AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kate swallowed and nodded, and the two of them busied themselves tidying up the mess, the omelet lesson forgotten for today. They would try again tomorrow; it was no big deal.
“What time do customers start coming in?” Emile asked, when they’d finished wiping everything down.
“Tom’s usually our earliest, he’ll be here in about fifteen minutes.” Kate glanced at the clock, amazed at how quickly the time had gone. It was almost time to set the coffee brewing.
“Do you know everyone by name here?”
“Not everyone, but most people. Miller Springs isn’t exactly a big place and you tend to see the same people in the cafe every week, so you get to know people. You’ll learn pretty quickly.”
“I’m good with names. That might be the only part of this job I’m good at.” Emile shrugged.
“Hey, I don’t want to hear that. You’re doing great for your first day.”
He smiled at her when she said that. He was always gorgeous, but when he smiled, it made Kate’s heart actually skip a beat. She’d thought that was just a thing people said for effect, but she actually felt it in her chest when he turned his full attention on her.
“One last thing,” she said. “Let me show you the freezer and then we’ll get some coffee on.”
“I could very much do with some caffeine.”
“For the customers.” Kate laughed. “But I can spare you a cup, don’t worry. Freezer’s just through here, it’s obviously where we keep the ice cream but it’s also got a whole bunch of supplies ready to be defrosted — there’s a system, I’ll show you.”
The freezer was in a little offshoot of the kitchen, down a small corridor. Emile followed her, and stepped in behind her once she’d opened the door.
“It’s cold… but I guess that’s kind of to be expected.” Emile laughed at his own inane commentary and Kate couldn’t help but smile.
“You won’t need to spend a lot of time here, don’t worry.” She pulled the light switch so the shelves were illuminated and turned around to face Emile.
The two of them had been in close proximity as they’d been working throughout the morning, but the nearness of him in this confined space stole her breath. She’d not factored in the size of him when she’d suggested this, she realized. Where she fit inside the walk-in easily, he towered over her and the broadness of his shoulders meant he took up most of the room inside.
Her cheeks heated, despite the freezing temperature, and she forgot what she was going to say about the rotation of stock and the placement of items in the freezer. None of it seemed important when he was looking at her like that…
Kate shivered, but it wasn’t from the cold. The tension between her and Emile stretched out, neither of them speaking, neither of them suggesting that they move out of the freezer. She could see their breath because of the cold, mingling together in the space between them. She was frozen, not by the temperature but by whatever was happening between them.
Emile, however, was not. He stepped forward, and Kate automatically tipped her head back so she could still see his face. He seemed even taller like this, or maybe she seemed smaller. It wasn’t something she usually noticed, but she wasn’t usually trying to maintain eye contact with tall men who were looking at her with heat in their eyes and making her insides go gooey. Before she could take a step back and regain her senses, his hand was on her jaw, keeping her chin tipped up for him as he closed the gap and brought his mouth to hers.
The touch of his lips was like a lightning strike, jolting her back to life. She felt dizzy at the taste of him on her tongue, like coffee and toothpaste and… him. Her arms went up around his neck, clinging on for dear life as their mouths slanted together, tongues exploring, both of them gasping at the pleasure of it.
Kate felt as though she were free-falling, the hard press of him against her, his hands on her the only thing that was keeping her standing. The tension she’d been feeling all morning had snapped, and she kissed him back with as much force as he was giving her, her hands threading into the hair at the base of his neck, gripping at his T-shirt.
“Kate…” He moaned her name as he broke away and the sound of it shocked her from her trance. She released her grip on his clothes and pulled back; he let her go, but she could see the confusion on his face.
“We can’t…” Her breath was coming fast, her heart racing, panic rising.
“No?” Emile looked at her quizzically.
“It’s not a good idea.”
“It felt like a very good idea…”
He was right. It felt amazing. Like the best idea ever, in the moment it was happening. But Emile was her new employee. And her lodger. Getting too close to him would be a horrible mistake. What if they slept together and it became awkward? Either they’d be stuck in an uncomfortable situation with nowhere to escape to or Emile would be forced to leave, and they’d both be back in the same situation they started in, which neither of them wanted. No, she could control herself and be professional.
“Emile,” she said gently, leveling him with a serious look.
“No. I understand. Keeping it strictly professional, right?”
“I think that would be best. We both need this to work out and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.”
Emile simply nodded. Kate felt relieved that they’d come to an agreement, although deep down there was a part of her that was disappointed. That had been some kiss.
