of nerves would fade before it became obvious to him.

  * * * *

  “Do you tend to invite strangers into your shop after hours on a regular basis?” Adam asked, looking around at the neat and tidy front counter laden with tasty treats. His stomach growled loudly as his gaze confronted freshly baked cinnamon rolls, cupcakes and cookies. That’s what he got for skipping lunch.

  “Not normally. But this is different,” Kate said, pulling the shade down across the door.

  “Why?” The smells were amazing and drawing him in closer to the cinnamon rolls. The swirls of icing dripping across the top of the treat looked as though they were hot out of the oven.

  “Because I owe you. If you would have told your sister the truth about how we met, we both know you wouldn’t be here right now and I most certainly wouldn’t be getting ready to prepare a lavish spread for your sister’s baby shower.”

  “True.” He needed to focus on Kate and not the food.

  “Would you like something to eat before we get started?” Kate asked, walking back behind the counter.

  His stomach growled louder and Adam closed his eyes.

  Her laughter prompted him to quickly open them. She was standing in front of him, holding a plate with two rolls.