her toes tingling. He had great teeth, she thought, white and straight, and somehow they combined with his eyes to deliver a charismatic impact that curled her insides and sent miniquakes down her legs. It would be good if their child inherited his teeth and eyes, Teri decided, trying valiantly to distance her mind from Leo’s physical effect on her.
“Good trip?” she asked. Her mouth had a will of its own. It was smiling back at him. Or maybe Leo mesmerised her muscles into responding to the pleasure he was pouring out.
“Achieved what I wanted,” he said with satisfaction. And he intended to do that here, too, his eyes said in no uncertain terms.
She was wearing the uniform she’d designed for the restaurant; a white T-shirt emblazoned with a red heart on which a simple white curve representing a smile had been painted, a neat little red skirt and comfortable white loafers on her feet. She could feel her breasts peaking into the soft fabric of the T-shirt and wished she had two red hearts positioned to disguise the fact.
“I can see success has put you in a good mood,” she commented, intent on holding Leo’s gaze on her face. If it drifted downwards the problem would surely worsen.
“Coming here puts me in a good mood,” he replied, making the message very personal.
Maybe not after tonight, her mind clicked in, but her body didn’t want to respond to that sobering piece of caution.
“Hey, Leo!” Dylan broke in, popping his head out of the kitchen. “I put four of the Changmai Surprise aside for you. I’ll microwave them now if you like.”
“Great!” Leo beamed at him. “And I’ll follow them up with your lamb kebabs if they’re on the menu.”
“Will do,” Dylan agreed cheerfully.
“That guy really knows what to do with food,” Leo remarked as Dylan retreated into the kitchen. “You got a prize in him, Teri.”
“Yes, I did. And every chef likes to have his creativity appreciated. It gave him a real buzz, your calling this afternoon.”
He laughed. “Pure self-interest. The thought of plane food did not appeal. Have you eaten yourself, yet?”
“Bits and pieces.” Her stomach had been too screwed up to accept much.
His eyebrows slanted in charming appeal. “Join me at my table?”
She nodded. “When I’ve finished up.”
He gave the remaining diners a quick scan. “Not too many left. Shouldn’t take long.” Another dazzling smile. “I’ve been looking forward to your company.”
“You mean I rank up there with the food?” she lightly mocked, trying to quell the maverick rush of need to know how highly she did rank in his life.
His eyes danced, inviting her to be his partner in pleasure as he replied, “I have a hunger for many things.”
“Mmmh...” she answered noncommittally.
“I’ll do my best to tease your appetite,” he promised.
And she’d probably rob him of his, Teri thought with savage irony. His black wavy hair was still damp from a shower. She could smell the tangy cologne he’d splashed on his newly shaven jaw. He was certainly primed for sexual action, and the mental picture formed of Leo stripped naked, his powerful masculinity all hers for the night...if she postponed telling him about her pregnancy.
The temptation to keep that vital piece of news to herself was suddenly very strong. Leo might value freedom above everything else but he was a great lover. Why deprive herself of one more sensational experience with him? She could look upon it as a birthday gift to herself.
“Teri?” Leo quizzed her silence.
Her mouth twitched. “Just thinking how good you look, Leo.”
He grinned. “You, too, babe.”
Babe!
She should be thinking of what was between his ears, not his legs. Even more pertinently what was in his heart! Would being a father mean anything to him?
“Here you go, Leo!” Dylan announced, sliding the plate with its steaming appetiser straight onto the weighing machine beside the cash register.
Leo sniffed appreciatively. “Love that sauce, Dylan.”
“Combination of honey, sesame oil and soy sauce,” Dylan confided proudly.
Teri took the printout of the weight, stapled on a customer number, gave the matching number to Leo, then spiked the bill for later payment. “Enjoy,” she said with an encouraging smile.
“Back soon,” he warned both of them and headed for his usual table against the wall from where he could watch all the action.
Dylan set to work grilling the lamb kebabs and Teri did the rounds of the tables, removing used plates while having a bit of chitchat with regulars. She was acutely conscious of Leo’s eyes following her. It was almost like the caressing touch of his hands, shaping her body to his, or that was how it felt to her fevered imagination. His close presence made her so sexually aware, she escaped to the kitchen to sort herself out on some kind of sensible level.
“I’ll do those.” Mel Hudson, her kitchenhand, who was working his way through university, whipped the tray of dirty plates out of her hands. “You go and enjoy yourself with Leo.” And the nineteen-year-old lanky boy winked at her!
Teri huffed and muttered, “He’ll keep.”
Mel proceeded to load the dishwasher, a knowing grin on his face. “The guy’s on toast for you, Ten. You ought to put him out of his misery.”
“When I want your advice, Mel,”—cheeky boy—“I’ll ask for it.”
“It’s your birthday. Give yourself a break.”
She frowned at him. “Who told you it was my birthday?”
“Dylan figured it had to be. The post came when you were out this afternoon and he said there was a whole stack of cards for you.”
Which she’d taken upstairs to the apartment, out of sight, out of mind. Of course, her family meant well, but what woman wanted to be reminded of her thirtieth birthday? “Some people ought to mind their own business,” she remarked darkly.
Mel shrugged. “So what’s the big deal? Take the rest of the night off. Have fun. Dylan and I will finish up and shut up shop.”
“I’m not ready,” she muttered truculently.
“Ready for what?”
“Never you mind.”
She banged some pots and pans around to indicate the conversation was over. Her mind chewed over her state of readiness. Was she ready to go to bed with Leo with him still in ignorance of his fatherhood? Ready to tell him she was pregnant? Ready to suffer his shock, dismay, rejection? This was extremely difficult to sort out.
She liked the man. She
