“I’m not a nun. I may love myself, but I don’t mind enjoying loving someone else in bed every now and then,” she said with a wink.
Since Jane was sharing the guest house with Georgia, I wondered how it would go down if she took a man home tonight. Then again, I wasn’t about to stop her. It wasn’t as if I could if I wanted to.
“What about him?” I tilted my head toward a man with salt-and-pepper hair and a graying beard. He was dressed in an expensive suit and sipping a glass of bourbon. Perhaps, he felt my eyes on him, because he looked up and smiled widely when he saw me standing there with Jane. “Very handsome,” she agreed, “but he’s looking for a wife.”
And Jane clearly wasn’t looking for a husband. I nodded in understanding. “That young chef is tasty,” she said in a low voice, “but I fear his heart is spoken for.”
I followed her gaze to where Tomas and Edward were talking, standing a little more closely than friends might. Edward said something and Tomas laughed, touching his arm lightly.
“I’m afraid that Tomas might be disappointed,” I murmured. Just getting Edward to go out was a step in the right direction, but I knew he wasn’t ready for a relationship. Still, it was good to see him talking with someone.
“It will take some time,” Jane agreed. “But in my experience, that doesn’t mean you have to be celibate.”
I laughed. “I’ll make sure to remind him of that.”
“Please do.” She continued to scan the room for prospects. Her hand tightened over my wrist as another man, bearing a striking resemblance to Tomas, entered the restaurant. “Well, hello.”
She licked her coral lipstick. Apparently, her evening’s target had been acquired.
“I think I’ll find Smith.” She didn’t need my help when it came to flirting.
Jane nodded absently, still watching the new arrival. “I think I’ll play hostess. Tomas seems otherwise engaged.”
Within seconds, she was across the room, her smile sparkling as much as her dress as she welcomed the man to the party. He must be related to Tomas. They looked too similar. But this man was slightly older. He had to have a good twenty to twenty-five years on him. I made a mental note to ask about him when I finally had a moment with my new friend.
Smith joined me, holding a plate of hors d’oeuvres, and I plucked a tiny piece of toast topped with foie gras from it. “Thank you.”
“I knew what you wanted, beautiful,” he said with a smile.
“Am I that predictable?” I asked.
“No, I just know you.” His eyes smoldered into mine and I took my time taking a bite, allowing it to linger near my lips, imagining what would come later. Smith’s gaze danced over my mouth as I savored the delicate hors d’oeuvre. As soon as its rich, buttery taste spread across my tongue, I closed my eyes and moaned with pleasure.
“You’re making me jealous,” he said in the lowered voice. “I’m supposed to be the one that makes you moan like that.”
“Consider it foreplay, Price.” I said, following the delicacy with a coy sip of champagne.
“There you are,” Edward called, moving to join us.
I looked around for Tomas but found he’d gone to greet the gentleman that Jane had zeroed in on. The three of them were standing in a corner, chatting as if they’d all known each other for years. “Who is that?”
“His uncle,” Edward told me. “He owns a vineyard or something in France.”
“But he came here for New Year’s?”
“I guess fate has plans for him,” Edward said wryly as we watched Jane flirtatiously place a hand on the man’s coat jacket.
“Fate or Aunt Jane,” Smith muttered. “I’m not sure which is a stronger force of nature.”
“It’s Jane,” Edward and I said at the same time.
“Everything looks beautiful,” I said to Edward.
“Wait until you see the menu.”
Edward’s proclamation proved true. I’d been impressed by my other experiences with Briar Rose, but it was nothing compared to this evening’s feast. Tomas had leaned into his French heritage to produce one of the best meals I’d ever had in my life. Somehow, even though we were all clustered next to each other in the room, the whole affair felt intimate. Courses were served family style to each table.
The hors d’oeuvres had been a taste of what was to come. More foie gras and fresh baguettes were delivered to the tables along with buttery escargot. Smith and I took turns scooping the tiny delicacies from their shells and feeding them to each other. Two main courses followed, a whole Scottish salmon served with a creamy béarnaise and a braised leg of lamb resting on steamed haricots verts. Each bite was more sinful than the last, made all the better by how much hungrier Smith’s eyes became as the evening progressed.
His hand slid to rest on the small of my back as we talked and laughed with our friends. Jane had Hughes, Tomas’s uncle, completely enraptured. It was a perfect night. When a platter of profiteroles and fresh strawberries were placed in front of us with a steaming pot of melted French chocolate to dip them into, I wasn’t sure I could eat another bite.
“I think I’m too full,” I whispered to Smith. But he’d already picked up a strawberry and dipped it into the chocolate. “Just one for me, beautiful.”
He brought it to my mouth and pushed it gently past my lips. My teeth sank into it, my eyes never leaving his as the tart sweetness of strawberry mixed with rich dark chocolate on my tongue. This was definitely becoming foreplay.
“Do you want to stay until midnight?” he asked in a husky voice.
“Do you have something else in mind?” I asked, feigning innocence.
“I can think of several ways I’d like to ring in the new year with you.” He brought his lips to my ear, brushing the stubble on his chin across the sensitive skin of my neck. “But one dance first.”
I nodded, lost to words, too intoxicated by the man next to me to think of a thing to say. My thoughts were already racing forward to being alone with him. Deep inside me, my core clenched in anticipation as he stood and offered me his hand. There was no traditional dance floor in the Briar Rose, but a few couples had pressed close together to sway to the jazzy music playing on the stereo. As we stood it shifted to a more bluesy rift, and I found myself laughing when I recognized the Rolling Stones. “They’re playing our song.”
“I know,” Smith said with a devilish grin as he swept me into his arms.
“You’re full of surprises tonight, Price.” I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“I guess I always feel romantic on our anniversary,” he murmured as I laid my head against his shoulder.
“What if I want you to be a little dirty instead?” I asked him.
“I think I can manage both. As you said, I’m full of surprises, and, beautiful, you’re going to be full of me soon.”
I felt the bulge of his erection press into my belly as if to prove the point. He bent to whisper in my ear. “I will never have enough of you. This year. Next year. Every year.”
It was perfect. The beginning that I wanted. Here with him, belonging to him, remembering our past but moving forward together. Nothing could tear us apart like the song said. When it’s final bars faded away, Smith looked down at me. “Should we say or should we go?”