Lifting his hand to salute Bond, Casy winked at me. “Have fun.” Then, pointing at me with a straw, he added, “And don’t forget what I just said. You’re special, so don’t accept anything less than what you’re worth. I think Bond’s the guy for that, but what do I know?”
As we walked toward the office hand in hand, I mulled over what Casy had just said.
“How much alcohol does he have to drink every day, and what time does he start drinking at? Maybe you should set a new rule for him that includes him not drinking. Ever.”
Bond sighed as he stopped in front of the door to his office. “Casy doesn’t usually drink, so it’d be a waste of breath and paper doing that. I think he’s just looking out for both of us.”
“I see. That was just weirder than I’m used to.”
Pulling me into his front, Bond stared intently at my mouth. “Forget about him. I love your hair, baby. You look gorgeous.” I may have only been able to smile shyly at him on the outside, but on the inside, I preened. That was until he asked, “Is there something you should be doing right now?”
I paused, confused by this. “I have a meeting with you now.” Pointing at my feet, I added, “Which I’m here for. So, no, I don’t think I’m forgetting anything.”
A small smile played on his lips. “I meant did you forget anything when it came to me?”
“Was I meant to bring you something? Oh, shit, it’s not your birthday, is it?”
How was I meant to know that? Actually, that was an excellent point—I should probably know when his birthday was if we were going to continue seeing each other.
Sighing dramatically, he cupped my face in his huge palms. “I’d really, really like it if you’d kiss me when you saw me. It doesn’t have to be in front of a crowd if it’s like today, but the second we have some space, I want you to kiss me hello.”
Testing the request, I kissed the palm of his hand and smiled sweetly up at him. “There you go. Hello, it’s good to see you again.”
“Pain in my ass,” he muttered before swooping down and kissing me. Unlike our previous ones, he didn’t spend time warming me up to the kiss. No, this time, his tongue flicked into my mouth the second his lips hit mine, then he was consuming me all over again.
Like I had an issue with that. Far from it. I loved that Bond wanted me to greet him with a kiss. I absolutely loved the fact he wasn’t expecting me to go out of my comfort zone with it, too. And I was blown away by the need and desire in the kiss he was giving me right now.
Finally, he slowed it down, gently pulling his mouth away from mine until it was about an inch away. “Now, that’s how we say hello in the future.”
I was aware my eyelids were at half-mast, but I’d be damned if I could find the willpower to open them any more than that. “I’m not sure I’d survive if we always said hello like that.”
One side of his mouth tipped up in a half-smile. “Wait until you experience what our goodbyes are going to be like.”
Lifting onto my tiptoes, I touched my lips gently against his before lowering back down again. “Lord help me.”
Bursting out laughing, he reached out and opened the door, ushering me in and following behind me.
Canon looked up and smiled, no doubt taking in my slightly flushed cheeks and well-kissed state. “Well, if it isn’t, Miss. Du Plessis. How are you doing, Heidi?”
“Good, but wondering about your bar manager.” Relaying the conversation to Canon, I waited for his input. When he didn’t say anything, I pressed, “That’s weird, right? I was thinking maybe it was alcohol related, but Bond says Casy hardly drinks.”
“He doesn’t. If you ask me, he’s just playing y’all’s fairy godfather. He’s looking out for both of you and trying to push you together at the same time.”
Huh. And people thought men couldn’t be interferers when it came to relationships and that only women did it.
“Anyway,” Bond huffed, pulling out a chair for me and turning it to face Canon’s desk before taking one beside me. “What’s on the menu for next month’s special, baby?”
They listened intently while I took them through my ideas. “Cason’s been showing me how to make lavender syrup and some other ones, and it’s opened up a whole treasure trove of ideas for me. Some I want to keep to my business so I can offer them to my personal clients, but the others I’m happy to make exclusively for Kleins.”
“That’s as it should be,” Bond agreed. “We’ve also been getting a lot of requests for your business information, so could you leave some business cards behind that we can hand out?”