“Did he talk to Heather?” Because something told Marlee he’d had the Babushka conversation but not the Heather one.
“Not yet.” Eli dropped back against the couch. “He was waiting for Heather to tell him.”
Marlee sucked her lips between her teeth. Jase had no idea and neither did Eli.
Eli’s phone rang. He immediately grabbed it, accepted the call, pressed it to his ear, and said, “Eli here.”
Then he got scowly again.
“Totally understand. Don’t worry about it. Thanks again.” He hung up the phone.
“Problem?” Marlee asked, grateful for a reprieve from the Heather-Babushka pregnancy discussion.
“Three waiters are out for tomorrow’s gala. They’ve got the flu. I can’t come up with replacements, everyone’s booked.” He dragged a hand over his face. “I was on a skeleton to begin with to save money. Now, I’m gonna be cookingandserving.”
“Is that even possible?” Marlee asked.
“No.” He dropped his forearms to his knees.
He needed help. Help for a solvable problem. A problem Marlee could assist with. She may have been not-so-great in his kitchen, but she had done fine when she served at his other events.
“I can do it,” Marlee said.
His scowl lightened. “You don’t mind?”
“I like you. I like people. I like your food.” She gave him her best let’s-not-talk-about-babies-anymore smile. “I think I’m probably overqualified, if anything.”
“That’d be amazing.” His hands held out, he gripped hers and pulled her so she tumbled against him on the sofa. Then he pressed his forehead against hers in a move that made her knees turn melty and her stomach flutter.
“I can call Velma, Heather, and Claire. I bet they’ll help out if you need it. The guys, too.”
“I don’t want to bug ’em.” Eli’s eyes heated, his fingers massaging her temples. The right amount of pressure eased a headache she hadn’t even realized was brewing.
“You’ve never helped out at Brek’s?” she asked, already knowing that he’d volunteered a load of time to get Brek’s kitchen set up.
“That’s not the point.” His mouth had now moved to her right earlobe, pressing a small kiss there, raising all the hairs on her neck.
“Never helped out Jase on Valentine’s Day when he gets the last-minute rush?” Jase had told her that Eli always showed up to kick in extra time at the cash register or for overflow deliveries.
“Still not the point.” He kissed lower, light kiss after light kiss along the column of her neck.
“Claire said you helped Dean put together her new dining room table last month when it came in a giant box with no instructions.” Marlee ended on a squeak as Eli’s hands slid down her back and over her tush, lifting her skirt.
He didn’t say anything for a moment, just focused on laying tingle-inducing kisses on her shoulder.
“You’re making a lot of points here,” he finally said.
She ran her hands through his hair, lifting his face so he had to look at her. “Ask your friends. Ask me. We want to help.”
Something changed in his expression, something that took that heat she’d seen earlier in his eyes and spread it over his entire face. The muscles went soft, his expression turned serious.
Then, before she could say anything about the fact that he’d taken her into his apartment and given her a job when she needed one, plus all the other things he’d done for everyone, she was in his arms. Like she was precious cargo, he adjusted his grip—her arms around his neck, one of his arms around her back, the other under her knees in the bridal-threshold carry.
He crushed his mouth against hers, silencing anything else she was about to say. Carrying her was an excellent choice, because she was more than a little certain that there was no way she would be able to walk after that kiss. Her brain had turned to gelatin.
With the kind of care she’d only ever seen from him when he pulled a soufflé out of the oven in his kitchen, he set her on the bed. She’d gone with strappy heels that night, but he had no problem untying, unlacing, and slipping them away from her feet.
True story, she’d never thought that removing shoes was particularly sexy. It’d always been that utilitarian thing that had to happen so they could get to the good stuff. With Eli? Just then?
