Page 24 of Off-Limits Silver Fox Billionaire

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It tooktwo hours to prepare the baked lamb chops with tomatoes, olives, and mint oil. It was the most delicious meal I had ever eaten, and the blend of mint in it gave the the dish a whole new flavor.

“This is amazing,” I told her. “You should definitely add this one to your recipe book,” I complimented as I pushed my empty plate aside and picked up my glass of wine. “You’re very talented Bree.”

I saw her flush as she answered. “Thank you. I’ve always wondered what it would taste like, but I’ve never been bold enough to cook it after coming up with the recipe in my head and writing it down.”

“You should test every recipe you’ve created,” I told her. “You’re so good at this, I feel it’s second nature for you. If you try them out, you’d find out how amazing they all are.”

Bree lifted her glass to her lips for a sip of her wine and I watched her small lips on the rim for a second. She noticed I was looking at her, and she licked her lower lip when she took the glass away.

“Why did you quit your job in New York though?” I asked her. “I mean, I’m assuming your move to Oahu means you probably quit or is it just a break?”

“No,” she said. “I did quit. I told you … I got tired of city life.”

It still felt like there was more to her reason and I didn’t want to pry so I was about to change the subject, but she continued. “I just needed a change of environment after my breakup. Nothing felt right there anymore, and I have my family here, so I decided to come to spend time with them.”

“Break-up?” I asked in a low voice, and she nodded.

“We dated for three years, then I caught him cheating on our anniversary and dumped him. It was hard on me, but I know what love is and I don’t want to waste any more of my time with someone like that.”

“What do you think love is?” I asked solemnly. Bree’s gaze emerged with mine and stayed that way for a while. When she didn’t say anything at first, I added to the first question. “Why do you think love is beautiful and perfect like you said the other day?”

She remained silent and simply stared at me while smiling and twirling the contents of her glass. Bree rubbed the back of her neck with her free hand then said. “I just believe it is,” she said. “Anyone can find love, and more than once too. I’ve seen it happen…. My dad was alone for a long time after his divorce from my mom, and in the end, he found love. It’s been magical watching him stay happy over the years and Allison, she’s … she’s perfect for him. At first, I didn’t want to admit it. I was young and angry when I found out about them, but I realized it was selfish of me to ask him not to love her when there was no way he could control his feelings.”

“I don’t think someone can fall in love more than once though,” I told her. “I mean you can find that deep affection and companionship again, but there’s always that one love you can never forget, and it’s always going to hurt, no matter what.”

“True,” she agreed.

Bree dropped her glass and brushed her hair away from her face with both hands before letting out a deep breath. She rested her elbows on the table and propped her chin on her palms.

“How’s your elbow?” I asked when I remembered her bruise from the last time we were together.

“It’s healed,” she replied. “Samuel’s so full of life, you need to be careful when watching else he could get seriously hurt.”

“He’s a boy,” Josh said. “He’s how old, five?”

She shook her head. “Four,” she corrected. “He just turned four. He’s getting bigger by the day,” she added with a smile that reached her eyes.

My heart warmed, and I felt the urge to take her in my arms and kiss her till she was breathless and sighing out my name.

“You love kids?” I asked.

“I do,” she answered. “I always have … I want to have some of mine one day too.”

“So, you believe in the regular fairy tale end? Where do you meet your one true love, fall in love and live happily ever after?”

Bree nodded and I felt my heart sink a bit in my chest. How could she believe that existed even after she had experienced the heartbreak of what the real-life relationships were like?

“I just think it’s possible, I guess you can say I’m a sucker for love .”

She flashed another grin, but this time there was something about the look in her eyes that made my chest heavy.

Tired of hearing her talk about love and happily ever afters, I decided to change the mood. I got on my feet to do the dishes, and she followed. She gathered the plates on the table and brought them to me at the sink.

We fell into another long silence as we worked in sync. Once the dishes were completely clean, I dried my hands on a napkin and handed her one to do the same before I angled my body to face her fully.

I don’t know who moved first as the air around us tensed, but in the next heartbeat she was in my arms, and our lips were joined in a fervent kiss that spiked my blood pressure and made it difficult for me to think of anything else but her and the moment.

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