Gwen turns and peers back at Caden. “Is this your doing?”
He cocks a smile at her, one that makes me go a little weak in the knees, so I’m glad I’m not standing.
He says in his honey voice, “Now what could I be doing? I was out in the fields.”
She grins. “You don’t fool me.”
He laughs. “Just stating the facts.”
I can’t even look at him. How can I? He had his fingers pushing into my ass last night, and I was a crazy person. A stark memory of him slapping me slams into my mind uninvited. I can still feel the delicious sting of it, how it made me mindless and desperate. How much I liked it.
I grit my teeth as my skin heats again.
This is ridiculous.
He shoots me a sideways glance—one that makes me feel exposed, like he knows what I’m thinking.
I’ve got to get rid of him so I can catch my breath and get my bearings. “What do you need, Caden?”
A slow, lazy perusal down my body. “I’ve got a list.”
Gwen tosses her hair, all cool and sassy. “I was here first, buddy. Wait your turn.”
“Fair enough.” An easy drawl. “I’m merely the hired help.”
I point at the door. “Can I catch up with you later?”
Gwen waves a hand. “That’s not necessary. I’ll be quick.”
Then, to my horror, they both sit down in the chairs across from me. Gwen bounces around, getting comfortable while Caden stretches his jean-clad legs, slumping into the chair like he doesn’t have a care in the world.
I glare at him.
He smirks at me.
That’s it. I’m going to murder him.
Yes, this is something I think about a hundred or so times a day, but this time I mean it.
Gwen shifts a little, taking us both in. “It’s actually good Caden’s here too. I want to talk about the run-through of the menu.”
“Great.” My voice is too bright, but I focus all my attention on her. “What’s going on?”
“I’m flying my best mixologist down from Chicago, because we want to do something different. Everyone’s doing wine and beer flights, so I thought it would be fun do to a cocktail one—something to pair with each course, featuring our best rum, of course. Her name is Amy, and she’ll be here Wednesday. If I give you her number, can you give them a call and see what she needs to experiment?”
“I’ll call her this afternoon.” I keep a notebook with all the things I need to do, and it’s getting fuller by the day. I flip through two pages to get to the end. I write her name in and put an asterisk by the task. Once I find out what she needs, I guess I’ll be forced to talk to Caden again. And here I’d hoped to get this over with now and not have to deal with him for the rest of the day.
Gwen takes out her phone and starts pressing the screen. Five seconds later, Amy’s contact information is in my texts.
“Can she can use the private tasting room?” Gwen asks.
“Let me check the schedule.” I pull up the calendar, thankful to have something to keep me busy so my gaze doesn’t wander to Caden. I nod. “We have a small tasting with a local restaurant coming in, but I’ll move them to the cellar and make sure the room is stocked with what Amy needs. If I block the main room for those two days, will that be enough?” My fingers tap on the keys as I make the arrangements.
“Perfect.” Gwen tucks a lock of hair behind her ears. “So, change of plans. Now don’t kill me.”
My stomach tightens. “Okay.”
She beams at me, clearly hoping to dazzle and butter me up. “Jackson and I were talking last night, and we have so much riding on this. The private event has to be perfect, you know?”
I nod, anxiety knotting in my sternum.
Gwen continues. “We thought it would be a good idea if we expanded the run-through, adding a few more people we trust to be brutal with us to make sure we’ve nailed everything.”
Gwen and Jackson seem to forever be changing plans or expanding what they were thinking. I guess it’s a peril of creative genius, but how the hell should I know?
“Okay.” I feel a headache coming on.
Gwen bites her lower lip. “You and Caden, of course.”
My heart skips a beat at her combining us, making us sound like a couple when we most definitely are