polo shirt. “You don’t want none of this.”
“And? I got better grades in pastry and desserts,” Ronnie said, waving him off. “Plus, I’ve got a lot of new tricks up my sleeves. And your chef’s jacket doesn’t even have sleeves.”
Caught off guard, Ace laughed. When he’d started doinghis show, The Sexy Chef, it had been Garett’s idea to take the sleeves off his jacket.
“Europe or no Europe,” Ronnie continued. “I’ve seen what you do, and I’m ready to take you and the others on. We’ll prove ourselves in the kitchen soon enough. But for now I just want to salvage what’s left of this day and enjoy being in Las Vegas.”
With their obligatory trash talk out of the way, Ace swiveled in his seat, letting his knee touch hers. Damn she looked good, he thought, resisting the urge to say it out loud.
Was she single? No ring on her finger. He hoped she wasn’t still dating that jerky food critic.
Unable to ask what he really wanted to know, he asked instead, “Is this your first time in Las Vegas?”
“Yes, I was supposed to come for a bachelorette party once, but I got the flu and had to stay home. The girls told me all about the fun I’d missed. Gambling, Chippendale dancers, staying up all night—”
“So much for What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”
She sighed. “I know. I’m still mad that I couldn’t go.”
“Then you’ll just have to make up for it this time. I don’t know how much you’ll be able to squeeze in, but there’s the rest of today and part of tomorrow.”
“There are three things I want to accomplish before I leave Vegas. First, I want to gamble in the casino—not just slot machines like I’ve played in Atlantic City—but some real table gambling. Then I want to see a show. I love Cirque du Soleil.”
“And the last thing?”
“I just want to perform well enough to make it to round two,” she said, showing vulnerability for the first time as she rested her forehead in her palm. “Ugh, I don’t want to be the first to go home.”
“That doesn’t seem like too much to ask for.”
Ace smiled, both happy to be with his old friend again and excited by the crackling tension he felt between them. Was it mutual this time?
It could be. Her eyes had taken on a coy slant as she lowered her lashes to hide her normally direct gaze. When she raised them again, he saw her eyes trace his body from where their knees touched slowly up his frame.
Time to make his move. “Ronnie, are you—”
Before he could ask if she was seeing anyone, the car stopped. They had arrived at The Venetian hotel, where the first leg of the All-Star Food Fight would take place. The chauffeur pulled open their door just as things were getting interesting.
Bellhops instantly appeared, and the two of them were ushered off to check in. Unfortunately, Ace didn’t get the opportunity to finish his question.
On the elevator ride to his room, he made a silent vow.
If they were both as good as they thought they were in the kitchen, they would have up to three weeks together on the road. Ace decided it was finally time for him to take a shot at romancing the chef.
Chapter 4
The bellhop let Ronnie into her luxury concierge suite. As soon as she saw the giant, king-size bed, a huge smile spread across her face.
Thankfully Ace had helped her dispel the gloomy mood that had developed during the flight. Now her arrival at the hotel pushed her back into full elation.
After quickly unpacking her clothes, she walked over to the window to discover she had a fantastic view of the gigantic pool. Instantly, Ronnie craved a swim in the cool water.
Even though she had to run down to the event gallery to make sure the boxes she’d shipped had arrived, there were two motivating factors calling her to the pool. One was the hot Las Vegas sun, and two was the promise she’d made to Cara that she’d work out regularly while she was away.
After confirming that her shipment had arrived safely,
Ronnie changed into her bathing suit and headed out to the pool. But old habits died hard, and she covered her suit with a T-shirt and shorts as well as a long terrycloth robe.
Grabbing some towels, Ronnie set herself up in a lounge chair. The water was calling to her, but on such a hot afternoon, the pool was packed. Even though she’d lost a lot of weight since the last time she’d been swimming in a public pool, she still couldn’t bring herself to undress.
“Wow. I’m getting hot just looking at you.”
Ronnie looked up and found Ace standing over her. She silently caught her breath. A towel was slung around his neck and his chest was bare, showing every bulging muscle, from his abs to his pecs and biceps. His red swim trunks were wet and clung to his large, muscular thighs. Ronnie had to school her eyes to stay away from his lower body.
But there was no safe place for her eyes to rest when there were big muscles and sleek brown skin everywhere she tried to look.
“Ace. I guess we had the same idea about how to spend the rest of our afternoon.”
He laughed. “I don’t know about you, but I was actually swimming in the pool. Did you forget you’re in the desert? Because you’re better dressed for the Alaskan tundra.”
Feeling embarrassed, Ronnie shook her head. “No, I just got here. I’m planning to get in.” A bead of perspiration slid down between her breasts under all her layers of clothing.
“Well, come on. Take off your snow suit and get in with me.”
Ronnie’s skin became even hotter under Ace’s watchful gaze. It was one thing to show off her new figure under a carefully chosen outfit that complimented her shape. If she undressed now, there would be nothing left to the imagination.
“You go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute.”
He shook his head. “What are you waiting for? Come on in. The water is perfect. I know you’re roasting under that robe.”
Ronnie realized that if she protested any further she’d sound foolish, so she bit her lip and stood up. Untying her robe, she slipped it off and took her time folding it on her lounge chair.
Ace immediately snickered. “I can’t believe you have even more clothes on under that robe.”
Swallowing hard, Ronnie took off her shorts first, letting the length of her T-shirt cover her suit. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed with nerves. Even though her mirror showed her a thin person when she looked in it, she still felt like an overweight person on the inside. She’d always made a big show of confidence and bravado when it had come to her body in the past.
But now that Ace was standing there waiting for her to disrobe, all that confidence eluded her. All she
