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“You don’t get to talk about him.”
“Why not? He’s a part of your past. I’m your present and future.”
“I don’t want you to be.”
“Yes, you do.” Gently, he cupped the back of her head and drew her forward. She could feel him breathing and could swear she heard the sound of his heart. His mouth captured hers in a kiss dizzying in its intensity, yet tender and loving.
“What if I don’t want to give you what you want? What if I can’t?”
He grinned. “I’ll take it from you, anyway.” He went back into the kitchen, then turned. “What makes you think you haven’t already?”
“Insufferable. Have I mentioned you are insufferable?”
“Among other things… in fact, that might be the kindest of the lot.”
He finished butchering a chicken, then added it to the Dutch oven to simmer.
“Now, a little wine,” he said, pouring almost half a bottle into the pot.
She laughed. When he wasn’t beating her ass, he really was quite amusing and easy to be with.
“Whatever it is, it smells divine. At this point, I think I should disclose, I’m a lousy cook.”
“It is coq au vin, which is just snooty chicken stew with vegetables and wine. And if you don’t like to cook, I’ll do it. I enjoy it.”
“Where did you learn?”
“Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. I took some time off between the government and Wild Mustang. I was going to just bum around Europe, but I needed more structure, so I went to culinary school and used the time and discipline to clear my head. It helped.”
“Ever think of making it a career?” she asked, intrigued by this newest piece of information.
“Not really. I’m good at what I do with the firm, maybe the best, and it’s important. Maybe someday that’ll change, butfor now, I just enjoy cooking for friends. I was honored when Willa asked me to help her with the cooking for her and Mac’s wedding. That was one of the best celebrations I’ve ever been to. Just family and those friends we call family, but we partied until after midnight.”
“You must not go to many weddings. That’s not all that late.”
“It is when it started at nine in the morning, and Mac and Willa left to spend the weekend in New Orleans at seven that night. God, the next morning, my face hurt, I’d laughed so much,” he said, the memory of the event warming his eyes.
“You really are the most complex human being I’ve ever met.”
“Me? Sweetheart, I’m the most transparent, straightforward guy you’ll ever meet.”
“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, but you come off as this macho, tough guy who is always going to be the dominant partner, then I find out you went to a French cooking school, which means you lived in Paris for a while…”
“I could get lost in the Louvre for days.”
“See what I mean? Part of me feels like I’ve known you forever, that my soul has been waiting to be reunited with yours. Then you throw me for a loop. Would you want to live in Paris again?”
He shook his head as he sat on the end of the couch and rested her head in his lap.
“Maybe some little town in France, but not Paris. I always felt like a fish out of water. I could do London, though, or any of the other capitals in Britain. If you want warmer weather, my choices would be Mesa or Tuscany… New Orleans, if you want a vibrant city.”
“Could you do that, choose to work wherever?”
“Mac has talked about opening an office in Europe, so that wouldn’t be an issue, and New Orleans isn’t so far I couldn’tfigure it out. Besides, Mac is big on being with the woman you love. He and Willa were separated for five years. I think it may be his only regret.”
“You envy him.”
“No. I wouldn’t want to take his woman.”
