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“That’s a shame. It’s a wonderful city. I spent two years there attending culinary school and working in various restaurants.” It had been the first place he’d gone after leaving South Africa. At the time, it had seemed the perfect place to re-create himself.
“I spent the first eighteen years of my life in New York City and the next four in Ithaca attending Cornell University.”
“You didn’t want to travel?”
“My parents were separated from the time I was eleven. My mother lived in Florida, and I visited her during the holidays. My father...” She stumbled over the word and appeared distressed for a moment. “He was gone a lot, overseeing various hotels. The company expanded a great deal in the nineties.”
Her childhood sounded as lonely as his had been. “Who did you stay with when your father was away?”
“Servants. Once in a while my grandfather.” Her sweater had slipped off one shoulder, baring the thin strap of her gray camisole. “Is there any place you want to visit but haven’t?”
The smooth line of her shoulder captivated him. Could her skin be as soft as it looked? “Niagara Falls.”
She stared at him in stunned silence for a few moments and then began to laugh. “Niagara Falls? Even I’ve been there.”
Her deep, throaty laugh made him want to kiss her. The mischief dancing in her eyes captivated him. Strong. Soft. Smart. Sexy. Was she as oblivious to her appeal as she appeared or was it all a ruse to catch him off guard?
“Then you’d be a good tour guide.”
“I don’t know about that. I was seven at the time.” Her good mood faded. “My father took me.” She blinked rapidly and pushed off the couch. “Damn it. I swore I wasn’t going to cry.”
Curiosity induced him to follow her. At least that’s what he told himself until she was wrapped in his arms, her face pressed against his chest. Her body shuddered as she gulped in air and released an unsteady sigh.
“What’s wrong?” He nuzzled the top of her head with his chin while a part of his mind wondered where this urge to comfort had come from. Selfish. Self-involved. Those were the words that described him. It balanced out the fifteen years of selflessness his parents had shoved down his throat.
“Why Niagara Falls?”
“I have a thing for waterfalls.” He paused a beat. “What do you have a thing for?”
“You...” she shifted as far away from him as his arms snaked around her waist would allow “...r show.”
“Nice save.”
“Okay, I’ll admit I’m a fan.”
He leaned back and peered down at her. “That explains why you’ve been so nice to me.”
“I’ve been nothing but professional to you.”
“Your lips say civilized things,” he taunted. “But your eyes tell me how much you’d like to lock me in the walk-in freezer.”
“Be honest. Have you been easy to work with?”
“Of course not, but I’m a genius and everyone knows that geniuses are notoriously difficult to get along with.”
His candor gave her pause. Head cocked, she regarded him. “Even your arrogance is charming.”
“I don’t get you.”
She avoided his gaze. “What’s there to get?”
“You have money and family connections. Anything you want could be yours.”
“Is that how you see me?” She asked the question calmly enough, but below the surface he sensed tension.
“That’s who you are.”
“And if I lacked money and family connections, what am I then?”
