Naked (The Blackstone Affair 1)

“Well he read me bedtime stories. Combed out my wet hair without snagging and hurting. Taught me how to ride a bike and how to swim. He always kissed my boo-boos when I got scraped, and most importantly, opened his wallet frequently, but that wasn’t until later.”

Ethan grunted, “I can do all those things for you and more.” He stole another piece of chicken. “Especially the more part.”

I smacked his hand away. “Thief!”

“You’re a good cook,” he murmured against my ear. “I think I must keep you.”

“So you do like my Mexican dinner. I see you went with the theme and brought us Dos Equis. Smart move, Blackstone. You’ve got potential.” I started moving bowls to the table.

“Dos Equis is from Mexico?” He made a noise and shrugged. “I just chose that one because I like the ads…the most interesting man in the world.” He grinned malevolently and helped me transfer the rest of the food.

“A liar and a thief.” I shook my head sadly. “You just blew all your potential, Blackstone.”

“I’ll change your mind later I’m sure, Bennett.” He grinned over at me from the sink where he washed his hands quickly and then opened two beers for us. “I have an abundance of potential,” he said wiggling his eyebrows. Ethan delivered my Dos Equis and looked over everything set out on the table, head tilted in perusal. “Help me out here. How do I put your chicken tacos together, which smell very nice by the way.”

I couldn’t help laughing at him. The way he said ‘tacos’ in his British accent cracked me up. And how he worded things too. It just made me laugh.

“What’s so funny? Am I amusing you now, Miss Bennett?”

“Here let me fix it.” I showed him how to put on some chicken, the corn salsa, a drizzle of sour cream, a sprinkle of shredded cheese and a couple slices of avocado on the tortilla and fold it. “You’re just adorable that’s all, Mr. Blackstone. That accent of yours—it makes me laugh sometimes.” I handed him his taco on the plate.

“Ahhh, so I went from losing all my potential to adorable in a very short time. And just by speaking.” He accepted the plate and waited for me to fix mine. “I’ll have to remember that, baby.” He flashed one of those million dollar Ethan smiles at me and took a sip of his beer.

“So go ahead and take a bite. Give me your verdict and be aware that I will know if you lie to me.” I tapped my head. “Super powers of deduction.” I picked up my taco and took a bite, moaning in over exaggerated sounds of pleasure and arching my neck back. “So delicious I feel hot all over,” I purred across the table.

Ethan looked at me like I’d just sprouted devil horns and swallowed hard in his throat. I knew he would get me back later for the merciless teasing. I didn’t care. Ethan was fun. We had fun together and that was part of what I loved about him. Love. Did I love him?

He lifted the taco to his mouth and took a bite. He stared at me as he chewed and swallowed. He wiped his mouth on a napkin and looked up in contemplation, pretending to count on his fingers. He took another sip of beer.

“Well, let’s see…” He focused on me. “Chef Bennett, I give you a five on execution. Laughing at me got you a five point deduction right out the gate. I think a six on presentation—all that moaning and thrusting at the dinner table was a bit unfair, don’t you think? And a nine-point-five on taste.” He took another bite and grinned. “How did I do?”

He was so handsome sitting there at my table, eating the tacos I’d made, and sweetly telling me he liked my cooking, and just being Ethan, that I knew the answer to my question all in an instant. Did I love Ethan? Yes. I do love him.

12

Surprising Ethan at his office seemed like a good idea but I wasn’t willing to do it without some assistance. I enlisted Elaina’s help first. I really liked her. She seemed honest and very straightforward which I respected in a person. She was also engaged to Neil. I found that out after I started sleeping over at Ethan’s place. One morning when we hit the elevators to leave for work, I saw Elaina and Neil coming out of the apartment on the other wing, hand in hand. Ethan saw my surprise and told me they were getting married in the fall.

I was relieved Elaina didn’t act jealous about her fiancé driving me around London. I think she was happy that Ethan had a girlfriend. I’d noticed that his employees really seemed to care about him. And I liked that too.

“Hi, Elaina, it’s Brynne.”

“Hello, Brynne. Why didn’t you call through to his cell?” Smart girl, Elaina, always aware of logistics.

“I was thinking of surprising him with lunch. Can you check his schedule for me?”

I heard some flipping of pages and then she put me on hold. “He is in office today. Busy with conference calls and such but no appointments away on his schedule.”

“Thanks, Elaina. I would just ask Frances but Ethan has her on speaker and he hears when I call so I can’t do a surprise. Can I bring you all something from King’s Delicatessen? I am just going to pick up sandwiches but I was thinking if you could get Frances to tell Ethan she was ordering then he won’t know it’s me being lunch lady today.”

Elaina laughed and put me on hold again while she got food orders from everyone. “Frances told me to tell you she likes your style, Brynne. Keeping the boss on his toes is good for him.”

“I think so too,” I said, writing down the sandwich orders. “Thanks for your help and I should be there within the hour.”

We hung up and I phoned the delicatessen to order the food, and then Neil for a ride. I cleared up my area and organized supplies while I w

aited. I was done here for the day and wouldn’t be returning for nearly a week. Final exams were coming and I needed to study. My plan was to hole up at Ethan’s place and hit the books while he worked, use his home gym and magnificent coffee maker, and basically go off the radar for a while. I needed the time and so did my grades.

I took a last look at Lady Percival and felt a burst of pride. She had come along nicely and the best part was I now knew the name of the book she held in her hands. Ethan had helped me solve the mystery when he’d brought me to work one morning and I’d invited him back here.