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“What was that all about?”

“Nothing.” But when she walked by, Katherine ran the palm of her hand over Matthew’s backside. “Suzie was right…verynice.”

As a deep red warmed Matthew’s face, Katherine began to whistle innocently while replacing the forks he had taken out of one drawer with chopsticks from another, then reached for a set of rocks glasses from an overhead cupboard.

When Matthew came up behind Katherine to grab the glasses and carry them to the table, he brazenly repeated the action.

“Ditto.”

Chapter 17

Katherine and Matthew were sitting at the kitchen table finishing two fingers of bourbon when they heard the faint but charming ring-a-ling of the old Victorian-era doorbell, followed by Suzie Chen’s voice calling out through the screen door.

“Yoo-hoo, anyone home? I’ve got your delicious food!”

“Come on in,” Katherine called back even though she could already hear the hurried shuffle of Suzie’s feet across the floor.

“I told Mr. Chen I’d deliver your order so I could see you. But no offense, I really just wanted to check out your hot—”

Suzie’s words trailed off as she entered the doorway and saw Matthew sitting there. When he smiled and stood up to greet her, Katherine realized that she’d never seen Suzie blush before.

“Suzie Chen… this is Matthew Brandon.”

Suzie’s mouth snapped shut as she hurried to put down the bags of food and shake Matthew’s hand.

“Good to meet you, Officer. I mean Matthew.”

Matthew smiled politely as they shook hands, then thanked her for delivering their dinner.

“Oh sure, anything for Katherine.” Suzie smiled, her long false lashes fluttering as she tucked a loose strand of icy blond hair behind her ear. “You know, Katherine’s a good girl. Mr. Chen and I both think she’ll make a wonderful wife someday. But she’ll need to find a husband.”

“Thanks for coming by,” Katherine said quickly, her face scarlet red. “How about I walk you out?”

But before she could remove Suzie from the kitchen, Matthew pulled out his wallet to pay for dinner.

“Now you put that away. Dinner is on us tonight.” Suzie winked, patting his hand. “Katherine’s such a good customer, and orders so much food, Mr. Chen gives her a free meal every ten orders.”

“Wow, that’s a nice arrangement.”

“It’s a verygood arrangement,” Suzie said. “Speaking of good arrangements, did you know Katherine owns her own restaurant and this house? She’s also a good cook.”

Burning with embarrassment, Katherine glanced at Matthew, but he didn’t seem phased by Suzie’s blatant persuasion. Instead, he rested a hand on her shoulder and leaned in as if he were about to share a secret.

“You know, something else I like about Katherine is how great she looks, especially what she wears to work. If you know what I mean.”

“Oh! I think I do,” Suzie said, winking at Katherine with an even bigger smile on her face. “Well, I better go. You know what Mr. Chen says… work, work, work!”

Shaking Matthew’s hand, Suzie insisted he come by the restaurant sometime, then hurried out the same way she came. “Bye for now!” she called out. “See you soon!”

When they heard the screen door shut, Katherine turned on Matthew. “I can’t believe you said that.”

But Matthew’s eyes only glimmered with a mischievous charm as he pushed the takeout bags aside, lifted Katherine off her feet, and set her down on the kitchen table.

“But I couldn’t resist,” he said, gripping her thighs and pulling her toward him. As her body tingled with anticipation, he stood between her open legs and leaned in for a kiss. “Just like I can’t resist you.”

After he pressed his lips to Katherine’s, she waited for his mouth to open and his tongue to meet with hers. But it didn’t because these kisses weren’t meant to be deep and consuming. Instead, they were teasing kisses. Tiny, with a deliberate reserve that made her want him even more.

Abruptly pulling away, Matthew studied the fullness of her lips. Smiling in satisfaction when she sat still, just waiting for more.