She felt his grip on her tighten for just a split second before he murmured, “It's a good thing I'm feeding you first then, because it's an extensive collection. Might take all night. You'll need your strength.”
Caroline made an involuntary noise that was almost a whimper and then pulled away from his roaming lips. “Much as I'd like to continue this, I need to go talk to Lilly.”
He groaned in displeasure and then said, “I should probably go make sure they haven't burnt my bloody kitchen down anyway. Stop by tonight before you go so we can exchange information?”
When she nodded her agreement, he placed another quick, hard kiss on her lips and then left. She watched him walk away, her head still spinning.
The moment his mouth touched hers it was like she had ingested truth serum. She'd all but just told him she was a sure thing. Way to keep it classy, Caroline, she thought in disgust.
The other night on the roof, she had essentially done the same thing. He'd asked her about herself. Suddenly an hour had disappeared while she talked about how she was a disappointment to her parents. She shook her head in frustration, then headed down the hallway to Lilly's office.
Caroline approached Lilly's door, then took a calming breath. Tentatively, she tapped against the doorframe. When Lilly looked up, she had a smug grin on her face. “Magnus? Really? After your first meeting in the kitchen, I can't say I expected to see his tongue down your thro
at.”
Flushing, Caroline asked, “You wanted to see me?”
“Oh, yeah. That. Right. I was actually checking in to make sure you guys were making progress on the pairing menu. I know he can be a bit temperamental, so I figured I'd ask you instead.”
“The dishes he came up with the other night were perfect. We're going to get together and finish the rest tomorrow,” Caroline explained.
Lilly nodded and said, “I've been thinking about it. I think I'd like to make a big splash with the tasting menu. Maybe do an invitation only evening. Invite the media, bloggers. People like that. I think we're doing something really special here. Now that we've had a modicum of success, I'd like the world to know what new, exciting things we're doing. And the valuable people I've got working here that are doing it, too.”
“Oh,” Caroline stammered. “Um... If that's what you want to do. I don't have to plan this, do I?”
“God, no. I don't have the foggiest idea how to plan it either. I'll talk to Talan. See if he'll lend me some of the event planners from the hotel.”
Caroline snorted. “I feel like you could talk him into just about anything in your current state. He's all but swaddled you in bubble wrap.”
“Don't think that I'm not using that to my advantage, Caroline,” she admitted, her smug grin returning.
If she didn't know how blissfully with each other those two were, she'd actually feel a little bit sorry for Talan. Lilly was like a pit bull. When she locked onto an idea, she typically made it happen. Even if he did object, he didn't stand a chance.
“You guys are absolutely adorable,” Caroline admitted, a soft smile. “It makes me a little nauseated, if I'm being honest.”
“I think he broke me. In the best way possible, though. I'm a no nonsense, levelheaded businesswoman until he walks into the room. Suddenly I'm a puddle of mush.”
“You broke him in the exact same way. The one time I met him before, he was very stiff and formal. Now he's like a slightly menacing teddy bear,” Caroline said with a snicker. Then she sobered for a moment to add, “Please don't tell him I said that. But seriously. I'm glad I decided to take the job here. When they closed down the sports bar after, well... you know. They gave me my pick of where I wanted to go.”
“You were hand-picked for my bar,” Lilly admitted. “I would have bugged you unmercifully if you'd turned me down. If that didn't work, I was going to throw money at you. You were wasting away in the sports bar.”
“I didn't realize it was a negotiation. I would have tried to weasel a unit into my contract like Magnus. Or at least use of the upstairs oasis.”
“He's a shrewd negotiator,” Lilly conceded, clearing her throat. “And while we're on the subject... I know it's not any of my business, what's going on between you and Magnus. Being with someone who's Transfigured is a little bit complicated. If you ever want to talk, I've been where you are. I'd be happy to listen.”
Caroline opened her mouth to tell Lilly that this was just casual, but then she realized that it didn't exactly feel that way. It was definitely early, but she didn't exactly feel like Magnus was strictly trying to get into her pants. He could have done it with ease the other night, yet he'd kept his promise.
So, instead of making any sort of denial, Caroline merely said, “It's early yet, but I might take you up on it if things get more serious.”
“My door is always open,” Lilly answered, giving her a slightly sympathetic look.
****
Caroline double-checked the items in her bag. Shaker, Gin, Chambord, fresh squeezed orange juice, lime juice. She went down the list, mentally going over the ingredients for each of the three drinks she'd be preparing tonight. Satisfied, she nodded.
Pulling the phone out of the front pocket of her messenger bag, she realized it was time to leave if she wanted to make it to Magnus's place on time. And god knew, she wanted to be on time. He was incredibly fussy about his food.
When the phone began to vibrate in her hand, she looked down at the screen again and groaned. Seeing her mother's face, she winced. She thought she had dodged a bullet when her mother hadn't called her yesterday. Apparently not. Taking a calming breath, she braced herself.