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Sex was potent stuff.
And that was why her scheme would work. She was sure of it. All she had to do now was find a subtle way to present it to Jake, and an even more subtle way to sell it to him.
She watched as he dumped a huge mound of the chicken casserole on her plate. What was that old saying? The way to a man’s heart was through his stomach?
“That looks wonderful,” she said brightly.
Jake grunted and eased onto a stool.
“How about some biscuits?”
He looked at her. “Biscuits?”
“Or muffins. Did Anne leave some?”
“Anna. And, no, she didn’t.”
“Too bad. If you want to wait half an hour or so, I can whip up a batch.”
His gaze flattened as he looked her over from head to toe. “Are you as good a cook as you are a seamstress?”
Catarina’s chin came up. “I’m an excellent cook.”
“Yeah, well, I’ll pass. But bread’s not a bad idea. There should be some in that drawer.”
She found the bread, found a small silver basket, lined it with a napkin and arranged a display of neatly overlapping slices.
“There,” she said briskly. “How’s that?”
“Wonderful. Now can I eat?”
“Do you want butter?”
“What I want,” Jake said, “is a little peace and quiet.”
“Of course.” She spoke pleasantly, even though she wanted to dump the casserole over his head. She climbed onto the stool next to his, forked up some of the chicken and put it in her mouth. “Mmm. Delicious. I wonder, do you have any wine? A Château D’Este Zinfandel would—”
“Catarina.”
“Yes?”
“Shut up.”
So much for getting to his heart through his stomach—but then she didn’t have to get to his heart, she had only to get to his brain. And, for all Jake’s surliness, she had to admit he did seem to have a brain.
“Jake?”
“Yes?”
“Jake.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking.”
“In your case, always a dangerous activity.”
She decided to ignore the taunt. “You’re not exactly thrilled to have me as a responsibility.” He didn’t answer. Well, she hadn’t expected him to correct her. Still, it wouldn’t have killed him to be polite. “And I,” she added, “am not exactly thrilled to find myself your ward.”
“Amazing. We have something in common after all.”
“So, as I said, I’ve been thinking.”
