“I’ll ensure they get a temporary employee until they fill your position. There are plenty of people who need jobs, Mia. The Millers don’t want to let you go. They aren’t looking because they’re perfectly happy for you to stay on for as long as they can keep you.”
Mia hesitated and then nervously pushed back her hair with one hand. “I’ll consider it.”
Gabe smiled again, his eyes glowing with warmth. Before she could react, he pulled her forward, tilting her chin up with his finger. His mouth melted over hers, hot and breathless. She didn’t move, didn’t pull away. She went soft against him, leaning further into his embrace as he deepened the kiss.
His tongue brushed over hers, teasing lightly before retreating. He licked over her bottom lip and then tugged gently, sucking it between his teeth.
“Think about it, Mia,” he whispered. “I’ll be waiting for your decision.”
And then he pulled away and walked out of the shop to his waiting car.
Mia stood staring at the street long after he’d pulled away. Her lips tingled from his kiss and she put her fingers over her mouth. She could still smell him, still felt the imprint of his body against hers.
She was startled from her stupor when the bell above the door jangled and a customer walked in. Louisa came from the back and rang the customer up while Mia removed Gabe’s half-full coffee cup and the uneaten croissant from his table.
It was nearly time for her to leave for the day. She only worked a few hours, usually during the lunch rush, and sometimes on Saturday and Sunday mornings if they really needed her.
She walked slowly to the back to remove her apron and the beret, her mind in turmoil. Greg was baking and Louisa hustled back to rejoin him. Mia stood in the doorway for a long moment before Greg looked up and saw her.
“Is something wrong, Mia?” he asked.
She took a deep breath and slowly expelled it. “There’s something I need to tell you and Louisa.”
chapter five
“Holy shit, you quit?” Caroline asked.
Mia slowly nodded and then turned her attention back to the near-boiling water on the stove. She salted it and then added the spaghetti.
“Come on, you have to tell me more. What prompted this decision? I was beginning to think you were going to make a career as a pastry chef or something.”
“You sound like Gabe,” Mia muttered.
Caroline’s eyes narrowed. “Is he why you quit? Spill, girlfriend. You’re still holding out on me about today’s meeting, and it’s driving me crazy!”
Mia hesitated and then clamped her lips shut. She couldn’t tell Caroline about the contract. Or anything with regard to her meeting with Gabe. If she was going to agree to this—and apparently she was giving it serious consideration—she didn’t want the details of her private life—with Gabe—to be known. Even by her best friend.
But she had to tell her something. So she went with the lesser of the two evils.
“He offered me a job,” Mia said.
Caroline’s eyes widened. “Wait. He kissed you. He threatened to fuck you on the terrace. All because he wants you to work for him?”
Yeah, it sounded pretty lame to Mia too, but she wasn’t saying a word about that damn contract.
“Well, there could be more, but for now, he wants me to be his personal assistant. He thinks I’m wasting my talents working at La Patisserie.”
Caroline poured them both a glass of wine and slid Mia’s glass across the bar to her. Mia stirred the spaghetti sauce and gave the noodles a quick poke.
“Well, I agree with him there. You didn’t go to grad school to pour people coffee and offer them a croissant,” Caroline said dryly. “But personal assistant? I think he gives a whole new definition to the word personal.”
Mia remained silent, not rising to that particular bait.
“So you must have decided to do it if you quit, right?”
Mia sighed. “I haven’t decided anything for certain yet. I have until Monday to make my decision.”
Caroline shrugged. “It’s a no-brainer if you ask me. He’s rich, he’s gorgeous and he wants you. What’s not to love about that setup?”
“You’re incorrigible,” Mia said in exasperation. “Money isn’t everything, you know.”
“Said by someone who is indulged by her older brother, who also happens to have more money than God.”
Mia couldn’t deny that Jace was every bit as wealthy as Gabe, or that he did a lot for her. He’d purchased this apartment for her—though he didn’t like that more often than not she walked the twenty blocks to work. She didn’t need a roommate, but Caroline needed a place to stay and Mia liked the company. But she tried not to rely solely on Jace. She wasn’t extravagant. In fact, she had learned to be quite frugal with her meager earnings.