I stared at her retreating form, my thoughts racing about the woman I'd just met and precisely why she seemed so intriguing to me.Maybe it was just knowing that she seemed to have the same respect for food as I did.
Or maybe it was because she clearly intended to stand her ground, even against gods who had fearsome reputations.My brother was a shameless flirt, and getting drinks thrown over him was a regular occurrence.And one that I was going to make sure I didn't experience myself tonight.
Chapter4
LAILA
I toyed with the stem of my martini glass, trying not to think about what a foolish idea this was.I should have asked Poseidon my questions while we were both safely in the kitchen, and I wasn't in a position that would result in anything close toflirting.
Except that I kind of wanted to.Poseidon was an attractive man, though that was probably never really in doubt.But it was more than that.He'd had a calmer presence than I expected, and it was always pleasant to find someone who was as passionate about food as I was.Maybe after a few more questions, I'd discover that wasn't true, but I didn't think it was going to be.
The doors to the kitchen swung open, and the man in question strolled out, looking just as dashing in his navy blue suit as he did in his chef whites.He certainly didn't look as if he'd just spent a lot of time in the kitchen, even if I knew that was true.
He spotted me by the bar and headed over, a confidence in his step that could probably only come from spending thousands of years looking as good as he did with his impressive physique, wavy dark hair and short beard.
"Thanks for waiting," he said, his Greek accent still evident.It made me wonder how recently he'd lived there, or if it was something he'd just never lost.I wasn't complaining, there was something undeniably sexy about it.
"I do still have questions to ask you," I pointed out.
"And I'm happy to answer them," he promised.He flagged down the bartender and ordered himself a drink.An expensive watch peeked out from under the sleeve of his shirt."So, what do you want to know?"he asked, turning so that his attention was fully on me.
"You don't mind if I take notes, do you?"I asked.
"Sure.Or you can record, whatever is easiest."The bartender set down a glass of wine in front of him, and he said his thanks.
"That might be best," I responded."Then I don't have to ask you to pause so I can write something down."
He chuckled."Be my guest."
I pulled out my phone and clicked on the record icon.Thankfully, it wasn'ttooloud in the bar.Most of the noise of the event was in the other room where people were mixing.
"You were telling me about your reputation for anger," I said.
"You're going in for the hard questions to start with," he joked.
"As I said in the kitchen, that wasn't one of the questions I was planning on asking.My editor sent me over a set of questions that she normally has people ask when they're interviewing chefs, and I was planning to go off that.But now I'm curious.And they do say the best interviews are those that come with a side of authenticity."
"Mmm."He picked up his wine, effortlessly swirling the red liquid around the glass in a way that was kind of captivating.He took a sip, and it was only after he'd done it that I realised I'd been tracking every movement."That's one of Dionysus' better vintages," he said.
"I didn't realise they were serving Dionysus' wine here."
"Then you're missing out.Would you like a glass?"
I was going to say no, but I paused when I realised that was a mistake.How many times would I have the opportunity to try wine made by a wine god?"All right."
He nodded and gestured for the bartender again, somehow managing to talk the man into leaving the bottle with us.
Poseidon picked it up and poured some into my glass."Try it."
Curious, I abandoned my martini and picked up the glass of wine.It smelled a little fruity, and certainly like it was going to be flavourful.I took a sip, letting it coat my tongue so I could really savour the flavours."That's good."
"It is," Poseidon agreed."Though hisbestwines are the ones that he doesn't have many bottles of."
"Well, considering that this is the first time I've ever drunk any of Dionysus' wine, I haven't had a chance to try any of those."
"That could be changed."The way he looked at me made it feel like there was more to the promise than just wine.
I pushed the thought to the side.I was here to write an article."You've done an excellent job at changing the subject."I took another sip of wine.
