Page 34 of About Love and Revenge

“Don't worry. Make a weekly list and an employee will provide everything you need.”

“No, I can learn how to do my own shopping. I just need someone to teach me. You are already offering too much.”

We stare at each other in silence for a while, and I'm hoping he's going to contradict me, but he surprises me instead.

“Do you cook?”

I shrug. “I wouldn't starve to death.”

“I don’t cook.”

“I figured.”

“What does that mean?”

“You're rich—you don't have to do anything. You must have plenty of people to fulfill your every wish with a snap of your fingers.”

“You're rich too.”

“No, my father is...was. Besides, I always enjoyed watching the maids prepare meals. I love the smell of fresh food.”I feel my face heat up because I've said too much again. I'm sure Odin doesn't give a damn about that kind of bullshit.

“Savoring?”

“Huh?”

“Do you like savoring a good meal?”

“Yeah. I like the pleasure I feel when food touches my tongue. Of how some dishes are a perfect match with a good wine, creating a delicious mix of flavors.”

He's silent, but he's staring at me intensely, which causes my body to shudder.

“I don't know what it is about you that makes me talk nonstop. I'm not usually that chatty.”

“You know what they say about the ability to enjoy a good meal? There is a parallel between enjoying a good dish and making love."

“Do you only think about sex?” Despite the question, I feel like laughing, but I hide it.

“Not usually, but you make me feel an unstoppable desire.”

“Spare me your seduction tricks. Nothing will happen between us.”

“I don't use seduction tricks to get the woman I want.”

Hearing that gives me an unpleasant feeling and the certainty that I need to keep my head straight.

The woman I want.

He must play this game very often, and while it doesn't surprise me that he’s had several flings, it does give me confirmation that I must keep things between us on a professional level or I might miss out on my only chance to deal with the mess that has become my life.

I decide to be honest for a change. “I'm not going to lie and say I'm not attracted to you. Those things you said about sex...I believe what you said about being able to make love for hours. But while I no longer owe my father anything, I don't want to mix things up between us. I don't need my virginity anymore, and I intend to lose it, but when I do decide to have sex, it will be with someone who doesn't pay me a salary.”

“Is working for me the problem, or are you just waiting for Prince Charming?”

“Far from it. I'll never get married. I’m talking aboutexperiencingsex.”

“And your family's plan for you was to marry as a virgin?”

“As you say it, that was my family's plan. I never wanted a husband like my sisters dreamed of.”

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