All I Ever Need Is You
Page 14
“I always knew,” Rafe said, giving his fiancée another one of his adoring looks. “Your chocolates are the best I’ve ever tasted.” He was full of pride as he turned back to Kerry. “Brooke and her business partner are going to be opening several more chocolate truffle stores throughout Oregon and California soon.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful! You deserve every bit of your success.”
“So do you. Your weddings are legendary.”
Kerry laughed. “Promise me you’ll say that to my mother if you ever meet her. She was so brilliant at planning weddings that sometimes it feels hard to live up to the legend.”
Brooke smiled in a commiserating way. “As long as you promise to tell my mother how much you love my chocolates at the wedding.”
“When we spoke on the phone last week I mentioned it at least a half-dozen times. And she agreed with me every single time.”
“She did?” Brooke looked a little stunned by this news.
“She’s clearly as addicted to your chocolates as the rest of us,” Kerry said, instinctively knowing exactly what the bride needed to hear before spending time with her mother at her wedding.
When the waiter came to clear away their plates, then left them with the dessert menu, Kerry licked her lips in a completely natural—and extremely sexy—way. “Am I the only one here who wants one of everything?”
Adam caught the waiter’s eye and waved him back over. “We’ll try them all.”
“You want to order every dessert on the menu, sir?”
“Yes.”
When Adam turned back to Kerry, she was staring at him as if he were crazy. “I didn’t actually mean it.”
He could barely keep from reaching out to run his thumb over her gorgeous lower lip, still damp from her tongue. “Yes, you did. One bite of each, Kerry. Think how good that’s going to taste.”
“So good,” she said back, her voice low and husky as she stared into his eyes as if she’d completely forgotten that Rafe and Brooke were still at the table with them. “Too good.”
All night—hell, all week—Adam had been on edge waiting for this night with Kerry. But in that moment when she forgot to hide her desire for him, he nearly hit his breaking point.
He wanted her naked and in his arms as soon as possible, but he also wanted her to have what she wanted. Sugar, he already knew, made her happy.
And tonight was all about making Kerry happy.
Really, really happy.
Thirty minutes later, the four of them ended up doing a pretty good job on the desserts, even if Kerry barely had more than a taste of each one. Kerry and Rafe both tried to pay for dinner, but Adam beat them both to it, having told the maître d’ to charge it to him when he’d made the reservation.
Finally, it was time to say their good-byes, and while Kerry and Brooke were hugging, Rafe asked him, “You heading home now?”
“Not quite yet.”
“Still got that hot date?”
Guessing that Kerry had overheard Rafe’s question because the restaurant happened to go quiet just in that moment, Adam made sure she could hear his response. “Crazy hot.”
Her cheeks were flushed again as she turned to let him help her on with her coat. “It was nice to see you again, Kerry,” he said.
And by the time she turned back to face him, her skin wasn’t just flushed—her pupils had dilated, too, her breath coming just a little bit faster. “It was nice to see you, too. Thank you for dinner.”
“It was my pleasure. I’m looking forward to seeing you again soon.” He leaned close, pressed his lips to her cheek and whispered for her ears only, “Really soon.”
With that, he waved good night to the three of them and headed toward the back of the hotel to the elevator that went up to the penthouse suites.
* * *
“I can’t believe your brother is going on a date with someone else tonight!” Brooke was frowning as she and Rafe stood waiting outside the hotel for the valet to bring their car around. “The sparks jumping between the two of them were so hot I almost felt like a voyeur a few times during dinner. And he’s already admitted that Kerry’s perfect for him. So why won’t he do anything about it?”
“Actually”—Rafe couldn’t resist kissing her gorgeous mouth—“I wouldn’t be so sure he’s not doing something about it.”
Brooke’s eyebrows rose even as she moved closer to the man she loved and knew she’d never get enough of. “Wait, so even though he said all that stuff about hoping she finds some perfect guy one day, you think he’s going after her anyway?”
“I think he believes every single word he said to us. Not just about how great she is, but about how he still isn’t looking for anything serious.” Rafe ran a hand over Brooke’s hair. “But if you ask me, the way he looks at her says exactly the opposite.”
“She was looking at him the same way, wasn’t she?”
Rafe nodded. “She was.”
“How long do you think they’re going to fight the inevitable?”
“It didn’t look like either of them was fighting too hard—at least when it came to the heat they were generating.”
In fact, Rafe now had a pretty good idea about the identity of Adam’s “crazy hot” date. He’d been able to read his brother’s lips when he’d told Kerry he was looking forward to seeing her really soon. But just in case he was wrong, he didn’t want to get Brooke’s hopes all the way up quite yet.
“Oh, that’s wonderful! You deserve every bit of your success.”
“So do you. Your weddings are legendary.”
Kerry laughed. “Promise me you’ll say that to my mother if you ever meet her. She was so brilliant at planning weddings that sometimes it feels hard to live up to the legend.”
Brooke smiled in a commiserating way. “As long as you promise to tell my mother how much you love my chocolates at the wedding.”
“When we spoke on the phone last week I mentioned it at least a half-dozen times. And she agreed with me every single time.”
“She did?” Brooke looked a little stunned by this news.
“She’s clearly as addicted to your chocolates as the rest of us,” Kerry said, instinctively knowing exactly what the bride needed to hear before spending time with her mother at her wedding.
When the waiter came to clear away their plates, then left them with the dessert menu, Kerry licked her lips in a completely natural—and extremely sexy—way. “Am I the only one here who wants one of everything?”
Adam caught the waiter’s eye and waved him back over. “We’ll try them all.”
“You want to order every dessert on the menu, sir?”
“Yes.”
When Adam turned back to Kerry, she was staring at him as if he were crazy. “I didn’t actually mean it.”
He could barely keep from reaching out to run his thumb over her gorgeous lower lip, still damp from her tongue. “Yes, you did. One bite of each, Kerry. Think how good that’s going to taste.”
“So good,” she said back, her voice low and husky as she stared into his eyes as if she’d completely forgotten that Rafe and Brooke were still at the table with them. “Too good.”
All night—hell, all week—Adam had been on edge waiting for this night with Kerry. But in that moment when she forgot to hide her desire for him, he nearly hit his breaking point.
He wanted her naked and in his arms as soon as possible, but he also wanted her to have what she wanted. Sugar, he already knew, made her happy.
And tonight was all about making Kerry happy.
Really, really happy.
Thirty minutes later, the four of them ended up doing a pretty good job on the desserts, even if Kerry barely had more than a taste of each one. Kerry and Rafe both tried to pay for dinner, but Adam beat them both to it, having told the maître d’ to charge it to him when he’d made the reservation.
Finally, it was time to say their good-byes, and while Kerry and Brooke were hugging, Rafe asked him, “You heading home now?”
“Not quite yet.”
“Still got that hot date?”
Guessing that Kerry had overheard Rafe’s question because the restaurant happened to go quiet just in that moment, Adam made sure she could hear his response. “Crazy hot.”
Her cheeks were flushed again as she turned to let him help her on with her coat. “It was nice to see you again, Kerry,” he said.
And by the time she turned back to face him, her skin wasn’t just flushed—her pupils had dilated, too, her breath coming just a little bit faster. “It was nice to see you, too. Thank you for dinner.”
“It was my pleasure. I’m looking forward to seeing you again soon.” He leaned close, pressed his lips to her cheek and whispered for her ears only, “Really soon.”
With that, he waved good night to the three of them and headed toward the back of the hotel to the elevator that went up to the penthouse suites.
* * *
“I can’t believe your brother is going on a date with someone else tonight!” Brooke was frowning as she and Rafe stood waiting outside the hotel for the valet to bring their car around. “The sparks jumping between the two of them were so hot I almost felt like a voyeur a few times during dinner. And he’s already admitted that Kerry’s perfect for him. So why won’t he do anything about it?”
“Actually”—Rafe couldn’t resist kissing her gorgeous mouth—“I wouldn’t be so sure he’s not doing something about it.”
Brooke’s eyebrows rose even as she moved closer to the man she loved and knew she’d never get enough of. “Wait, so even though he said all that stuff about hoping she finds some perfect guy one day, you think he’s going after her anyway?”
“I think he believes every single word he said to us. Not just about how great she is, but about how he still isn’t looking for anything serious.” Rafe ran a hand over Brooke’s hair. “But if you ask me, the way he looks at her says exactly the opposite.”
“She was looking at him the same way, wasn’t she?”
Rafe nodded. “She was.”
“How long do you think they’re going to fight the inevitable?”
“It didn’t look like either of them was fighting too hard—at least when it came to the heat they were generating.”
In fact, Rafe now had a pretty good idea about the identity of Adam’s “crazy hot” date. He’d been able to read his brother’s lips when he’d told Kerry he was looking forward to seeing her really soon. But just in case he was wrong, he didn’t want to get Brooke’s hopes all the way up quite yet.
