Chapter Twenty-Seven
Goddamn it.If this was what being in a relationship meant, no wonder I’d avoided it for so long. I didn’t need this probing, personal shit. I had half a mind to tell Torre to get the fuck out and leave me alone.
Alone…
I didn’t want to be alone anymore. I wanted to wake up with him next to me. I wanted him across the dinner table. I wanted him a phone call away.
I wanted him.
“Can we talk about it later?”
“Sure.” From the slump in his shoulders, I knew he didn’t believe me, and I hated the thought of disappointing him. I had no fucking clue what to do.
“I’m going to take a shower,” Torre said and climbed out of bed, leaving me with my cold eggs and an even colder heart.
I finished my food and drank my coffee. I heard the shower stop, and Torre walked out naked with a towel wrapped around his waist. He averted his eyes and put his shirt on. “Can I borrow underwear?”
“You can have anything you want. Top drawer of the dresser.” I watched him cross the room to pull some out. “What’re your plans for the day?” He stepped into a pair of boxers, then pulled up his jeans.
“I have to figure out what to do with the blog. I had some ideas I wanted to implement atUltimateI now want to use for myself. Plus, more importantly, check on getting new advertisers so I can pay my bills.” He zipped up. “What about you?”
I didn’t want to go talk to Presley. I wanted Torre. “Spend the day with me. I have to go to ICC and meet with the administrators of the program there to see how the students are coming along. Come with me?”
The stiff set of his shoulders didn’t bode well for the positive answer I wanted. “I don’t know. I really need to do some work.”
“I promise not to forget what we talked about.” I left the bed to put my arms around his waist. “Please?” I kissed his neck and heard his breath quicken. “Play hooky with me.”
“Are you lying to me, or do you mean it? You’re carrying years of pain, and it’s weighing you down.”
“I mean it.” I unbuttoned the shirt he just put on. “I promise I’ll think about it. And you know I don’t lie.” Thinking didn’t mean doing. I bent and took one of his hard nipples in my mouth as I undid the fly of his jeans.
“Frisco, damn it. How am I supposed to say no?”
“You’re not.” I could feel him yield to me, and I sank to my knees. “That’s the idea.”
* * *
We were in a car traveling up Church Street to the International Culinary Center, where I’d spent many hours in the kitchens, sitting in on various classes, and working with the administration to sift through the applications of students they thought I might be interested in.
“I’m still floored that you do this,” Torre said. “It would have never occurred to me that you’d be involved in this type of charitable work.”
“Ouch. That hurt. Why not?”
Torre patted my cheek. “Look at yourself. You won’t even take the subway a few stops. You know you’re a bit of a princess, as Press calls you.”
“I despise crowds and bad smells,” I huffed. “At least you qualified it witha bit. And I like to give back. These kids have consistently proved to me that they deserve every penny I give them.”
Torre gave me a swift kiss. “There’s so much more to you than I ever imagined.”
Maybe not.
Two hours later, we’d taken a tour of the kitchens, and had looked through several dozens of applications and pulled out five, with two extra. “Here you go, Jacques. These are the ones I think you should extend invitations to. If they don’t accept, these are the alternates. How’s the new class coming along?”
The famous French chef known for his clean, simple, elegant cooking regarded me with twinkling eyes from behind his silver-rimmed glasses. “Perfect. I’ll make sure the letters go out this week. And the current crop is excellent. You picked another group of winners. Several are already showing signs of excelling at pastry and others are quite the innovators with pasta.”
“Is that so?” I tapped my cheek. “Torre’s brother runs an Italian restaurant on the cusp of becoming a big thing. It’s one of the hidden gems I discovered while I was reviewing.”
“I’m sorry about what happened atUltimate. We all are in the community. They have their heads up their asses for firing you.”
