he feels it too.
My eyes meet his from over my shoulder, and I gasp at the sharpness in his gaze. Never has a man made me feel so whole with just one look. But it’s like Desmond sees me, even the parts I never let anyone see, and he won’t stop peeling back the layers until he sees all of me.
I might just let him.
His tongue darts out and wets his bottom lip while he moves in closer… closer… until one slight forward movement is all it will take for his lips to touch mine. Suddenly, it’s all I want. But just as my eyes close, I’m startled by the sound of the backroom door opening behind us.
I gasp while Desmond curses so quietly, only I can hear. Then Faye walks in with a knowing smile.
What the— Has she been here the whole time?
She holds up her phone as if to answer my question. “I’m done with my call. Desmond, do you want to grab lunch before we reconvene?”
Desmond takes a step to the side of me, but he looks as if he’s struggling with his response. “I need to finish a meal for a pickup later today. Sorry, Faye.”
“Dinner, then?” she presses, and for some reason, I get the feeling she’s testing him.
Desmond shakes his head again. “I really can’t tonight either. Another day, yeah?”
She smiles, tight-lipped, her eyes shifting to me while mine turn down, and then she nods. “You two are quite the team these days, aren’t you?”
I let out a nervous laugh, and Desmond’s eyes snap to me. Instinct tells me to jump in here. “Hardly,” I say with a wink in his direction. “But it pays the bills, you know?”
Faye quirks a brow. “Is that so?”
“Faye, stop,” Desmond warns.
I look between the two of them, wondering what the hell is going on, because something feels off, and I feel like I’m in the middle of whatever silent exchange is happening between them.
Faye faces me, her entire body centered toward mine, and I feel like I need to brace myself for whatever is to come.
“Maggie,” she starts.
“Faye,” I return with all the sarcasm I can fathom.
“I have a proposition for you.”
My jaw drops, and I turn to Desmond, who’s shaking his head and rubbing his neck like he’s already tried to stop this exchange from happening. I wasn’t expecting that. There’s only one thing she could possibly be talking about, and there’s no way in hell I’m getting in front of that camera.
I turn back to Faye with an answer already on the tip of my tongue. “I’m sorry, Faye, but I’m not interested.”
20
Five O’Clock Somewhere
Desmond
Faye left Maggie and me alone after the last audition, taking her camera crew with her. I guess it’s a done deal. Maggie isn’t interested in the role, no matter how hard Faye tried to persuade her, and we still don’t have a cohost.
The entire dynamic in the kitchen feels like it has shifted. Hours ago, I was one cohost away from having a television show that could help me advance the kitchen. And now I have no fucking clue.
I don’t know if I should be furious at Faye or Maggie or neither of them. For the past four years, the kitchen has been mine. Suddenly, the fate of my dreams is resting on two women I never sought after, one of whose hands are currently reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out a beer.
“What are you doing?” I grumble.
“Drinking a beer. Want one?”
I step forward and take the bottle from her hand. “You’re still on the clock.”
She rips the bottle back and lifts it to her lips. “Consider me clocked out for the day.”
There’s a layer of spite beneath her tone that sends chills down my spine. I pull the bottle back to me and hold it over her head. “Don’t be angry with me. That was all Faye’s idea.”
“Yeah, well, you didn’t try to stop her.”
“I didn’t have a chance, did I?” I glare down at her with a warning. She’s not the only one fired up over this. “And it doesn’t matter, does it? You said no. But I can’t for the life of me figure out why someone who was practically born in the spotlight would turn an opportunity like that down. Isn’t the camera kind of your thing?”
“Not anymore,” Maggie growls. Then she makes a jump for the bottle, accidentally bumping her chest against mine in the process. I try to ignore the heat that licks