Bella's Impossible Boss

‘There are only finished-meal smells, no cooking smells.’

He blinked.

‘Plus, cooking is noisy and the apartment has been quiet all evening.’

Aha. So she had been aware.

‘You ought to serve the fish before it dries out.’

How the hell?

‘I can smell it,’ she said before he could ask.

She was a chef. Of course she could smell it.

She flipped out her napkin and smoothed it across her lap then raised an eyebrow. He jerked into action. He was supposed to be acting smooth, suave; serving food with finesse and style. Not standing there gaping at her like some uncouth teenager. Like a …

Like a sap!

He shot into the kitchen, braced his hands against a bench and counted to three.

He was not uncouth. He was not a sap. He was not a big bad wolf.

He would make her smile.

He opened his eyes, pushed his shoulders back and grabbed their plates. With a flourish he set the cod in white wine sauce in front of her, then slid into the seat opposite. Anticipation fired through him.

She sniffed. He leaned in closer, watching for the dreamy expression he’d imagined rippling across her face. If he had her pegged right, Bella would react to fine food the way other women reacted to jewellery.

‘They’ve used oregano in the sauce instead of marjoram.’ Her lips turned down. ‘Why overpower the delicate taste of the fish like that?’ Her clear eyes met his, disappointment etched in their depths. He lost the power to speak.

She picked up her fork, flaked off a small piece and brought it to her lips. He held his breath and waited. No dreamy expression appeared. Disappointment burned through him, hot and acrid.

As if she could feel his gaze, she glanced up and met it. ‘It’s nice and moist, though,’ she said with a faintly resigned, ‘it’s what I expected’ half smile, half grimace. As if she had to search her mind for a compliment to toss off as a sop to his ego.

As if he were a sap.

Dominic lost his appetite then and there.

CHAPTER FIVE

OH MY God! The fish was out-of-this-world delicious. It took all of Bella’s willpower not to moan in pleasure as she forked another glorious morsel into her mouth. She nearly weakened altogether at Dominic’s evident disappointment, but hastily pulled herself up. Weaken now, and she was lost. Conquered territory et cetera.

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