Page 17 of Slow Simmer

Chapter Nine

Carlo looked almost shell-shocked, Suzannah thought as he nodded assent. He really hadn’t expected her to accept his advice, to listen to him, but when someone was right, they were right, and a wise woman or man listened and learned.

She wasn’t sure when he’d taken her hand and started touching her hair, but she liked it far too much. She must be touch-starved, she decided as she tried to tell herself she should let go of his hand, step back.

Somehow, she couldn’t stop looking at his lips, those beautifully shaped, masculine lips. Her traitorous memory supplied a perfect recall of how they tasted, how they felt exploring every inch of her body as he teased her to impossible pitches of ecstasy.

“Maybe I can teach you something, too,” Carlo said softly, his dark eyes gazing steadily into hers. “Help you let go some of that tight control, hm?”

Unable to speak, she swallowed to try and get some moisture into her dry mouth. He was so close, she could feel his breath on her mouth. Her eyelids drooped, her eyes wanting to close. He was going to kiss her…

“This really can’t happen,” came out of her mouth.

Somewhere deep in her mind, her libido gave up with a roll of its eyes and slinked off to sulk in a corner.

“You pick your moments, don’t you?” Carlo let go of her hand and took a step back.

Suzannah took a deep breath, shaking her head to clear it of the lingering sensual fog his mere presence seemed to provoke in her. “You know I’m right. Whether or not Julie can learn to manage the staff effectively, Ihaveto retain their respect. Nobody knows about our past relationship, and I need to keep it that way.”

“Or what?” he asked dryly, folding his arms and cocking an eyebrow. “Or they might notice you’re a sexy as hell, red blooded woman? Half your staff are sleeping with each other anyway, and the other half are involved with other members of the resort staff.”

“They are?” Suzannah blinked in surprise.

“You really don’t notice anything that doesn’t have to do with food, do you?”

The question annoyed her, mainly because as usual with Carlo, his jab was right on target. Her jaw clenched, but she consciously ordered herself to relax it.

He’s been on the island a week and it’s clear he knows more about my staff than I do. Which means he’s right and I’ve stuffed up.

Lowering her head so she didn’t have to look at him, she took a deep breath before speaking.

“Thanks for bringing the problem to my attention, Chef Gianetti.”

Carlo laughed, and she looked up again to meet his eyes. He was leaning back against the office door, a wicked grin on his handsome face. “You do realise everyone’s going to assume we were making out in here anyway, don’t you?”

“Are you trying to say we might as well?”

He shrugged, the maddening grin still in place, and she reached behind her without looking, picked up a pen off the desk and threw it at him. “Get out of here.”

Her lips were twitching, though, giving away her desire to smile, and Carlo laughed, batting the pen away. “Another time,cara.” He winked at her before exiting.

The door closed behind him and Suzannah sagged, rounding her desk to collapse into her office chair.

Her hands were shaking, she noticed dimly, blood roaring in her ears from her racing pulse. She’d fought hard to conceal her physical reactions from Carlo, but was pretty sure she’d failed. How she’d found the willpower to tell him not to kiss her, she hadn’t the faintest idea. She’d wanted him to so badly she could almost taste the kiss.

Sighing, she picked her cap up and starting cramming her hair back up. The night wasn’t over yet, and she needed to make sure everything finished up smoothly. Tomorrow, she’d figure out what to do about her own failings with her staff… maybe she’d go see her friend Rosie, the resort’s staff manager. If anyone could advise her, it would be Rosie.

* * *

At lunchtime the following day, Suzannah strode back into the restaurant armed with new confidence in herself and a plan. Rosie had listened to her anxious outpouring and given her some actionable first steps to take… first among them being “Listen to Carlo. He’s a smart cookie if he’s got all this figured out after only a week, and while he could have been more tactful approaching you with it, I’d say he only wants to help.”

Therefore, her first move once she entered the kitchen was to step into the pastry kitchen, where Carlo was hard at work piping tiny swirls of meringue mix onto a baking sheet.

“Morning,” she said cheerfully.

Carlo glanced up and smiled. “Good morning, Chef,” he said very properly.

Suzannah could almost feel the tension of the staff working around them, all talk silenced and ears on stalks as everyone surreptitiously watched. They were all wondering just what had transpired in her office last night, Suzannah was quite sure, and firmly ordered herself not to blush as she thought about Carlo’s remark. No doubt there would indeed be speculation, but she didn’t intend to fuel it.

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