Eyeing the clock, she guessed Sabrina was already at home. Making a face as she debated calling her now or waiting, Laura hit the button for Sabrina’s cell and went for it. She couldn’t wait. The date was this evening and she needed help—or reassurance, she wasn’t sure which.
About to hang up, after the fourth ring Sabrina answered. “Hello?”
“Hi, Sabrina,” Laura began and suddenly realized how stupid this was. Was she really calling her boss for dating advice?
“Everything all right up there in Vermont?” Sabrina asked.
“Um, yeah.” Laura let out a breath and a slight laugh. “I thought this was a good idea when I picked up the phone, but now I’m not so sure.”
“What?” Sabrina demanded, and was that an edge of humor in her voice? No, Laura probably imagined that.
“Kamari asked me out,” Laura said in a rush. “He’s here at the hotel.”
“And?” Yes, that was a definite smile in the other woman’s voice. “That’s a good thing, Laura. Tyler is Sabrina-approved.”
Laughing, Laura felt some of her tension ease with those words. “I wasn’t sure,” she admitted. Then in a rush she said, “We work with his firm so much, I wanted to run it by you.”
“Okay,” Sabrina said, and the humor disappeared from her voice to sound very serious. “I know it’s not easy dating someone you work with, especially since you two work so closely together. And probably, if I was any other boss, I’d say hell no!”
Laura laughed with her, and another bit of her tension melted away.
“But I’m not,” Sabrina said, calmly and clearly. “And I can tell you from experience that dating someone you work with isn’t so scary. It worked out for me.”
Laura nodded, though Sabrina couldn’t see her. It worked out for her because Sabrina was awesome and Gideon was clearly head over heels for her, and had been for a long time—hell, the company even had a betting pool on their romance.
“What if you’re the exception, Sabrina?” she asked and wandered back to her closet, only to stare blindly at its offerings. “What if by going out with Kamari I’m opening a can of worms we don’t really need opened?”
“You can play the what-if game and find all sorts of scenarios,” Sabrina told her softly. “But the bottom line is, if you don’t take a risk, you’ll be a slave to the what-ifs. And then you won’t do anything.”
Sabrina’s words echoed in her head, and then Laura agreed. “I guess you’re right.” Smiling, she added, “I do kind of like him.”
Her friend laughed. “Oh yeah, he’s hot.” Sabrina paused. “But don’t tell Gideon I said that.”
But the smile faded from her face and Laura turned from her clothes to the large windows overlooking the hotel layout. She didn’t see the snow or the mountains or the Christmas decorations. She didn’t hang up the phone with Sabrina, either.
“What else is bothering you?”
“Kamari really is hot,” Laura said slowly. “And he could have any woman he wants. He’s asked me out a couple times, but this is the first time I’ve said yes.” She took a deep breath. “And I’m not a size two. Maybe I’m just a novelty for him.”
Never, ever had she been so open and honest with anyone but herself over her insecurities. She’d never voiced them to anyone, no matter how close she was with them. Sabrina understood, being a curvy woman herself. Maybe that was it?
Or maybe it was speaking over the phone rather than face-to-face. Or maybe she simply needed to hear the words. And hope for an answer.
“Hold it right there,” Sabrina commanded. “Audrey, Eliza, me, we’ve all had the same problem. All of us woman with generous curves think these thoughts. And they’re unfounded. Tyler has worked with you long enough that he sees you. And clearly he wants you. And also clearly, he likes what he sees.”
Laura pressed her forehead to the window and nodded. Intellectually she knew that. Deep down? Not so much.
“Don’t let those stupid magazine covers bother you. Enjoy him!” Sabrina’s voice lightened again and Laura heard the smile in her voice. “And enjoy yourself.”
“Pretty good advice,” Laura admitted. Her voice was thick and she swallowed hard. “My mother’s advice is usually, ‘Head to the gym right now’!” Her breath fogged the window and she stepped back. “Just enjoy it?”
Laura straightened and nodded again. She really needed to stop nodding to people who couldn’t see her. “Thanks, Sabrina.”
“If you need me,” Sabrina said and Laura thought she heard Gideon in the background, “call me.”
“Thanks,” Laura repeated and ended the call.
She tossed the phone onto the desk and returned to her closet. She might not have Audrey’s exquisite fashion sense, but she knew how to make herself look good. Taking a quick shower to freshen up, Laura wrapped her robe around her and tugged out the black cocktail dress.
Wear black, dear; it’s slimming. Laura scowled and ignored the insidious voice. She liked this dress. So there, stupid voice.
Normally when she wore this dress, she wore a little jacket with it to hide her back. Emboldened by Sabrina’s talk, Laura deliberately ignored the jacket, and wasn’t she feeling daring tonight. Sheer stockings and her highest, and sexiest, black heels.
Now then, jewelry. Her silver hoop earrings, a necklace, yes? Laura looked at her selection but decided against one. The front was very conservative and needed no real adornment. But the back? She turned around and looked at herself from behind.
The dress certainly hugged her curves, didn’t it? And the back—maybe she should wear the jacket. The back plunged daringly low. Very daringly. Good thing she didn’t need a bra with the built-in soft cup.
Swallowing heavily, she picked up her purse, made sure she had her key, cell, lipstick, and…her mind blanked. What else did one need for a date? Or a not date, a dinner meeting. When was the last time she’d been on a date? A dinner meeting with a handsome man which was not a date.
They were just going to dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. Not like she couldn’t run upstairs if she needed anything.
With one final breath, she made sure her makeup, a little heavier than she wore it during the day, hadn’t smudged, nodded to herself, and purposely exited the room. Before she changed her mind and feigned the stomach flu.
Kamari stood in the hallway. She faltered in her ridiculously high heels. She wasn’t ready to see him yet! She had the entire elevator ride to the lobby to stress over still. And all that time to change her mind!
But now he pushed off from the wall, all long, muscled limbs and a grace she could never hope to have.
“You take my breath away,” he said and raised her hand—when had he taken her hand?—to his lips.
Unable to breathe, her own breath stolen, Laura managed to smile. Her brain forgot how to form words, and she wondered where all her professional poise had disappeared to. Man, suddenly she had a date with the gorgeous man she’d worked with for months and she was reduced to this?
That snapped her out of it.
Laura smiled up at him and curled her fingers over his own. “And you definitely turn my head.”
His smile changed with that softer, more focused one she’d glimpsed earlier. Laura’s heart flipped then raced as he leaned down and kissed her cheek. His lips lingered for longer than polite first dates dictated, and Laura felt the skin beneath his touch warm.
She cleared her throat, tried not to wince at the nervous tell, and tugged her hand free. Kamari refused to let go, and Laura gave in with no more resistance.
“I have a car waiting downstairs,” he said.
“We’re not eating downstairs?” She blinked up at him.
“No, we’re eating at Clyde’s.”
Her eyes widening, Laura let out a quick laugh. “I don’t think even I can get a reservation on such short notice there. Doesn’t it have that chef who won one of those TV contests?”
She’d need a coat then, which she hadn’t bothered wit
h when they were simply heading downstairs. But they hadn’t moved from the hallway and for reasons Laura refused to dwell on, she didn’t want to break contact with Kamari.
Kamari winked and Laura’s knees weakened. “I have connections.”
“Let me get my coat.”
Five minutes later they walked across the lobby, and was it her imagination or were most of the staff staring at them? All right, they looked good together, Laura conceded, but even the doorman smiled with a very wide grin.
The car ride to Clyde’s was spent discussing cooking shows and the popularity of TV chefs, though Laura had, purposefully, never once watched a cooking show and knew little to nothing about what sorts of cook-offs those shows had. Still, she knew all the restaurants in the area, as it was part of her job, and she appreciated a delicious meal.
“We’re at the chef’s table,” Kamari said, his hand settling on the small of her back as they walked inside.
Part of her hadn’t really believed him when he said he had reservations. Had he made them months in advance? Probably not—that’d take an awful lot of planning to get her to agree on this specific day. Maybe he really did have connections. And oh, wasn’t she jealous of those connections!
Their table was by the open kitchen, and the energy of it vibrated along her skin. Familiar as she was with kitchens and how restaurants worked, Laura never tired of watching the intricate, and intimate, dance required for culinary perfection. There was a grace that mesmerized, and she allowed herself to be caught up in it.
Then Kamari took her hand, a gesture he seemed willing to repeat and one she found herself unwilling to stop, and Laura returned her attention to him.
He held out her chair and took the one next to hers. The energy from the kitchen faded and a different kind danced along her skin and pulsed deep inside her. Kamari held her gaze and gave her that slow smile, and Laura wondered how she’d never seen that smile on him before.
And how she’d never noticed what it did to her insides. For the first time in a very long time, Laura prepared to have a fantastic time on a date.
Chapter Four
Laura focused on the energy of the kitchen and not the pounding of her heart. She chatted about something—the chef, the cooking show, the food. She distinctly remembered hearing those words in her own voice.
Oh, yes, the Christmas decorations. She heard him laugh when she pointed out the discrete holly pins on the kitchen staff’s hats and the Santa hats all the servers wore. Laura couldn’t hear music over the boisterous crowd, but she thought she heard the faint strains of Christmas music and pointed that out, too.
Mostly, she didn’t want Kamari to know how nervous she was. How her leg twitched up and down beneath the table and her fingers curled around each other on her lap. She smiled across the table at him and hoped, really, really hoped, he couldn’t hear the slightly breathless quality to her voice.
She could no longer fool herself. This was not a dinner meeting and certainly not anything business related.
If it looked like a date (Laura never obsessed over her outfit during business) and felt like a date (Kamari’s warm hand on her back certainly didn’t feel strictly professional), then it was a date and she could no longer deny it. Laura didn’t know whether to do the dramatic thing and run from the restaurant or throw caution to the wind and go for it.
She settled for sipping her water.
A date. Well, he said he’d ask her out one last time and that’d be it. And clearly she’d accepted. So what was her problem now? Laura couldn’t ignore or dismiss the way Kamari looked at her. As if she was the only woman in the entire restaurant. He said something she completely missed.
Blinking out of her thoughts, she leaned across the table. “What was that?”
“Just saying sorry.” He grinned and leaned closer, too. And, oh boy, were his eyes even more gorgeous up close. “I didn’t realize how noisy it’d be.”
“Don’t worry about it.” She laughed a little and hated it still felt as breathy as it probably sounded. She really needed to get a grip. “I’m used to it.”
Kamari shot her a questioning look and Laura bit her lip. Damn. That didn’t make any sense did it? And now she’d have to confess.
Well, it wasn’t as if this were any big dark secret.
“My parents own a restaurant in Manhattan,” she explained. “I’ve been around noisy kitchens since I was a kid.” She sipped her wine. When had that been poured? But it was delicious and she took another sip.
Probably not the best to drink too much to soothe her nerves. Bad first-date impression. Setting the glass down, she nodded to the line people working the kitchen.
“See that man in the back corner?” she said and waited until Kamari found the man she meant. “That’s the sous chef and in some kitchens, he’s more important than the executive chef. If the sous chef doesn’t like you, your career is kaput.”
Kamari—should she call him Tyler by now? She was woefully out of touch with this whole dating thing, she thought as he scooted his chair closer to her. Laura tried not to show how that move affected her. She cleared her throat and took another sip of wine.
But his laugh was low and amused. “It’s a lot like office politics,” he said, leaning closer. “If the wrong person doesn’t like you, your career is stalled.”
Nodding, Laura set her wine glass down and laughed with him. Laughing was easy with him and if it didn’t make her completely relax, it did ease a little of the nervous butterflies swirling in her stomach.
“That’s very true, but when the right person likes you—”
Kamari interrupted her. “When the right person likes you,” he repeated, “so many things are possible.”
Laura nodded before she realized she’d meant to. “I guess they are.”
“Can we drop all business pretenses between us?” he asked. “Laura, I’m not here to have a meeting with you about the skating rink or our next project. We can talk about those during normal business hours.”
He reached out as if to touch her hand, but stopped. Laura wanted him to take her hand, and it surprised her how badly she wanted it. She curled her fingers into the table then smoothed them out before he noticed.
“I came here,” he continued, “hoping to spend time with you. Hoping there could be more between us than architectural plans. I’ve been attracted to you since our first meeting.”
Surprised, she picked up her wine glass but didn’t sip from it. Instead, she played with the stem to give her hands something to do. “I thought the reason for your visit was like mine—staying up here to get away from the family for the holidays.”
Laura looked at him, saw the unmistakable interest in his blue gaze, and gave a slight laugh. Her stomach swooped, but she couldn’t tear her gaze from his.
“I guess not,” she said softly, so quietly she didn’t think he heard her over the din of the restaurant. The look in his eyes told her otherwise.
“Okay,” she said after a beat, when she was finally able to look somewhere other than at Kamari. But her gaze immediately sought his again. “I can have fun over the Christmas holidays.”
Since when did her mouth say things before her brain had the chance to process it? She was normally the think first, ask questions, plan out the consequences woman. This leaping before she looked was not her.
However, his answering smile made her heart flip and did very hot things to her insides. She’d almost forgotten what attraction felt like, but that smile. Totally illegal.
Kamari leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Shocked, she closed her eyes and breathed in sharply. He smelled of the crisp outdoors and the warm restaurant and a light, musky cologne she couldn’t name.
Just as quickly it was over; he pulled back. That was it. A quick press of his lips to hers. Nothing more.
Laura blinked across the table at him. With the small part of her brain still capable of higher function, she decided she couldn’t call him Kamari any longer. Couldn’
t go around calling him by his last name after kissing him.
Pushing that inane thought away, she drew in a deep breath. Then he grinned at her and lifted his own wine glass for a drink, and what higher thought functions she’d managed to retain, vanished. Seriously. What was wrong with her tonight?
Laura shifted in the chair and picked up her own glass. She absolutely did not watch how his throat worked as he swallowed. Or how his long fingers wrapped around the stem of the glass. Nope. She absolutely did not and was quite unable to tear her gaze away.
Thankfully, Sally, their smiling server in a Santa hat with her name stitched across it, returned.
Laura embraced the interruption with both hands and smiled brightly up at Sally. She could do this…this…date thing. How hard could it be? It was a date. She remembered what that was like—barely. And this was just talking. Plus, they had a lot to talk about, what with the chef’s table and the Christmas decorations and…music and such.
If she happened to slip in a couple work-related things here and there, well, her hotel was Christmas related, too.
Somehow the hours slipped by. Laura hadn’t once looked at her watch, but suddenly they were drinking after-dinner coffee and debating dessert and deciding against it. Sally left their check with another grin, and Laura wondered where the time had gone.
Outside of her projects, she’d never lost track of time. Time had gone so fast during dinner, she’d had so much fun and never once had she tried to use work as an excuse to get away. She didn’t need an out, not with Tyler.
Outside in the cold December air, she tugged her gloves back on. Kamari stood next to her, one hand on the small of her back and, oh, Laura wished she could feel his hand on her skin and not through several layers of clothing.
Wow, how much wine had she had? And where had that thought come from?
Boy had she jumped from the frying pan, being standoffish and not wanting even tonight’s date, into the fire and wanting him to touch her. She needed to stop, pull back, and take a deep breath.
Christmas Curvy: A Curvy Girl's Holiday Fling Page 3
