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When he took her hand in his, she felt a jolt of awareness flow between them. For a moment she was convinced that he was going to kiss her. Instead, he cleared his throat uncomfortably and replied, “Magnus Corbett. Executive Chef and kind of a jerk sometimes.”
“The ravioli redeemed you,” she admitted, grinning.
“I'm glad to hear it,” he said. “Let's reconvene here Thursday after work. I'll fiddle with some of the dishes and we can taste them. We'll have to figure out the rest at some other point.”
“Sounds good. I'm going to head out for the night. Thanks again for dinner.”
“You're welcome, Caroline,” he said, finally releasing her hand. “I can walk you out if you like.”
“Are you staying?” she asked, confused.
“No. I live here. A couple of the floors are designated for short term and corporate leases. I negotiated one of the units into my contract when I was hired on,” he admitted.
“I'm just going to walk to my car for my thirty minute commute and pretend that I'm not incredibly jealous,” she grumbled.
“We went back and forth for weeks,” he admitted. “The kitchen was tiny. I got them to remodel it. It's probably better than this one.”
“Now you're just bragging,” she accused, laughing.
“Too true,” he admitted, his grin unrepentant. “Let me walk you out. It's almost four in the morning.”
“Wow. I didn't realize it was so late. You don't have to see me out though. I usually get the security guard to do it.”
“Humor me.”
Caroline rolled her eyes and said, “Let me go get my shoes.”
A few minutes later they walked toward the exit together. Caroline shifted the bag on her shoulder and said, “You really don't need to walk me out.”
As they pushed through the exit door, he said, “I'm sorry. I feel bad that I've kept you here well past closing plying you with ravioli. It would make me feel better to see you to your car.”
He stood so close to her that she could feel the warmth radiating off of his body. She was very tempted to lean into him. Since he'd taken off his chef's coat, she had been itching to touch him. It was probably a fairly poor idea though, considering that he was a work colleague. Not to mention the whole Transfigured thing.
It didn't really bother her, the idea of dating someone who needed to drink human blood to survive. There were definitely some problems that went along with it, though. She couldn't imagine he'd want to get attached to anyone knowing that they were going to die someday and she was a bit past the whole 'one night stand' phase of her life. Still, she couldn't deny she was attracted to him.
As they approached her, she softly said, “No need to apologize. It was well worth the meal.”
“And the company, I hope?”
“That too,” she agreed, much to her own surprise.
When she reached her car, she turned to face him and said, “This is me. Thank you again for walking me out.”
“You're welcome,” he said, lingering for a moment.
“Good night,” she said softly, giving a small wave.
Caroline froze when he closed the small distance between them. Her heart was pounding when he leaned in to give her a hug. Perhaps it was the fact that he held her for just a moment longer than necessary or maybe it was the late hour. A part of her didn't want to leave.
Impulsively, she pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. When she pulled back his eyes were unreadable. Feeling a little awkward she said, “Thank you again for the dinner. It was so much better than E—”
“For the love of god, Caroline. Don't even say it,” he ordered, stepping back.
Grinning, she held her hands up in surrender. “As you wish,” she said, laughing.
“Drive carefully,” Magnus said, giving her an almost sheepish smile. It was so at odds with his brash, cocky attitude that it left her at a loss. Then and there, she knew that he was going to be trouble.
***
