Chapter 4 #2
She dropped her head. “It was only supposed to be one night, but he wants us to continue seeing each other. I agreed, but I just got out of one bad relationship. Stephen broke my heart and I don’t want to feel that pain again.
Ian is charming and I can see myself falling for him. I can’t let that happen.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ve already done it. I sort of sneaked out while he was in the shower and he doesn’t have my phone number,” Maya said sheepishly.
Rhonda threw up her hands. “What am I going to do with you? You didn’t even give the man a chance.”
Maya dropped her head in her hands and groaned. “I know, I know. I feel so bad, especially since I agreed to amend our one-night stand.”
“Well, at least you can say you’ve had your toes curled once in your life.”
That she could. But already she was beginning to have regrets about tipping out on Ian. After Rhonda left, Maya spent time going over her schedule, washing her hair and finally having that long soak in the tub.
She was at the shop bright and early Monday morning getting her baked goods ready for the day.
She didn’t usually have a lot left over, but whatever she had was donated to a local shelter.
Halfway through the morning, she left Rhonda to man the store while she went to pick up her containers from the hotel.
The moment she stepped into the Bonaventure Hotel lobby, memories of her night with Ian rose swiftly in her mind.
She tried to push them aside to no avail.
Wanting to get in and out as soon as possible, Maya quickened her steps.
On her way out, she was still chuckling at the chef’s pitiful expression at her refusal to work for him.
But he did agree to pass her name along to a few people who might want desserts for an intimate gathering and tried to coerce her into giving him the recipe for her black-and-white parfait.
The mention of the dessert brought on more heated memories.
Her nipples puckered beneath her blouse, and the space between her legs throbbed with the same rhythm Ian had started Saturday night.
What she wouldn’t give for just one more night.
Wednesday afternoon, Ian sat hunched over his drafting table staring at a blank page.
He was supposed to be working on a design for a new senior living complex, but his concentration was at an all-time low.
It had been three days since Maya sneaked out of the hotel room, and he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
When he had emerged from the shower and found her gone, he was angry and more than a little disappointed.
Why had she left? He thought they were on the same page, but apparently she’d had second thoughts.
Usually, he had no problems moving on from a woman, but Maya wasn’t like other women.
Something about her had piqued more than a passing interest, and he didn’t want to stop and analyze the reasons why.
He should probably just let it go and move on. But he couldn’t.
An hour later, he gave up all pretense of working. Ian stood, stretched and walked out to his secretary’s desk. “Ms. Smith, I’m going to be out of the office for a couple of hours. If something comes up, you can reach me on my cell.”
“No problem, Mr. Jeffries.”
He was going to the Bonaventure to find Maya.
In his car, he cranked up the air-conditioning.
Winter was a month away, yet the temperatures still hovered near eighty.
On the drive, he thought about what he would say to her.
Other than asking why she left, he didn’t have a clue.
He did know that he was going to have a hard time not dragging her up to a room and continuing what they had started on Saturday.
And if he got his hands on some more of that chocolate, all bets were off.
For the past three nights, he’d had visions of all the things they had done with those desserts and woke up with a hard-on each morning.
That last go-around they had changed positions at least three times and ended up half off the bed.
Ian always enjoyed being adventurous in the bedroom, but no other woman had inspired him to use food during foreplay.
And he suspected no other woman would. The memory of their kisses came back to him.
As much as he enjoyed those truffles, they didn’t compare with the sweet taste of her mouth.
Ian parked in the registration area and entered the lobby. “Excuse me, I’m looking for Maya Brooks. She’s a pastry chef,” he said to the concierge.
The woman frowned. “I don’t think we have an employee by that name, but maybe she’s new. I’ll call the executive chef. He’ll be able to help you.”
“Thanks.” He could have sworn she said she worked at the hotel.
“If you’ll follow me, sir.”
He followed her to the entrance of an expensive steak house located on the thirty-fifth floor, where a man wearing a chef’s jacket waited.
He introduced himself. “Hello. I understand you’re looking for one of my employees.”
“Yes,” Ian said. “Maya Brooks. She provided the desserts for a party here on Saturday night.”
“I’m sorry. Maya doesn’t work for the hotel. She was contracted directly by the client.”
Ian did his best to hide his shock and, yes, panic.
The man folded his arms across his chest and frowned slightly. “Why are you looking for her?”
“I attended the party Saturday and enjoyed several of the desserts.” Enjoyed probably wasn’t the most accurate word, but it was appropriate for the conversation. “I’m planning a small gathering and wanted to see if Ms. Brooks was available,” he lied.
“Hmm. What was your favorite?”
“The black-and-white pudding parfait.”
The chef’s features relaxed. “Mine, too. Isn’t it exquisite?”
“It was absolutely unforgettable.” In more ways than one.
“Well, she did ask me to pass on her information to prospective clients. Wait here and I’ll get it.”
“Thank you.” Ian breathed a sigh of relief.
He was one step closer to finding Maya. The chef returned moments later and handed Ian a piece of paper.
Ian thanked the man again and hurried off with a huge grin on his face.
Back in his car, he programmed the address into his GPS and was surprised to find it was in a residential area.
Did she work out of her home? He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, debating whether to go directly to her house or wait until tonight.
Now. He couldn’t wait. It was already after four and that made it close to evening, he reasoned.
Besides, after getting through the downtown traffic, it would be evening when he arrived.
He called his secretary to tell her he would not be returning and then, starting the engine, eased out of the lot and onto the road.
It took him over an hour to get to Maya’s place and, luckily, someone was exiting the gate as he reached the entry to her condominium complex. He parked in an uncovered spot, circled back to her unit and rang the bell, hoping she was home. His head came up when the door opened.
“Ian! What are you... How did you... What are you doing here?” Maya asked, surprise clearly evident in her voice.
He drank in the sight of her and let his gaze wander over her luscious body in a fitted T-shirt and skimpy shorts, and standing barefoot. Every detail of their night together came rushing back, and his body reacted in kind. She wasn’t out of his system. Not by a long shot.