Crista McHugh - The Sweetest Seduction

Julie’s grin widened, but she shook her head. “I’m looking forward to being in charge almost as much as you’re looking forward to a night of mattress aerobics.”

“Dammit.” She untied her ponytail and combed her fingers through her hair, letting the mindless task calm her frazzled nerves. “Fine. I’m a grown-up. I can have dinner with Adam Kelly without letting things get out of hand. Then there’s no reason for him to think I’m exchanging sex for the lease.”

“Good plan.” Julie rose from the chair and carried it with her. “Of course, if one thing leads to another, try nibbling on his ear. I haven’t met a guy yet who didn’t turn to complete goo from that. But the whole scratching your nails down his back thing? Highly overrated.”

Lia waited until she was alone again before turning her computer monitor back on. Maybe she’d been reading this all wrong. Maybe all he wanted was dinner and a chat. Maybe she was the one who couldn’t control her hormones around him and was jumping the gun.

But one thing was certain—she’d let Adam know she wasn’t going to use sex as leverage for La Arietta.

“I’m not going to sleep with you to keep my restaurant,” Lia said in one big whoosh before her courage left her.

Adam quirked a brow. “Glad to know we’re on the same page there.” He opened the door all the way and ushered her into his Lakeshore Drive condo. “Although I do think that’s jumping the gun a bit, don’t you?”

Shit!

The idea of turning around and running back to the elevator was sounding better and better. She lowered her gaze and came in just far enough for him to close the door behind her. “I’m sorry, Adam. It’s just that when you invited me over to you place, the first thing that came to mind was—”

“That I’d try to force you into my bed by using your restaurant as leverage?” He lingered by the door, his hand still on the handle. His mouth pressed into a firm line. “I see I’ve already made a favorable impression on you.”

“No, it’s not that, it’s just—” She threw her hands up into the air. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I mean, if I just thought you were after sex, I wouldn’t have agreed to have dinner with you in the first place, but I—”

A sizzle from the kitchen stopped her verbal diarrhea. She sniffed the air and caught the scents of smoky cumin and singed black pepper. “You’re cooking dinner?”

“Oh, shit, it’s burning.” Adam dashed past her into the kitchen and flipped the flank steak cooking on the indoor grill. He poked it with his tongs. “Do you think it’ll be okay?”

She came up beside him and inspected the meat. Whatever rub he’d used looked a bit charred, but everything underneath it looked fine. “I think it’s still edible.”

“They had this Bobby Flay marathon on the Food Network yesterday, and somehow, I got the impression I could turn into a super chef from watching it.”

She laughed and took the tongs from him, moving the steak to the edge of the grill where the heat was less intense. “Have you ever cooked anything before?”

“Just Easy Mac.” He snatched the tongs back with a boyish grin, bumping her aside with his hip. “I’m a man. Grilling dead animals is part of my DNA.”

“Then don’t let me get between you and all that secret information encoded on your Y-chromosome,” she said, still laughing, the awkward start to the evening now a distant memory. “So why did you decide to take on the grill when we could’ve easily gone out to dinner?”

“Would trying to impress you be explanation enough?” He nudged the steak with the tongs, not looking up from it. “I just thought it would be nice for you to have someone cook for you for a change.”

A warm glow ignited near her heart and quickly spread through her chest. “That’s very sweet of you.” She glanced around at the scattered ingredients on the counter. “And ambitious.”

“Did you miss the memo where I always get what I want?”

Her grin mirrored his. If this was the only side to Adam she knew, falling for him would be a no-brainer. He was smart, funny, sexy as hell—all things that would have any woman tripping over her high heels to grab him like a Black Friday special. If only she could forget the fact that he held the future of La Arietta in his hands.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” She started cleaning up the food scraps on the counter.

He left the grill and coaxed her away from the mess. “Yes, you can pick out a bottle of wine to go with dinner.”

“And what’s on the menu this evening?” she asked, even though she had a good idea based on the scraps of cilantro and parsley she’d just cleaned up.

“Grilled flank steak with chimichurri sauce, roasted vegetables, and mashed potatoes.”

“Sounds delicious.” She surveyed the kitchen and saw that the oven was on, and a pot with steam coming out from under its lid simmered away on the stove. Everything looked to be under control. “Where’s the wine?”

He pointed to the glass cabinet by a large wooden table in the next room. “Get whatever you’d like.”

Lia’s jaw dropped as she inspected the contents of the wine cabinet. Adam had excellent taste in wine. Expensive, but still very good. She settled on an Argentinean Malbec and opened it in the kitchen. It tasted like black cherries, followed by hints of black pepper toward the end. “Perfect.”

Adam took a sip from the glass she offered him and nodded in approval. “Good choice.”

“I’d like to think I know a thing or two about pairing wine with dinner.” She eased onto the barstool on the opposite side of the grill. “Everything smells delicious.”

He gave her smile that only hinted of his usual confidence. “Thank you. Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Why don’t you take a look around?”

A dismissal from his realm, but one she easily understood. She always got nervous when someone was peering over shoulder while she cooked.

Adam’s high-rise condo had an open feel to it with the kitchen, living room, and dining room all flowing into each other. A small balcony overlooked the lake, and the traffic along Lakeshore Drive below winked like stars. The floor was covered with light-toned wood, a sharp contrast to the cherry cabinets in the kitchen and the dark brown sofas in the living room. The decor was a cross between modern and masculine. Elegant, but still relaxed enough that she could imagine Adam and his brothers watching the Bears on the sixty-inch flat screen TV.

In other words, perfect for a well-to-do bachelor.

She ran her fingers across the buttery-soft leather sofa and realized with a start that she could be comfortable here. Get your head on straight, Lia. He invited you for dinner, not to move in with him.

The scent of something burning wafted into the living room. Lia turned around to see black smoke billowing out from the pot on the stove.

Adam cursed and pulled it off the eye with his bare hands, hissing and shaking his fingers a second later.

“Run them under some cold water.” Lia grabbed the pot holders and lifted the lid. The stomach-turning odor of scorched potatoes filled the kitchen. “The water boiled off,” she explained as she carried the pot over to the sink.

“Damn it.” His shoulders slumped as he stared at the disaster in the pot. “So much for trying to impress you.”

She rested her head on his shoulder. “It’s not a complete loss. We still have the steak and the veggies, right?”

“Yeah, I suppose so.” He shook the water from his hands, which thankfully were not blistered. “I had it all strategically planned so everything would be ready at the same time.”

“The first rule about cooking is that nothing ever goes according to plan.” She stuck the pan under the faucet and peered at the vegetables roasting in the oven. “Do you have any cornmeal?”

“If I do, it’ll be in the pantry.” He pointed to the tall, narrow cabinet at the end of the kitchen.

After a minute of digging, she found what she was looking for. “Where are your pans?”

“By the stove.” He wandered back to the grill, watching her the whole time. “What are you doing?”

“I’m going to make some polenta.”

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Adam’s momentary pity party had vanished. He unwrapped the flank steak from the foil Lia had instructed him to place it in and divided it into two portions. “Steak’s ready.”

Lia brought over two plates with deep orange mush on them. “The roasted red pepper polenta is ready, too. Now, just place the steak on top like so and then add the chimichurri.”

While he did that, she pulled the dish with roasted peppers, onions, mushrooms, and carrots out of the oven. The aroma made his mouth water. At least I didn’t mess that up.

She dished up the veggies and stood back with a grin. “Voilà! Dinner is ready.”

It wasn’t the way Bobby Flay had presented the meal, but it still looked nice. He carried the plates to the table. “And now we feast.”

Lia followed with the wine and poured them each a glass before sitting next to him. “Thank you for cooking.”

“Don’t thank me until you try it.” But the first bite drove away any doubts that lingered. The steak was tender and moist, and the polenta Lia had made complemented the spices and the chimichurri perfectly. “Not bad.”

She nodded in agreement as she chewed. “Not bad at all. Want to come work for me?”

He laughed and reached for his wine. “Beginner’s luck.”

“Still, it’s a fantastic start.”

He paused with the glass still at his lips. Despite the setback with the burning potatoes, his plan to make a good impression on a first date with her had gone far better than he imagined. “Thank you. That means a lot coming from you.”