All right, so sweet-talking women had never been his strong suit. He possessed other good qualities. Like kissing. Hed been told he was a very good kisser.
Before he could chicken out, he pulled off his glasses, slipped his arms around her and brought his mouth to hers.
Chapter Three
Sara sank into the kiss, which was like melted butter on a warm biscuit-better than she could have dreamed. His mouth was demanding but somehow gentle as he coaxed her lips open, one hand buried in the hair at the back of her neck, angling her head just how he wanted it.
He teased her upper lip with his tongue, then did the same with her lower lip. She entwined her arms around his neck, at first to draw closer, then to keep from sinking to the floor as her knees turned to jelly and she lost all feeling in her extremities.
The kiss seemed to go on forever as their tongues met and performed a mating dance. It was, hands down, the sexiest, most provocative kiss shed ever experienced, and she loved it that he didnt immediately press for more. He didnt touch her breasts, he didnt grind his pelvis into hers.
He just kissed her like it was the last kiss either of them would ever have. Oh, God, she hoped not.
Finally he pulled back and looked down at her, faintly amused. Unique, and you have really soft lips.
O-okay, thats better.
Go get some sleep. We have a busy day ahead of us. He released her, brushing his lips against her forehead before disappearing into his room.
Huh. She wanted so badly to go in there with him. But he hadnt invited her.
She headed for the attic stairs that led to her bedroom, but her legs refused to carry her up them, and she sank onto the second step and stared at Reeces door.
Wow. That had been a surprise.
Maybe she should have forced him out of his comfort zone sooner. Certainly that Bulgarian restaurant hadnt been a comfortable place for him. Neither had he felt at home in the B and Bs kitchen. Hed bungled around likewell, like a macho man in a kitchen.
Shed been surprised each time hed risen to her challenges. Hed tried the slightly strange food. Hed allowed her to show him things in the kitchen.
And then hed kissed her. Connection?
The only problem was, what was she going to do now? Had she started something she wasnt prepared to finish?
She used to take romance lightly, easy come, easy go. If a relationship didnt work out, she might be sad for a short time, but there were always new men to be found.
Recently, however, shed been wondering whether she had a soul mate out there. Allie, who only a few weeks ago had been confirmedly single, had found love with Cooper Remington, and Sara had begun to feel left out.
But if she were to settle down, it would take a special kind of guy, one who was as adventurous as she was, who loved traveling and trying new things.
She had to admit, Reece didnt strike her as the least bit adventurous. He was ultraserious, a buttoned-down CPA who loved to talk about risk management and long-term projections.
Her projections usually didnt extend past what she planned to have for lunch that day.
And yethe was so delicious. Not only that, but he was a good guy. He hadnt balked-not really-when shed volunteered him to handle the B and B finances while Miss Greer took care of her health. Delicious men came and went, but ones with character-they were a bit more rare.
Maybe she ought to decide what she wanted from Reece before she did something crazy.
SARA WAS UP before light the next day, but when she reached the kitchen, she found Reece already there, pondering the workings of the coffeemaker. She liked seeing him there. His very male presence balanced all the Victorian froufrou.
You already changed the lightbulbs? she asked, instead of saying good morning.
He jumped. Oh. Yeah. He looked everywhere but at her.
He was probably regretting last nights moment of weakness. Fine. If that was how he wanted to play it, she could pretend it never happened. Ill get the coffee ready. You can preheat the upper oven to three hundred ten degrees, and the lower one to four twenty-five.
Okay.
That took him all of twenty seconds. When he was done, he intently watched her make coffee, as if committing every step to memory. His attention, so focused, gave her a delicate shiver.
Are you cold? he asked. I opened the window when I came down because it seemed stuffy, but I can close it.
No, the fresh air is nice. She chuckled. Im surprised you were able to get the window open at all. Miss Greer has a phobia about fresh air. Even in the dead of summer, shes sure everyone will catch their death of cold if theres a draft.
Well, Miss Greer isnt here, and what she doesnt know wont hurt her.
Saras heart thudded hard as she chanced a look over her shoulder at Reece. His brown eyes sparkled with mischief. Was he trying to tell her something else? Did he know that shed been holding back a bit because he was a guest, and hitting on guests was frowned upon?
Now that Reece was sort of part of the management, did that change everything?
She looked away quickly, wondering if it was too late to undo last nights kiss. For the first time in her life, she was a bit scared of getting involved on any level with a man, and she wasnt quite sure why. Would she get out unscathed if she and Reece got carried away with this attraction thing?
He was just so different from the guys she usually went for, and she felt she didnt know the rules anymore.
Why dont you set the table? she suggested brightly. Linens are in the buffet, dishes in the china cabinet. Set six place settings.
What about me? he asked. Dont I get to eat?
Youre the hired help now. We eat in the kitchen.
I dont see how I can be hired help if Im not getting paid, he pointed out good-naturedly, though he moved to the dining room to follow directions.
She pushed the coffeemakers on button as she realized what he said was perfectly true. She was getting free room and board, but no one had promised Reece a similar deal for helping out.
She poked her head through the doorway. Youre absolutely right. But Im sure Miss Greer doesnt expect you to pay full price for staying here when youre running the place.
Reece shook his head as he took out a floral tablecloth and laid it over the huge mahogany dining table. I was only kidding. I dont need to be paid. I dont mind helping out, and it gives me something to do.
Dont you have to work on the accounting for Remington Charters? Sara asked.
Well, yeah, but thats not exactly a full-time job.
I thought youd be done with all that by now. She helped him straighten the cloth, then dug out coordinating place mats while he grabbed a stack of plates from the china cabinet.
I have a few more things to set up, then I have to train Allie and Cooper how to use the program.
Train Allie, you mean, she said. Cooper doesnt have the patience for dealing with numbers.
Reece looked at her quizzically. Thats true, but how did you know that?
Duh. You guys lived here for more than a week before Cooper and Max found their own places. I observed you. I watched conversations. I can tell you a lot about your cousins.
Reece crossed his arms. You eavesdropped?
Absolutely not. She hoped she wasnt blushing. Maybe shed listened to Reece more than was strictly accidental because of her fascination with him. Hired help is often invisible. People talk as if Im not there, though I make no effort to sneak around. Sometimes I cant help overhearing.
You werent invisible to me.
Ha. When you have your nose in your laptop with some accounting program, you wouldnt notice an atomic blast going off in the next room. I used to vacuum right under your chair and you never twitched.
I did notice, he insisted. I noticed lots of things about you.
Like what?
Like some guy named Ike from Santa Fe called you at least three times a day on your cell phone. You didnt want to encourage him, but you didnt want to hurt his feelings, either.
She blinked in surprise. Now whos eavesdropping?
Sometimes I couldnt help overhearing, he said, echoing exactly what shed just said to him.
Gracious. He wasnt nearly as oblivious as shed guessed. Here she thought she hadnt even registered on his radar, and hed been listening to her conversations.
What else do you know about Cooper? he asked.
What else do you know about Cooper? he asked.
Arent you more curious as to how much I know about you?
He looked away. I dont give off that many clues.
Youre thirty-four years old. Youre the youngest of two brothers, your brother is named Bret, and he dumps a lot of work on you.
Reece opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Youve never been married, she continued. That was more of an educated guess than actual knowledge, but she could see the moment she said it that it was true, and she felt unaccountably relieved. Bret is already married and has two kids, a boy and a girlBret Jr. and Jessica.
Not bad.
You like things neat, and you make your bed every morning even though thats my job. You get seasick and you have seasonal allergies.
How do you know that?
Im the maid. I clean your bathroom and Ive seen the medicine you leave out on the counter.
Youre a snoop! But he softened the comment with a smile. I bet you wouldnt want some man looking at your private things.
She shrugged. You can look in my bathroom any time you want. Especially if youre willing to scrub the toilet. He wouldnt find anything shocking. The most controversial thing in her medicine chest were birth control pills, which she often forgot to take because lately there hadnt been any compelling reason to. She and Ike hadnt made it that far because shed quickly realized he wasnt for her.
Hed finally gotten the message, too, thank God.
The antique clock on the buffet chimed the half hour, and Sara realized she needed to get a move on. The frittata comes out of the oven at six-fifty, she said. The muffins, in about five minutes. Youll need to make the orange juice from frozen-we dont have any fresh oranges today, but Ill stop at the grocery on my way home. Is there anything else you need to know?