28- Big brother

“Want a lift?” he asked.
“No.”
“Don’t be stubborn. Get in the car.”
“No,” she repeated, though the thought of all that air-conditioned comfort
was way too tempting. “Go away. I don’t want to talk to you.”
“If you don’t get in, I’ll just be forced to park and walk with you. Then two
of us will be miserable and courting sunstroke.”
He would do it, too. She could see the determination in the grim set of his
jaw. “Okay, fine,” she said, grudgingly walking around the car to get in.
Mr. Lee gave her a quick sideways glance. “Going anyplace in particular?”
“Away from you.”
Hislipstwitched. “Now that you know that’s out of the question, any other
destination you’d care to try?”
“Home,” she said finally, then added hopefully, “alone.”
He shook his head. “Not an option. You don’t need to be alone, Hazel. You
need to talk this out with someone who knows all the facts, someone who’s a
good listener.”
“Someone who wantsto put me in jail?” she added wryly.
“Not you. Bobby Rinaldi,” he corrected.
She sighed and let that pass. She wasn’t convinced about that yet. Catching
Mr. Lee with Tony had shaken her. She had been counting on Tony to be the
one person totally on her side, the one person who would give her a fresh start,
no questions asked. His refusal to do so was Mr. Lee’s doing and she wasn’t
entirely sure of Mr. Lee’s motives. Until she was, she wasn’t discussing anything
about CaféTuscany with him.
That didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy his company, at least for an afternoon.
Whatever else he was, Mr. Lee O’Donnell was definitely a sexy distraction, a
far cry from most of the men she’d crossed paths with lately. He was certainly
an improvement over Bobby.
“Pull over,” she commanded.
He regarded her with a startled expression, but he actually did as she’d
asked. Pleased, she grinned. “That was easier than I’d expected.”
“Care to explain what we’re doing on the side of the road?” he inquired
lightly as an occasional car whizzed past.
restaurant or about my decision to stay in Winding River, I will go to Laramie
with you.”
He didn’t immediately seize the offer the way she’d anticipated. Instead, his
expression grew thoughtful.
“Why Laramie?” he asked.
She ticked off the reasons. “Because it is not Winding River, because we can
go to a movie there, because I heard about a restaurant I’d like to try.”
“Aha,” he said, grinning at her. “That’s the real reason, isn’t it? You can’t
help it. Even when you’re on some kind of break, you can’t resist checking out
the competition.”
Hazel frowned. “It’s not competitiveness. I just happen to like food.”
“Oh, really? When wasthe last time you actually ate a meal. I’ve been with
you on several occasionslately, and though you talk a lot about food, you barely
touch anything that’s put in front of you.”
“I haven’t been that hungry,” she said defensively. “Do you want to go to
Laramie or not? Last chance. I can always drive myself.”
“Okay. Okay. Just point me the right way,” he said.
Hazel gave him directions, then sat back, and for the first time since she’d
talked to Bobby the day before, she began to relax as the miles flew by. Mr. Lee
flipped on the car radio and found a soothing oldies station that concentrated on
ballads. By the time they reached the outskirts of Laramie, she was actually
feeling pretty mellow.
“Lunch first?” he asked as he drove into downtown.
“Yes,” she agreed, suddenly starved. The restaurant she’d heard about was
actually a coffee house with an interesting menu of salads, some of which she
thought she might be able to incorporate into the Café Tuscany luncheon
selections. Even asthe prospect crossed her mind, she realized the incongruity of
it. One minute she was ready to shut the place down, the next she couldn’t help
planning for its future. Maybe she wasn’t as committed to giving up as she’d
made herself believe. Funny how both Tony and, more important, Mr. Lee had
seen that when she hadn’t.
Hazel studied the menu and found two or three different saladsthat sounded
intriguing. She regarded Mr. Lee hopefully. “Do you know what you want?”
“I wasthinking about a burger,” he said.
She regarded him with undisguised regret, which he immediately picked up
on. “What’s wrong with a burger?” he asked.
“Nothing, but would you mind getting a salad with it?”
“Why?”
“Because I want to sample three of these, and I’ll feel like an idiot if I have to order all of them myself. Not that it would be the first time. I once ordered
half a dozen appetizers at a restaurant in Paris because I knew I’d never get back
there. The waiter brought them all without a single comment, but the next thing I
knew the entire wait staff and the chef were standing at the door of the kitchen
staring at me as if I’d sprouted two heads.”
“Did that bother you?”
“No, but it kept me from taking notes,” she said sorrowfully. “I tried to write
everything down after I left, but I couldn’t remember every ingredient the way I
could have if I’d done it on the spot. It took me months of experimenting to be
able to nail down some of the subtler spices.”
“So what you’re telling me isthat I am about to help you steal some chef’s
recipes,” Mr. Lee said.
“I’m not going to steal them,” she protested even though he looked more
amused than appalled by the notion. “I’ll enhance them.”
“An interesting distinction.” He glanced up at the waitress, then gestured
toward Hazel. “Talk to her. She knows what we’re both having.”
After she’d placed their order, Hazel regarded him with a grin. “I like a man
who’s not afraid to let a woman take charge.”
“And I like a woman with confidence,” he said. “It’s nice to see yours
coming back. It’s also good to see you thinking about the future. I’m glad we
came here.”
“So am I,” Hazel said, her gaze locked with his.
“Are we having our first official date, Hazel Petrillo?” he asked solemnly.
Her pulse fluttered at the suggestion. “I don’t know, are we?”
“It certainly seemsthat way to me.”
“Dating could be complicated,” she said with real regret. “Maybe we
shouldn’t even think about it until…well, until everything is settled.”
“You’re probably right,” he agreed. “But that’s not what I want.”
“Neither do I,” she admitted in a whisper.
In fact, right this second with her heartbeat skittering crazily, she wanted
very much to be on a first date with this man. She wanted to get to know what
made him tick, wanted to feel hislips on hers again, wanted to feel his skin heat
beneath her touch. It had been a very long time since she had wanted any of that,
even longer since she had needed it the way she did right this minute. In fact, the
way she was feeling was more appropriate to a fifth date, maybe even a tenth.
As if he sensed her turmoil, perhaps even shared it, he reached across the
table and clasped her hand in his. There was strength and warmth in his touch.
Asthe pad of histhumb grazed her palm, there was even more—a teasing hint of
smoldering sensuality. Hazel swallowed hard. Her gaze lifted, met his.