Page 60 of The Dating Prohibition
As she swallowed, she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded. “Do you want a taste?” she offered, though her mindwent to something other than a chocolate-covered treat in front of her.
“Yeah.” Ben came around the bar and stood behind her, his chest pressing against her shoulder as his breath tickled her neck.
“You’re lucky they don’t have any customers in here yet,” she whispered. The restaurant had technically been open for lessthan ten minutes, but they’d all arrived early to help set up. Kendra was there to fill in for the hostess, who was runninglate. She would move to the door once people started arriving for their reservations.
“Where’s my treat?” The gravel in his voice melted her insides.
“I’ve got a couple of treats for you,” she murmured, grinning mischievously.
“Well, let’s focus on this one for now because it’s the only one that won’t get us arrested.”
Her cheeks flushed as she picked up a fresh strawberry and held it by its stem, raising it for him to take a bite. Her mindraced a mile a minute as the warmth from his body radiated toward hers.
He leaned over her, kissing her knuckles before biting into the fruit, his lips brushing her fingertips.
Kendra’s mouth went dry. “You have a little piece of chocolate on your lip.”
He stepped closer and hovered over her shoulder. “Do you want to help me out with that?”
She nodded, unable to take her eyes off his mouth as he chewed. She ran her tongue over his bottom lip, picking up the shardof chocolate before pressing her lips against his.
He nodded and returned to the other side of the bar, just as they heard Logan coming up the stairs.
Heat painted Kendra’s cheeks and she averted her gaze as she finished Ben’s strawberry, refocusing her attention on her laptop.She could feel the heat of Ben’s gaze, but she couldn’t risk looking at him. Logan could read her like a book.
“Y’all good?” Logan asked as he reached the end of the bar, looking between the two of them.
“Mmm-hmm.” She nodded, trying to free a strawberry seed from her teeth with the tip of her tongue. “Tell Shonda these area winner. I think they’d go really well with the Malbec that you’re carrying right now.”
Logan’s head bobbed. “She was gonna pair them the same way, so thanks for confirming.”
“Of course.”
“Need help with anything, man?” BJ turned to Logan.
“Uh, yeah, I’ve got a delivery that’s about to arrive in the back. Would you mind waiting for the driver and signing off onit for me while I handle some more paperwork up here?”
“Sure.” BJ dried his hands and headed back toward the kitchen. There was a back door that led to a loading area for the restaurantsin their building.
“Thanks, man,” Logan called after BJ as he moved behind the bar, walking up to the spot where BJ had stood moments ago. “Yougood, sis?” He eyed her suspiciously.
“Yeah, of course. Why?” She bit into another strawberry. She looked at him quickly and then looked back to her plate to avoidlocking eyes with his.
“Is there something I should know?” he asked.
Kendra set a half-eaten strawberry down and ran her tongue over her teeth to check for seeds. “No.” She looked up at him withinnocent eyes, unblinking. “Is there something you want to know?”Please say no.Her heart pounded in her chest as if it were sending a signal to tell on her.I’m fucking your best friend.
Logan’s head tilted slightly. “No, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Something felt different today.”
“Yeah, I’m good. I am reaching out to a couple of new real estate contacts who specifically work on the commercial side tosee if I can get some advice on this upcoming auction.”
“How is that looking so far?”
“Oh, you know, I’m still researching, but I feel like it could work within my budget, so I’m really excited. This propertyfits exactly what I’m looking for.” She flipped around her laptop to show her brother.
“Wow, it’s a nice space. Good size.”
“Yeah, I think that the previous owners just defaulted and it got picked up.”
