Ahh, I see the women are smarter than their men, Cole thought as the two finally flanked by each side of Rachel.

Immediately, he noticed Rachel’s spine stiffen as her fingers grasped the chair to the point of turning her knuckles white. Cole wasn’t quite sure what she was so worried about. As far as he was concerned, this was just a blip on his radar, and his radar was fixed directly on her.

“Evening, Josh,” he greeted his friend and colleague first.

Cole couldn’t decide what emotion had crossed his usually easygoing friend’s face, but he didn’t look pleased, so Cole decided to focus on the tall, dark hair guy who had an expression Cole knew very well. That look screamed, Meet me outside. You and I need to talk.

Cole decided he needed to be on equal footing, so he pushed his chair back from the table and rose. He was pleased his stature met with Rachel’s brother as he held out his hand toward him across the table. “You must be Mason. I’m Cole Madison.”

Cole studied the look that flashed over the big guy’s face as Mason reached forward and shook his hand.

“Yeah, I’m Mason, Rachel’s big brother.”

At that announcement, Cole removed his hand as it seemed the silently seething Rachel lost her shit.

* * *

“Are you kidding me?” Rachel demanded as she turned on her brother. “My big brother? What am I? Fifteen?”

Mason was about to say something when Cole’s voice interrupted smoothly.

“You are definitely not fifteen, Rachel.”

“Cole, cut it out,” Josh warned in a voice that shocked even her.

Rachel was surprised by the attitude Josh was throwing off, especially since he had originally wanted to set them up.

Turning to face Cole, Rachel was about to tell him he wasn’t helping the issue, but the way his eyes were focused on her rendered her speechless. Always so flipping intense.

Instead, she tore her gaze from his and looked at Josh, who was also glaring at Cole.

Stupid men and their testosterone.

Spinning back to her infuriating brother, she clenched her teeth. “I thought I told you both to wait in the kitchen.”

“Well, I wanted to meet the man who has all your attention these days, Rach,” Mason told her, eyes still focused on the man standing opposite them all.

What an absolute nightmare. Three guys standing around a table, all glaring at one another, ready to engage in a pissing match.

“Well, great, Mason. You’ve seen him, met him, managed to embarrass me, and have now drawn all of our customers’ attention.”

Mason still hadn’t bothered to look at her. His eyes were still on the calm and put-together Cole, and Cole now had his hands in his pants pockets and was refusing to drop his own eyes from her brother’s.

“How did you two meet?” Mason probed.

“Mason!” Rachel exclaimed. She swung her eyes to Cole’s, pleading with him to keep his mouth shut.

The message must have been received because cool-as-you-please Cole replied, “I don’t think that’s really any of your business unless Rachel wants to tell you. Now, is this over with? Or should I go and grab my dueling pistols and meet you out back at high noon?”

“Cole,” Josh warned again.

“Yes, Joshua?” Cole questioned.

Rachel was just trying to keep up with everything that was going on.

“Cool it, man. Mason’s just worried about his sister.”

Cole nodded slowly before he asked pointedly, “And you? Who are you concerned about? His sister, your friend, or your business partner?”

“You know what?” Rachel finally cut in. “You two are acting like overprotective jerks. I am a grown woman, and if I want to date someone, I do not need permission from either of you. And as for you,” she stressed, turning to look at Cole across the table.

She had been feeling extremely confident until she saw an expression that screamed, Remember who you are talking to, cross his face.

Deciding she was already screwed, she thought, To hell with it. Bluntly, she stated, “You promised me something, and I want it!”

“Rachel, calm down,” Mason muttered.

Spinning on her brother, she poked him in the chest and glared up at him. “I will not calm down! I asked you for space, and I asked you to wait back there. I did not ask you to come out here and act like my father—who, by the way, would have never embarrassed me!”

“That’s not true, Rach. He was just more discreet than Mason. He pulled me aside and read me the riot act before I took you to the formal that year.”

As those words left Josh’s mouth, Rachel’s eyes flew to Cole’s to see how he would react to this new information. His eyes had shifted to Josh and narrowed slightly, but other than that, he did nothing else.

She could feel her heart thumping hard in her chest as she thought about the way Ben had reacted to the mere mention of Josh, and Josh hadn’t even been in the same state as them then. Her worries were laid to rest though when Cole began speaking again.

“Well, it’s a good thing Rachel is no longer fifteen or sixteen, and she is now woman enough to make her own decisions. I actually don’t understand the issue here, Josh. You had originally told me you’d be happy to introduce us.”

Just as Josh was about to answer, Rachel hissed, “Stop it, all of you. You two leave now. No more words, or I will walk out of this restaurant and leave you screwed.” She pointed to Mason and added, “And I will not cook you any more beignets for a whole year.”

The minute the threat was out of her mouth, both men told her in unison:

“Aww, come on, Rach.”

“Rach, we were just worried.”

“Just. Leave. Us. Alone,” she gritted out between her teeth.

Without any more words spoken, the men she had grown up with turned and walked away, leaving her to stand alone, opposite Cole, with most of the dining room watching them.

She hurried around the table, so she was standing beside him. Looking up at Cole, in a lowered voice, she said, “I’m sorry about that. I told them to—”

“Rachel?” he interrupted.

“Yes?”

“I don’t care about that, and now, it’s done and over with. I have, however, lost my appetite.”

She didn’t blame him one little bit.

Stepping to her, he cupped the back of her neck, tugging her forward. As he lowered his head, she thought for sure that he was about to kiss her in the middle of the dining room and under the judgmental eyes of Mason, Josh, Lena, and Shelly.

Instead of doing the expected though, he moved his lips to her ear. “I’ve been patient all day, and now, I am very ready to sin. Be ready for me. I’ll be back to pick you up.”

As he let go of her, Rachel felt her knees go weak. He straightened to button his suit jacket, and he gave her a smug look that told her he had accomplished exactly what he had set out to do tonight. Then, he turned and made his way over to the hostess to retrieve his coat.

As he left the restaurant, Rachel realized she was still standing exactly where he had left her. Making herself move, she turned on her heel and stormed back to the doors where Lena and Shelly were both standing with huge we-knew-it grins on their faces.

Rachel glared at them both as she stopped in front of the doors.

“Not your type, huh?” Shelly asked.

“Not interested?” Lena reminded her.

Rachel shook her head, but she couldn’t help the small tug at the corner of her mouth as she pushed through the large double doors. “Oh, shut the hell up, you two.”

And as the doors swung shut behind her, she heard the two women laugh, and she couldn’t help chuckling a little to herself.

13

Several hours later, after the final customer had eaten and the last drink had been drained dry, the head chef, Ryan, walked through the dining room to lock the front door. “I’m getting ready to leave,” he informed Rachel.

Rachel was busy making sure everything was ready to go in the morning when she heard his familiar voice closer this time.

“Front doors are locked, but I found this guy out there. He said he was picking you up.”

Rachel poked her head out of the walk-in fridge to see Cole in her kitchen leaning back against a stainless steel prep table. His long legs were crossed, and he had a neutral expression plastered on his face.

As their eyes collided, she felt the air crackle with immediate sexual tension, and she knew he had come for her. Yes, I’m honest enough to admit that I can’t wait to come for him.

Belatedly, she remembered they were not alone, and she pulled her eyes away from his to nod over at the head chef.

“Yeah, that’s right. He’s here for me.”

“So, you’re good if I leave then?”

Rachel found her eyes had, unconsciously, moved back to the silent man who was dominating the kitchen more effectively than the man speaking.

“Yes, you can leave,” she replied dismissively.

Feeling Ryan’s eyes on her, she turned to see him looking back and forth between her and Cole.

One last time, he asked, “Are you sure, Rach?”

Rachel turned back to face Cole, and her eyes didn’t waver as she watched him pull a hand from his pocket with what she now knew was a caramel. He slowly unwrapped it and put it in his mouth.

Without a second glance at Ryan, she confirmed, “Yes. Positive. Go.”

As the words left her mouth, she noticed the left corner of Cole’s lips twitch as though he wanted to smile, but at the last minute, he held back.

It would have been comical to Rachel if she wasn’t so damn annoyed with all the men in her life who were suddenly taking an inordinate amount of time in securing her safety around the man she couldn’t currently tear her eyes from.

So, maybe it wasn’t just her that sensed who he really was. With all of that hidden strength simmering just beneath the surface of that pristine suit, he was giving off a sense of barely restrained control.

When I look at him, I swear I can feel the power radiating from him. It isn’t that he is trying to project it; it’s just such an innate part of who he is, Rachel thought as she felt his eyes watching her intently. At least I know I am not imagining it.

When the back door shut loudly, signaling that they were now alone, Rachel shut the fridge door and leaned her back against it. “I won’t be long,” she assured him. She walked to the prep table with a towel in her hand and put the utensils back in their proper locale. As she moved efficiently around the kitchen, she knew he was tracking her moves. Damn! The man still hasn’t said a word. And that made her nervous as hell. In my own domain, no less.

Several seconds passed until he spoke finally. “Don’t rush on my account. I like seeing you here. I’m only disappointed that I didn’t get to try any of your desserts.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Rachel’s feet stopped moving, and she turned her head. She let her eyes zero in on the immaculate suit, covering what she now knew was a wicked work of art, and Rachel found that all she could think about was what they had discussed this morning—a taste. Suddenly, she had a brilliant idea.

“So…” She moved closer to where he was standing. “You have a real sweet tooth, don’t you?”

Stopping in front of him, Rachel threw the small towel she was holding onto the bench. Removing his hands from his pockets, Cole pushed himself up tall, and she kept her eyes trained on him, tilting her head back.

“Yes, I suppose I do. You could call it a vice of mine.”

“Your only vice?” Rachel probed, stepping closer.

Raising her right palm, she placed it on the middle of his chest, directly over the blue tie that was hanging there. He glanced down at her hand for a moment and then lifted his gaze back to hers. The look that came into his eyes lit a fire deep in the pit of her belly.

“Definitely not, but it’s one of the few I am able to admit to in public.”