Tell Me You Want Me
Page 20
"What if no one shows up? Did I do all this for nothing?"
"No need to worry about that." Austin strode into the kitchen, carrying his little cookie thief. "Your first patrons just arrived."
"Really?" Jane peeked out the kitchen door and watched her hostess seat their guests. More people were waiting behind them.
"Congratulations, Janie." Austin pulled her close and kissed her. "You're a chef in your own restaurant. I knew you could do it."
"Yay, Mommy!"
"To Chef Jane!" Sara raised her glass.
"What are you doing with that?" Jack snatched the still-full glass from his wife's hand. "You can't have wine."
Sara gasped. "Oh, sorry, I forgot."
Jane pulled away from Austin. "Why can't you...?" But when she saw Sara's eyes light up, she didn't need to finish her question. "You're pregnant!"
Sara nodded and hugged her friend.
"It's about time you knocked her up." Austin punched Jack's arm.
"Hey, it's not for lack of trying."
"Yeah, you just wanted to keep trying."
"Can you blame me?"
The kitchen door swung open, smacking a waitress with a full tray. The tray tipped and glasses wobbled, but she held onto it.
"I'm so sorry." Charles Sinclair, the door swinger, grabbed the heavy tray and steadied it. "Are you all right? Can I help?"
"I've got it, sir. Thank you." The waitress smiled at him.
Charles nodded and held the door for her. He looked around the kitchen and found what he wanted. "Where's my favorite girl?"
"Grandpa!" Charlotte squirmed out of her father's arms. "Grandpa's here!"
"Wow, did you just get ditched." Jack laughed as Charles hoisted the little girl into his arms.
"Oh yeah. She breaks my heart every time he comes over." Austin held his hand over his heart and pouted, but he couldn't hide the happy smile in his eyes. "I can't compete with Grandpa."
"That's because you don't bring her presents." Charles pulled a small doll from his pocket.
The little girl squealed and gave him a big sloppy kiss.
Charles studied the busy kitchen with a critical eye. "The place looks good, Jane. It took you long enough to pull this together. I can't believe you managed to do it."
She smiled, choosing to take that as a compliment. "Thank you, Charles."
"Jane...." The hostess stood in the kitchen doorway. "There's a woman here who says she wants to meet the chef."
"Wow. Already?" When she looked into the dining room, her smile froze.
Austin looked over her shoulder. "Do you want me to handle this? She likes me."
Jane rolled her eyes. "I still don't know how you managed that."
"It's a gift. She hasn't figured out how bad I really am."
"Come with me." She took his hand and led him out to the dining room. "Hi, Mom. I can't believe you came all the way out here to see this."
Gwen Elliot smiled at her daughter. "I wouldn't miss your opening night. I'm so proud of you, Jane."
Jane blinked back tears as her mother gave her an awkward hug.
"Hi, Mom." Austin wrapped his arms around Gwen. She stiffened for a moment, still not used to his enthusiastic affection. Then she relaxed and hugged him back.
"Hello, Austin, where's your sweet little angel?"
"She's got you fooled, doesn't she? She's in the kitchen charming grandpa."
"Of course."
"Come take a look, Mom." Jane led her mother and Charles on a guided tour.
Suddenly, the dining room got busy and Jane had to turn the entertaining duties over to her daughter while she took over the kitchen. Jack, Sara, and Austin offered to help, but Jane and her staff had everything under control.
Austin broke away from the family gathering and found her stirring the soup. "My mom called. She said to tell you congratulations and she's sorry she couldn't make it tonight. She'll be here soon."
She nodded. "To tell you the truth, I'm kind of glad she isn't here."
"Because my dad is?"
"Uh-huh. I didn't want to deal with that drama again."
"Yeah. Our wedding was interesting enough to last me a few years."
Jane tasted the soup. It was very good but something was missing. "I wish my dad was here to see this."
"He would be so proud of you." Austin wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "I am."
"Thank you, Sweetheart."
Austin stood behind her while she added a little oregano to the soup. He wrapped his hands on her hips, nibbling her neck. "Mmm... you're the tastiest item on the menu."
She leaned back against him and sighed. "Keep tasting."
"Hey." He pressed his lips to her ear. "There's a guy right here who wants to see the chef... naked."
She laughed. "Well, Doctor, tell him if he can wait, he'll get a personal guided tour."
"That's what I like to hear." He glanced around the kitchen. "Have we christened the pantry yet?"
"That's next."
When the rush was over, the kitchen cleaned, and the staff sent home, Jane and Austin sat down with their friends and family for a meal she'd prepared especially for them.
"I would like to propose a toast." Jane raised her glass of wine.
Her guests followed suit, Gwen, Sara, and Jack raising their glasses of water. Charlotte looked around and raised her water glass too.
"To all of you here tonight—Sara, Jack, Charles, Mom, and especially Austin. It took a long time to get here—a lot of hard work, a lot of sleepless nights—but most of all, a lot of love and encouragement from you. I couldn't have done this on my own. I thank you all."
"Me too?" Charlotte giggled.
"You too, Sweetheart." Jane smiled. "Cheers."
"Cheers!"
About the Author
I got hooked on trashy romance novels in junior high, but my mom took them away from me. She couldn't stop me from daydreaming, though. After I got married, I wrote some of my naughtier daydreams down and sent them to Playgirl magazine, who published two of them. I kept daydreaming and writing stories until my dirty stories turned into trashy books.
I live in Colorado, but I'll always be a loyal Wisconsin Cheesehead. When I'm not lusting after my next bad-boy hero, I'm looking for inspiration in sci-fi and action movies, football players, bloodsucking lawyers, muscle cars, and kick-butt chicks.
I'm known as "Trashy Writer" at various social media sites. I call myself a trashy writer because I want my readers to know that I enjoy mindless escapism as much as they do. I'm not out to win a Pulitzer Prize. I just want to help someone relax and get away from it all for a little while. I write romance, erotica and trash, for fun and pleasure.
I hope you have as much fun reading it as I had writing it.
To learn more about me, check out my website, and be sure to catch me on Facebook, Goodreads, Google+, and Twitter.
What's Next?
Watch for Her Twisted Pleasures, a short story collection featuring 15 interconnected tales of erotica, coming August 15, 2012.
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Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
About the Author
What's Next?
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