Page 12

Hannah

Holy shit, I mean I knew Leo was my neighbor, but having him this close could be interesting.

Imagine all the trouble we could get into with me sneaking over there at night after work.

It’s the best kind of trouble and I am all for it.

Fuck the fact that he’s my boss or that it could totally screw up my job here.

I’m not thinking with my head right now and I seriously don’t care.

I’m having dinner with Leo tonight and if things are heading in the direction I think they are, we won’t just be having dinner.

And oh my god, it’s been way too long since I got laid.

Just kissing Leo has me all hot and bothered, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t come home some nights and get myself off to thoughts of him.

I’m struggling to keep it together currently after seeing him shirtless.

I mean, seriously, who looks like that with their shirt off?

He’s all covered in tattoos, with a body that was seriously made for sex with every line of his muscles exposed, and a face that literally belongs on the cover of a magazine. He’s the kind of guy who makes panties drop and I know I’ll be dropping mine for him.

I really need to get myself together though. My house is a mess with boxes and if I’m going to meet Leo for dinner tonight, I will definitely need a shower and some clean clothes.

Just as I’m pushing a few boxes toward my new bedroom, my phone starts to ring. I swear it feels like I can’t get ahead. Maybe I should just call it done and head to Leo’s. It looked like he was about to get in the shower, and everyone can use a hand washing their back.

I scramble over a few boxes, finding my phone lying on the ground by the front door, I quickly answer it.

“Hey,” I hear Phoebe’s voice say, not even realizing who was calling when I answered. “Meet me at our usual spot tonight?” she immediately says, not waiting for me to reply.

“Hi to you too, but I can’t,” I quip back, and she immediately lets out a bothered sigh.

“Are you still living with your brother in the middle of nowhere?” she questions, and now that bothered sigh has turned into a bothered tone.

Phoebe and I met at culinary school and both landed jobs in San Fran, which was supposed to be our dream jobs.

Hers went much better than mine with her working at a high-end hotel.

It’s a rare occurrence for us to have a day off together, so we had taken to meeting up around midnight and grabbing a drink together after our day ended.

I haven’t seen her since taking the job at Somerville’s and she’s been annoyed with the thought of me moving to Napa.

She claims it’s in the middle of nowhere and she has zero interest in traveling out to the sticks to see me.

I get it though. We said we’d be in San Fran together.

That we’d be all over that city and live the life of two badass single girls.

“I’m not with my brother anymore, but I’m not any closer to the city though.”

“Okay, what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m kinda even farther away. I live on the Somerville property now.” I clench my teeth, waiting for her to be thoroughly disappointed.

“Seriously?” Phoebe says, but this time there’s no bothered sighs or annoyed tones.

“Yeah, seriously. I really like it, actually. It’s secluded and quiet and—” Before I can continue to defend my choice, Phoebe cuts me off.

“I’m moving to France.”

“Seriously?” I ask, echoing what she just asked me.

“Yeah, seriously,” she replies back, and we both laugh at the déjà vu of the conversation we’re having.

“It has been in the works for a while, and I didn’t want to say anything to you and overshadow your excitement about getting the job at Somerville’s.

And I also wasn’t sure it was even going to happen.

I had a million interviews, and they flew me out there. ”

I’m completely blown away by Phoebe’s news, but so damn excited for her. Every chef wants to work in France. It’s like a dream come true. And as much as I will miss her, I now have an excuse to make my way to Europe.

“When do you leave?” I ask, hoping I can get together with her before she goes.

“Next week. I know it’s so fast, faster than I thought it was going to be, but I’m excited. It will be good to try something new. Maybe I’ll meet a French guy,” she jokes, and my thoughts immediately go to Leo.

“I sort of met someone,” I tell her, hesitant because Leo and I really aren’t anything. We’ve impulsively made out a few times and he has now invited me to dinner.

“Oh my god, fill me in!” Phoebe squeals, and it makes me smile.

Meeting a new guy still gives me all those butterflies in my stomach and that all-consuming feeling.

I long to run into Leo randomly now and every time I do, I send up a silent plea for him to kiss me.

It’s so teenage girl childish, but the feeling is like nothing else.

“He’s my neighbor,” I start, knowing there’s a little more to this than I’m letting on. “And he’s kinda my boss.”

“You’re sleeping with your boss? Way to go, Hannah!” Phoebe cheers, making me a little more confident in my decision to pursue this thing with Leo.

“I’m not sleeping with him. At least I’m not sleeping with him yet,” I say, giggling a little. “He invited me over for dinner tonight and we’ve pretty much been making out every chance we get, so here’s to hoping it leads to us sleeping together. I’m getting a little bit desperate.”

“Well, keep me posted,” Phoebe says, and before we hang up, we make plans to get together before she moves.

I also offer to fly out there the day after she arrives to help her unpack, but she declines my help, telling me to visit once she’s settled so we can actually hang out together and make it a vacation for me.

As soon as I set the phone down, I look around at the mess that is my new house.

I know it’ll be great once I get everything unpacked, but it feels a little overwhelming.

Luckily, I had my furniture delivered earlier today and all of that is where I want it, it’s the unpacking of the boxes that is left. It looks like a nightmare.

So instead of unpacking, I flop down on the couch, closing my eyes for just a few minutes. It feels so good to have my own house, my own space, the quiet of Somerville’s and knowing that don’t have to deal with my brother having loud sex any longer. Taking a nap feels like the right thing to do.

The next thing I know is I’m waking up to a dark sky and someone knocking on my door.

It takes me a moment to realize where I am, looking around trying to remember that I moved into my new place just today.

There are no lights on and I pat around for my phone, using the flashlight on it to find my way to the door.

I really should’ve set up some lamps before I crashed, but of course I thought I would be up in an hour. I actually have no idea what time it is and then it hits me like a ton of bricks.

My date with Leo.

Fuck my life. He probably thinks I stood him up and I’m going to guess when I open this door, it’s going to be him standing on the other side. I look like shit and I’m certain my breath stinks, my hair feels like a ratty mess given how sweaty I was just a few hours ago.

This is not how I wanted my date with Leo to go.

It was supposed to be perfect. I was supposed to smell good, and my hair was supposed to be washed and dried and shiny.

I was supposed to wear my favorite black jeans that make my ass look so damn good, and those tie-side panties I bought at that French lingerie shop because Leo looks like the kind of guy who would tear panties.

I’m so pissed off that I want to cry.

I take in a hard breath, smoothing down my hair as much as I can, and then I open the door. And there’s Leo standing there looking so fucking hot and oh my fucking god, we would’ve made the perfect couple tonight.

“Hey, everything okay?” he asks, sounding sympathetic, but a little hesitant. I’m sure he’s thinking I’m having second thoughts about starting something with him. Far from it.

“Yes, I’m so sorry. I swear I laid down on the couch to rest for a few minutes and I literally just woke up when you knocked on the door,” I whine, hating myself for doing something so stupid and hoping I didn’t ruin this altogether.

I’m never this irresponsible. Okay, I’m only this irresponsible when it comes to meeting Dylan for breakfast, but that’s different.

He smiles and my heart flutters, beating fast at just the look he’s giving me. It’s the panty-dropping smile. It’s the kind that can make a woman do whatever he asks. I’m that woman.

“I’m still up for this,” he says, motioning between us, “if you are.”

“I am, but can you give me a few minutes, or maybe like thirty. I really didn’t want to show up looking like this.

” I throw my hands out in front of me and roll my eyes.

“You see me in my chef’s coat on a regular basis and now today in running shorts and a tank, covered in sweat.

I really wanted to…” I trail off as he leans in close to me.

“I think you look fucking stunning, Hannah,” he murmurs, his lips brushing against mine. “But yes, get ready and come over. If you take too long, trust that I will be joining you in the shower.” This time he bites at my neck, his mouth sucking hard, his teeth grazing my skin.

“I’m not sure that’s a threat,” I manage to mutter. “I was kinda hoping…”

“Get in the shower, Hannah,” he growls, swatting my ass. “And don’t keep me waiting.”

“Yes.”

A half an hour later I’m climbing the stairs to Leo’s place, the smell of rosemary is wafting out of the open windows, and it smells heavenly. As a chef it’s funny to have someone else cook for you, and normally I decline. I’m pretty particular about my food, but with Leo, I don’t care.

I knock softly and he calls for me to come in. As soon as I open the door, I’m taken aback by how amazing his place is. Now mine is very nice, but it’s also very appealing to the masses. It should be. At some point it will be rented out to visitors and most don’t want quirky or unique.

The ceilings of his place though, are all exposed beams and it’s basically one wide open room with a massive kitchen.

It’s custom and obviously designed by him.

He has all this oversized furniture that fills the space perfectly and I get a quick glimpse of his bedroom from where I’m standing.

Hopefully it’s not the only look of it I get tonight.

“Hannah,” he says, and the way he says my name makes my panties wet. No one will ever say it the way he does, and no one will ever top the way it makes me feel when he does.

“Better, right?” I ask, turning in a circle so he can get a good look.

“I wouldn’t say better, but you do look gorgeous,” he replies, and I walk over to where he’s standing, pushing up on my toes to give him a kiss.

“You ready to eat?”

“Yes, I kept you waiting so yes.”

Leo motions for me to sit down and I pull out a chair as he brings a plate over to the table. It smells amazing and before he can tell me what it is, I recognize it.

“Steak au Poivre?”

“Yes, one of my favorites.”

“My best friend just told me she’s moving to France today, so it feels very fitting,” I tell him as he sits down, his own plate in front of him.

“That sounds a little disappointing,” he replies.

“It is, but it isn’t. She’s a chef too.”

“Ah, France, yes then.”

He gets it. It’s a place that most chefs have either worked or dreamed of working. I wonder if he studied at all in France. I’m sure he did given his skill level.

“How about you? Have you been?” I ask.

“I have. I went quite often actually. Both my parents are chefs and worked some pretty high-level jobs, so as a kid I lived there for a bit.”

“Really. You come from a family of chefs then, huh?”

“I do, but I worked really hard to distance myself from it. I didn’t want people thinking I used my parents’ name to get ahead in this industry.”

“I get that,” I say, taking a bite of the steak and moaning out loud.

“And this is why I became a chef,” Leo says, a possessive growl to his words. “Hearing you moan like that at something I made is up there with sex.”

“And knowing a man who looks like you can cook like this is up there with sex too.” I wink at him, the tension in the room going up a few notches. “But I imagine you’re going to be able to make me do a whole lot more than moan with that mouth of yours.”

“Oh, Hannah, I’ve got big plans after we finish eating. I’m thinking I’ll be having you for dessert.”