with her.
Though there was something suspicious...
“What’s so funny?” she demanded, hiding her embarrassment behind a sassy attitude.
“You,” he admitted. “Seeing you off kilter is honestly a little fun.”
She studied him a little closer, but still didn’t see any signs of sexual innuendo. That was a relief, but she still had the urge to call him a brat. Even if Auntie would say it was unladylike.
Instead she let him lead her inside with a light grip on her elbow. Being on his territory was fun, but not nearly as comfortable as being the one in control. His confident stride and barely there grin said he definitely knew it.
The closed restaurant was dark, though sunshine tried to peek in around the drawn blinds. The hushed emptiness was disconcerting, though as much as she hated to admit it, the darkness evoked a sense of intimacy.
This meeting didn’t have the same strictly business feel that their previous ones had started out with, even if they had all ended up being out of the ordinary. Especially the last one—that kiss had changed everything for her.
Though she’d never admit it, even under threat of torture.
One of the tall silver doors at the back of the room swung open, revealing a tall, lanky guy in a white chef’s coat. “Royce!”
“Marco.” Royce stepped forward to shake the other man’s hand with more enthusiasm than Jasmine had seen from him before. “Good to see you, buddy.”
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“Marco, this is my event planner, Jasmine Harden.”
The chef turned his smile in her direction. “Welcome to After Hours.”
“Thank you for having us,” she murmured, leaving out how she’d always wanted to see the inside of this place. Now didn’t seem the time to fawn over something that was so far outside her middle-class budget. Instead, she tried to keep her demeanor as professional as possible.
“Why don’t y’all come back into the kitchen first?” Marco asked.
Jasmine followed him, her heeled boots clicking against the Italian tile floor.
“Royce mentioned that you were unfamiliar with our restaurant,” Marco said over his shoulder. “We serve fresh, local, organic food whenever possible. The focus here is a modern Mediterranean cuisine, though we can add some Latin influence, since I know Royce likes things spicy.”
“Royce Brazier?” Jasmine asked, thinking of the by-the-book businessman she constantly butted heads with. “Are you sure?”
Marco simply laughed, even though Jasmine was only half teasing. And she was pretty sure she could make out the hint of a blush stealing over Royce’s fair cheeks, despite the darkness.
Not wanting to embarrass him further, or draw out any discussion over how “spicy” he might like things, Jasmine said, “I wasn’t aware After Hours catered.” They’d never been on her list before today.
Marco grinned. “That’s because we don’t.”
Jasmine looked between the two men. “I’m not sure I understand.”
“We don’t actually cater here, but I told Royce I would help him out for this event.”
Jasmine was already shaking her head. “That’s not a good idea.” The last thing she wanted was an inexperienced staff working her star event.
“Don’t worry,” Royce said. “Marco did plenty of catering during school and early in his career.”
“And I’m strictly a food man these days. So I’ve already partnered with Geraldine’s to handle the catering service and staffing. You’ve heard of her?” Marco asked.
“Yes. I’ve worked with her on several occasions.” Knowing that the logistics were taken care of helped calm Jasmine’s panic.
Royce nodded as if that settled everything. “Well,” he said, “let’s show Jasmine what we had in mind.”
Jasmine glanced over at him in surprise. That conspiratorial look was back again. For good reason.
When it came to food, Royce showed that he had a few surprises up his sleeve over the next half an hour. Instead of sitting back and only asking a few questions, as he had throughout most of their other meetings, the catering discussion brought out a passion in Royce she’d never seen before...or rather, only seen once before.
She’d more than seen it when he’d pressed his lips against hers.
She watched in unabashed awe as they tossed around menu ideas involving lobster, truffles and exotic spices. Royce certainly knew gourmet food. Jasmine had very little to add except for a few tips and tricks she’d learned throughout all the events she’d executed over the last five years.
Before long, Marco was shooing them to a table in the main room so he could assemble some sample plates for them. Jasmine grinned at Royce as they were seated. “He doesn’t have to do this. I have a feeling anything that comes out of that kitchen is gonna be incredible.”
Royce shook his head. “I never turn down the chance to taste anything Marco wants to make for me.”
“You seem to know each other well.”
“Since we were kids. We grew up not far from each other.”
Jasmine wasn’t sure if she wanted to broach the subject of his childhood. To change the conversation from business to personal. Instead, she glanced around the elegantly stark room now that the lights had been turned up some.
“Is he the one who taught you so much about food?”
Royce only hesitated a moment before he said, “I learned to cook really young, because my mom was gone at all hours.”
So much for avoiding the personal.
“She would also bring home leftovers from different events where she served. That’s how I developed a taste for food that was far out of our budget.”
“I can sympathize.” Jasmine rarely sampled anything that could be labeled cuisine, except at her events. They were more of a down home food family.
Royce grinned. “I’ll have to cook for you sometime.”
Seriously? The guy could cook?
He must have read the thoughts on her face. “Let me guess. You thought I was only the order-in type.”
“Instead of?”
“The mess-up-the-dishes-and-have-to-run-the-dishwasher type.” He relaxed back into his chair. “I spend all day out. Believe it or not, cooking is very relaxing.”
“Well... I wouldn’t know,” she admitted.
This time he was the one to look shocked. “You don’t cook?
