AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m surprised, Tad. I’d expect your staff to be better trained,” Monica said sharply. “Hard to get good help, I suppose.”
“We had an emergency and Jules stepped in, but she’s more than capable.” He turned to her with a smile, his blue eyes glittering his gratitude and affection. “Thank you.”
Jules nodded dumbly. Tad placed a hand at the small of her back, a gesture at once intimate and possessive, and not lost on Ms. Grayson, whose gaze widened at how close Tad was standing to the help.
“Now what can we get you?” he asked politely.
“Just a waitron who can rub two brain cells together.”
Jules felt Tad’s body turn rigid beside her. “I hope you’re not insulting my staff, Ms. Grayson. They work too hard to be on the receiving end of that sharp tongue of yours.”
Her gray eyes tilted up. “To succeed in this business, you have to have at minimum a staff who can understand what they’re trying to sell to the customers. She’s pretty, I’ll grant you, but not a lot going on upstairs.”
Jules’s heart sank to the floor, and not just because Monica’s words struck hard in her breast. Mostly, she felt awful because she had let Tad down when he needed her and now he had to cover for her ineptitude.
“Monica, Monica, Monica.” His voice was soft and persuasive, and while normally she loved that sexy tone, the fact he was using it to appease Monica killed her. She knew why he had to do it, she just hated that she came out of it the loser.
He continued. “I recognize that all your visits to Vivi’s have ended in profound dissatisfaction, so I’ll assume that’s your disappointment showing its ugly. I wouldn’t sleep with you and now you’re feeling frustrated. I have that effect on women.”
Oh, snap.
Monica’s companion had been in the middle of a sip of his San Pellegrino, but started coughing hard when it went down the wrong way. Tad gave him a healthy slap on the back, propelling the guy so far forward his nose almost dipped in the olive oil saucer. An ugly shade of red bloomed from Monica’s half-exposed chest all the way to the tops of her cheekbones.
“I’d be very careful about how you finish this conversation, Tad.”
“Only one way to finish it, Ms. Grayson. The management reserves the right to throw your bony ass out on the street. And your little dog, too.”
“Tad,” Jules warned, though it was too late and her heart was cheering like the Cubbies had won the World Series.
He turned his back on Monica’s furious expression and any chance he had of getting a good review inTasty Chicago. Smoothly, he steered Jules in the direction of the kitchen.
“You just shot yourself in the arse, Tad DeLuca.”
“Never mind that. Tell me how your night has been,” he said, his eyes sparkling like beautiful blue jewels. Not a moment’s regret lived in their depths.
“Except for Derry having the worst meet-cute with a chef’s knife, the pizza oven being on the blink again, and you just screwing yourself over, not bad. Not bad at all.” She shook her head. “You didn’t have to do that. I can defend myself just fine. In fact, I’d just been congratulating myself all night on how I didn’t need rescuing.”
“I know, but that’s what friends do.” He inclined his head and whispered, “I’ve missed you.”
Oh. “I’m right here.”
He ran a finger along her jaw. “But for how long?”
Lost in the emotion of what he had just done for her and what he was now doing to her, all she could do was stare into his handsome face.
“Speechless, Jules? That’s not like you. Gonna have to take advantage.”
He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her softly, tugging on her lips in a way that was not in the least bit friendly.
He finished the kiss with a smile.
“I didn’t have to do that, either, but it’s just one of those nights.”
Twenty-Eight
Like champs, they got through the rest of the night and sent the throng home happy.
After Tad had returned from walking Bella to her car a block over, he took a moment to enjoy the sight of his savior wiping down the stainless steel counter in the kitchen. An old classic, Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” poured from the speakers and the fluid back-and-forth swiping motion rolled her hips in a sexy sway.
