The Perfect Ingredient (Dare Valley) (32 page)

That he was her perfect ingredient too.

His hands grabbed hers, and together they rode out the storm. When they found their release—panting, skin flushed with sweat, their bodies pulsing—he rolled onto his back with her on top, staying inside her.

“Will you come to New York with me now?” he asked her in the quiet aftermath.

She loved him. If going to the city meant running into Vince, then she would meet her demon face to face. Terrance didn’t have to know anything unless Vince made the wrong move.

If he did, she would tell Terrance everything.

Chapter 35

Girls’ Night was Natalie’s favorite part of her week. As she let herself out of her building to walk to the Irish pub she and her sisters loved for its peppy music, she felt a piercing sadness. Her sisters were over the moon about her new job, but they all knew what it meant. There would be no more nights like tonight or lunches or impromptu hangouts.

She loved her brothers, but Matt and Andy weren’t girls.

Talking to them was just different.

Of course, there were upsides. She would be able to spend more time with her brothers and her mom and Danny, of course. Oh, and the rest of the Hale clan. Jill couldn’t wait to work with her at The Grand.

Plus her ongoing bumper sticker war with Matt would be so much easier. Since he’d already won the primary and it looked like he was going to run uncontested, she was planning to slap a new one on his SUV the next time she saw him:
Honk If You Like Hotties.
That would put his boxers in a knot, all right.

Maybe she could start a Girls’ Night in Dare with Jill, Meredith, Jane, and Elizabeth. Oh, and they could invite Peggy and Abbie, whom she didn’t know well, but already liked.

Nothing said she couldn’t have fun with other people. She just wouldn’t be able to see Moira and Caroline during the week.

Turning her maudlin thoughts down to low, she lifted her face to the sky. The spring weather was glorious, and the warm breeze ruffled her silk jersey dress in cobalt blue. She’d wanted to go bold tonight. A new job awaited her, and her spirits were high. Mostly.

A dog barked behind her in rapid bursts, and she turned to look when it kept on barking.

Her heart dropped in her chest.

Touchdown was racing toward her on the sidewalk, his brown eyes alight with joy at seeing his best friend again.

Blake.

Damn him.

She knelt down as the six-year-old Beagle reached her. He licked off the makeup she’d just reapplied, but she didn’t care. She’d missed this little fella. Leaving him behind had been so hard. Blake had offered to share the dog with her, but Touchdown had been his before she and Blake met.

Besides, she couldn’t be in the same room with Blake—something he clearly didn’t understand.

While giving Touchdown kisses—yes, he’d named his dog Touchdown—she glanced up at Blake. He was walking along the sidewalk with the leash in hand in total disregard for the city ordinance.

Like usual, he made her belly grip with lust. He was enjoying the warmer weather too, wearing only a fitted T-shirt and navy and black shorts showcasing his fabulous legs.

Anyone who said women had better legs than men hadn’t seen Blake’s. He had more defined muscles than should be legal. Her mouth watered, and she wanted to lick her way up his calves.

Her libido was an idiot. Always had been around him.

“You’re not playing fair,” she told him when he towered over her, his scent like hot sex and spice washing over her.

He knew how much she loved his legs, so he undoubtedly knew she was enjoying the view.

“Babe, I told you I’m done playing fair. Besides, nothing says Touchdown and I can’t go for a run by your place.”

“You’re not running,” she replied with some sauce in her voice, still petting Touchdown, who had rolled onto his back for more loving.

“We were. We just slowed down as we came to your building. We come by here every once in a while.”

Her head darted back. “You what? But you live thirty minutes away.”

That was the whole reason she’d picked this area.

He shrugged. “What can I say? We miss you.”

She stood up this time, forcing her eyes not to take a happy stroll up his body. “Stop this. I mean it, Blake. We’re divorced. It’s over. Please leave me alone.”

Those brown eyes flickered down, then met hers with a fiery punch that rocked her back on her toes.

“I love you, and it doesn’t matter if we’re divorced. It’s been two years since you left me, but I still feel the same way.”

He hadn’t said those three little words to her since she left him.

“Why are you so surprised, Nat? Do you think it’s easy to keep taking all the hits you dish out? If my heart could get a concussion, I would have so many I’d be forced to retire. Hell, I’d be a vegetable.”

For a moment, she felt guilty. “Then stop coming around and pushing me.”

“I told you. I can’t.” He shrugged again, ducking his head to his shoulder like he was embarrassed. “I love you too much. And I’m worried about you. The fact that you’re living in this place only makes me worried.” He gestured to the brown brick three-story building. “This place isn’t you. I thought it the minute you moved in.”

No, it wasn’t. She’d chosen a place without any charm or color—a reminder that all could be lost in an instant.

“God knows you wouldn’t let me give you any money in the divorce, which pissed me off plenty, but you make good money with your business. You could afford something better.”

Her family had said the same thing. “Maybe I like the neighborhood.”

“Maybe you’re full of shit.”

That was Blake for you. He would always call her on things, just as she had with him from the beginning.

Touchdown nuzzled her fingers, and she stroked his soft fur. “This isn’t fair to him, you know.”

His brown eyes turned all business, like he was about ready to make a big play on third and long. She braced herself.

“No, it’s not fair. He misses you.” The breeze caught his sandy brown hair. “You probably think you packed up all your clothes, but I had one of your T-shirts in my dresser as a keepsake. The one you wore the night I proposed to you.”

The yellow one. It had always reminded her of sunshine. He’d never told her, not even when she thought she’d lost it somewhere.

“When I…took it out…Jesus…to remind myself of how you smelled, Touchdown snapped it out of my hands and claimed it for his bed. Something I was going to do.”

Oh, God.

“But I couldn’t fight my own dog like that, so it’s his blanket now.”

Her mouth grew dry.

“Take him for part of the week, Nat. You know he’s lonely when I’m on the road during the season. He’ll keep you company. I know you’re not happy, babe.”

Her happiness or the lack of it wasn’t something they were going to discuss. “I can’t share Touchdown, Blake. I’m moving back to Dare Valley.”

His face contorted with shock. “You’re what? But your sisters are here. Your business is here.”

“My business is expanding, and I can see my sisters on the weekends.” No surprise Blake would list them first. He knew what they meant to her.

His hands latched onto her shoulders. “But you can’t leave.
I’m here.”

She had to steel herself not to feel any of the emotion in his voice. “I told you to let me go, Blake. Now you don’t have a choice.”

He blew air out of his nostrils like a bull, something he did when he was about ready to rush up the middle of the field against a three hundred pound lineman who wanted to kill him.

“Don’t tell me what I have to do. Oh, and by the way, I know you’re not with that Tattooed Chef guy. It was all over Twitter that he’s with someone else. You’re a real bitch for trying to make me jealous, but then I realized you wouldn’t have done it if you didn’t care about me.”

That’s what he’d concluded? Then her inner voice schooled her. He was partially right, of course. “Maybe I just wanted you to leave me alone.”

“No, babe. If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t have fought with me. You certainly wouldn’t have cried.”

Like she needed to be reminded of that momentary weakness. She shoved at his chest. “Stop saying all these things.”

“No,” he said, yanking her against his hard chest.

His mouth pressed hard against hers, hot and filled with the promise of more lust than she could take. The edge of his anger was there when he bit her bottom lip, and even as she pushed against the rock hard muscles of his abdomen, her mouth was opening to let him inside.

He tore away her defenses again with just one kiss, stroking her tongue just like she remembered, like she wanted. She bit him lightly too, wanting more contact, and he understood because his mouth slanted across hers as they danced on the warm sidewalk. His hands settled on her hips, and he rocked the hard length of his body against her. She moaned, coming alive again, unable to stop it, and tilted her head to the side for an even deeper, wetter kiss.

A car honked in a staccato beat, breaking her trance. Good God, she was kissing Blake on the street like she was out of control.

She
was
out of control.

She jerked her head back and had to force herself to ignore the magical press of his hand on the small of her back, one of her biggest arousal points. And he knew it, of course.

“We’re on the street,” she said and realized she was panting.

“I don’t give a damn,” he breathed, pressing his face into her hair. “God, I’ve missed your smell. I would wake up and still smell you on the pillow next to me—even when I was sleeping in a hotel on the road. I almost hated you for that.”

She understood. She’d had her own memories to combat.

“Let me go.”

“No,” he whispered, kissing her neck. “Let’s go inside. I want to make love to you so bad it’s killing me.”

With Blake, it had never been anything else but making love. “I’m not having sex with you again, Blake.”

“It was never just sex, and you know it.” His breath hissed out when she remained aloof. “Fine. Let’s talk then. Dammit, how many more times are you going to make me beg?”

He
was
begging, and it couldn’t be easy for him. She knew he had his pride.

Touchdown whined, but Blake didn’t let go of her. “It’s okay, boy. Mommy’s being stubborn, but she knows we love her.”

How many times had he said that when the two of them would get into a little tiff over something like him not loading the dishwasher or cleaning up the sink after he’d shaved? The little things she sometimes missed about being married.

Even though she wanted his hands on her, craved them and all they could do to her body, she forced them away from her. This time, he didn’t fight her.

“Blake, I’m moving to Dare Valley. You’ve just started training for another football season. This is over.” Squatting down, she hugged Touchdown to her chest, and dammit if she didn’t feel tears pop into her eyes. “Bye, boy,” she whispered. “I love you.”

When she stood, Blake’s eyes were narrowed and his mouth was pinched. It was the same expression he’d had when the team lost the Super Bowl a few years back. Like everything in the world hurt right now and might never be right again.

“Goodbye, Blake.”

Before she turned, she saw the thick chords of his throat move. Touchdown barked once, but she didn’t look back.

Then the beagle started barking like crazy, and Blake didn’t stop him.

Tears ran down her face as she started to run, but she still didn’t look back.

If she did, what remained of her resolve would crumble, and she would fly straight into his arms.

Chapter 36

Being in New York City with a local would have been enjoyable if Elizabeth wasn’t so freaking nervous twenty-four seven. Terrance fortunately attributed her nerves to some residual disbelief that she was his perfect ingredient.

And the usual nerves about meeting his friends.

In his lofty penthouse apartment with its impressive view of Central Park, he did his utmost to set her mind at ease, making love to her as his bottle-green eyes stared into hers, then introducing her to his favorite restaurants and gourmet markets. He even showed her the rough neighborhood where he had been born, then brought her to the Hell’s Kitchen restaurant that had changed his life.

His old friend and mentor, Manny Caruthers, the tough chef who’d kicked Terrance’s butt into shape was older now, but he still looked like he belonged in a biker gang.

“Manny, this is Elizabeth. It turns out my perfect ingredient isn’t an ingredient at all…it’s her.”

Manny hugged her like a teddy bear, and said, “Your quest has ended at last, T, and with an angel no less. Elizabeth, it’s wonderful to meet you.” Then he grabbed Terrance in a hearty embrace after releasing her. “I’m so happy for you, kid.”

Elizabeth’s heart had almost burst with love in that moment.

After their restaurant shifts, she met Terrance’s chef friends, and they drank late into the night. Everyone was nice to her, but he was right. They were a rough crowd and the lot of them cursed like sailors. She’d thought poker players were mouthy, but they had nothing on the people in the restaurant business. Terrance only lost four hundred dollars to the Cuss Fund that night, and his buddies teased him unmercifully about it. His pronounced New York accent returned as he spoke to his friends, and it caused lust to simmer in her belly.

The next day he fed her Zabar’s famous chocolate babka bread. Tried to teach her to whistle like a native to call a cab. Held her hand and pointed out his favorite landmarks in Central Park.

She stayed in his apartment while he met Lane about the primetime network show. His meeting with Vince was set for the next day. So far he hadn’t mentioned having dinner with the man he only called Junior.

She dreaded it.

She feared it.

She wasn’t sure she could stomach it now that she was actually in New York. Every time she thought of seeing Vince again, feeling his eyes crawl over her in that possessive way of his, she started to sweat and grow nauseous. She decided that if Terrance suggested meeting his banker for dinner, she could use her physical symptoms as an excuse. She wouldn’t be faking them.