He returned the move by quickly smacking his lips against her cheek. “You’re welcome. I love you.” When he pulled away, he stepped around her toward his wife.
Rachel looked at Cole, who was watching her with a mixture of love and affection.
Holding out her hand to him, she asked, “Ready to heat up the kitchen?”
With the look he gave her, she knew he was remembering the way they had heated up his only last week.
He took a step toward her and slid his palm over hers. “With you? Always.”
Cole followed Rachel through the kitchen and into her small office.
“So, have you ever spent an evening behind the scenes of a restaurant?” she asked, dropping her bag on the floor.
He watched as she removed her coat and threw it over her desk. She took down the bright purple chef’s jacket hanging on a peg secured to the back of the door.
“Can’t say that I have.”
She gave him a quick smile and reached for a long black apron that had been hanging behind the jacket. Turning to him, she extended her arm. “Here, this is for you.”
“An apron?”
“You don’t have to look so appalled. It’s not a skirt, you know.”
She chuckled as he took the black material from her.
“I’m more appalled at the thought of what you want me to do once the apron is in place.”
Cole wrapped the ties around his waist and found that they were long enough to come back around, so he secured it just under the button of his jeans. Once he tied it off, he looked up to see Rachel staring at him.
“Did I not do it right?”
She stepped toward him in her button-up jacket and reached out to the sides of his hips. Without a word, she rolled the top of the apron down over the ties and then smoothed her hands around to grip his denim-clad ass, pulling him in close.
Cole felt his entire body tense and his cock harden at the ease she obviously now felt in touching him.
She winked up at him. “As usual, you did it perfectly. I was just thinking that this is probably the first time I will ever be in danger of sexually harassing someone in the workplace.”
“As opposed to sexually harassing them elsewhere?” Cole questioned, raising his palms to her shoulders.
Rachel slid her hands into his back pockets and continued squeezing his ass.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” he asked.
“I am actually.”
Cole reached behind and removed her palms from his ass. Holding her hands in his, he informed her, “Your brother told me two things tonight.”
“And what were they?”
“That I was welcome in his restaurant—”
“Our restaurant,” she corrected.
“As long as I stayed out of the way and kept my hands off the pastry chef while she worked.”
“Well, I hope you told him to get lost. You’re my husband, and you can touch me whenever you like.”
“And he’s your brother, and he’s just starting to warm up to me. I’m going to respect that,” Cole told her, taking a step back.
The look of absolute annoyance on her face made her entirely too appealing for him to be within touching range.
“So, what?” she asked incredulously. “You’re going to stand four feet away from me all night? I knew he was being way too nice. Jerk.”
With a determined look on her face, she started to move toward him, and Cole took another step back. She stopped and threw her hands up in the air. Shaking her head, she made a move to pass him.
“This is ridiculous! I’m going to go and tell Mason he can shove—”
With catlike reflexes, Cole reached out and grabbed her arm, halting her on her way out the door. As she spun back on her toes, she almost slammed into him with the force of her momentum.
“Whoa. Slow down.”
“You know, I’m surprised you’re so relaxed about this.”
Leaning down so they were on eye level, Cole informed her, “I’m not relaxed. Your damn hands gave me a hard-on, and now, I’m standing here, trying to calm it the hell down. But you, all feisty and pissed off, is not helping the issue.”
“Then, why won’t you let me go and—”
“Think of this as foreplay,” he whispered, letting his warm breath float across her lips. “Four hours of close proximity without touch.” Pressing his mouth to hers, he ended with, “Followed by seven hours of the hands-on approach.”
He felt her lips part beneath his, inviting him deeper, but Cole was determined not to piss off Mason. No matter what Rachel said, her relationship with her brother was vital. That much was obvious, and there was no way he would do anything to jeopardize it.
Raising his head, Cole released her arm and gestured to the open door. “Lead the way.”
“And you’ll follow? Yeah, right. Since when do you follow anyone’s orders?”
Cole walked with her to the door. “Since around forty minutes ago.”
“And how does that feel?”
“I fucking hate it,” Cole admitted honestly.
“You have such a filthy mouth,” she pointed out, stopping in the doorway to the busy kitchen.
Cole made sure to press his entire front to her back while keeping his hands to himself as he acknowledged, “You’re right. Maybe you can clean it for me with your tongue later.”
When she looked back at him, she seemed to have regained her sense of humor because she dropped her eyes to his mouth and seductively licked her lower lip.
“Maybe. Ask me in four hours,” she sassed and turned, walking out into her kitchen, leaving Cole to follow for the second time that night.
Three and a half hours into the dinner service, Rachel found herself once again being surprised by Cole. All evening, he had stood beside her, keeping his hands to himself, and he had followed directions, right down to, Throw this in the trash, would you?
She never would have dreamed of him being a part of this, even for one night. As he listened, comprehended, and then executed every little thing she told him, Rachel was not only buzzing from having him there, she was also extremely impressed.
The other kitchen staff had gone about their business in their usual way. Ryan had barked out the orders while the other chefs were cutting, cooking, and plating the meals. Wendy would come to the service window to let them know if they were on schedule or running behind, and the waitstaff all delivered the food to their hungry clientele in a timely fashion.
Yes, Rachel thought, tonight ran exactly the way Exquisite should, and I’m finally enjoying it in a way I haven’t for months.
Looking over to where Cole was standing by the prep table, Rachel made her way to him with a special treat in mind. He had played by the rules all night and hadn’t touched her once. Admittedly, it didn’t surprise her, given his unwavering patience and the pride he took over his self-control. Still, as far as she was concerned, that kind of annoying dedication to his cause should not go without reward.
Wiping her hands on the apron tied around her waist, she stopped beside him, bumping her hip to his. “How’s it going chef?”
He looked over to her and placed the towel in his hands down on the tabletop. “Interesting.”
“Interesting good? Or interesting bad?” she pressed as she turned to rest her backside against the stainless steel.
“You’re fascinating to watch. Actually, the entire process back here is fascinating. It’s so loud and chaotic, but at the same time, it seems to run like a well-oiled machine.”
Rachel found herself liking that description because it was exactly how she felt about the kitchen. “That seems about right. I love working in the midst of chaos.”