Page 32 of The Dating Prohibition
“Is that right?” His gaze remained on her lips.
As she swallowed, she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded. “Do you want a taste?” she offered, though her mind
went to something other than a chocolate-covered treat in front of her.
“Yeah.” Ben came around the bar and stood behind her, his chest pressing against her shoulder as his breath tickled her neck.
“You’re lucky they don’t have any customers in here yet,” she whispered. The restaurant had technically been open for less
than ten minutes, but they’d all arrived early to help set up. Kendra was there to fill in for the hostess, who was running
late. She would move to the door once people started arriving for their reservations.
“Where’s my treat?” The gravel in his voice melted her insides.
“I’ve got a couple of treats for you,” she murmured, grinning mischievously.
“Well, let’s focus on this one for now because it’s the only one that won’t get us arrested.”
Her cheeks flushed as she picked up a fresh strawberry and held it by its stem, raising it for him to take a bite. Her mind
raced a mile a minute as the warmth from his body radiated toward hers.
He leaned over her, kissing her knuckles before biting into the fruit, his lips brushing her fingertips.
Kendra’s mouth went dry. “You have a little piece of chocolate on your lip.”
He stepped closer and hovered over her shoulder. “Do you want to help me out with that?”
She nodded, unable to take her eyes off his mouth as he chewed. She ran her tongue over his bottom lip, picking up the shard
of chocolate before pressing her lips against his.
He nodded and returned to the other side of the bar, just as they heard Logan coming up the stairs.
Heat painted Kendra’s cheeks and she averted her gaze as she finished Ben’s strawberry, refocusing her attention on her laptop.
She could feel the heat of Ben’s gaze, but she couldn’t risk looking at him. Logan could read her like a book.
“Y’all good?” Logan asked as he reached the end of the bar, looking between the two of them.
“Mmm-hmm.” She nodded, trying to free a strawberry seed from her teeth with the tip of her tongue. “Tell Shonda these are
a winner. I think they’d go really well with the Malbec that you’re carrying right now.”
Logan’s head bobbed. “She was gonna pair them the same way, so thanks for confirming.”
“Of course.”
“Need help with anything, man?” BJ turned to Logan.
“Uh, yeah, I’ve got a delivery that’s about to arrive in the back. Would you mind waiting for the driver and signing off on
it for me while I handle some more paperwork up here?”
“Sure.” BJ dried his hands and headed back toward the kitchen. There was a back door that led to a loading area for the restaurants
in their building.
“Thanks, man,” Logan called after BJ as he moved behind the bar, walking up to the spot where BJ had stood moments ago. “You
good, sis?” He eyed her suspiciously.
“Yeah, of course. Why?” She bit into another strawberry. She looked at him quickly and then looked back to her plate to avoid
locking eyes with his.
“Is there something I should know?” he asked.
Kendra set a half-eaten strawberry down and ran her tongue over her teeth to check for seeds. “No.” She looked up at him with
innocent eyes, unblinking. “Is there something you want to know?” Please say no. Her heart pounded in her chest as if it were sending a signal to tell on her. I’m fucking your best friend.
Logan’s head tilted slightly. “No, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Something felt different today.”
“Yeah, I’m good. I am reaching out to a couple of new real estate contacts who specifically work on the commercial side to
see if I can get some advice on this upcoming auction.”
“How is that looking so far?”
“Oh, you know, I’m still researching, but I feel like it could work within my budget, so I’m really excited. This property
fits exactly what I’m looking for.” She flipped around her laptop to show her brother.
“Wow, it’s a nice space. Good size.”
“Yeah, I think that the previous owners just defaulted and it got picked up.”
He nodded. “Well, their loss.”
“Yeah, I really, really want to get it. The auction opens in a couple of weeks. My hope is that it stays available for the
auction and then I can snag it. But somebody can still pick it up before that and just pay what the bank is asking to avoid
the auction.” If someone did get to the property before Kendra could bid, she felt certain that her heart would break.
“Well, if this is the one you want, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
“Agreed,” she muttered, scrolling through property photos to show Logan the interiors.
“But about that other thing...”
“The other thing?” She frowned, looking up at him.
“Yeah.” He gestured his head toward the back.
“What, BJ?”
“Just be careful. I’m not asking any more questions, but I’ll tell you now that I don’t want to get caught in the middle of
anything, and I think you’d be better off talking to someone who is looking for the same things you’re looking for. He’s not
ready for anything serious, and you deserve more than that.”
Kendra swallowed hard. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m always careful. Nothing’s going on.”
“Hmm.” He side-eyed her as he turned and walked away, heading back toward the kitchen, where Shonda was testing new recipes
with the cooks during lulls in service. She wanted to get to a point where the menu changed monthly and featured seasonal
ingredients.
Kendra drummed her fingers against the counter, wondering whether this sneaky link was a bad idea. On one hand, she was having
the best sex of her life. On the other, she was the one most likely to be hurt.