A Convenient Arrangement (11 page)

He didn’t want to admit the reason to himself, and he definitely wouldn’t to Ilko and Todd or anyone else, but the marketing campaign made him uncomfortable because of Gwen. He’d just thrown away his convenient arrangement rules for her, had asked her on a date instead of walking away when it was clear she wanted more than just great sex with no strings. Maybe after a decade of convenient arrangements he wanted something more, something new, something with substance.

His eyes refocused on the pictures on his computer screen. This campaign, these pictures, the Convenient Arrangement app: this was business.  And even though he was willing to explore a new type of relationship with Gwen, he wasn’t going to forget about business. His business now was selling the hell out of this app, by the best method possible.

He clicked reply and dashed off an email to Todd and Ilko, giving his okay. Their analytics said this campaign was the best way to launch a Convenient Arrangement, so he was ready for his picture, these pictures, to hit the world. Regardless of what was going on between him and Gwen, Leo Travati was now the poster boy for the single-man lifestyle.

“Buddy, I’m hoping this goes off without a hitch.” Leo opened the oven door and peered in at the chicken piccata and the rosemary potatoes he’d removed from their delivery containers and placed into white dishes that claimed to be oven-to-table. Hopefully those words meant exactly what the box said. “Smells good.”

He looked at Renley, who dutifully sat beside the oven looking up at Leo, super surprised that they were using the shiny kitchen appliances that, before tonight, were only for show.

Leo shut the door and cranked up the oven. “Better hot than cold, right? Hope she likes Italian food.” He selected a bottle of wine and pulled out the cork. He still had five minutes, but women were always late, weren’t they? How many times had he sat and waited for a woman? Too many to count. He decanted the wine, took the carafe in one hand, and scooped up two wine glasses in the other, moving everything into the living room. The catering company had delivered a cheese tray, which he’d set on the table in front of the couch. Why was he trying so hard? Maybe to prove that he could try, or to see Gwen’s smile, maybe to—

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Renley’s tail thumped against the floor.

“Showtime, buddy.” Leo rubbed his palms down the front of his jeans. Nerves? When was the last time he’d been nervous about seeing a woman? Adrenaline, sure, but nerves? Renley sat politely beside the door, thumping his tail harder and harder. “Okay, buddy, are we ready?” Renley seemed to nod, as if to say,
I gotcha, boss, we’re totally covered
.

Leo opened the door.

Breathe.

He had to remind himself to friggin’ breathe, because there in the hall outside his condo stood the cutest lady, wearing a bright pink stocking cap with a fuzzy ball at the end, her cheeks flushed from the cold, her nose a tiny bit red. Her hair, which he’d seen down maybe twice, flamed across her shoulders in giant curls, framing her smile. The smile that had caused him to throw away his rules about relationships and necessary convenient arrangements.

“Hi,” Gwen chirped. She handed him a bright purple bag. “I come bearing gifts.”

He ushered her inside. Gifts? A gift for him? The women Leo dated required he purchase gifts, but never turned up with gift bags for him. Gwen shrugged her coat into his hands and he looked over her shoulder. The blue sweater she wore, paired with black jeans and high-heeled boots, matched her eyes and accentuated her lush curves.

“Mmm. Smells good in here.” Gwen pulled the hat off her head, turned, and handed it to Leo. “Warm too.”

He leaned in and they exchanged an awkward hug. Gwen walked toward the fireplace. Leo hung up her coat and then turned to the wine. He poured and handed a glass to Gwen.

“Your cheeks are pink.”

“It’s cold. Have you been out? They’re saying seven inches of snow overnight.”

“Hmmm.” He fantasized briefly about being snowed in with Gwen. “What’s this? I don’t usually get gifts.” He lifted the purple bag that he’d set on the side table.

“It’s tough buying for a billionaire.” Gwen sipped her wine. “I pretty much assume you have everything you want.”

Leo grinned. “Well, maybe not everything.” He opened the bag. “At least not yet.”

Her cheeks flushed again, and this time the color wasn’t from the cold. “I thought maybe you’d still have some outdated technology,” she explained.

He pulled a DVD from the bag and flipped it over. “Only the best movie ever made.”

Gwen smiled. “My thoughts exactly.”

“Favorite movie ever.” He looked over at her. “After dinner?”

“Sounds perfect. Food. Wine. Fire. Plus the best movie ever made.”

“Don’t forget the company.” Leo lifted an eyebrow.

“As if I could.” Gwen took another sip, glancing up at him through the fringe of her eyelashes. Leo’s heart thumped against his ribs. “So what’s for dinner?”

He turned and Gwen followed him into the kitchen. “My goodness, you’re a clean cook.” Her gaze swept the kitchen. “My place is destroyed when I fix a meal. I’m impressed.”

“Destroyed, eh?” Maybe he should’ve left some dirty dishes in the sink and dusted the counters with flour.

“Leo?”

“Hmm?” He pulled the glass bowl full of salad from the refrigerator. He’d been smart enough to take the dressing out of the plastic container and put in a dressing boat to use.

“Leo, did…is something burning?”

Leo set the bowl on the counter and turned. Sure enough, a thin haze of smoke hovered in the kitchen. “Not sure.” He leaned over the oven door and slowly pulled it open a crack. A…
fire
. Smoke poured out through the tiny opening. He slammed the oven door shut and turned his back to it. “Nothing, just a little…seems I might have burned something.” He turned back to the oven.

Shit, was the smoke turning black? Leo waved an oven mitt at the growing cloud, looking around for the fan button…there had to be a fan…my God, what a disaster. He coughed. “Uh, why don’t you go on out to the living room by the fireplace and—”

To hell with the fireplace, he had a fire here. He finally found the right button and pushed it. The fan started sucking air straight up and yet…the oven…the smoke was getting worse. He couldn’t believe the fire alarm hadn’t gone off yet, and when it did—

“Do you have a fire extinguisher?” Gwen brushed past him and opened the cabinet beside the stove.

“A…uh, what?” He twisted knobs and pressed buttons on the stove. How did you turn the damned thing off?

“Fire extinguisher, do you have one?” Gwen went to the next cabinet and the next, opening, scanning, and closing them one after the other.

“A, uh…fire extinguisher?” Had to come with the condo, right? Why would he have a fire extinguisher? He never used the damn kitchen. Now what…water? No…it might be a grease fire, and even he knew you couldn’t throw water on that. Uh…

“Stand back.”

Leo snapped out of his spiraling confusion and looked at Gwen. She stood in front of the oven with the fire extinguisher she’d found in hand, the hose pointed toward the oven. “When I say go, open the oven door. Got it?”

He nodded, grateful one of them knew what to do. Damn, Gwen looked pretty badass when she was in control of a situation.

“Okay.” She planted her legs and pulled the pin. “Go.”

Leo threw open the oven door, stepped back, and Gwen let the white foam fly.

*

Not the dinner she’d expected, but she’d never say no to Chinese takeout and kung pao scallops. She popped another one into her mouth and watched the Millennium Falcon finally jet into hyperdrive.

“So, did you actually try to cook dinner tonight?”

Leo’s guilty but super cute smile told her that no,
he
hadn’t actually cooked dinner. She’d guessed when he’d pulled the two blackened Corningware dishes from the oven and one of them had melted plastic in the bottom.

“I cooked that meal about as much as I cooked this one.” He topped off her wine. “I was trying to impress you.”

She leaned back against the leather couch cushion. The idea of Leo wanting to impress her caused a smile to widen over her face, even if the whole thing had ended in a giant mess and a near four-alarm fire.

“You did, actually.”

“Oh no, lady, you impressed me with your firefighting skills. I definitely want you around if there’s ever a
real
fire.”

“Um, that was a real fire.” Gwen pointed her chopsticks right at Leo. “There were flames, not just smoke. A couple more minutes and there would’ve been firemen, too.”

“I think you’re exaggerating.” Leo plucked a scallop from her plate with his chopsticks.

“Not exaggerating. Not one bit.”

He took a deep breath and released it. “There are many things I feel confident doing, but cooking?” He shook his head. “Cooking isn’t one of them.”

Her stomach wobbled and her toes curled. She knew what one of the
many
things Leo felt conficdent doing was and that confidence was well-placed. Goodness, he was delicious, almost as edible as her favorite meal, which she’d nearly finished. Knowing he had a genuine fault just made her want him more.

“I do, however, still have dessert.” Leo picked up the remote and paused the film. “But only because it doesn’t require an oven.” He stood and took her empty plate. “Want something sweet?”

Warmth swirled between her legs and heat burst across her cheeks. Something sweet? Oh yes, she was looking at something sweet that she wanted, right now. She cleared her throat. “Sure.”

She uncurled from the couch and followed him into the kitchen. The disaster zone looked to be contained to the oven…well, that and the stovetop. Her aim had been pretty spectacular, all things considered. Leo had declared cleanup wouldn’t proceed until tomorrow.

“I ordered one of my favorite desserts.” He rustled in the refrigerator.

“Cannolis?”

“That’s one I like but,” Leo pulled a tray from the refrigerator, “this is one I love.” He opened the box and pulled out a gorgeous-looking cake, the top dusted with cocoa and sprinkled with shaved chocolate curls.

“Tiramisu.” Gwen’s mouth watered.

Leo liberated two forks from the utensil drawer. He stuck one right into the rich dessert. “I’ll let you have the first bite.”

Her heart careened in her chest. That sultry voice, those eyes, the magnetism she could feel radiating from his body… How sexy to be fed a delectable dessert by this absolutely gorgeous man. A devilish smile tugged his lips and his eyes sparkled. Sex on a stick. She slowly opened her mouth and he guided the bite between her lips.

Soft creamy richness filled her mouth. Her eyes closed in delight. The bittersweet taste of chocolate and coffee rolled over her tongue. “Oh my God, that’s good.” She opened her eyes. Leo studied her reaction, his gaze no longer playful but intense with heat.

“Looks very good.” The rough, rich timbre of his deep melted her core.

Sparks of attraction arced between them. Gwen opened her mouth to speak, but she didn’t have words. Leo set the dessert down, stepped forward. Her back pressed into the counter and he rested a fist on either side of her. His lips so near hers. She couldn’t pull her gaze from the mouth that weeks before had kissed her senseless and left trails of heat on every inch of her skin. His hard maleness pressed against her hip.

“You have a little bit right here.” He leaned toward her. Gwen’s breath shortened. That smile. Those eyes. His entire body skimmed hers, then his lips were on her lips, and his sweet soft velvet mouth pressed to hers. His tongue coaxed her lips apart, their breath mingling. Leo’s arm encircled her waist and pulled her close.

Her entire body tingled. A throbbing want pulsed between her legs. She wound her hands up around his neck and her fingertips wove through his thick black hair. Oh, yes, please. This wasn’t like New Year’s; she’d had little wine, her head was clear, and it all felt much more real, more tentative. Yet the desire burned with the intensity she remembered. A moan passed over her lips as their kiss deepened. Leo’s arm tightened around her.

The scent of him. Strong and clean and so very male. Her yearning for him set her insides on fire. His lips left hers, traveling along her jaw and down her neck, his hand still heavy on her waist, holding her possessively close. He pulled back and looked into her face. His eyes held a question.

“We don’t have to…we can stop.” His voice sounded strained, as if it took all of his strength to make the offer.

Her muscles trembled with the heat passing between them now and the desire flooding through her. Gwen shook her head, smiling. “I don’t want to stop.” She’d waited for this moment for what felt like a lifetime. To be in Leo’s arms, both of them wanting the same thing. They had breached a boundary and there was no turning back. She was here, in his home, Leo ignoring his rule about convenient arrangements so that they could explore the feelings that existed between them.

“Me either.” His lips claimed hers again, but now with unleashed
fire and passion. A greedy heat that demanded. She opened her mouth to his unbidden, needing to feel his tongue like velvet against hers. The man could kiss. He could kiss like a god, with a velvet smoothness that fed her inner need. His hand slid over the top of her sweater and cupped her breast.

“Mmmhmm,” Gwen moaned. Her nipples pebbled under his touch. The impulse to shed every thread of clothing and stand naked in front of him gripped her.

“We need a bed.” His statement was also an invitation.

A smile curved over her lips. Yes, they did need a bed. She wanted nothing more than to be in Leo’s arms again and to feel the heat of him against her body. She nodded.

His arms clasped around her like a vise and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around Leo’s hips, the tip of his hard sex pressed against her. His lips met hers. Was this happening? Was this really happening? Was she about to sleep with Leo again? Was she a fool, a complete and total fool to believe that this time would end differently?