LITMIR.BIZ

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for time with her at the end of the night again, she shivered.

      She didn’t think he intended to fire her. He’d just given her a schedule. He also wouldn’t kiss her again. He seemed to respect the fact that there was another man in the picture, even if she had sort of stretched the truth about being engaged. But that was for both of their benefits. She had a proposal waiting. Her life was confusing enough already. There was no point muddying the waters with a fling. No point in leading Rafe on.

      She had no idea why he wanted to talk to her, but she decided to be calm about it.

      When he walked out of the kitchen, he indicated that she should sit at the bar, while he grabbed a bottle of wine.

      After a sip, she smiled. “I like this one.”

      “So you are a fan of Chianti.”

      She looked at the wine in the glass, watched how the light wove through it. “I don’t know if I’m a fan. But it’s good.” She took a quiet breath and glanced over at him. “You wanted to talk with me?”

      “Today, I saw what you meant about lunch being too much food for some diners.”

      She turned on her seat, his reply easing her mind enough that she could be comfortable with him. “Really?”

      “Yes. We should have a lunch menu. We should offer the customary meals diners expect in Italy, but we should also accommodate those who want smaller lunches.”

      “So I made a suggestion that you’re going to use?”

      He caught her gaze. “You’re not a stupid woman, Dani. You know that. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be so bold in your comments about the restaurant.”

      She grinned. “I am educated.”

      He shook his head. “And you have instincts.” He picked up his wineglass. “I’d like you to work with me on the few selections we’ll add.”

      Her heart sped up. “Really?”

      “Yes. It was your suggestion. I believe you should have some say in the menu.”

      That made her laugh.

      “And what is funny about that?” His voice dripped with incredulity, as if he had no idea how to follow her sometimes. His hazy gray eyes narrowed in annoyance.

      She sipped her wine, delaying her answer to torment him. He was always so in control that he was cute when he was baffled. And it was fun to see him try to wrangle himself around it.

      Finally she said, “You’re not the big, bad wolf you want everybody to believe.”

      His eyes narrowed a little more as he ran his thumb along his chin. His face was perfect. Sharp angles, clean lines, accented by silvery eyes and dark, dark hair that gave him a dramatic, almost mysterious look.

      “I don’t mind suggestions to make the business better. Ask Emory. He’s had a lot more say than you would think.”

      She smiled, not sure why he so desperately wanted to cling to his bossy image. “I still say you’re not so bad.”

      * * *

      Rafe’s blood heated. The urge to flirt with Dani, and then seduce her, roiled like the sea before a storm. He genuinely believed she was too innocent to realize he could take her comments about his work demeanor as flirting, and shift the conversation into something personal. But he also knew they couldn’t work together if she continued to be so free with him.

      “Be careful what you say, little Dani, and how you take our conversations. Because I am bad. I am not the gentleman you might be accustomed to. Though I respect your engagement, if you don’t, I’ll take that as permission to do whatever I want. You can’t have a fiancé at home and free rein to flirt here.”

      Her eyes widened. But he didn’t give her a chance to comment. He grabbed the pad and pencil he’d brought to the bar and said, “So what should we add to this lunch menu you want?”

      She licked her lips, took a slow breath as if shifting her thoughts to the task at hand and said, “Antipasto and minestrone soup. That’s obvious. But you could add a garden salad, club sandwich, turkey sandwich and hamburgers.” She slowly met his gaze. “That way you’re serving a need without going overboard.”

      With the exception of the hamburger, which made him wince, he agreed. “I can put my own spin on all of these, use the ingredients we already have on hand, redo the menu tonight and we’ll be ready to go tomorrow.”

      She gaped at him. “Tomorrow? Wow.”

      He rose. “This is my business, Dani. If a suggestion is good, there is no point waiting forever. I get things done. Go home. I will see you tomorrow.”

      She walked to the door, and he headed for the kitchen where he could watch her leave from the window above the sink, making sure nothing happened to her. No matter how hard he tried to stop it, disappointment rose up in him. At the very least, it would have been nice to finish a glass of wine with her.

      But he couldn’t.

      * * *

      Dani ran to her car, her blood simmering, her nerve endings taut. They might have had a normal conversation about his menu. She might have even left him believing she was okay with everything he’d said and they were back to normal. But she couldn’t forget his declaration that he was bad. It should have scared her silly. Instead, it tempted her. She’d never been attracted to a man who was clearly all wrong for her, a man with whom she couldn’t have a future. Everything she did was geared toward security. Everything about him spelled danger.

      So why was he so tempting?

      Walking into the kitchen of Louisa’s run-down villa, she found her friend sitting at the table with a cup of tea.

      Louisa smiled as she entered. “Can I get you a cup?”

      She squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t know.”

      Louisa rose. “What’s wrong? You’re shaking.”

      She dropped to one of the chairs at the round table. “Rafe and I had a little chat after everyone was gone.”

      “Did he fire you?”

      “I think I might have welcomed that.”

      Louisa laughed. “You need a cup of tea.” She walked to the cupboard, retrieved the tin she’d bought in the village, along with enough groceries for the two of them, and ran water into the kettle. “So what did he say?”

      “He told me to be careful where I took our conversations.”

      “Are you insulting him again?”

      “He danced around it a bit, but he thinks I’m flirting with him.”

      Eyes wide, Louisa turned from the stove. “Are you?”

      Dani pressed her lips together before she met Louisa’s gaze. “Not intentionally. You know I have a fiancé.”

      “Sounds like you’re going to have to change the way you act around Rafe, then. Treat him the way he wants to be treated, like a boss you respect. Mingle with the waitstaff. Enjoy your job. But stay away from him.”

      * * *

      The next day, Rafe stacked twenty-five black leather folders containing the new menus on the podium for Dani to distribute when she seated customers.

      An hour later, she entered the kitchen, carrying them. Her smile as radiant as the noonday sun, she said, “These look great.”

      Rafe nodded, moving away from her, reminding himself that she was engaged to another man. “As I told you last night, this is a business. Good ideas are always welcome.”

      Emory peeked around Rafe. “And, please, if you have any more ideas, don’t hesitate to offer them.”

      Rafe said, “Bah,” and walked away. But he saw his old,

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