Jake Freedman deserved to be stood up. Only the lure of Neil Perry’s food had brought her here and she was owed a dinner. As for her outfit, she hoped it made Jake Freedman want her all the more because he could eat his heart out for sex tonight. No way was he going to get as much as a piece of her.
‘Have a nice night with Jake!’
Her teeth gnashed over those words—accompanied by her father’s beaming smile of approval. He’d been told about this date. Maybe the two men had plotted it together. Whatever… Tonight was no longer a private and personal meeting. It reeked of other agendas in the wind and she hated the thought of playing a part in either man’s scheming.
Determined on focusing on the food and giving Jake Freedman a very cold shoulder, she stepped past the doorway and made her way downstairs. Red dominated the decor of the basement restaurant. The scent of joss-sticks wafted through it. Definitely the hot, in place to be, Laura thought, noting that most of the tables were already occupied, even at this relatively early hour.
Jake had a table for two. He rose from his chair as he saw her being led to it, his gaze swiftly raking over the high points of her femininity, before shooting her a look of sizzling appreciation. Laura sizzled, too, not only with the acute, physical awareness he sparked off, but also with resentment at the sheer animal magnetism that clutched at her heart and turned her insides to jelly.
His clothes were completely nondescript—white shirt, grey slacks. They were irrelevant to the stunning impact of the man, as though it was his natural right to hold centre stage anywhere, in any company without any effort whatsoever. He waited for her with easy confidence and Laura wished she could knock him down and sweep him out of her life as though his existence was of no account.
Somehow she had to make it of no account.
‘You look spectacular,’ he said in greeting, grinning wickedly as he added, ‘Great shoes!’
‘They’re good man-stomping shoes,’ she replied, doing her best to appear cool and collected.
One black eyebrow quirked upwards. ‘About to do some stomping?’
She returned a glowering look. ‘I’ll eat first.’
‘Good idea! Work up some energy.’
He was amused.
Laura seethed over his amusement as she sat down. They were handed menus by a waitress who offered to help them make choices if they wanted anything explained.
‘Not yet,’ Laura said firmly. ‘I want to salivate over every dish before I start choosing.’
‘We’ll call you when we’re ready,’ Jake put in, smiling his charming smile, which, of course, would bring the dazzled waitress running the moment he caught her attention.
Laura fixed her attention on the menu. She read the Spice Temple philosophy first. It described what the restaurant aimed for—unique and special dishes, seasoned by an unmistakable Chinese flavour and driven by a long-fostered passion for Asian cuisine, all designed to delight the senses with their contrasting tastes and textures. She hoped they would dominate her senses and block Jake Freedman out.
‘Why do you want to stomp on me?’
She set the menu down and glared at the curiosity in his eyes. ‘How many brownie points did you get for telling my father we were meeting for dinner tonight?’
‘Ah!’ He made a rueful grimace. ‘I didn’t offer the information, Laura. He asked me directly if I was seeing you again. Did you want me to lie about it?’
She was unappeased. ‘I bet you knew he would ask. That’s why you called me when you did. Before you left work yesterday.’
He cocked his head on one side, the dark brown eyes challenging her stance on this issue. ‘I thought you were determined on not having your father rule your life.’
‘He doesn’t.’
‘He’s influencing your attitude towards me right now.’
‘Because you told him.’
He shook his head. ‘You should make decisions for yourself, Laura, regardless of what anyone else knows or says. You made yours yesterday. Why let him change what you want? You’ve brought him here with you instead of moving to your own beat.’
She frowned, realising she had let her father ruin all her pleasure in anticipating this date. Although how could she be excited over being used?
‘What about you? Are you here for me or for him?’ she asked, watching for any shiftiness in his eyes.
He grinned a wickedly sexy grin. ‘When I was watching you walk to this table, I can assure you I was not thinking of your father.’
Heat bloomed in her cheeks at the provocative statement. She lifted her chin, defying the desire he wanted her to share. ‘I decided to flaunt what you weren’t going to get.’
‘Decisions, decisions,’ he mocked, gesturing an appeal. ‘Can we leave your father out of them for the rest of this evening? Just enjoy all there is to enjoy just between ourselves?’
He was very appealing.
The man had everything—looks, intelligence, the sexiest eyes in the world, and he was undermining her prejudice at a rate of knots. Nevertheless, she couldn’t quite set aside an ulterior motive for this date with her. On the other hand, why shouldn’t she take pleasure in being with him, move her father to the sidelines, denying him any power to influence the play between her and Jake? After all, she was the one with the power to decide how far she would get involved with this man.
She gave him a hard look of warning. ‘As long as it’s kept between ourselves, I’m happy to take a more positive attitude towards you.’
‘And I’m happy to be your secret lover,’ he replied, his eyes dancing with unholy teasing.
Her heart performed a somersault. ‘I didn’t say anything about becoming lovers.’
‘Just assuring you that private moments will be kept private.’ He opened up his menu. ‘Let’s salivate over what’s on offer together. Did you see that the hottest dishes are printed in red?’
He was the hottest dish.
Laura dragged her mind off visualising him as her lover and reopened her menu. ‘I prefer spicy to hot, hot,’ she said, looking at the list of entrées.
‘Okay. We cross out the red print ones.’
‘You don’t have to. Choose whatever you like.’
‘There’s so much to like, it will be better if we can share, don’t you think? Have a taste of each other’s choices? Broaden the experience?’
Sharing the taste… Laura’s stomach curled. It sounded intimate. It was intimate. And suddenly she didn’t care about other agendas. She wanted this experience with him.
‘Great idea!’ she said, and allowed herself to smile.
His eyes twinkled with pleasure, completely dissipating the anger she had carried to this meeting.
‘You’re incredibly beautiful when you smile,’ he remarked. ‘I hope I can make you smile all evening for the sheer pleasure of looking at you.’
She laughed. ‘No chance! I’m going to be busy eating.’
‘I’ll try for in between bites.’
‘I’ll be drooling over the food.’
He laughed. ‘Speaking of which, what entrées would you like to try?’
A smile was still on her face as she read the yummy list. The happy