The Blackmoor men were captivated by this girl. She was obviously younger, so, of course the kids would relate, but Audiemar and Kong never liked anybody. Both were mean and moody as hell. Kong acted like Beast from Beauty and the Beast, always locked away in his room or home office when he was home, cutting himself off from the rest of the world.
“Relax,” Phoebe assured her , raising a hand. “It’s one meal. She won’t last. You have to play your role. Don’t get intimidated by some little young, hoodrat.”
“I know her from somewhere.” Arms tucked across her breasts, Nayelli shook her head.
“Where could you possibly know her?”
Nayelli’s eyes stretched before she turned to her purse on the counter and rifled through it for her phone. She found most of the stuff she cooked online, and someone had pointed her to this site a while back. She’d followed the girl off her plating alone. All her meals looked amazing.
“That’s her!” Nay hissed, looking up at her mother and pointing to Ayla before tapping her phone screen.
She’d pulled up a YouTube channel forPalate Pleasures. The thumbnail was of a girl in her bra and panties, barefoot in a kitchen with a cutting board on the counter where she chopped veggies. It was angled so that you could only see her body and the stove where she browned ground meat in a skillet.
“How can you tell?” Phoebe’s eyes tightened, looking at the screen. “It’s just her body.”
“Look.” Nay tapped further until she pulled up a video.
Ayla stood with her hair pulled back in a curly ponytail at a counter inside a very warm looking kitchen with ingredients for what the video title said was a pot pie. She was even making the damn crust from scratch. In it, she sported a bikini top, holding up her perfect, apple sized breasts, and a pair of high waisted, wide legged pants. She didn’t wear glasses in the video, but it was definitely her.
“I’ll be damned. You really can find any and everything on the internet.” Phoebe took the phone from Nay and marched over to the table. “Before y’all get comfortable with Miss Thing and allow her around these children, please be mindful of this.” She turned Nayelli’s phone so that Audiemar could see it first.
Brows raised, he looked Ayla over before passing the phone across the table to Kong.
“What’s this?” Kong admired the body on the screen.
“She’s got a YouTube channel.Palate Pleasures.Clever,” Phoebe taunted.
“Lemme see.” Mozzi snatched the phone from Kong. “Damn. This dope, though. Who knew alladat was under them slacks?” He licked his lips and looked her up and down.
Kong studied her weary expression before she took a breath and a shield flickered through her eyes. Embarrassment suddenly cloaked her face, but it was brief.
“You want to explain yourself?” Audiemar looked up at her.
“Not particularly.” Ayla set the tray of remaining food on the table and removed the apron. “We’re in the age of content creation. That’s another stream of income for me. I like to cook and dance in my underwear sometimes. I’m also not ashamed of my body or anything that I do, for that matter.” Her brows furrowed, and most of her attention was fixed on Nayelli and Phoebe. “If that is a problem for any of you, well, I guess this concludes the interview.” She marched toward the door, and Kong pushed his chair from the table.
“You think she’ll dance around here and cook?” Mozzi teased.
Ayla stopped in the living room to grab her purse, and before she could exit, Kong blocked her path.
“Stop.”
“I need to get out of here.” She wouldn’t look at him for various reasons.
Him standing this close, smelling that good, looking even better should have been a red fucking flag. She wasn’t meant to be in a man like Kong Blackmoor’s world. The two of them didn’t belong in the same space. They were so far on the spectrum from one another she’d be a fool to think this could work.
“Are you good at what you do?” His question stopped her.
“Yes,” she answered with confidence.
“You willing to prove that?” he asked next. “We kind of need you around here.”
“And what about thing one and two?” she griped, gaining a low, sexy chuckle from him.
“I’ll take care of Phoebe and Nay. They’re like family but can be territorial. Phoebe was my mama’s friend. When she died, she just kept showing up. I went to school with Nay, and we’re cool.”
Although he didn’t come right out and say it, she got the feeling there was something more than platonic between he and Nay. It was none of her business, though, as long as she didn’t get disrespected.
“When do I start?”
