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Wearing a pale blue robe that appeared to have been hastily thrown on, he was a dream to see. His chest was enticingly exposed, showing the muscular torso of the masculine man.
He caught my gaze and pulled the robe tighter to him, but the motion only served to open it at the hip, giving me a glimpse of something even more enticing than his torso. Even flaccid and sleepy, he had an impressive appendage.
“Am I here on the wrong day?” I said.
“No,” he said. “No. Of course not.”
A sneaky smile made it to my lips without my consent and I looked up to meet his gaze. There seemed to be a mutual understanding of what was really happening beneath the pleasantries.
I looked at my watch. “Oh,” I said, only partially apologetic. “I’m a little early, aren’t I?”
“A little bit,” he said with a welcoming grin as he looked down at his attire. “I don’t often have guests here and I always tend to be dressed casually at home.”
He stepped back to let me in.
“I was just starting a pot of coffee if you haven’t had your dose yet,” he said as he led me inside.
The home had a very eclectic feel to it. There was a throwback to another era, several eras, in fact. He had a metal partition between the entryway and the living space that was very mid-century modern. In a corner beside the entryway closet there were three wooden giraffes, and as we made our way to the kitchen, I noticed the explosion of color coming from a series of abstract paintings on the wall.
His kitchen, while relatively small, had everything that a chef could need. There was plenty of counter space, a double oven, a large refrigerator and a pot filler beside the gas range. There were no upper cabinets, just shelves filled with classic white dishes, a few white knickknacks and standard glassware.
Behind the large farmhouse sink was a sunken row of potted plants that received more than adequate sunlight from the huge window. I had to assume they were all herbs. Fresh herbs. No surprise there.
“Pour yourself a cup of coffee,” Mac said. “I’ll go get decent.”
“Don’t fret about that on my account,” I said as I set my bags down on the counter. “I don’t want you to have to change your habits just because I’m here.”
He smiled. “I insist.”
He walked out of the kitchen and started up the stairs to the second floor. I sneaked a peek up and was rewarded with a few tantalizing glimpses of his underside.
I smiled at the pair of hard muscular butt cheeks that peered back at me.
Yeah. He was hot alright. Incredibly hot. How in the world was I ever going to get any work done? All I could think about was getting closer to him, touching him.
Shit.
I chose a cup from the shelf and went to the coffee maker to pour some of the freshly brewed coffee. I added a drop of cream from the creamer that was beside the coffee maker, then leaned back against the counter to take a sip.
My body was jittery, excited and eager for... something. I took another sip of the coffee, hoping to bring my mind back to focusing on my reason for being there, but my body tugged my brain back to thinking about Mac and that irresistible body.
He returned wearing a pair of relaxed fit, faded blue jeans and a super thin cotton t-shirt that did little to hide his torso. If anything, the thin, almost transparent fabric highlighted every muscle, and every line of his exquisite body.
Damn. I actually had to bite my lip to keep my cool.
“Where do you want to start?” Chef Mac said.
“The flyer said that the first round was going to be historical dishes.”
“That’s right,” Mac said. “Contestants are asked to pull a recipe from the distant past. They’re looking for something that is no longer popular and that is rarely made, if ever. It requires a bit of researching and every year we have some very interesting entries in this category.”
“Well, with that in mind, I was thinking of making my award winning Bedfordshire clanger.”
“Your what?”
I smiled. “It’s a suet pastry filled with a savory meat filling at one end and a sweet fruity filling at the other. There’s a pastry wall, or dam, separation between the two.”
He smiled and cocked his head to the side. “Clearly, you’ve already done your research. I’m impressed.”
