“I wish you were here.”
“Me too, doll.” Shelia sighed longingly. “We could paint the town red. I’ve always dreamed of going to Vegas and meeting a rich man and having his babies.”
“You do know that the movie didn’t even come close to ending that way,” Piper said, referring to Shelia’s longtime dream of rolling out of bed one day and stepping to Demi Moore’s role in Indecent Proposal, only with a few “minor” changes.
“It did in my head.” Shelia sniffed primly. “So anyway. Where are your men staying tonight? Tell me they were out of spare rooms and that sexy Latino was forced to shack up with you.”
“No,” Piper laughed. “Unfortunately I will be very much alone this weekend.”
“Jesus, Piper, at least have a heart and lie to a girl.”
“I’m sorry,” Piper apologized, quickly fashioning a proper story to satisfy her friend’s tendency for flair. “What I meant to say was when I checked in we were informed that there had been a mix-up. Apparently, Tom’s room was given away by accident.” Shelia gasped, and Piper grinned.
“He asked around, hoping to double up with one of his staff, but no one was willing. So, I stepped in. I have a king-size bed, so why not share? He was hesitant at first, but after I pointed out that there really was no other option, he relented.”
She dropped her voice into a conspiratorial whisper. “I should stop now. He might overhear, but I just can’t keep it to myself any longer.” Piper could barely contain her laughter. “The moment we stepped into the room, he tore my clothes off and, Shelia, I just couldn’t help myself. I let him have his wicked way with me.”
Piper was met with complete silence. “Shelia? Are you still there?”
“Mm hmm,” she hummed. “Yep, that should do it.”
“I don’t even want to know,” Piper chuckled. “You’re welcome, but fair warning, one of these days you’re going to have to find a new porn supplier.”
“Ugh, don’t I know it,” Shelia returned. “Your material is getting seriously stale.”
Piper grinned. “What do you expect from a girl who has so little life experience?” She sighed, shrugging off that depressing reality. “But anyway, I really should let you go. I have way too much to do and if I lay here any longer, I’m going to fall asleep.”
“What? You get a girl all worked up and then leave, just like that?”
“You know I would hold you if I could,” Piper teased.
“Sure, you say that now, when you’re halfway across the country. So, when does this thing go down?” she asked, switching topics.
“Bright and early tomorrow morning, and if everything goes off as well as I’m hoping, Tate should walk away with a few more fans in his pocket.”
“Well, who could resist that glowing personality?” Shelia made it no secret that she detested the man. Yes, she still thought he was a fine male specimen, but she held little respect for him after everything Piper had confided in her since she started working for him.
She felt kind of bad, because although she knew that Tate was a difficult man to deal with, she couldn’t deny that she felt something more for him, something that went beyond a simple working relationship or basic human attraction. She didn’t want anyone thinking he was a bad person just because she had a hard time handling him.
“He’s a good writer, and people love him,” she said, her words coming out more defensive than she intended. “Despite his shortcomings, he’s really not a bad guy.”
“I’m sure you’re right, but anyone can seem nice when you don’t really know them.”
Shelia’s words made sense, but she spent every single day with Tate. There was no way he could hide his true nature from her that long, and it wasn’t like he was trying to anyway. No matter what Shelia said, Piper knew she was the exception, the one person Tate didn’t hide from. Piper felt her shoulders relax a little as she let some of the tension fall away.
“I hear you,” she said, dragging herself to her feet and heading back to the dresser to select fresh clothing. Shelia meant well, and Piper could admit that her concerns weren’t totally unfounded. At the moment, however, she didn’t have the energy to debate the issue. “Look, I gotta get ready. Call you later?”
“You’d better,” Shelia warned. “I want all the juicy details. And they better be juicy.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Piper said, saluting her friend even though she couldn’t see the action. “Talk to you later.” Piper ended the call, still smiling as she headed for the bathroom to freshen up.
*****
“Something smells wonderful.” Piper entered the bustling kitchen, locating Tom almost immediately. He stood off to the side before a long stretch of counter. Dressed casually in a pair of dark jeans and a green Henley with the sleeves pushed up and an apron over top, he presented a delicious picture for her to feast her eyes on.
Hearing her voice, he turned his head to look at her and graced her with one of his dazzling smiles. “Hey you.” His eyes traveled over her briefly, but she couldn’t miss the spark of desire that darkened them.
Coming up beside him, Piper leaned her hip against the counter. “Hey yourself. What are you making?” She pointed to the large mixing bowl, watching as he beat the hell out of a dark creamy concoction with rapid flicks of his wrist. She couldn’t help noticing how the action made the muscles in his arms and chest flex. It was a bit distracting.
“Are you listening?”
Piper blinked and brought her eyes up to meet his. “I’m sorry, what?”
Tom looked at her strangely, and then shook his head, his full lips curving into a crooked smile. His attention returned to the bowl in front of him. “I said it’s the batter for the brownies.”
Piper’s eyes lit up. “The dark chocolate ones with the ginger ice cream and caramel sauce?”
Tom smiled widely. “That’s the one. Want a taste?” He reached up and pulled down a spoon from one of the baskets resting on a shelf overhead.
“Does a bear shit in the woods?”
Tom burst out laughing, shaking his head as he dipped the spoon into the batter and brought it to her lips. “You certainly have a way with words, Ms. Donovan. Open up.”
Piper had died and gone to heaven. “Oh, God,” she moaned. “It’s like an orgasm in my mouth.” When she peeled her eyes open, she found Tom staring back at her fervently.
“More?” he asked gruffly.
Piper’s eyes flicked to his mouth. She definitely wanted more. Reaching out, she took the spoon from his hand and, with a devious smile, dipped it back into the bowl. “Yes.” She let the single word roll off her tongue, uncaring that it came out like a throaty promise. If Shelia could see her now, she’d be so proud. She was such a tease.
Tom stared at her a moment longer and she watched as he visibly shook himself. “Right.” He turned away and frowned at the bowl. “Hmm, looks like I have to make another batch. Seems someone double dipped.”
Piper hefted herself onto the counter and drew the bowl into her arms, cradling it to her chest like she would a small child. The second spoonful of chocolaty goodness washed over her tongue and she groaned shamelessly. “Who would do such a thing?” she wondered innocently, shoveling another bite into her mouth.
Tom lifted one dark eyebrow as he pulled a fresh bowl out of one of the bottom cabinets and set to work measuring ingredients. “It’s a mystery to me. It’s almost as if someone wanted to ruin the batter, so they could have it all to themselves.”
Piper huffed. “The nerve of some people.”
Tom chuckled to himself. “So do you like your room?” he asked.
Piper shrugged. “It’s a room.”
“Is that a yes?” He glanced up at her in question.
“Affirmative,” she said around a mouthful of batter. It really was ridiculous how good it tasted. “I don’t even think you need to bake these up,” she said, indicating the batter with her spoon. “You could just dump it in a bowl and people would still pay
you a fortune.”
“Good to know. Next time I’ll just skip the baking all together. Save time and money.” He winked at her, and Piper’s stomach fluttered. “What floor did you end up on?”
Piper lowered her spoon and shot a suspicious look at him. “Why, are you planning to sneak up to my room in the middle of the night and molest me while I sleep?”
His lips pursed and he tipped his head from side to side, pretending to think on it. “Actually, I was thinking that if you ate anymore of that batter you might end up on the floor passed out in a sugar coma and I would need to carry you back to your room to sleep it off, but now that you mentioned it…” He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Piper smacked his arm playfully. “Really, though, I was just curious.”
“Uh huh.” She lifted her chin and eyed him with playful speculation. “We’re actually staying on the same floor. Eight,” she told him finally. Having made the arrangements herself, she knew that Tom was actually staying just across the hall, making them neighbors.
“Are we really?” he said, sounding surprised.
“Why did you say it like that?” she asked curiously.
Tom shrugged, his demeanor changing subtly. Had she not been watching him, she might have missed it. His playful exuberance had vanished and he seemed almost pensive. “I guess I just didn’t expect that the help would be provided the same accommodations.”
Piper’s brows pinched together as his words sunk in. She watched as Tom transferred the batter into tiny square molds and slid them into the oven. “So you thought that because I hired you, you would be treated…less?” she surmised.
Tom sighed, folding his arms across his chest as he turned to face her. “Honestly? Yes.”
“Why,” she breathed, feeling like she had done something wrong even though, logically, she knew she hadn’t. She dropped her spoon back into the bowl, her appetite gone.
“Because people don’t usually treat the help like guests,” he said stiffly. Stepping over to the refrigerator, Tom yanked out several cartons of strawberries and tossed them on the counter. Piper watched, dumbfounded, as he began chopping them up. His movements were sharp, forceful, heightening Piper’s discomfort.
“But you are guests,” she implored. “I asked you to come here.”
“You hired me to come here. Big difference.”
“Okay, I hired you to come here. But I don’t see why that should make any difference.” Maybe she was being stupid, but she just didn’t get what the big deal was.
Tom placed the knife down and looked at her. “It makes a difference because…shit. Just never mind. Forget I said anything, alright?” The smile he turned on her was soft and pleading.
“Okay,” Piper relented, feeling awkward. She wanted to understand what had just happened here, to know what was bothering him, but it was obvious that Tom didn’t want to talk about it. She decided to let it go. She was much more comfortable with the guy who smiled and teased anyway.
Piper kept him company while Tom set to work making trays of chocolate covered strawberries. All around them, the kitchen was alive with activity. Tom had brought at least a dozen team members with him and she could tell they were hard workers by the way they flitted around the room, working feverishly to get things ready for the following day. Today they had the kitchen to themselves, but soon they would be sharing the space with the hotel’s kitchen staff, so they had to make good use of the space while they could.
Piper wished that she could have secured exclusive access to the kitchen for Tom, but the hotel didn’t normally allow outside workers to set up there. After a lot of pleading and name dropping, Lynn had managed to get them to agree on splitting the work stations for that one evening and a few hours at the beginning and end of the day, but just barely. The woman really was a life saver.
Piper had no idea when she first visited Tom at his place of business that he had so many employees. She had only met a couple of them, but she assumed that he had to be a fairly successful businessman to have been able to bring so many on the trip and still keep things operating smoothly back in Chicago.
The kid who had served them when she met with Tom for lunch appeared. “Hey, Tom,” he greeted shyly. “Could you give me a hand real quick? I’m having trouble getting the meringue to firm up.”
Tom wiped his hands on a towel. “Sure thing.” To her he said, “I’ll be right back.”
As if noticing her presence for the first time, the boy tipped his head in a quick hello. Piper wiggled her fingers in acknowledgement.
She sat alone for several minutes, swinging her legs and looking around the kitchen to pass the time, before Tom finally returned. “Sorry about that.”
“Not a problem,” she said, waving away his apology. “Did you fix your meringue problem?”
“Indeed I did. Meringue can be tricky for the newbies. Jack is my apprentice,” he explained. “I’m trying to show him the ropes, hone his skills and all that. He’ll make a good chef one day.”
“Oh.” Piper nodded, feigning interest. To be honest, she was still a little bothered by his earlier mood. She knew she was dwelling on it and told herself for the hundredth time to let it go, but that was easier said than done. She never liked knowing someone was upset with her, but she found the idea of Tom being upset with her even more troubling. “So, how long have you known you wanted to be a chef?” she asked, hoping to dispel some of the tension and get her thoughts moving in a different direction.
Tom snorted, seemingly amused by her question. “Since I could walk upright or so my mother would have you think.”
“So you’ve always known?” For some reason, his answer surprised her. She hadn’t known what she wanted to be until she was nineteen, and even still she questioned it. Although at the ripe age of twenty-nine, she hardly expected to become an archeologist at this point. Somewhere along the way, she had settled into a groove of dead-end jobs and bad credit, preventing her from seeing past the next day let alone years down the line. And that was fine. It seemed that she had managed to find a job that at least paid decent wages, even if she had to live with working for a member of the Hitler regime. Hopefully, it would stick. She really didn’t have a desire to start all over again.
“Yes, I’ve always known,” Tom said, calling back her attention. “Once my mom and grandmother found out what I wanted to do, they taught me how to cook. By twelve you couldn’t keep me out of the kitchen. I experimented with all kind of foods, and I may have poisoned my dad once, but I discovered some pretty great recipes along the way.”
“I bet you were popular with all the girls,” Piper teased. She could just imagine Tom carrying a tray of brownies, or his delicious little strawberries, into class and how many girls would have flocked to get a taste of what he was offering. She was jealous just thinking about it.
“Um, no.” Tom laughed to himself. “I ate as much as I cooked, so saying I was a bit of a porker back then would be an understatement. I think it’s safe to say that no girls were looking at me.”
“You’re kidding!” Piper gave him a once over. “But look at you. You’re gorgeous! No girl in their right mind would pass you over.”
Tom smiled, pleased with her overzealous assessment. “Are you saying you’re not in your right mind?”
Piper’s eyes rolled to the ceiling. “If you’re only just coming to that realization, then clearly you aren’t either.”
Tom stood there, shaking his head as he dipped and drizzled the strawberries with different colors of chocolate until they looked like something that should be on the cover of a magazine. “I like you, Piper,” he confessed. “I have fun when I’m with you.”
Piper beamed. “I’m glad.”
“Strawberry?” Tom presented the plump fruit, not really giving her a choice in the matter. Not that she would have turned him down.
“Please, but if I get fat, I’m blaming you.”
Tom winked at her. “Even fat, I bet you’d still be a knockout.”
Piper’s belly fluttered. She leaned in, holding his gaze as she sunk her teeth in. Tom’s eyes glazed over. Piper chewed slowly, her blood rushing in her ears as Tom drew closer. She swallowed when he placed the berry down on the counter. Time seemed to stand still as he lifted his hand to tuck a strand of hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear.
“Good?” he asked, letting his fingers slide down her cheek and cup her jaw.
Piper nodded, unable to speak with him so close, the heat of his skin seeping into her. Her body trembled in anticipation as he brought his face closer to hers, giving her time to pull away, to stop him. At that moment, that was the last thing she wanted to do.
“I swear, this place is like a maze,” Tate’s voice boomed, coming out of nowhere and reverberating off the expanse of stainless steel appliances.
Piper jerked back, her head swiveling around to locate him. Her heart raced double time and an inexplicable sense of guilt washed over her at the thought that he might have seen her in such a compromising position. It would not look good for her to be fraternizing with the help she told herself, ignoring the little voice inside that told her she was wasn’t being completely truthful. That she just didn’t want Tate to see her with anyone else.
Tom’s steady gaze lingered on her a moment longer. Piper cleared her throat and fumbled with her hands. Seeing her discomfort as Tate approached, Tom backed off, returning to finish the strawberries. She hated the crestfallen look that crossed his face, but it couldn’t be helped. She vowed to make it up to him later.
“There you are,” Tate said as he came to stand by her side. “Mr. Revano,” he said curtly, barely sparing a glance at Tom, who grudgingly nodded in his general direction. The tension between the two was so thick; it could be cut with a knife. “How’s the food coming along?”
“It’s coming along great,” Tom returned, the politeness in his voice belying the hard look in his eyes. “Everything should be ready to go for tomorrow.”
“Good to hear. Piper,” Tate said shortly, turning his attention back on her. “If you’re done here, there’s work that needs to be done.”
That First Kiss Page 15
