Page 40 of Twisted Beauty

Matt smiled, though it was more of a smirk. “Good point. I should probably seat you as far away from Tito as possible so you don’t steal his food. We all saw you swipe Jana’s plate at the barbecue.”

“Tito, your grandson is hilarious,” she said as she joined him at the table.

“Sí, he very handsome too. Mateo, you sit here next to Liv.”

Liv dropped her head into her hands and mumbled, “Oh my god.” She felt her cheeks flush and wondered how she was supposed to act. She should have taken her chances with the storm. She was just as likely to drown either way.

Matt chuckled, apparently unfazed by Tito’s meddling. Liv heard the clatter of a few plates being placed on the table in front of her and looked up to see Matt leaning toward her as he set her plate down.

Heat flickered in his eyes, and for a moment, she wondered if she wasn’t the only one still thinking about last night. But it was gone in an instant. She might have even imagined it.

“Hang on a second,” he said. “Let me get you a fork so you don’t have to shovel the whole thing into your mouth at once.”

“How thoughtful. You’re quite the host. Your grandfather must be so proud.”

Tito nodded as he took a fork and cut into his tamale. “Mateo make me proud every day. He a wonderful cook too. World-famous chef.”

Well, Katie had told her about the chef part, but world-famous? Was he serious? She decided to keep quiet, afraid Tito would misinterpret her curiosity.

Liv watched Matt uncork a bottle of white wine and pull three glasses from the cupboard. She jumped up to get her own fork, just to make sure she didn’t actually shovel the whole thing in her mouth at once. Apparently she’d worked up an appetite running to Tito’s in the rain.

She approached him at the counter, and he gestured to a drawer as he poured. “Forks in there.”

“So, you’re world-famous, huh? Weren’t you the one who burned the burgers at the barbecue? Impressive.”

The corners of his lips twitched but he repressed a smile. Instead he leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Weren’t you the one who lured me onto the balcony and assaulted me with that mouth? Impressive.”

Liv’s jaw dropped open, but no words came out. Assaulted? That was so not what she did. Was it?

She felt his wet hair brush against her cheek as he pulled away, leaving a trail of moisture that felt like fire against her skin. She caught her breath and hoped he didn’t hear.

Her face was beet red, damn it. She could feel it. So hard to play it cool when your body displayed every thought and feeling in vivid color.

“Matt, about that—”

He put a finger to his mouth to shush her, and gestured slightly with his head toward Tito. She didn’t look over at Tito because she couldn’t draw her gaze from the spot where Matt’s finger had touched his lips. He winked and she wanted to punch him. Cocky bastard.

What was the matter with her? Just a few weeks ago she was engaged to Grant, who basically wrote the book on cocky bastards. Today, she was wildly attracted to a guy with the same damn personality disorder.

She needed to make it clear that there was nothing between them, and that there would be no instant replay of last night. Of that delicious kiss she could still feel on her lips.

But she couldn’t say anything now. Not with Tito in the room.

And what exactly would she say anyway? Well, I wanted to taste your beer, so, you know, I shoved my tongue down your throat. It didn’t mean anything.

There was no getting out of this gracefully.

Liv grabbed a fork and headed back to the table, where the wineglasses were already in place and a platter of extra tamales sat in the center. Matt had already taken his seat. He reached over to slide out the chair next to him and patted it.

Shaking her head, at him and at herself, she went to sit down. At least Tito hadn’t waited. Half his lunch was already gone. It did look good.

She took a bite and moaned before she could stop herself. “This is incredible.”

Matt swept his gaze from her lips to her eyes, and her entire body ignited. With his eighty-something-year-old grandfather sitting in a chair right next to her. She reached for her wine and took a big gulp.

“It’s from a taco stand across the street. They were just packing up for the storm when I got there. Bought them out. Best tamales in PV.”

It was such a small table, Liv could feel the heat from his muscular thigh just inches from hers. She watched him dig into his food. His thick, dark lashes threw a small shadow onto his handsome face, and the way his Adam's apple moved while he ate actually made her mouth water. How crazy was that? Liv shoved her free hand under her leg and sat on it so she couldn’t reach over and touch him.