page32 (1/2)

Hope set down the flower, the petals a shocking splash of red against the white tablecloth Rafe had a sudden idea of what to do with the stem

Myrna extended a high-end tablet toward Rafe “May I get you a drink? Or would you like a minute to settle in?”

He glanced at Hope “Any preference? Wine? Chane?”

“Chane?” Her eyes widened “Do you mean it?”

“They have it by the glass”

“In that case, yes”

He swiped his finger across the screen a couple of ti wine section After scanning the list, he offered a recommendation

She smiled “Sounds wonderful”

“Two glasses,” he told Myrna

“My pleasure” She conveyed the order to the server whom she introduced

“They know you here,” Hope mentioned when they were alone, a basket of yeasty rolls on the table between the dates?”

“Fishing for inforht pleased him

“I thought itI could tell the candidates about you”

He shook off his sudden annoyance Was she trying to prick his ego? “I come here because the food is superlative, and it’s not at one of my hotels so I can relax more, away from business Besides, if I took out a lot of women, my mother wouldn’t have needed to hire you”

The server returned with the wine, then left again when Rafe said they needed a few minutes of privacy

“To a fruitful partnership” He raised his glass

She clinked hers against his rim, then took a delicate sip “Oh ” Then she went quiet for a moment “Oh, my God Yum”

“Glad you approve” She didn’t hide her pleasure, and he savored her reactions “How’s your pussy?”

“What?” Over the top of her flute, she cast hilare that would have castrated a lesser man “You can’t talk like that in public”