Bachelor's Special (2 page)

Insanity filled her, as it had done that night. She ached to press her mouth against his. Instead, she leaned back, dragging the cedar-chip scent of his cologne along with her. She despised herself. Where the hell had her common sense gone?

“For the c-cake.”

A low-pitched, sexy throb escaped his lips—a chuckle being squashed. Although it should’ve been reassuring, her brain didn’t inform the panic chewing its way up her backbone.

“I’m over it.” He brushed a wisp of hair from her cheek. The heat of his touch did crazy things to her flesh, and she sucked in a breath of air as warmth spread through her.

“When did you know?”

“The moment you mentioned cooking.”

“How?” Her heart risked leaking out the peep-toe tips of her heels.

“Your face lit up, your eyes glowed. But what really sealed the deal was your smile. I’ll never forget the curve of your lips when you smile. From the moment I walked into that kitchen—”

“My smile?”

Chet pulled the water glass from her fingers.

“I don’t think I could ever forget you. I’m not blind. You’re easy on the eyes, for sure. Even more so when you talk about something you regard with such passion.”

Her heart skipped a beat at his thinly veiled compliment, but at the same time a line of moisture dotted the nape of her neck for the predicament she found herself in.

“So you left employment at Creations to go it alone?”

Jill took a gulp of air to calm her nerves. Chet had no idea she’d been fired.

She attempted to shake her head, but the only motion she managed was a slight shrug.

“So how do I go about reserving your well-honed chef skills?”

Her knees quaked, and she pressed them together to stop them from shaking. “I’m not officially in business yet.”

“How come?”

She waved away his words. “Boring mumbo-jumbo stuff that I’m sure you don’t want to hear.”

“You’re wrong. I do want to hear.” His lopsided grin spread until it was a full-fledged smile. Tiny lines fanned out from the edges of his deep-set eyes, and he raked a look over her as if she sat before him naked. Almost as potent as the look he’d given her a year ago.

A swirling sensation filled her belly, and Jill nervously wrapped a strand of hair around one finger, twisting it so tight it cut off circulation. She slid her finger out, then repeated the motion. “I’m kind of embarrassed to say.”

“Don’t be. We all started somewhere. Maybe I can give you some pointers.”

“Well, I can’t ask for business advice quite yet.” She chuckled, still fidgeting with her hair. “In order to get everything rolling, I need money. It’s all boiled down to my lack of it.”

In an instant, his entire demeanor changed from approachable to downright arctic. His jaw hardened and his body grew rigid. “Is that the reason you agreed to this date?”

“What?” Jill leapt to her feet.

He stood as well, resting his hands on his hips, his jacket opening to reveal the confident rise and fall of his chest. She marveled at his control, wishing some of it would attach itself to her.

“According to my head of security, you’re about as broke as they come. I assumed you’d dumped everything into your start-up, but now I see you haven’t. How do you expect to launch a business without any type of funding?”

“Head of— You had me checked out with security?”

He chuckled—and not the good-time chuckle of a man having fun. “After a string of bad business deals when my father owned Castle Engineering, and then becoming engaged to a woman who had one hand on my wallet and the other in my bank account, I’d say I deserve the right to run a background check on anyone I enter into a dating contract with.”

“Dating contra—” She waved his cold words away. She had bigger walleye to fry. “But we were set up by friends. Well, my friend and your brother. They wouldn’t intentionally set you up with someone out to—”

“Then why didn’t you admit that we’d met before?”

Jill stepped back. “Listen. You’re taking this all wrong. After the year I’ve had, Mel only wanted to set me up to get my mind off things. Not to help me secure a loan.”

He forked his fingers through his hair and sighed. “What’s happened in the last year?”

She wouldn’t sugarcoat it. “It’s been pure hell. I’ve been let go from four jobs, I can’t get a loan from any bank in town, I’m about to lose my apartment, and my best friend—”

“Mel?”

“That’s the one. Well, she’s offered to just give me the money to start my business, but I don’t want her charity. I want to do it on my own. And I will.” Jill grabbed her purse from the table. She didn’t want to feud with Chet Castle a moment longer. Let him think what he would. She moved to brush past him.

He blocked her path and grabbed her wrist. “Was that the idea here? Meet a rich man and use your charms for a loan?”

Anger boiled. She yanked out of his grasp, fighting the urge to bop him over the head with her purse and knock some sense into him. “If you’d been listening, you’d know I want to start my business
on my own
. Not through the help of friends, or the way you’re implying. That’s plain sick. You’re making an assumption without knowing the facts, or me.”

“I think I got all the facts I need from Smith.”

“Smith?”

“Head of security.”

Jill waved away his words with a flick of her wrist. “So you knew who I was then, too?”

“Not exactly. We never exchanged niceties in the kitchen. All I knew when I walked in tonight was that you were broke, everything else fell into place as we talked.”

Time to make a dignified exit, or as much of one as she could manage. “I’m sorry for all of this, but it wasn’t like I had grandiose plans of liquoring you up and flying to Vegas to get married by Elvis so I could have access to your bank accounts.”

“Then what was this?”

She sighed, counting to ten mentally. This man might be gorgeous, but he had the personality of a worm. He folded his arms across his chest, his face tightening with skepticism.

“I don’t need to explain my motivation to you. I know the truth, and it wasn’t to take advantage of some supposedly wealthy man. Good night, Chet. Sorry for your troubles.” Jill pushed past him, moving through the restaurant as if her feet were attached to skates.

Chapter Two

The ice in Chet’s veins thawed, restarting his heart. Jill rushed across the crowded restaurant floor before he had time to reply. Though not tall—five-five or six—her willowy form, straight posture, and narrow shoulders gave her the appearance of height. With a proud tilt to her chin, she tromped down the stares of several auspicious couples spaced throughout the room before focusing straight ahead.

Had he misjudged her? After almost six years, was he doomed to compare every woman he met against Gina, his money-hungry ex?

Jill’s face burned a picture into his mind. Her raven-colored bangs rolled under and contrasted with her light complexion. Her pert little nose, flecked with tiny freckles, had haunted his dreams for the last year. He’d been unable to get her out of his mind, and even seeing her at first tonight, he’d doubted his own memory. Until she’d smiled.

That smile, along with the tears lighting her eyes that night in the kitchen a year ago, was what had driven him to take her in his arms and kiss her. An impulse he’d questioned many times over the last several months.

A chill shot across his flesh and he shook it off. She was cute. And the sexy way she dressed from another era… He liked how she dared to be different in a world of designer clones.

Hell no, she wasn’t cute. She was a bona fide, fifties-throwback
bombshell.

Chet hadn’t spotted the bombshell quality when she’d been wrapped in chef garb, but there was no chance of missing it tonight. He’d forced himself to listen as her perfect red-lipsticked mouth enunciated each syllable in her throaty, sex-phone-operator voice. Not at any other time in his life had he felt such an overwhelming attraction to a woman—not since their jaw-dropping kiss in the kitchen—and he was letting her walk out without a backward glance.

Not on your life!

He still didn’t fully understand what had made him kiss her that night—was it the fact he felt out of control when her eyes filled with tears? Whatever the feelings, they overcame him again. There was something about Jill…

Hell, he’d actually gone back to the restaurant several months later because he couldn’t stop thinking about her. And now here she was. Alive and in person.

Chet darted through the restaurant, ignoring the open-mouthed stares of the other patrons and several of the wait staff. He pushed through the double doors in hopes of catching Jill before she had a chance to leave.

The sputter of an engine and flicker of headlights coming from the far corner of the parking area drew his attention. Jill’s shadowy profile was illuminated in the bright lights of the lot.

He couldn’t let her go. Wouldn’t let her walk out of his life without some type of guarantee he’d see her again. He wasn’t attracted to Jill in the normal sense—his whole body went into full alert when she was around.

He’d almost screwed up when he’d taken the defensive. Hell, maybe he had.

He needed to see her again. Nothing long-term, not his style. But a date, or two, or three. After a year of her teasing him in his dreams, the only way to work her out of his system would be to sample her kisses again, and then have her in his bed.

Desperation steered Chet across the parking lot. Her car stalled as she shifted into reverse. Maybe he could offer her a job working for him through the fund-raising season? Or he could offer to co-sign a loan? All he knew was that he needed to make a deal so he could see her again. He felt certain if he just asked her out, she’d refuse. But, if she agreed to his plan he’d have a chef in his kitchen, and hopefully a sexy woman in his bed.

He tapped on her side window and she gaped up at him, lips parted and eyes so blue they appeared lavender.

She rolled down her window, a tentative smile on her lips. “I don’t want any trouble, Chet. Let’s just forget—”

“I have a proposition. You need to hear me out.”

“A prop— No I don’t think so. Not a good idea.” Her thin-lipped, stern look rivaled Sister Catherine’s, the nun who had been in charge of his elementary education.

“You’ll never know unless you hear what I have to say.” He grinned, easing the tension running the length of his back.

Jill’s tight expression relaxed some and she removed her hand from the ignition. “Make it quick.”

Chet opened the door and took her hand, helping her from her seat. He needed to move her from the offensive. “First off, let me apologize. I admit I’m gun-shy when it comes to relationships, and I know my family has a one-track mind in the hopes of me finding one.”

“So then why did you agree to a date?” She tucked a strand of hair behind one ear with shaky fingers.

“To get my brother, Mel, and my entire family off my back. This dating business is just one more attempt by my family to help me get past Gina.”

“I assume she’s the woman with green dye permanently staining her fingers and dollar-sign eyes?”

He liked her quick wit. “That isn’t why I stopped you. I want to offer you something to help you get your catering business going.”

“Apparently you didn’t hear a word of what I said. I’m not interested in your money.”

“You’re so skeptical.”

“I think I should be. We hardly know each other, and it’s not like we met in the best of circumstances. You think I’m a liar and a cheat and I think… Well, we won’t worry about what I think.” She dropped her gaze to rest somewhere between his nose and chin.

He’d love to know what she thought, but now wasn’t the time. “I work with several charities. Annual meetings are in full force as we plan out the following year’s events and fund-raisers.”

“That’s very civic-minded of you but has nothing to do with me.”

“But it could.” He raised his hand to quiet her when she opened her mouth. “I thought you were going to hear me out?”

Her eyes sparked fire. She exhaled in a steady stream. “Fine.”

“I normally host the meetings, which include several dinners that I have catered at my home.”

Her sullen look vanished, to be replaced by an attentive half smile.

“That got your attention.” He rested his hands on his hips to appear casual and calm, which wasn’t how he felt at all. All his senses were tuned to making a good impression.

“Well, now you’re speaking my language.”

He chuckled and a steel band strangled his heart when she smiled. “This can be a busy time, with long lulls in between. In the past I’ve had to book several caterers, and it’s turned into a big headache to keep everything organized.”

“I’ll bet.”

“My part-time cook left about eight months ago and I haven’t found a replacement. Between him and the caterers I hired years prior, everything had always been manageable. But hiring and keeping track of caterers requires time. Time I don’t have. If you stay at my house for the two months this is in full swing, organize menus, cater the dinners, and keep all the events on track, I’ll co-sign a loan for you. It’ll be your loan, your business, and your pay-off.”

“I don’t want a partnership.” She tilted her head to the side, her body stiffening.

“Did I say anything about a partnership? This would be all you.” He rocked on his heels.

“Are you serious?”

“Like a death threat.”

“Sounds like a one-sided deal, with most of the benefit on my side. Why would you do this for me? I’m a stranger.”

“I like you, Jill Adgate. Something about your spunk, determination, and grit rings true with me. Your focus and passion remind me of myself when I took over the family business. Plus, this benefits both of us. You’d be helping me out of a bind, and I’d be helping you get your business started. And you’ll be gaining some great contacts for your business in the process.”

“It’s tempting.”

“Think of it this way, it’ll also buy you time to get your own personal affairs in order. You’d mentioned you were about to lose your apartment. You can live with me for free, save some money, get yourself organized.”

“I’m not destitute, you know.” Her eyes flashed fire a second time.

“I’m sure you’re not.”

“Mel offered me a place to stay. I just didn’t want to be the third wheel.”

Chet ran his hand through his hair. “If it makes you feel better, you can throw in a few cooking lessons so that when our deal is over I’ll survive without takeout or my famous PB and Js.”

Jill stared him steadily in the eyes, then licked her lips. “Can I think about it and get back to you?”

He laughed. “Nope, this offer is one-time only.” He glanced at his watch. “You have sixty seconds.”

“Give me a day. Twenty-four hours.”

“Fifty seconds.” He lifted his wrist and tapped the crystal face of his watch. “Tick, tick, tick.” Excitement swirled through him at the edgy panic in her voice. He held his breath, wondering if he’d win. Would she? Or wouldn’t she?

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, swiping her palms down the side of her thigh.

“Time’s about up, what’s the verdict?”

“Sixty seconds is hardly time to blink, let alone make such a decision.” The pulse at the base of her throat ticked in quick succession.

“Just think of the contacts you’d make catering for me. Your eight-week investment could change your life.”
And mine, too
. He breathed in her citrus scent. His groin twitched with anticipation. “Sometimes you just have to jump before the alarm sounds, Jill.”

Her passionate smile—though somewhat shaky—glossed her face. “I’m in.”

She placed her hand in his for the obligatory handshake to seal the deal. An instant spark of awareness trailed across his skin, something he hadn’t experienced in…well, in a year.