Page 73 of Unwrap Him

“Am I dead??”

I have to laugh at that. Leaning over the counter, hands clasped together, my grin is uncontrollable while I watch James devouring all the little sample items on the plate.

“No, I’m serious,” he grumbles once he’s swallowed the mouthful of pineapple macadamia shortbread. “I think I’ve died and gone to heaven, because this food, baby… It tastes like it was baked by an angel.”

I bite my lip. “You’re way too good for my ego. Let’s just hope the food critic dude shares your enthusiasm.”

“I know he will.” James grins, reaching over and grasping the top of my apron, yanking me forward to press a soft kiss on my lips. “I mean… He doesn’t need to share all the enthusiasms I have for you…”

Chuckling, I flick my tongue over his lower lip. “Well, it wouldn’t be the worst thing for him to think I’m hot. It could help my cause.”

James scowls at me, and I laugh even harder.

We’re spending the afternoon here. I’m designing a special tasting for a food critic who’s going to come in tomorrow and taste my stuff. Hopefully, he ends up loving it, and writes a glowing review in the local paper that will drive business for the grand opening, which is happening in one week.

To say I’m nervous would be a bit of an understatement, which is why it’s a good thing James is here today, giving me that confidence boost I need. I can always count on him as my cheerleader.

Sometimes I like to picture him in a short skirt with pom-poms. It makes me laugh to myself.

Together, we’ve spent the last four months getting the business together and ready to open. J&J Café is everything I ever dreamt it could be. I designed it all myself, from the interior décor to the appliances, and obviously the menu, which I’ll be changing up regularly. And James helped me make it a reality.

He’s been handling the business side, though by no means has he taken it over. Mainly, he’s just helping me learn about it, sort of like a silent partner. And I have to appreciate the hell out of him for that. Because business has never really been my forte. But it comes easily to James, since he ran his own business for years. A successful one, at that. He could easily just take the reins, but instead, he’s patient and supportive.

He’s actually a really good teacher. Just one of his many talents.

He also helped me hire my staff. Six servers for a rotating schedule, a sous chef, and two additional cooks to help me and make it so I don’t have to work all day every day, and just a few more people for cleaning and whatnot. It’s crazy to think I have people working for me… And I’m not even twenty years old yet!

But I believe I can do this. And with James’s help, we can’t lose. We make a great team… We always have.

On top of all the exciting things happening with the café, James is going full speed ahead with his garden. The dude has a very green thumb.

It’s been so successful in yielding fruit and some vegetables, we’ll actually be using a lot of the produce in our cooking at the café. Talk about fresh ingredients.

I’m just loving life right now. Living the dream here in our tropical slice of heaven.

“Okay, so which was your favorite, from each course?” I ask James, pencil in hand, ready to jot down some more notes.

I need to make sure I’m choosing the best options for the tasting.

James gives me his list of favorites, and I have to agree with him on most of them. We spend the next hour finalizing it, and I give the list to Sean, my sous chef, who’s going to prep everything.

By the time we’re done, the sun is setting, and James and I head outside, bidding farewell to my home away from home for the night.

Our place is walking distance from the café. It’s fully amazing. It’s ten minutes on foot, but still. The weather right now is perfect, and our favorite thing is to walk around with the ocean breeze brushing our skin, holding hands while we chat and decompress from the day.

Once over the bridge, with our house in sight, James tugs me down a side street, and I give him a peculiar look. “Where are we going?”

He has a mysterious little smirk resting on his lips as he hums, “You’ll see.”

This man is full of surprises… It could be stressful, if he weren’t so awesome at making all of my dreams come true.

The quiet street leads us down to the water, a few yards from our little stretch of beach. James brings me along a path, to an inlet. It’s a purely stunning sight.

Tropical plants and flowers everywhere, the tranquil sound of the water. Beneath some trees, he stops me, holding my hands in his. He faces me, biting his lip with his stormy eyes resting on mine.

“What do you think?” His brow cocks.

My gaze moves around us, and then I blink up at him. “For what?”

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