Emma jumped, a hand flying to her chest. “Can you stop scaring me, please?”
Lindsey ran to the speaker and turned the music down. “This is a common problem?”
Emma flashed him a look as she caught her breath. “First of all,you’renot paying us for anything, and second . . .” She turned and pulled the tray he’d seen Paolo carry in from the counter. “This is what you’re paying us for.” She pulled off the lid.
Tyler stepped into the kitchen and inspected the flourless chocolate cake and something that looked like it would have the word “glacé” in its title. “Paolo made those.”
“And we’re shooting them. Just waiting for them to settle in.”
“Settle in?”
She put a hand on her hip. “They need to be comfortable for their photo shoot.”
Footsteps sounded behind him. Tyler turned, expecting to see one of the other contractors, but Troy entered the room.
“Hey, look at those beauts.” He strode forward and leaned over the counter, inspecting the gold leaf on the dark chocolate. “Paolo’s a magician, isn’t he?”
Emma straightened. “Can’t wait to shoot these today. Should have the dessert menu finished by the end of the week.”
“Then hopefully the gas will be hooked up, eh?” Troy turned and put a hand on the industrial stovetop. “Still plenty of time. Do you have everything you need?”
Lindsey nodded. “Giving the sun a bit more time to grace us with its presence and then we’ll get going.”
“Excellent. Ty, how goes it?”
Tyler rounded the island and opened the fridge, pulling out a bottle of water. “Just came in for a drink and to say good morning to Emma.” He set the bottle on the counter, his heart pumping hard enough to fill a tire. Emma’s eyes widened as he curled his hand over her hip and pulled her against him. This was perfectly within her rules, and by the look on her face, she knew it.
“Next time you all have a dance party, let me know. I’m the only one who gets to twirl Emma in this kitchen.” He brushed the waves of hair from the side of her face and caught her lips between his before she could suck in a full breath. Her lips were slightly parted, and he couldn’t help himself. She tasted like berry lip balm and morning coffee as he slipped his tongue past her teeth.
Her hands tightened on his waist as she relaxed into him, then quickly pushed back, out of breath. “Tyler, I’m at work.” Her voice was breathless, her lips and cheeks flushed.
Troy barked a laugh. “Since when has that ever stopped the Bowen men?”
Tyler stiffened. Emma pulled her hands from his waist and took a step back, pursing her lips and rubbing to redistribute her lip product. “Good morning, Tyler.”
“Good morning, Emma.” He picked up his bottle of water and exited the room.
ChapterSixteen
The fluorescent lightscast a warm glow on Emma's face as she waved the heat gun over the chocolate torte. When it was glossy again, she moved out of the way. "Okay, I think we're ready for the close-up.”
Lindsey balanced her elbows on the counter and levelled the camera. “So we’re really not going to talk about what just happened?”
The camera clicked, and Lindsey tucked her hair behind her ear.
Emma swallowed hard and leaned against the counter behind her. "Nothing to talk about," Emma shrugged, trying to sound dismissive. "We're just doing this for his dad.”
“Doing what, exactly?” Lindsey asked.
Emma blew out a breath. “Pretending to be together.”
"And in all the time we were packing up the studio or prepping for shoots, you didn’t feel like fake dating your brother’s teammate was fodder for conversation?" Vaughn looked positively scathed, and Emma couldn’t help but laugh.
“I’m sorry, okay? I felt like an idiot.”
“She told me about finding his licence,” Lindsey murmured behind the camera, clicking away. “And the fight.”
Vaughn nodded. “How easy would it have been to explain how those things were tied together?” He pursed his lips and mimed tying a bow in the air.
