As she fought the warmth creeping up her neck and threatening to flood her face, Bayli dared to ask, “Christian told you we slept together?”
“Yes.” Rory stopped the car behind one that was pulling out of a space on Columbus Avenue and then expertly maneuvered into the tight spot and shut off the engine. He shifted in his seat and partially faced Bayli. “The verdict was that you’re phenomenal. But I’d already assumed that.”
He tossed off his seat belt and exited the car in a swift, stealthy move. While Bayli’s mind reeled and her nipples tightened.
Rory had to step over the slight vee of his bumper in order to get to the sidewalk and then he opened her door for her. Bayli’s fingers shook as she unlatched the belt. Rory took the books from her so she could climb out. He set them carefully on the seat and locked the car.
She searched her brain for something to say that would help to distract her from the zings ricocheting within her but came up empty-handed. Not a common occurrence, except when she was in the company of one of two extremely gorgeous, successful, and enigmatic men.
Rory’s fingers twined with hers and he tugged her along beside him. “You’re okay walking for a little while in those shoes?”
“Of course.” She wore four-inch navy-colored heels that matched her short skirt. A cream-colored blouse completed the ensemble. She’d pulled her long hair up in a high ponytail and added simple earrings and her bracelet. A small purse crossed her chest and rested at her hip.
“It’ll be a damn shame when autumn rolls around and you’ll have to cover up those sensational legs of yours,” he told her.
Bayli’s cheeks were going to be burning from grinning after this outing, she had no doubt. “Maybe Christian will choose tropical locales for our shoots.”
“I’m sure he’s already envisioning you in a string bikini.”
With a soft laugh, she said, “No one will take me seriously if I wear a string bikini during your cooking demos.”
“To hell with the demos. He’s thinking strictly off camera as much as I am.” He winked.
Bayli gazed up at him, her chest rising and falling much more quickly than normal. “Are you hitting on me, Chef St. James?”
He let out a mock groan. “Oh, so formal.”
“I thought you enjoyed being revered. Treated like a culinary god,” she jested.
“Naturally,” he shot back. Then he leaned in and whispered sexily in her ear, “Just be sure to call me Rory, or stud muffin, or something equally endearing w
hen I make you come … over and over.”
Bayli stumbled. Rory was quick to catch her and steady her so they could continue on to the white-tented vendor tables.
“Jesus,” she muttered. “You’re both a bit full-throttle.”
“That’s how we get what we want.”
It probably wasn’t wise to do so, but Bayli couldn’t stop herself from brazenly inquiring, “And do you two typically woo the same woman at the same time?”
His brow jumped. “Woo?” He let out a hearty laugh.
“Fine,” she huffed. “Flirt with, stare suggestively at, insinuate that you actually do possess the ability to make me come over and over?”
“Do you doubt it?”
“Hmm.” No.
Another guffaw that echoed down the busy street. No one even bothered to look their way. Until they joined the conglomeration of browsers and shoppers and Rory was instantly recognized.
Bayli rolled her eyes as the women fawned over Angsty Chef, as she now officially—albeit secretly—dubbed him. But Rory was a bit of a man’s man, too, and some of the guys on the street wanted grilling tips and his renowned recipe for chili.
Standing off to the side, letting Rory have his much-deserved moments in the sun, Bayli nibbled her lower lip. Partially to keep from smiling from ear to ear because she was the one he’d been holding hands with before he’d been spotted by fans and partially because she was stuck in tortuous suspense awaiting his answer to her question.
Jewel had once explained about the complication of her reunion with both Rogen and Vin when they’d all returned to River Cross after so many years of separation. Yet when all the cards had been laid on the table, she’d said it’d been a huge relief that each man knew she was attracted—as emotionally as she was physically—to him and that she was having sex with the other.
So nothing was shady, nothing needed to be hidden, nothing slipped that shouldn’t slip, and therefore feelings and egos were spared. As much as could be expected, at any rate. The guys had apparently thrown a few punches when Jewel’s back was turned, but really, that was just toe-curling romantic for a girl to learn about.