The Man Ban - Nicola Marsh Page 0,28

for less than a minute and he was coming on to her. While Harper knew she looked presentable, she wasn’t a great beauty and didn’t inspire grand passions in men, so Jock’s behavior signified he did this with every woman in his sphere.

It made her dislike him, like finding out her idol preferred takeout over his sublime creations.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do, so let’s just focus on the dishes,” she said, her firm tone earning a raised eyebrow.

“No time for play?” His gaze dropped to her cleavage and lingered, before he dragged it back to meet hers, his mouth smirking.

Ugh. So he had been coming on to her. “No.”

“Too bad. Aussie chicks are hot.”

Chicks? Double ugh. But she couldn’t screw up this job, so she mustered her best polite smile. “Are we starting with the mushroom risotto topped with roasted garlic shrimp?”

“You’re no fun,” he muttered, throwing up his hands in theatrical surrender. “Yeah, we’ll start with that, followed by the beef ragù over creamy polenta, the John Dory with black truffles, the shellfish ravioli topped with pepper tuile, and finish with the chocolate arch and citrus cream.”

Harper’s mouth watered at the thought of tasting some of Jock’s finest dishes after the shoot, and she hoped rebuffing him wouldn’t deprive her of the chance.

“Sounds good. Shall we start at eight in the morning?”

“Make it seven,” he snapped, eyeing her with ill-concealed impatience, like he couldn’t fathom how she could turn him down.

So much for him being cool with her.

“Seven is fine.”

He sat forward suddenly and reached across to grasp her knee before she knew what was happening. “Or we could stay up all night?”

Stunned by his audacity when she’d made it more than clear she wasn’t interested, she stared at his hand before sliding back in her chair, effectively dislodging it. She could flip him the finger, tell him to eff off, call him names. But this job meant too much and she’d come too far to screw it up now.

“You’re one of my idols, Jock. Your food is incredible, and I’m still pinching myself you’re here in person and I get to work with you, but I have too much respect for your talent to mess with our professional relationship.”

She’d aimed for the right mix of deference and ego stroking, leaving out the dash of kiss-my-ass she wanted to garnish with. Thankfully, he bought it, the disapproval in his eyes replaced by respect.

“See you at seven,” he said, giving a brusque nod and standing.

Relieved, she said, “See you then,” waiting until he strode out of the bar before slumping back into her chair.

A relief short-lived when a shadow fell across her and she looked up to find Manny glowering at her, his expression thunderous.

22

Manny didn’t consider himself a jealous guy. He’d have to care a lot about a woman to allow the green-eyed monster to sink its claws into him, and he never let things get that far.

So the fact he wanted to pummel the jerk who’d had his hand on Harper’s knee spoke volumes.

He cared about Harper.

More than he’d cared about any woman in a long time, if ever.

“Who was that?”

“One of the most famous chefs in the world.” She pointed to the chair the prick had vacated. “Take a seat and stop towering over me. You’re giving me a crick in my neck.”

“You have to work with him?”

He sat, making it sound like she’d be giving the chef a private lap dance, and predictably, she bristled.

“I don’t need you to go all caveman on me. I took care of him.”

“He came on to you?”

“Yeah.” She huffed out a sigh, her mouth downturned in disappointment. “He’s one of my idols, and I can’t believe I actually got to meet him. And in other circumstances I might’ve been flattered he made a pass at me, but this isn’t a good time.”

An interesting admission that made him want to punch the air. She could be referring to her work, but by the way she was looking at him, he knew it was more.

She’d rebuffed a famous chef, a guy she idolized, for him.

He’d definitely made the right decision in coming to Lake Taupo with her. But it wouldn’t hurt to clarify.

“Because this job is too important to you?”

“That too.”

She eyeballed him, daring him to make the connection, and it took less than a second.

He grinned. “You like me.”

“Yeah, go figure?”

“And you chose me over some hotshot chef.”

“Don’t let it go to your head.”

She poked out her tongue