Page 10 of The Dating Prohibition

Kendra nodded, pulling bottles from the carton and organizing the red wines on shelves and the white wine in a fridge. She

grabbed her bag and coat from a cabinet near the kitchen, and BJ returned from the back door. “Ready?”

“Yeah. You tired?” Ben eyed her curiously, his gaze tracing the contours of her face.

Heat colored her cheeks under his watchful gaze, but she hoped he didn’t notice.

“I haven’t been on my feet this long in a while, but it’s actually good practice,” she admitted.

She stretched her arms upward, interlacing her fingers and pressing them against the back of her head so that she could stretch her back.

As she arched to lean into the extension, she sighed happily. Before she dropped her arms, she released her hair from the

topknot she’d tied before the shift, and it fell down her shoulders in loose waves. Kendra ran her hands through a few times

before tucking it behind her ears.

BJ regarded her quietly for a moment. “Tell me more about your joint. Are you gonna be the cook or the bartender? Or—” the

corners of his mouth twitched “—are you thinking you’ll be able to be in two places at once?”

“Oop! Now don’t do me like that, I know that’s not possible.”

His lips twitched. “Just making sure. So then which?”

“The cook. It’s easier for me to relinquish control of making my cocktails than it would be for someone else to have access

to my recipes––especially the family recipes.” That wasn’t easy for her to admit, but if she were being honest, she’d prefer

to clone herself and control everything. Perfection was attainable.

He tilted his head, his face unreadable.

“What?” she asked.

BJ’s mouth curved slightly as his chin dipped slightly. “You’re mean when you’re in the kitchen, Kenny.” His deep brown eyes

crinkled at the corners and he burst out laughing. “You’re like two notches below Gordon Ramsay.”

Kendra’s eyes widened as they walked toward the front door. She turned off the lights and closed the curtains as they went.

“I am not!”

“Yeah, you are. One year, at Thanksgiving, your brother tried to add some seasoning to your gravy and you hit his hand with

a wooden spoon. Popped him like he stole somethin’.”

She threw up her hands. “It was already seasoned!”

He chuckled. “You said that then too.” He shook his head. “That will never not be funny. You stood there and waited to see

if he was gonna try again.”

“Well, it was true, and if he had tried it, he would have learned the hard way not to mess with my cooking.” Kendra entered

the alarm code, and BJ held open the door for her before following her out. She cut her eyes at him and locked the door. “I

don’t mind people being in my kitchen when I am confident they won’t mess anything up.”

“You act like your brother can’t cook when you know he can.” BJ hooked his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans, watching her. As strong as his poker face was, there was something

playful in his expression. A glint in his dark eyes as his gaze released hers and trailed down to her lips.

Heat crawled up her neck, her heartbeat pounding. She couldn’t help but look at his mouth in return—it was the quickest of

glances, but he must have noticed, because one side of his mouth curved. Kendra crossed her arms over her chest, her insides

betraying her and surely her face would follow if he kept looking at her like that. “I know he can cook, Ben .” Her eyes narrowed at him. “He just thinks his way is better, so he always comes behind me and tries to ‘fix’ what I’m doing.”

She made little air quotes with her fingers mockingly. “Big brothers always think they know better.”

“So you’re saying that you smacked him with a spoon because it was bigger than him trying to season the gravy?” BJ tilted

his head. “Some sort of get-back for a big brother big brother-ing? That math don’t math, Kenny.”

Why is he making the spoon such a big deal? “He always tries to reseason my food. I don’t need him coming behind me.” Kendra straightened her shoulders as they turned to walk toward

her car. “I am an entire grown person, you know.”

“I’m well aware,” BJ chuckled. “Sweet little Kenny’s all grown-up.” His gaze zeroed in on hers, burrowing below the surface. Searching.

Kendra blinked before her cheeks began to warm. What the fuck is going on here? She eyed him out of her periphery and he smiled, poking at her with his elbow. “You know, sometimes you’re just as bad as

my brother.”

“Yeah, well, just remember that I’m not your brother.” He leaned back against the door of her car. He arched slightly, stretching his back before his posture rounded

and he locked eyes with her.

“I know that,” she laughed lightly. Am I flirting? Poorly? With anyone else, Kendra never second-guessed herself, but with BJ, she couldn’t be sure whether her mind was playing tricks

on her. Something about their exchange sparked lightning bolts through her senses—like a coating had come off her lenses and

she was seeing more clearly than she had in the past. Maybe I’m just hallucinating. Hallucinating and horny—not a great combination.

“Good. Because if you hit me with a spoon, I promise you punishment in kind.”

The warning tone in his voice sent a trail of heat between her legs. Kendra’s mind short-circuited as she stood frozen in

place. Her mouth went dry. Like... a spanking? They stared at each other for a long moment, BJ’s face expressionless. His eyes stared into Kendra’s as if he was daring her

to question him, and she remained unmoving, though the synapses of her brain fired rapidly. Maybe he didn’t mean it that way. God, Kendra, get your head out of the gutter! “Well,” she rasped before clearing her throat. “I’d better get home.”

“Yeah, me too.”

Neither of them moved or looked away. Kendra searched his eyes for an explanation for the quicksand she was trapped in, but he said nothing. Her stomach somersaulted, her heart pounding in her ears, as she licked her lips slowly with the tip of her tongue.

BJ’s lips parted as his eyes scanned her mouth, just for a split second. Kendra watched his chest rise and fall, her mind

racing. Am I reading this right? She shook her head out of the trance she’d been in. I’m just tired. She smiled at BJ and gestured toward the car door that he was blocking. “I—I should get home. We’ve got another long day

ahead of us tomorrow.” She stepped forward shakily, her knees wobbling.

Around them, the trees swayed in a cool breeze, and Kendra shivered as she locked eyes with BJ. “Yeah, you’re right. Hey,

you’re cold.” He stepped forward and reached for her, pulling her toward him.

Kendra lifted her arms to embrace his neck as he hugged her tightly. “Just a little,” she laughed, her cheek warming at the

contact. His solid form pressed against her chest and she wondered whether he could feel her heartbeat pounding rapidly. “Wow,

you’re warm.” Why does he have to smell so good? She held on longer than intended and hesitated as she stepped back.

His beard grazed her jawline, and before either of them fully released from the embrace, their eyes found each other again

like magnets, an invisible force drawing their faces close together. Kendra’s inner voice was screaming somewhere up above

her, watching the scene somehow separate from her body, but she couldn’t stop herself. Drunk on the scent of his cologne,

her lips parted slightly just inches away from BJ’s full lips. He stepped closer, his arms holding her tighter, and Kendra

closed her eyes, her head tilting slightly. Oh my god oh my god oh my god.

A tickle of his beard touched her face, and he shifted to the side to kiss her on the cheek.

“I can’t do that. I’m sorry, Kenny.” BJ’s voice was hoarse as her eyes fluttered open, her mouth dropping open in surprise.

He let her go, quickly stepping out of the way so that she could get into her car. “You should get home.”

“But...” she stammered. “I... what just happened?” Her insides screamed with frustration. Did he just dodge me?

“We can’t. I can’t.” He shoved his hands in his pockets as if he didn’t trust himself unless they were somehow restrained.

His gaze seemed focused on something at their feet and she wanted to melt into the street.

Kendra’s mouth clamped shut as question after question zipped through her mind.

Was it my breath? Do I need a mint? I did have a lot of that garlic aioli on my lamb burger.

.. Part of her wondered whether he was really about to kiss her at all or if she just read the signs incorrectly.

Maybe he was going for a kiss on the cheek?

The push and pull of her racing thoughts all landed on the same conclusion. But I wanted to kiss him.

She was tempted to protest––to get to the root of whatever hangup he had with their growing attraction, but instead she took

a deep breath and hit a button on her key fob. “You’re probably right. I’m sorry about that. I—” Warmth crawled up her neck

to her cheeks, and Kendra silently cursed herself for misreading their interactions.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Kenny,” he said softly. He opened the door for her and she gave him a tight smile as she climbed

in. “Can you let me know when you get home?”

“Ben, I live four blocks away. I’ll be fine.” She stared at the dashboard, her mind screaming at her to get the hell out of

there. What were you thinking?!

“Please?” he implored. “I just want to be sure you’re safe.”

“Sure. You let me know too.” Her throat tightened. She turned on the ignition and glanced at him quickly before putting her

hands on the steering wheel and shifting the car into Reverse. He probably thinks I’m a complete idiot. “Good night.”

“Good night, Kenny.” He shut the door and remained where he was standing as she pulled out of her parking spot and raced down the street.

Kendra looked at him in her rearview mirror once she arrived at a stop sign. “What the fuck was that?” she whispered.