Luscious - Lexi Blake Page 0,13
ever expected to see and way, way more of his…well, of Jake.
He knocked now. He knocked a lot.
A raindrop fell, hitting him squarely in the forehead. It looked like one of those nights, but at least he wouldn’t toss and turn. Doing the books would give him something to do. He stepped back into the kitchen and walked toward the front of house.
He would get right on that paperwork after he dealt with the problem of Ally Jones.
He strode through the door that separated the kitchen from the dining area as Sean was waving good-bye to Ally. Chef Taggart ducked out into the rain.
And they were alone.
“Sean said you’re working on the books so he could head home before the storm.” She glanced at the doors Sean had gone through.
He needed to lock those suckers. He made quick work of it and pulled the blinds closed.
When he turned back around, she was clutching the broom she held like it was a lifeline. Maybe this wouldn’t be so easy. “Do you want to hold the keys?” He placed them on the hostess desk and backed away. “That way you know you can leave when you want to.”
She sighed. “God, am I that much of a scared mouse?”
He wouldn’t put it that harshly. “It’s obvious you don’t trust men.”
“It’s not like that. I’m jittery from earlier. I’m sorry. It’s nothing personal.”
“I won’t take it personally, Ally. We’ve all got scars. Some of us wear them on the outside and some of us got ’em buried deep. You don’t feel comfortable being alone with me, but I promise you have nothing to worry about. How can I make you feel better? You got a phone on you? You can keep it close. There’s an emergency button on most phones. You can call it without having to unlock the phone.”
Her eyes rolled. “Fine. You’re not the big bad wolf.” She walked up to him, putting her feet in front of his. She had to turn her neck up to see him. “I’m not scared of you. You’re a big old teddy bear, but you’re not like a lot of the men I grew up around. They were a bit more like Timothy.”
He had the most insane urge to reach out and tangle his hands in that soft brown hair of hers. It was in a bun on the back of her head, but he’d seen it long, flowing down her back. When the sunlight hit her hair he could see strands of brown and red and yellow. Complex. Like the woman herself. Like a lemon tart. Sweet and sour and perfect. “Is that why you thought Sean was going to believe Timothy?”
She took a step back and started sweeping the lobby. “It wouldn’t be the first time someone believed a male employee over a female one.”
So it had happened to her before. “I wouldn’t have believed it. Even if he’d had his tongue halfway down your throat I would have thought he was assaulting you.”
She stopped and looked at him thoughtfully. “Because you think I’m too sweet to have an affair with a coworker?”
“You’re too sweet to want that asshat.” Damn, he probably shouldn’t have said that. He could feel himself blushing. “I’m sorry. That was inappropriate.”
She sighed. “It wasn’t. I said it first. And I’m sorry if I made you think I’m some fainting female. I’m not. I can take care of myself. Usually. I’m afraid that asshat brought back a whole ton of bad memories. When I was fifteen I worked at a movie theater and the manager there was a big fan of inappropriate touching. When I complained, I found myself out of a job. He was the owner’s son. It’s not the only crappy thing in my background. Most women have a file marked ‘skeevy dudes’ in their personal histories. I’m sorry. I had a bad reaction.”
“You should have a bad reaction. You weren’t yelling.”
She frowned. “It’s embarrassing.”
“Why? If some dude was trying to mack down on me and I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t be embarrassed. I’d be pissed.” He needed to figure out what was going on in her head. “No one thought less of you, Ally. Did you think they would?”
“Maybe.”
He crossed the distance between them. She was turned away. He didn’t try to hide his steps. He wanted her to know he was behind her. He put his hands on her shoulders. “What happened today was on him. Not you. Him. The next time some idiot