looked toward the test kitchens. As fun as it was spoofing Rudy Soreno, she didn’t want to run into him again so soon. The hallway was empty so she carried her lunch and tablet into Tal’s office. A tall carafe of iced tea sat on the corner of his desk.
“If that’s for our lunch, you’re going to spoil me,” she said.
“Got to keep you happy. You’re the one who’s connecting me with my future.”
Glory felt her forehead crease. She’d gone from happy to feeling like she was leading a lamb to slaughter. And she wasn’t sure she didn’t want that lamb for herself. All the more so because Tal had a sexy smear of chocolate at the corner of his mouth.
She plucked a tissue from the box on his desk and handed it to him, pointing to the same place on her own face.
Tal wet the tissue from a water bottle and frowned at the offending smear that came off. “Hazards of dropping into the kitchens to check on the progress of our dark chocolate pecan sauce.”
Her imagination took an impromptu turn to the kind of personal service she could provide Tal for chocolate smears at the corner of his mouth. She blinked and looked around then busied her hands taking her tuna sandwich and pear out of her brown bag.
“Everything’s a go for Sunday,” she said. “Pryce and Catherine will be there and she’s invited a few more couples to make it look legitimate. They’ll show early so you can meet them. Anyone else you’d like to invite? Maybe Nate and Dorey?”
Tal shook his head. “I’m going to lay out the food in advance so I can be free to concentrate on Alyssia. If I had a bunch of friends there, I’d feel obligated to entertain them. Your way is better.”
She nodded. “What other details did you want to discuss?”
“If I can get Alyssia alone for a minute, I’d like to ask her to go somewhere we can talk,” he said. “What kinds of places would make you feel comfortable with guy you didn’t know well?”
Glory hesitated. “I’m not sure we’d like the same things. Alyssia has very sophisticated tastes. I can’t imagine she’d think driving to Snoqualmie Falls or walking the Burke-Gilman Trail would be stimulating. She’d probably prefer the gallery scene in Pioneer Square. Or you could cook dinner for her.”
Too late. She’d said it without thinking and the image she had tried so hard to erase came flooding back. What the hell was her problem? A quick glance at Tal confirmed she had caught him off balance, too. His gaze moved to somewhere over her left shoulder, just as it had the first time she came to his office. She guessed then that it had signaled his discomfort.
Tal cleared his throat. “I’ll keep those things in mind. Maybe I’ll ask Alyssia which she would like better.”
Glory took a big bite of sandwich and nodded.
“Are you coming early, too?” he asked.
She chewed and swallowed. “I won’t be there.”
He straightened in his chair. “Why not?”
“Think about it. She’s already seen us in what could be construed as a date situation once. You don’t want to give her the idea we’re a couple. Besides, there’ll be other couples there and the point is for you to pair off with Alyssia. You should be comfortable enough by Sunday evening to ask her out on your own.”
“What if I have a question?”
“Wing it or ask Catherine,” she grinned. “She spends more time around Alyssia than I do, anyway.”
Tal started to speak, then closed his mouth.
“What? Did you want me to hide in the broom closet in case of an emergency?”
• •
Tal checked the rented coffee maker, giving himself a fifteen-minute margin before turning it on. It should be fresh when people started arriving. The dessert part had been easy. He’d provided chunks of pound cake and chocolate Bundt cake, plus a half dozen Kingston chocolate and fruit sauces.
While working in his kitchen, however, he passed back and forth in front of the broom closet, glancing at it and grinning. The image of
“If that’s for our lunch, you’re going to spoil me,” she said.
“Got to keep you happy. You’re the one who’s connecting me with my future.”
Glory felt her forehead crease. She’d gone from happy to feeling like she was leading a lamb to slaughter. And she wasn’t sure she didn’t want that lamb for herself. All the more so because Tal had a sexy smear of chocolate at the corner of his mouth.
She plucked a tissue from the box on his desk and handed it to him, pointing to the same place on her own face.
Tal wet the tissue from a water bottle and frowned at the offending smear that came off. “Hazards of dropping into the kitchens to check on the progress of our dark chocolate pecan sauce.”
Her imagination took an impromptu turn to the kind of personal service she could provide Tal for chocolate smears at the corner of his mouth. She blinked and looked around then busied her hands taking her tuna sandwich and pear out of her brown bag.
“Everything’s a go for Sunday,” she said. “Pryce and Catherine will be there and she’s invited a few more couples to make it look legitimate. They’ll show early so you can meet them. Anyone else you’d like to invite? Maybe Nate and Dorey?”
Tal shook his head. “I’m going to lay out the food in advance so I can be free to concentrate on Alyssia. If I had a bunch of friends there, I’d feel obligated to entertain them. Your way is better.”
She nodded. “What other details did you want to discuss?”
“If I can get Alyssia alone for a minute, I’d like to ask her to go somewhere we can talk,” he said. “What kinds of places would make you feel comfortable with guy you didn’t know well?”
Glory hesitated. “I’m not sure we’d like the same things. Alyssia has very sophisticated tastes. I can’t imagine she’d think driving to Snoqualmie Falls or walking the Burke-Gilman Trail would be stimulating. She’d probably prefer the gallery scene in Pioneer Square. Or you could cook dinner for her.”
Too late. She’d said it without thinking and the image she had tried so hard to erase came flooding back. What the hell was her problem? A quick glance at Tal confirmed she had caught him off balance, too. His gaze moved to somewhere over her left shoulder, just as it had the first time she came to his office. She guessed then that it had signaled his discomfort.
Tal cleared his throat. “I’ll keep those things in mind. Maybe I’ll ask Alyssia which she would like better.”
Glory took a big bite of sandwich and nodded.
“Are you coming early, too?” he asked.
She chewed and swallowed. “I won’t be there.”
He straightened in his chair. “Why not?”
“Think about it. She’s already seen us in what could be construed as a date situation once. You don’t want to give her the idea we’re a couple. Besides, there’ll be other couples there and the point is for you to pair off with Alyssia. You should be comfortable enough by Sunday evening to ask her out on your own.”
“What if I have a question?”
“Wing it or ask Catherine,” she grinned. “She spends more time around Alyssia than I do, anyway.”
Tal started to speak, then closed his mouth.
“What? Did you want me to hide in the broom closet in case of an emergency?”
• •
Tal checked the rented coffee maker, giving himself a fifteen-minute margin before turning it on. It should be fresh when people started arriving. The dessert part had been easy. He’d provided chunks of pound cake and chocolate Bundt cake, plus a half dozen Kingston chocolate and fruit sauces.
While working in his kitchen, however, he passed back and forth in front of the broom closet, glancing at it and grinning. The image of
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