Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 78464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78464 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“Dante,” Axel said quickly.
“What?” he asked with a confused expression.
“Yep,” Axel said before he took a drink. “Spread the word.”
I shook my head. “I said my father would eat my cooking and smile even if it were dog shit. That’s why I didn’t ask for his opinion.”
“I see,” Theo said with a grin.
We ate in comfortable silence, the three of us devouring everything on our plates and washing it down with the wine and scotch.
“Axel thinks we should lease a big restaurant, but I think we should start off small,” I said.
“Correction,” Axel said. “She wants a hole-in-the-wall.”
“Hole-in-the-wall places are always charming.” I drank my wine, the only person at the table to have any.
“I don’t think this food fits that aesthetic,” Theo said. “This is the kind of food a billionaire eats with one of his many mistresses, so rich that his wife can’t say anything. Otherwise, she’ll lose her allowance for shopping sprees and trips with the girls.”
Axel grinned because he was right. “Thank you.”
“A place like that is awfully ambitious.”
“I know the restaurant business,” Theo said. “I think you’ll be fine.”
“That’s right.” I’d forgotten the times we visited his restaurant. We went there for our first date, and I’d enjoyed the food.
“I’m not a chef,” Theo said. “But I know good food. This is good.”
Axel stared at me. “Looks like it’s two to one, baby.”
“What have you got to lose?” Theo asked.
“Um, probably hundreds of thousands of euro…”
Theo shrugged. “No big deal.”
“Maybe not for you.” Rich people spent money like it meant nothing to them. My father was the same way, sometimes careless with his wealth, but never careless enough to give me a bigger piece of the pie.
“It’s settled,” Axel said. “We’ll find a bigger place. Something more appropriate for this fine cuisine.”
I brought the dishes and pans to the sink and started the faucet, letting the water run warm before soaking the sponge and squirting the soap in the center.
Axel stood across the counter from me. “What are you doing?”
My eyes lifted. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
“I have people for that.”
“It’s late, and it’s not a big deal.”
“They’ll clean it tomorrow, then.”
“I don’t mind cleaning up after myself.”
Axel came around the counter and shut off the faucet. “They had a night off because you did all the cooking. Think of it that way.”
“I can carry my own weight around here.” I turned on the faucet again.
He hit the handle and shut off the water. “If you do the cooking and the cleaning, then what do I need them for? You want them to lose their jobs?”
“No—”
“Then let’s go to bed. Your food turns me on.”
I released a chuckle. “Never heard that one before…”
“It’s true. You’re a master in the kitchen, and that’s sexy. Like watching me work out is sexy.”
“Are you a master in the weight room?”
His arm moved around my waist, and he flashed me that handsome grin. “Watch me and decide for yourself.”
We left the kitchen and headed upstairs to the bedroom that felt like a mile away. The villa was grand, grand enough to be a boutique hotel that could accommodate twenty-five guests comfortably.
“You ever think about downsizing?” I asked when we walked into the bedroom.
“Why would I?”
“Because your bedroom is a five-minute walk from the main part of the house.”
He entered the bedroom and tugged his shirt over his head, revealing a back hard with muscles that hugged both sides of his spine.
“I just think this place is too big for one person.”
He kicked off his shoes and removed his jeans. “It’s not one person. It’s two.” He faced me, standing in his black boxers, ripped and tight despite the heavy meal we’d just devoured. “And eventually, it’ll be four. So I think it’s just fine.”
“Four?” I asked, eyebrows raised.
“You want more?”
“Are you referring to children?”
“Well, I’m not talking about dogs.”
“I didn’t realize you knew exactly how many kids you wanted.”
“Women are the only ones allowed to think about that sort of thing?” He sat on the foot of the bed, knees wide apart, his hands together between his thighs.
“No…I just didn’t think you did.”
“I didn’t enjoy being an only child. I think every kid deserves a sibling.”
“Well, I was an only child, and I was fine with it.”
“You only want one, then?”
“I’m not saying that—”
“Then how many do you want?”
“I—I don’t know.” I pulled my blouse over my head and tossed it on the armchair then moved to my jeans and shoes. I undressed in front of him, feeling his heavy stare glued to me. “I’m only twenty-five. Not really in a rush, I guess.”
“I’m in my thirties now, so I’m in a different place.” He watched me, his eyes hard. “But I’ll be patient as long as you need me to.”
“You’d want kids right now if I was willing?” I asked incredulously. “We’ve been married a couple months.”