Kiss the Cook

by D'Alessandro, Jacquie

  She stared at him as if he was nuts. "Why? How can you even ask? I threw myself at you. And if that's not bad enough, you turned me down. How humiliating is that?"

  If she hadn't looked so distraught, Chris would have laughed. She thought he'd turned her down? Crazy woman. He stood and drew her to her feet then tipped up her chin until her gaze met his.

  "You have it all wrong, Melanie. I didn't turn you down. All I did was postpone the inevitable." He lowered his head and kissed her softly. She tasted like cookies.

  She drew back and regarded him with a wary expression. "You mean you think we're going to… " Her voice trailed off.

  "Absolutely. Don't you?"

  "I don't think that's a good idea."

  "It's a great idea. But even if it wasn't, it's still going to happen."

  "How do you know?"

  He looked into her warm, chocolaty, confused eyes and fell a little farther into the black abyss of emotional commitment yawning in front of him. "Because I can't seem to stop it. There's something between us, and I can't walk away from it. Much as I'd like to, I can't."

  "I can."

  He searched her eyes and knew she wasn't telling the truth. "Liar," he said softly.

  A small smile touched her lips. "Well, I can try."

  "Forget it. It won't work. Believe me. I know." He dropped a quick kiss on her nose. "Now, I suggest we enjoy one more cup of coffee before heading out on our canoeing expedition."

  She groaned. "In other words, let's put this embarrassing episode behind us so we can move on to other, more potentially embarrassing episodes."

  "You nailed it."

  "Great. I guess I'd better tell you I know diddly-squat about canoeing."

  “Don't worry. You're in good hands. We'll have a lot of fun."

  She eyed him with clear suspicion. "Define fun."

  He laughed. "Trust me on this."

  ~~~

  An hour later, Melanie was fervently wishing she hadn't trusted him on this.

  She stood at the end of the floating dock and pointed down, a sinking feeling in her stomach. "What is that?"

  "That," Chris said, his voice filled with suppressed laughter, "is a canoe."

  "Canoe, my ass. It's nothing but a carved-out, six-foot cigar." She planted her hands on her hips. "If you think I'm getting in that skinny excuse for a boat, you're out of your mind."

  Chris cocked a brow at her. “You said canoeing was something you wanted to do. So here we are, at beautiful Lake Lanier, a canoe rented and at our disposal for the next hour." He crossed his arms over his chest. "So what's the problem?"

  Melanie could tell he was trying not to laugh at her. Raising her chin, she said, "When I said canoeing, I was speaking strictly metaphorically."

  "Oh, really?"

  "Of course. When I said I wanted to go canoeing, I meant I wanted to go on a Caribbean cruise." She nodded vigorously, knowing she was beat but willing to try one last, desperate attempt to save herself. "Clearly you're much too literal-minded to appreciate the finer points of symbolism. Canoe. Cruise. Both boat words that start with c. It's really rather interesting how-- "

  "Yeah, it's fascinating. We'll talk about a cruise some other time. Right now we're going canoeing."

  Drat. The guy had a one-track mind. Melanie looked out at the sparkling lake. Several canoes and kayaks dotted the calm waters nearby. Farther out she could see speedboats and wave runners racing over the small waves. A shaded picnic area stood off to the left, and several families were taking advantage of the facilities, setting out their coolers, lighting the charcoal grills.

  She glanced down at the pencil-thin craft tied to the end of the dock and sighed. Next time she rattled off a list of things she wanted to do before she died, she was going to make damn sure she replaced "canoeing" with "three months in Tahiti."

  She sucked in a resolute breath. "All right. Hoist the anchor, Captain."

  "’Atta girl," Chris said with a big grin. "Just sit still and you'll do great. You're gonna love this."

  Melanie somehow doubted that, but she was willing to give it a go.

  Besides, how hard could it be to drive a canoe?

  ~~~

  Ten minutes later, she knew exactly how hard it was.

  Pretty damn hard.

  Holding Chris's hand, she gingerly stepped into the canoe. Using extreme caution, she sat down while Chris, who still stood on the dock, untied the craft from the aluminum cleat.

  Once her butt was settled on the hard wooden seat, Melanie breathed a sigh of relief. This wasn't so bad, she decided, clutching the sides of the craft. In fact, it was sorta fun.

  Until she sneezed.

  One minute she was sitting in the canoe, the next she was underwater.

  She came up, sputtering, pushing her hair from her eyes. "What the hell did you do that for?" she yelled at Chris, who stood on the dock clutching his sides and roaring with laughter.

  "I didn't do anything," he said, shaking his head. "I told you to sit still. Canoes are very tippy."

  'Tippy? All I did was sneeze!"

  "You must have sneezed too hard. Don't worry. You'll get used to it. It just takes practice."

  "Yeah. Practice," she muttered, swimming to the dock. "That's just what I want to do."

  Disgruntled, she climbed the wooden ladder and stomped to the end of the dock. Water dripped from her body and squished from her Nikes. While Chris pulled the rope attached to the canoe and righted the craft, she squeezed water from her clothes.

  He shot her a grin. "Wanna give it another try?"

  "Might as well. I'm certainly not worried about getting wet." She sizzled a baleful glare at the offending canoe. "Anyway, I refuse to let this excuse for kindling beat me. I am woman. Hear me roar."

  "That's my girl." Once again he handed her down into the canoe.

  The instant he let go of her, she felt the damn canoe slipping out from under her feet. It was like trying to stand on wet ice. At least this time she was ready when she hit the water. She surfaced and, ignoring the fact that he stood on the dock laughing his ass off, swam to the ladder, pulled herself up, and squished over to him.

  "Wanna quit?" he asked, an infuriating grin on his face. His dry face.

  "Absolutely not," Melanie said between gritted teeth. "This has become a quest."

  He reached out and touched the skin under her eye. "I think you need to invest in waterproof mascara. You look like a pirate."

  Melanie planted her hands on her wet hips, tapped her soggy Nike, and glared at him.

  Holding his hands up in surrender, he said, "Whoa! A cute pirate. A very, very cute pirate. The cutest. Really."

  "Pirate, huh? Ask me where my buccaneers are."

  "Okay. Where are your buccaneers?"

  She waggled her brows at him. "Under my buccan' hat."

  He threw back his head and laughed. "Ready to try it again, matey?"

  "Sure." She eyed him up and down. "But this time you get in first."

  ~~~

  Chris paddled the canoe and covertly observed Melanie through the dark lenses of his Ray-Bans. She was nearly dry and sat with her eyes closed, her face turned up to the sun. He noted with amusement that she sat perfectly still, clutching the edges of the canoe with a white-knuckled grip.

  His gaze slid over her and his entire body tensed with desire. Her hair curled in wild profusion around her face, the sun shooting the brown locks with shafts of reddish fire. Her skin glowed with the sheen of some kind of sunscreen that made her smell like a delicious combination of coconut and pineapple. She reminded him of one of those tropical drinks with the paper umbrellas-- sweet, cool, and scrumptious. One that made him yearn to take a long, slow sip.

  His gaze drifted downward, taking in her long, slim legs. She'd left her soggy Nikes on the dock to dry, and now her pink-tipped toes peeked at him. Even her feet were cute. Chris shook his head. Damn, he had it bad.

  And the fact that she was such a good sport about getting dunked in th
e lake made him like her even more. Every other woman he knew would have pitched a hissy fit in a similar situation.

  But not Melanie. Nope, she'd just taken it in stride, wrung the water out of her clothes, pushed her hair out of her eyes, and grown determined to beat the canoe at its own game.

  That unassuming, unfussy side of her appealed to him more than any perfectly made-up, exquisitely groomed woman ever had. A mental image of her, disheveled from a bout of lovemaking, flashed in his mind and he had to stifle a groan. Better get a conversation going before he melted into a sweaty puddle.

  "Has Glenn called you about your review?" he asked in a casual tone, gliding the craft slowly through the calm water.

  "No, but Bob Harris said it would take about two or three weeks. I'm praying it goes well. This loan means everything to me."

  I know. "I noticed two vacant storefronts across the street from the Pampered Palate. Any idea what's going in them?"

  "One is going to be a liquor store. I don't know about the other one."

  Chris's stomach clenched. She didn't know.

  He considered telling her about Spaghetti Loco but decided to wait until after he'd talked things through with Glenn. There was no point in destroying her weekend, and he knew the news would do just that. And he refused to ruin their time together with speculation over something that might not be a problem at all. At least he hoped it wouldn't, although his pesky inner voice told him differently. Firmly pushing his concerns away, he asked, "So what do you think of canoeing?"

  She slowly raised her head to look at him. "Canoeing is fun. I like the ride, the breeze, being out on the lake. Of course, being in the lake was not quite so much fun." She slipped her sunglasses on top of her head and eyed his dry shorts with a pointed glare.

  "Have you noticed," she continued in a reflective tone, "that every time we see each other we end up wet? We met in the rain, swam in the pool at the cookout, got pelted with potato peel water, and now this." She glanced down at her wrinkled shorts and shirt. "And between your suits and my shorts, one of us always seems to end up with ruined clothes."

  Chris nodded. "Now that you mention it, yes. We've definitely developed a pattern."

  "Seems so." Her gaze drifted down to his dry socks and sneakers before returning to his face. "Of course, you missed out on today's water portion of the entertainment. You being on the dock and all."

  "I know better than to get into a canoe with a novice.”

  "Ah. So you set me up. You knew I would end up in the lake the minute I stepped into this dug-out log."

  "I had a pretty good idea, yeah."

  "Hmmm."

  He caught the devilish gleam glittering in her eyes. He knew trouble when he saw it.

  "You realize," she said in a casual tone, "that no matter how fast you paddle this tub you'll never make it back to the dock dry."

  He dug the paddle in, trying hard not to laugh. "I can try."

  Her smile widened, deepening her dimples, and Chris's heart thumped. She looked so damned adorable, her eyes filled with mischief, a piece of seaweed stuck to her shirt.

  I'm falling in love with her. God help me, I'm falling in love with her.

  Stunned by the enormity of the revelation, he barely noticed when she yelled, "Banzai!" and tipped the canoe, dumping them both into the lake.

  ~~~

  Melanie surfaced and shook her hair out of her eyes and managed to grab her sunglasses before they sank. Chris came up next to her, sputtering. He pushed his hair back with his hands and Melanie gulped. Good grief. How the heck did he manage to look so sexy? She was sure she looked like two miles of bad road.

  He settled his dripping sunglasses on top of his head. "You dunked me," he said, standing up. The water lapped at his chest. Sunlight bounced off his tanned, bare shoulders, and droplets glistened on the thatch of dark chest hair visible above the water.

  Why, oh why, had the blasted man taken off his shirt? To torture her? Those firm muscles under golden skin had bunched and flexed every time he dug the oar into the water. Jeez. The guy was more tempting than chocolate. Than double, triple chocolate with whipped cream and a cherry on top. What was she-- made of stone?

  She forced her hands to remain at her sides-- not an easy task when her fingers literally itched to reach out and touch him. "Dunk you? Damn straight. You put me back in that tippy little sucker and I'll do it again. I've decided I'm not canoe-inclined. I'm definitely a cruise ship sort of girl."

  He grabbed her arms and hauled her up against him. Melanie caught her breath as she bumped into the hard wall of his bare chest, and her pulse speeded up to triple time when she looked at his face. His eyelashes were spiky from the water, and his eyes darkened with that look she was not only coming to know, but to anticipate with bated breath. That look he got just before he destroyed her with his kiss.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and waited to be wrecked.

  He lowered his head and kissed her with such slow, long, deep perfection, she could practically feel steam rising from her skin. The stunning contrast of the cool lake water, the hot sun, and the hard man pressing against her did her in. She knew exactly where this was leading, and it had nothing to do with martinis.

  "Melanie… " he whispered her name against her mouth.

  Lost in a passionate haze, she answered, "Chris… "

  "The canoe is sneaking away."

  It took several seconds for his words to sink in. Then she leaned back and looked behind her. The upside-down canoe floated a good hundred yards away. The paddle was nowhere to be seen.

  He walked her the short distance to the dock and helped her climb up. "Be right back," he promised, pushing off with a splash.

  While Chris rescued the canoe then returned it to the rental booth, Melanie busied herself setting up their picnic lunch. She needed an activity, any activity, to keep her mind occupied and off Chris, and more importantly, off that. Which was nearly impossible because every cell in her body, aided by her horny little hormones, ached for that.

  Rather than sitting at one of the sun-blasted picnic tables, she laid out a blanket in a crescent of shade provided by a soaring pine. The last thing she needed was more heat.

  When Chris joined her, she handed him a frosty lemonade and watched him polish it off in a series of long swallows. Good grief. Even drinking lemonade, he was beautiful.

  He flopped down on the blanket and helped himself to a sandwich. Melanie nibbled on her turkey club, trying to define the fluttering in her stomach. That same half-thrilling, half-terrifying sensation she experienced every time she looked at him. Every time she thought of him. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying it wasn't what she suspected but knowing it was.

  "What's up, Mel Gibson?" he asked in a teasing tone. "You look so serious."

  Melanie opened her eyes. He was sprawled on his side on the blanket, propped up on one elbow, studying her.

  Serious. Yes. That's what I am. Seriously crazy about you. She stared at him, at his handsome face, the lock of dark hair falling across his brow, and knew she was more than crazy about him.

  She was falling in love with him.

  Holy crap, how had that happened?

  Okay, maybe it was because he was the most gorgeous man on earth. But Melanie shook her head and took an absent bite of her sandwich. His looks might have attracted her at first, but it was so much more than that.

  He was kind. And thoughtful. He bought Barbie dolls for his niece and was sweet to his mother. He chatted with Nana and was going out of his way to do the crazy things she'd said she wanted to do before she kicked off.

  Feeling a tingling warmth on her leg, she looked down and saw his hand resting on her knee.

  "Is something wrong, Melanie?" he asked, sitting up, his voice filled with concern. "Are you okay?"

  No. And it's all your fault, you gorgeous, sexy man, you. You have me all tied up in knots. I've got knots on my knots.

  "I'm fine. Just sleepy, I guess. Too much sun, too much l
ake, too much food." Too much man. "All those dunks in the water left me kinda sore."

  "I know just what you need. Lie down on your stomach."

  Uh-oh. Being in a prone position while Chris was in the vicinity had "bad idea" written all over it. She glanced around. While the picnic crowds had thinned out, they weren't exactly alone. She was safe enough. Probably. "Lie down? Why?"

  "Back rub. Guaranteed to cure what ails you." When she hesitated, he made a tsking sound. "Come on. This won't hurt. Just relax."

  Relax? Fat chance. But before she could protest, Melanie found herself face down on the blanket, with Chris's palms skimming lightly over her back.

  He increased the pressure, massaging her muscles with an expertise that left her purring like a kitten. He worked his way from her shoulders to the small of her back, kneading until she felt as loose and relaxed as a blob of watery Jell-o. When he finally stopped, she heaved out a loud, blissful sigh.

  "Incredible," she moaned, rolling over onto her back. "Absolutely incredi-- "

  His mouth descended on hers, cutting off her tribute to his massage skills. He deepened the kiss, dancing his tongue with hers, and every relaxed part of her jumped back to life with a screaming roar. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she arched up against him, breathing his name.

  He slanted his mouth over hers again, his fingers tangling in her hair, his upper body pressing her into the blanket. Just when she thought she was going to liquefy into mush, he abruptly sat up.

  Breathless, Melanie watched him scrub unsteady hands down his face. Then he stood and hauled her to her feet. After yanking up the blanket and the picnic basket, he grabbed her hand and pulled her along.

  "Where are we going?" she asked, panting half from passion, half from the exertion of keeping up with his long-legged strides.

  "Home."

  Disappointment flooded her. Darn him for being so noble. "Oh."

  When they reached the Mercedes, he tossed the blanket and basket into the trunk then regarded her with dead-serious dark blue eyes.

  "My home. Right now. As fast as I can get us there. We're going to finish this, and here is not the place. If you have any objections to that plan, I suggest you speak now or forever hold your peace."