Complications(6)

And before she could say another word, he headed around the counter and walked through the backdoor leading to what he presumed was her kitchen.



Olivia braced a hand on the counter the moment Alex disappeared through the door. Holy hell, she thought. She didn’t know if she would be able to sit through a dinner with him without spontaneously combusting into an inferno of hot, lusty flames. The man should seriously be illegal because she couldn’t remember the last time her panties had been this wet.

And now he was in the back cleaning up her kitchen. The idea was so ridiculous it was almost amusing. But the fluttering of her heart and the warmth rapidly spreading through her body told her it was definitely a reality.

She glanced at the clock over the register. 6:55. Five minutes to closing.

She could vaguely hear the sound of pans banging into her sink and she forced herself to take calming, deep breaths. She felt as though she had just walked into a dream and any moment now she would wake up, safe and sound in her one bedroom apartment.

But this was no dream. The most handsome man she had ever seen just asked her out. And Olivia felt positive that he wanted to have sex with her. The man wasn’t exactly subtle.

She tried to wrap her head around it and failed. Olivia knew that she was pretty, but in a cute girl-next-door type of way. She was not the drop-dead gorgeous bombshell she imagined he usually pursued.

Olivia had always had insecurities about her body and now, after the smoke was starting to clear post-breakup, she realized that Miles contributed to most of that. But she had to admit that Alex looking at her with heat in his eyes certainly stroked her bruised ego in a big way. And after what Miles had done to her, she deserved a little reprieve from the rigid expectations she had managed to fit herself into during their six-year relationship.

So, with that thought in mind, she quickly flipped her open sign to closed and pulled an empty tray from the display case. Taking a deep breath, she paused and stared at the back door leading into her kitchen.

She felt a moment of hesitation. She did just come out of a long-term relationship. Was he really something that she was ready for? More importantly, did she even want to jump into something new so quickly?

An image of Miles flashed into her mind, the day of their break-up. She hadn’t seen him since then, but the emotionless expression on his face as he made his confession to her would be permanently burned into her memory. After six years, he hadn’t even shed one tear. Not the way she had during that moment…and afterwards for days.

Was she ready for something new?

Abso-freaking-lutely.

With that thought, she felt a spark of confidence and she pushed through the door in front of her before she could change her mind.

Alex was standing in front of the sink. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and the image of him washing her dishes in slacks and leather dress shoes was so amusing she almost chuckled. He glanced over his broad shoulder to look at her. Olivia wanted to shiver as his dark eyes drank her in. His resulting smile was sensual and wicked and she felt her body respond to its intoxicating pull almost immediately.

Before she could second guess herself, Olivia smiled back.





Chapter Three




Olivia felt like she was having an out-of-body experience.

They had finished cleaning and closing up the shop in record time. Olivia suspected that Alex had washed more than a few dishes in his day since he made quick work of the pan stack. And she had spent more time than she cared to admit tidying up the front of her shop. She gave it a deep clean, feeling confident—yet uneasy—that Alex was taking care of the kitchen. She had only needed to return to show him where the clean pans and utensils went.

The Italian restaurant Alex had led her to was only one block away from her shop, so they opted to walk instead of drive. But she felt terribly underdressed when they arrived. Alex was in his business attire. She was still in her casual work clothes, which consisted of dark jeans and a simple t-shirt. When she voiced her concerns to him, he had given her a very deliberate—and achingly slow—once over and proclaimed that he thought she looked great.

And now, sitting across from Alex while he ordered wine for the both of them was so surreal that she actually laughed. Granted, it was a quiet laugh, but she felt her whole body flush crimson when Alex and the waiter turned to her in surprise.

“Thank you, that will be all for now,” Alex murmured to the waiter, a slight amused smile on his lips as he handed back the wine list. The waiter disappeared, something Olivia wished she could do the very moment Alex turned his full attention on her. His lips were still quirked up into that smile she was beginning to associate with his heated glances. Case in point, the one he was leveling at her right now could melt the panties off any woman. His eyebrow raised in a questioning expression.