She forced a smile. “I never waste my time, Mr. Grange. And I never let anyone else waste it either.”
A thrill of elation followed her out the door, latching on to the small victory of having the last word. Her one success of the day. At least she’d had a good meal. A great one. She could really do wonders with those three. With the restaurant.
If only Nathaniel Grange wasn’t such an ass.
Chapter Two
“Double damn. Why did I let you all talk me into this?”
Nate, Clay and Louis stood off to the side. A bemused threesome watching the construction workers and designers gut their beautiful restaurant.
A feminine chuckle turned their heads simultaneously. “Jane, what are you doing here?”
Nate’s sister slid out of her small, beat up Honda, a rueful expression on her face as she unstrapped her toddler from his car seat. “I had some errands to run, and I thought I’d come see if you’d chained yourself to the door to protect your precious man cave yet.”
Clay snorted softly. “He’s close. Has been for a month. Been wound tight ever since we voted to hire TS.” He lowered his voice, but Nate still heard him mumble. “He’s not the only one, either.”
“See?” He pointed at Clay and Louis. “She’s distracting. A menace. We were slow, yes, but we were happy. Just you wait. Now we’re going to have linen tablecloths and china plates and every pompous prig and their latest snow bunny complaining about my menu choices. TS. What the hell does that stand for anyway?”
Louis piped up. “Totally Sexy? Tasty Siren? Tantalizing Seductress?”
“Ha ha. More like Trouble Squared. She’s changing everything.”
Jane sniffed. “Don’t whine, big brother, or I’ll ground you for a week. I don’t know what your problem is. I really like her. And she’s great with the kids. She’s let Justin help with making flyers, talk to the construction crew… She even got him to dye his hair one color. As far as I’m concerned she’s a miracle worker.” She cuddled Nate’s youngest nephew, Timmy, closer and avoided his gaze. “Which is why I told her she could use our kitchen for tonight’s project.”
“Tonight’s…? What are you talking about, Jane?” He didn’t like the sound of this at all.
She shrugged. “Robert is taking me and the kids out to dinner and a movie and you three are going to star in your own YouTube video. Great, inexpensive advertising for the reopening, she said. Justin agrees, and you know how smart he is about computers.”
Nate’s jaw clenched. That did it. He had to talk to her. Now. “Where is she?”
Clay’s brow furrowed. “She was in the kitchen last I looked, talking to the designers. But I don’t think you want to—” Nate strode away, and Clay sighed, “—go in there.”
It was a good thing he wasn’t armed. He wanted to beat the bloody hell out of someone as he saw the chaos that had once been his warm, friendly restaurant. No pictures on the wall, no tables. Even the bar had been ripped out. She was destroying everything.
Including his peace of mind.
TS Larkin was trouble. He’d known from the moment he’d seen her. A curvaceous bundle of trouble. His reactions from the first had been clear evidence of that. He’d felt jealous of Robert. Angry at her for looking and smelling so damned lickable. Angry at his own desires. The ones he’d managed to tamp down for years, since he’d moved his sister and her two kids into his house to take care of them.
He wasn’t a monk, but he always kept his sex life casual, private. He never gave in to the base
r urges he’d reveled in when he was in his twenties. When he and the others were in culinary school. He was a family man now. An uncle. A business owner.
Yet, as soon as he’d seen TS, seen her delectable, heavy breasts, her hips, all he could think about was sex. And not just any kind. The raunchy, sweaty, kinky kind that would probably send her running if she could see inside his fantasies. He wanted to spank her. Wanted to cover her in whipped cream and lick her clean. Wanted to tie her up and feast on her.
He wanted to make her scream.
From the comments he’d been getting from Louis and Clay, they’d been having thoughts along the same vein. Thoughts that could damage the balance the three friends had achieved. She was dangerous, all right. And she was crumbling his foundation just as surely as these workers were decimating his restaurant.
It had to stop.
He saw her through a hole that had been the wall separating his kitchen from the dining area. She looked so fucking adorable. Her round, lush curves were encased in a peach skirt and ivory blouse that looked out of place in the dusty, drywall covered room. The fact that she was wearing an overly large hard hat over her brilliant curls only made her that much more feminine. He’d never fucked a woman in a hard hat before. He could imagine bending her over the counter, peeling that skirt up over her round, delicious ass and taking her right there.
Damn her.
“Ms. Larkin. I need a word in private.”
She jumped about an inch off the ground, her mouth opening in surprise before quickly pulling herself together. “Of course, Mr. Grange. David, would you go make sure your crew has these exact specifications?”