He watched Kayla savor her meal, and decided he liked being with a woman who actually ate the food on her plate, instead of pushing it around to make it look like she'd taken a few bites because she was worried about her figure. Fine cuisine was a big part of Jack's life, and it was nice to find a woman who shared that passion.
"This place is so elegant, and the food is outstanding," Kayla complimented as she waved her fork over the bisque and hors d'oeuvres. "You never did say how you got into the restaurant business. Do you mind me asking?"
"Not at all." This was the opening he'd been waiting for, an ideal segue for him to share more intimate details about himself and his past and the man he'd become. "Do you remember what this restaurant was before it became Tremaine's Downtown?"
She thought for a moment on that as she took a drink of her champagne. "That was such a long time ago. I believe it was a casual kind of restaurant, wasn't it?"
"It was six years ago, and back then the place was called Bluebeard's."
Her eyes lit up in recollection. "That's right. Now I remember. It was a bar and grill, wasn't it?"
"Yes," he said, and absently swirled the sparkling liquid in his flute before finishing it off. "When I was seventeen, I was hired on as the dishwasher, and it was the perfect part-time job while I finished school then went to college. Over the years I worked my way up to being a waiter, then a bartender, and finally, the manager of the restaurant."
"Very impressive," she said.
He shrugged off her compliment, because the ambition to make something of himself had driven him hard from a very young age. He'd always been looking ahead at a better raise, that next promotion, and anything else that would take him where he wanted to go-and that place was financial security. The kind he'd grown up without.
"Jimmy was the owner who initially hired me," he said, back to his story. "And when he died a few years later his wife, Molly, took over the restaurant, which was a huge mistake since she didn't have much interest in Bluebeard's at all. She held on to the place because it provided a small extra cash flow for her, but eventually she sucked the restaurant dry financially. One day the employees came in for work and Molly announced that Bluebeard's was on the verge of bankruptcy and she was shutting the place down."
Kayla winced, obviously understanding the ramifications of that. "Dare I ask what happened?"
"The story ends happily," he assured her.
He paused as their waiter returned to clear off their plates and serve them their main entrée of chateaubriand, a roasted tenderloin of beef accompanied by an array of fresh steamed vegetables topped with béarnaise sauce.
He cut into the beef and found it tender and perfectly prepared. "Anyway, I saw this as the ideal opportunity to finally open a restaurant of my own, which I was considering anyway. I made an offer on the place, and since it was so run-down and Molly was so anxious to unload the restaurant, we came to a quick, mutually acceptable price and the establishment became mine.
"Unfortunately the place needed a whole lot of work for what I envisioned," he went on as he refilled each of their champagne glasses. "And because I was determined to make a success of my restaurant when it opened, I took out an additional loan for major renovations and shut the place down for six months while I had the establishment redesigned and restructured. The inside was completely gutted then redecorated, and I had this upper level added on, too, for private parties and banquets."
"That's an amazing story." She dabbed the corners of her mouth with her linen napkin then spread it on her lap again. "And soon you'll be opening your second restaurant. That has to be exciting."
"Exciting and scary," he said, knowing she'd understand since she had a business of her own. "It's like starting all over again."
"After tonight's meal, I'm certain the success of Tremaine's Downtown will carry over to Tremaine's Uptown." Then the corner of her mouth twitched with unmistakable humor and delight. "And of course you'll have your new dessert menu to draw your customers back again and again."
"That I will," he said.
For another half hour they ate their dinner around companionable conversation, until Kayla declared that she was unable to eat another bite.
"Not even the dessert you brought?" he asked, setting his fork on his empty plate.
She leaned back in her chair, looking impish. "Okay, maybe a bite."
He laughed and when the waiter returned to clear their dinner plates he asked the young man to bring back the dessert he'd brought to the restaurant, along with coffee for both of them. Minutes later, their order arrived-fresh coffee and two slices of the cake Kayla had made for him.
This evening there would be no feeding each other, or asking Kayla to sit on his lap. He knew all too well how fast things could turn wild and hot between them, and there was no sense tempting himself with what he wasn't going to take tonight.
"Tell me about the cake," he prompted, curious to know what it was, and what to expect.
"This is a coconut lemon cake," she told him as she stirred cream into her coffee. "The inside is an extra-moist blend of coconut-flavored cake enhanced with fresh lemon juice and grated peel. The outside is topped with a halo of delicate coconut flakes on a lemon glaze."
"Tell me about the cake," he prompted, curious to know what it was, and what to expect.
"This is a coconut lemon cake," she told him as she stirred cream into her coffee. "The inside is an extra-moist blend of coconut-flavored cake enhanced with fresh lemon juice and grated peel. The outside is topped with a halo of delicate coconut flakes on a lemon glaze."
He took a few bites to really savor the taste, and like every dessert that had come before, he liked it. The moist cake dissolved in his mouth, and the coconut and lemon flavor was a combination that worked well together and left a pleasant taste in his mouth afterward.
Kayla ignored her own slice of cake and watched him eat his dessert. After a few silent moments had passed, she asked anxiously, "Well?"
He wiped his mouth with his napkin and grinned. "It's great. I'll take it."
She visibly relaxed in her chair. "You're easy to please, you know that?"
"You make it easy on me." He took a drink of his coffee, and forked off another bite of the cake. "You've given me three very unique and diverse desserts, and I think each one will be a hit."
Finally, she started in on her own piece of cake. "I was thinking, maybe you'd like to add a cheesecake to the menu?"
He considered the suggestion, and agreed that cheesecake was a popular item. "What did you have in mind?"
"I came up with a few flavors I'd like to run by you, actually." She licked a smear of lemon glaze off her bottom lip, her expressive green eyes lighting up with exuberance. "There's a Dutch Apple Streusel Cheesecake, Kahlúa Coffee Cheesecake, a Dulce de Leche Caramel Cheesecake, or Chocolate Pecan Turtle."
He chuckled and shook his head. "And you expect me to choose just one?"
"Eventually." She smiled, drawing his gaze back to her sexy mouth and reminding him of the immense pleasure she'd given him with those lips of hers. "How about I make a small example of each flavor, and you can pick the one you like the best? I can have them ready for you to taste by Wednesday afternoon."
"That would be perfect." As she was. Every single curvaceous inch of her.
And that easily, that quickly, his body reacted, growing heavy with a need that made him question his personal promise about not making love to her tonight.
After dessert, the drive back to Kayla's house was made in a companionable silence, which gave her too much time to think about how the night might end. She knew how she wanted it to end. But despite the awareness and sensuality that had been undeniably apparent between them all night long, there was also a level of reserve on Jack's part that left her feeling off balance and uncertain about herself, and them. Now she really wished she hadn't left those Caramel Caresses sitting on the counter at home.
If she'd brought them along as planned, there wouldn't be any doubt in her mind that they'd end the night in a hot, passionate encounter. Just like every time before that he'd eaten her aphrodisiac candies.
Refusing to let insecurities or those too-distracting voices in her head ruin what had been a great evening, she let her mind drift to more pleasant thoughts like how at ease and comfortable she felt around Jack. She couldn't ever remember feeling this way with another man before.
Not even Doug.
Especially not Doug.
With Doug there had always been too many expectations on his part that left her constantly worrying about whether or not she measured up. Did she look all right? Had she said or done the wrong thing? And no matter how hard she tried to please him, he'd always find something to criticize.
But with Jack she was beginning to relax and feel comfortable in her own skin, which was a first. But as much as that realization increased her inner confidence, she was all too aware that she was gradually opening herself up to Jack emotionally, which hadn't been part of her plan. When this affair of theirs ended, she wanted to walk away with her heart intact, and she'd do well to remember that.
He pulled into her driveway, then walked her to her front door. A sudden burst of nervous energy took hold, and butterflies swarmed in her stomach.
"I had a wonderful time tonight," she said as she dug around in her purse for her keys. Finding them, she then glanced back up at Jack's face. The porch light illuminated his strong features and fathomless blue eyes. "Thanks for taking me to your restaurant."
"It was my pleasure." He plucked the keys from her fingers, then unlocked and opened the door for her.
He was being so polite, so chivalrous, and she knew that any advance tonight was going to be up to her.
"Would you like to come in?" she asked before her small allotment of courage fled. "I still have those candies you haven't tried yet." Good God, she hoped she didn't look as desperate as she suddenly felt.