Just Add Spice

“Hardly something we should be discussing.” She shook her head again, though her eyes sparkled. Telling him she wasn’t totally immune to him.

Or was she?

“Dial it down a notch or ten,” she added, though the hint of exhilaration returned to her sultry tone. “I’m here to help you, not hump you.”

He let out a wistful sigh. “You used to be easier to sway.”

She extended a hand to him. “Give me back my dress.”

“In good time,” he mused.

Propping her hands on her hips again, she said, “Don’t make me rethink my decision to help out around here.”

“You’re not capable of backing out of a business deal.” A marriage deal was another story. Strike one against them. Pushing that thought aside before it tainted their reunion, he said, “I am a little confused by the striptease, though.” He spared a quick glance over his shoulder at her discarded shoes. “I’ll admit you could eat off this floor after Carlo cleans it, but I’m surprised you’d go barefoot in here.”

“Spend twelve hours in four-inch Pradas and tell me you don’t want to kick them off at the end of the day.”

“I don’t know how you wear them for one hour,” he said, “let alone twelve.” Though he’d always found the high heels provocative on her, especially with her statuesque figure. The woman had legs that didn’t quit.

He’d never known he was a gam-man until he’d walked into a Tuscany winery and had gotten a load of the most gorgeous pair of sculpted, bare, silky-looking legs he’d ever laid eyes on. Her scarlet miniskirt had shown them off in high style, and Rafe had made a beeline for her, forgetting his wine-sampling expedition.

Speaking of miniskirts… His gaze slid over her body. “Guess your clothes felt confining too?”

“I put on a few pounds in Maui,” she admitted. “That dress is a little snug. But I’d still like to have it back.”

“Eventually.”

She tried to fight off another smile but was unsuccessful. “You’re incorrigible.”

“Isn’t that what attracted you in the first place?” His opening line at the winery had been rather bold, after all. Something about ditching her tour guide and group to share a Super Tuscan Sangiovese with him in front of a cozy fire at the private villa he’d rented. She’d taken the bait.

“Your supreme confidence aside,” she said with attitude, “it was your baby blues that won me over.”

Jenna stared into his eyes, the way she used to, as though she swam in his irises, forgetting all else. He liked when she looked so intently at him. Unfortunately, the moment passed all too quickly.

“I really don’t need to feed into your male ego.” Changing the subject, she said, “Tonio let me in and set me up with the food samples and wine. I hear Chianti is still your best seller. Considering the impressive wine cellar your cousin Giovanni has stocked, don’t you think it’s time we dispel the myth that it’s the only red that goes well with Italian food?”

Rafe wasn’t in the mood to talk shop, but he couldn’t disagree with her. “That’s the way it’s always been at Sampogna’s.”

“If that’s the best answer you can give me, there’s no reason not to change it.”

Again, her observation was difficult to dispute. “I have put a lot of money into Gio’s extensive collection. It’d be nice to see a return on my investment.”

“My thoughts exactly. I was thrilled to peruse the list when he emailed it to me.”

“You sneaky devil.”

“Just trying to help,” she said with a modest shrug. “When you mentioned the legendary Carnelian Room closing a while back, and then a few other San Francisco favorites shutting down over the past couple years, I knew you were shook up. Last time we talked, you said you had more empty tables than usual. I got worried myself.”

Without doubt, the situation alarmed him. Seemed every week he read or heard about another renowned restaurant closure in the Bay Area. Since traditional Italian eateries were practically a dime a dozen in this town, he felt justified in obsessing over the less-than-stellar amount of reservations in the book.

“That’s why I’m offering my services and expertise for two whole weeks,” she told him. “Free of charge. Take advantage of it, because not many people hear those three little words from me.”

He frowned, ignoring that last sentiment. There were three other little words Rafe wished like hell she’d say to him, because it’d been much too long since she’d uttered them.

Mentally shaking his head, he focused instead on her offer.

Despite her generosity and her much-appreciated concern for the fate of Sampogna’s, he said, “Why don’t you just take a vacation like normal people do when they have spare time on their hands?”