Lie to Me (Pearl Island Trilogy #4)(31)

Her eyes opened a fraction, shining up at him through her lashes. “You sure?”

Going up on her toes, she kissed him lightly, then took his lower lip between her teeth and pulled back slowly. “Mmm, yes, much better.”

Arousal shot through him. In a flash, he had her pressed back against the counter as he cupped her head in both hands and devoured her mouth. With their hips pressed together, his shaft grew hard between them.

“Luc,” she chuckled, turning her head to break the kiss. Deprived of her mouth, he trailed kisses down her neck. “I have a sharp object in my hand and really don’t want to cut either one of us.”

“You’re driving me crazy,” he breathed near her ear. “You know that, right?”

“Trust me, it’s mutual.” She wiggled away from him. “Which is why I need you to go back to your side of the breakfast bar while I’m slicing and dicing.”

“All right,” he sighed, and did as she asked. Taking a seat on one of the barstools, he watched her rub the slices of baguette with a garlic clove. Arranging them on a baking sheet, she slid them into the oven to toast. Retrieving a wedge of parmesan cheese from the refrigerator, she made quick work of grating it. Without breaking stride, she grabbed a jar of roasted bell peppers from the cabinet. Her efficient moves intrigued him. “Can I ask a question?”

“Depends on what it is.” She flashed him a grin.

“How did a tomboy like you learn to cook like this?”

“The first summer I came to Pearl Island, I had a crush on Adrian.” She released a dreamy sigh that stirred his jealousy. “Which is mildly embarrassing now.”

“Most crushes are,” he muttered into his wine, hoping she never found out about the huge crush he’d had on her.

“In my defense, a man who looks like Adrian St. Claire could kick-start any young girl’s hormones just by walking into the room.”

“Is that so?” His eyes narrowed.

“Since he was the chef for the inn at the time, I hung out in the kitchen. A lot.” Moving to the fridge, she pulled out carrots and celery. “He was very good-natured about it, and a nice enough guy to teach me a few culinary skills.”

“Do you still have a crush on him?” To his relief, he didn’t growl the question.

“No.” She attacked the carrots with a peeler. “For one thing, he’s very married.”

“I’m not sure crushes care about things like that. Sometimes unattainability only makes it worse.” He should know. Chloe had been completely out of his league back in school, which had made him want her even more.

“I imagine Marguerite and Jack would agree with that.” She looked pensive as she sliced the vegetables. “When Alli became my aunt, however, I started thinking of her brother as an uncle-by-marriage. That kind of ruined any daydreams that weren’t strictly platonic. Besides, I really like his wife Jackie. Fantasizing about her man would be wrong. Plus”—humor sparkled in her eyes—“Jackie could easily take me down, which makes it dangerous.”

“A tough girl, huh?”

“Oh, yeah.” Chloe’s chuckle emphasized her answer. “She’s not just descended from a privateer, she owns and captains a fully restored tall ship called the Pirate’s Pleasure.”

“Are you kidding me?” His interest spiked.

“Not at all.” She smiled at his reaction. “She, Adrian, and their son, Taylor, live on it full time. This time of year, they’re in the Caribbean. Jackie works on underwater excavations while Adrian films his cooking show, Caribbean Spice.”

“He has his own cooking show?” Jealousy gave way to admiration.

“Yep.” She grabbed a container of what looked like homemade dip for the vegetables from the fridge. “In the fall, though, they always return here to spend time with the family while they wait out hurricane season. That lets the inn use the ship for themed parties, like the annual Buccaneer’s Ball.”

“You can rent the ship for events?” He dropped his hands to the counter. “That settles it. We definitely have to have a Vortal tournament here. Instead of the ballroom, though, can we have it on the ship?”

“As long as you don’t mind waiting until fall.”

“Trust me, that is not a problem,” he assured. “It’ll take at least that long to put this together.”

But there was a problem, he realized. A potentially big problem. He still hadn’t told Chloe about the necklace. Would she even be speaking to him by next fall?

Damn it. He wished he could forget about claiming the necklace, but he couldn’t. Not only because he wanted to get it for Mémère, but because he’d stirred Chloe’s interest in Vortal. Sooner or later, she’d sign online to check it out, and then she’d know he hadn’t been up front with her. He saw no way to stop that now. The question had moved back from if to when.

Soon, he thought. He had to tell her soon.

He contemplated various ways of leading into the subject while Chloe pulled the toast from the oven and topped half of the slices with the mixture of olive oil, roasted peppers, and grated cheese. The other half were piled in a bowl next to blocks of cheese and mounds of cured meats.

“Looks like we’re ready.” She loaded everything onto a restaurant-style serving tray. “How about we sit on the deck?”