Crista McHugh - The Sweetest Seduction

“It sounds good to me, too.” His voice rumbled low and hungry. He ran his fingers along her cheek, catching on her jaw and tilting her face up. For a second, he looked ready to kiss her again. Then he released her and took a step back. “I’ll call you to set up the time and place.”

Her stomach flip-flopped, but she couldn’t tell if it was due to excitement or nerves. Maybe a combination of both.

He paused at the door leading to the darkened dining room. “By the way, I promise to announce my presence if I ever decide to visit you after hours, so please leave the bat in your office.”

She laughed again, this time without the nervous edge. “I promise I’ll leave it under my desk if I know it’s you.”

“Glad to hear that.” His smile fell into something more wistful and serious. “Until Sunday, then.”

“I need some advice.”

Adam winced as soon as he said the words. As the oldest, he’d always been the one his brothers turned to when they needed advice. Now he was on the phone with his youngest brother, trying not to sound completely pathetic.

“And you came to me?” Gideon asked. “Must be pretty bad if you’re venturing this far down the totem pole.”

Gideon might be barely old enough to legally drink, but he was the most like Adam when it came to temperament. Plus, it helped that his youngest brother had a reputation for leaving ladies swooning in the aisles, thanks to his films.

“I have a date Sunday night—”

“You have a date?” Disbelief dripped from his brother’s voice. “Mister ‘I’m too busy rescuing Kelly Properties from the brink of disaster to give a woman the time of day?’”

“I’m not that uptight,” Adam countered, even though his inner voice was calling him a liar. “And the business has never teetered on the brink of disaster.”

“You’d never know it from the way you’re always going on about increasing expenses and decreasing revenues and a sluggish economy. Makes me happy my job is recession proof.”

“Yeah, I just saw how much that movie studio is willing to pay you for walking around with your shirt off for two hours.”

“Hey, I’m more than just eye-candy. It’s actually a serious role for once, and I’m looking forward the challenge.” Gideon quickly changed gears. “So, back to this alleged date?”

“I met this woman, and she finally agreed to go out with me—”

“Finally agreed?” Laughter filled the line. “You must’ve lost your touch with the ladies from spending all that time in the office if you had to work on convincing a woman to go out with you.”

“Will you please let me finish without interrupting me?” Adam got up from his desk and paced along the wall of windows in his office. Downtown Chicago looked so calm and peaceful from up here, so very different from the jumble of rattled nerves that tied his stomach in knots. “I admit, I’ve been out of the dating game for a while, and I need some help impressing her.”

“And the Kelly family name isn’t impressive enough?”

“Not with her. If anything, it has me in the dog house.”

Gideon let out a low whistle. “What did you do?”

“I don’t want to get into it.”

“You’re the one who called me for advice.”

Adam stopped and raked his hand through his hair. “Okay, fine, I’ll give. The timing isn’t great, but the....” The chemistry? The sparks? The way she invaded his thoughts for days after seeing her? “The attraction is definitely there.”

“Please say she’s more attractive than that peroxide and silicone filled Barbie Caleb’s been lusting over.”

Those generous lips and seductive green eyes filled his mind, and his pants grew uncomfortably tight. “Much prettier.”

“And she’s attracted to an old man like you?”

If her response to his kiss was any indication, then yes. The way she had moved against him on the kitchen floor last night had him wanting to rip their clothes off and finish what they started on the boat last weekend. “Pretty sure. Thankfully, I still have a few teeth left in my mouth, being the old man that I am.”

Another laugh from Gideon. “Then why do you need my help?”

“Because there have been some hiccups the last few times I’ve been around her, and I have a feeling that after the third strike, I’ll be out. Hence, the reason why I want to make our official first date perfect.”

“Why not give her a night out on the town? Take her to a fancy dinner and the opera or something like that.”

Adam pulled out a pen and jotted down the opera idea. At least Lia would be able to understand the lyrics, unlike some of his previous dates. “Good, but I want to do something more than the restaurant thing. Touchy subject right now.”

“Now I’m intrigued. What is it about this woman that has you wanting to go above and beyond?”

Gideon’s question stumped him for a moment. He sank down into his desk chair and rubbed his jaw. He’d dated plenty of women over the years, had some flings he later regretted, and even had his heart broken a few times in high school and college. But he’d never experienced the pull, the hunger, the raw need that shot through him whenever he was around Lia.

His mouth went dry as he croaked, “Let’s just say I really want to see where things go with her.”

“Damn, you have it bad for her. You haven’t already started picking out names for your future kids or anything, have you?”

“It’s just a date, not a marriage proposal. Besides, I’m not sure I want kids.”

“Says the man who drives a Volvo,” Gideon teased. “At least tell me her name.”

What harm could come from that? “Lia.”

“The one Mom bought for you at an auction?”

Enter a new level of mortification that would no doubt be followed by months of ribbing from his brothers. “That’s not what happened.”

“Not according to Caleb. He said you couldn’t keep your hands off of her, and that Bob from the lake patrol actually stopped the next day to apologize for scaring you and the lady you had on Mom’s boat.”

Adam ran his finger along his collar. Great. By now, everyone along Geneva Lake probably knew about how his near hookup turned into an epic fail. “Can we please get back to helping me impress her?”

“It sounds like you two just need to go someplace private. Why not just skip the wooing and invite her over to your place?”

“That might come across as too forward.”

“And what happened on the boat wasn’t?”

The sounds of a scuffle followed by muffled voices cut off the conversation. Then Sarah, Gideon’s assistant, entered into the discussion with her usual no-nonsense attitude. “Adam, I can’t believe you’re asking Romeo here for advice, so let me give you a quick tip so he can get back to the set where they’ve been waiting for him for the last five minutes. All women like to be indulged. If you’re just looking for a quick screw, then follow your brother’s advice and take her to the opera. If you’re looking for something more, then try to learn more about her interests so you can share them. Does that help?”

“Maybe.” Lia had said cooking was her passion. If could show her he was interested in the same thing by making dinner for her.... “Time for a crash course in the culinary arts.”

“How long do you have before this big date?”

“Sunday.”

“Then I suggest you have the Food Network on twenty-four-seven.” A few more hushed whispers followed before Sarah spoke again. “I’ll have Gideon call you back once they’re done shooting for the day.”

Then the phone clicked dead.

Adam set his phone down on his desk and ran his fingers through his hair. He had one more chance with Lia, and he hoped to God he wasn’t biting off more than he could chew with this idea.

* * *

“Got a minute?”

Lia jumped in her seat before spinning around to cover up her computer screen. She’d been so engrossed in an article on what men like during sex that she hadn’t heard Julie approach her office. “Um, sure.”

Julie peered around her, a half-grin playing on her lips. “‘How to Drive a Man Wild in Bed’, huh? I suppose that has nothing to do with why you asked me to take over the kitchen for the second Sunday in a row?”

Her cheeks burned, but she forced a smile onto her face. “Maybe.”

“Let me guess—the suit called after enjoying the dinner you fixed for him and his date last night and asked you out?” Julie crossed her arms and leaned against the doorjamb.

“She wasn’t his date. She was a food critic from London.” Lia hit the power button on her screen before Julie could read any more. “And he stopped by last night after we closed and asked me out.”

“And you’re going to take a page from Dax and seduce him into letting you keep your lease?”

“Oh God, no.”

“Then why were you reading advice from Cosmo?”

“Because...aw, shit.” She slumped back in her chair. “I should’ve never agreed to this date because no matter what happens, there’s always the lease.”

“Yeah, that’s the problem with mixing business with pleasure.” Julie pulled up a spare dining room chair from the hallway and sat down. “Even if the date has a happy ending, he’ll be wondering if you’re sleeping with him to save the restaurant.”

“I’d never do such a thing.”

“I know that. You know that. But does he?”

It had been all too easy to surrender to his kiss last night. If they hadn’t been in the kitchen, she probably would’ve ended up naked and fully satisfied. And who’s to say she wouldn’t end up that way Sunday night? “Any chance you can call in sick on Sunday so I can back out of this gracefully?”