Romancing The Chef

Chapter 3

Preoccupied, Ace had given the woman before him only a cursory glance. He’d been trying to reach Garett because he couldn’t remember if GTV was sending a car, or if he was supposed to take a cab.

Even in that brief look, he’d noted that the woman was attractive, and he was always happy to meet a fan of his show.

Not having any luck reaching his publicist, he tucked his cell phone into the back pocket of his jeans. Ace looked up in time to see the woman’s face go from pleasantly surprised to angry.

His brows knit. Why on earth would a perfect stranger be mad—

Then it hit him. She wasn’t a perfect stranger. He might not have recognized her right away, but after really looking at her face for a few seconds, he began to see those familiar espresso-colored eyes, her juicy plum lips and her pert little nose.

“Oh my God. Ronnie? Is that you?”

Her features were just about the only things that hadn’t changed. Somehow his friend had gone from cuddly cutie to buxom bombshell. Her round face was more narrow and her waist more slim, but, thankfully, she still had those voluptuous curves where it counted.

She’d always been attractive, but facts were facts. Now she was hot. He had to force himself to look away before his ogling became cartoonish.

Her lips twitched, but not into the smile he was hoping for. “Oh, so now you recognize me.”

He sighed sheepishly. “I’m sorry. I was distracted. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you, and I wasn’t expecting to run into you just now. But, you look fantastic and … I’m rambling, aren’t I,” he said, when her expression remained impassive.

She simply nodded.

Her rumpled clothing and slightly mussed topknot suggested that she’d had a rough flight. But Ace still couldn’t stop staring at her. The new Ronnie was a slice of perfection.

Dressed in hip-hugging caramel slacks, a scooped cherry-red tank and a butter-soft leather blazer the color of roasted peanuts, she looked good enough to top a hot fudge sundae. Her form-fitting clothes showed off her feminine curves.

She cleared her throat, and Ace pulled himself together. “I guess we were on the same flight. I should have realized when I made my connection at Dulles, but I didn’t see you on the plane.”

Ronnie rolled her eyes. “That’s because I was in coach.”

He frowned, confused. “Didn’t the show fly you—”

“Yes, but it’s a long story.” She picked up the handle onher rolling luggage and searched for the exit. “I guess I’ll see you at the hotel.”

Surprised by her dismal mood, Ace stared after her. Was she so upset just because he hadn’t recognized her right away? No, it had to be something else. Even though they’d been out of touch for a while, they’d been too close for something so petty to come between them.

Grabbing his luggage off the carousel, Ace headed toward the exit. To his relief, there was a driver outside holding a sign with his name on it. The man led him to a black sedan waiting at the curb and opened the door for him.

He slid across the seat and found a pleasant surprise. Ronnie was already in the car. “And we meet again.”

She nodded without her usual enthusiasm, and Ace knew he had to get to the bottom of this once and for all.

“It’s a short drive to the hotel. So you’d better talk fast.”

She frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Your long story. What happened on the plane? I can tell it’s put you in a bad mood. And Vegas is a party town. I can’t let you show up with the wrong attitude.”

With a heavy sigh, Ronnie said, “I’ve always been a nervous flyer, but I was actually looking forward to this trip. But when I boarded the plane and tried to claim my seat in first class, some guy was already sitting there. We called the flight attendant to sort it out. Apparently the flight was overbooked, and we were both given the same seat assignment.”

Ace shook his head. “So why didn’t the guy move?”

“Because of the age-old rule that applies in these situations.”

“What’s that?”

“Finders, keepers.” From there she described an uncomfortable ride in coach, wedged between a snoring businessman and a mother cradling a cranky newborn. “It might not have been so bad if the guy next to me hadn’t passed gas in his sleep during the entire fight.”

Ace reached for the complimentary bottle of champagne in the minibar in front of them. “Sounds like we need to put this trip back on the right track, starting with a glass of bubbly.”

He popped the cork, filled two flutes halfway and clinked glasses with her. “Here’s to a fantastic journey. And to winning.”

Ronnie clinked his glass, flashing her eyes at him mischievously. “It’s so kind of you to drink to my victory.”

Ace grinned, happy to see the sassy girl he knew returning. “Oh? You think you can beat me?”

“I know I can. I’ve changed a lot more than my dress size since I saw you last.”

Not sure if he should broach the subject, Ace couldn’t resist asking, “So what did make you decide to … get so fit? You always used to say that if you lost weight people would think your food wasn’t any good.”

“That’s another long story. One we don’t have time for now. Suffice it to say it was time. Besides, I’ve finally gotten to the point where my food speaks for itself.”

Ace saluted her with his glass. “I heard you opened a restaurant in Georgetown.”

“Crave. You should come by next time you’re in D.C. I might even give you a professional discount.”

“You don’t need to give me a discount,” he said, teasing. “I’ll just pay for my meal out of the prize money when I win.”

She cut her eyes to him. “Honey, I don’t know if you’re aware … but, there is no prize for second place.”

Ace threw his head back and laughed. He’d forgotten just how fiercely competitive they’d been in culinary school. Hearing her talk smack the way she used to was arousing his drive to win, among other things.

Winning hadn’t been his strongest motivation when he’d agreed to do the competition. He’d been more interested in trying out the new techniques he’d picked up on his European travels. But after five minutes in Ronnie’s presence, he suddenly wanted nothing more than to win just for the bragging rights.

“You’re so confident now,” he taunted, “but you may have gotten in over your head. It’s not just me you have to beat. You have the culinary queen, Etta Foster, to compete with. Not to mention Ann Le Marche and Stewart Compton. Are a fledgling restaurant and a couple of Food Fight wins enough to back up all your big talk?”

Ronnie drained her champagne glass. “Don’t you worry about me, Ace. My biggest advantage is that I’m the underdog. Underestimating me will be your downfall.”

Ace knew first hand not to underestimate Veronica Howard. She’d always been tenacious and eager to learn. He had no doubt that she would be good competition. But his reputation spoke for itself.

“I just want to make sure you haven’t forgotten just how things went down in culinary school. Soufflés, marinades, knife skill—I got better grades in all those areas. Plus, I’ve been honing my craft with some of the masters around Europe.” He popped the collar on his polo shirt. “You don’t want none of this.”

“And? I got better grades in pastry and desserts,” Ronnie said, waving him off. “Plus, I’ve got a lot of new tricks up my sleeves. And your chef’s jacket doesn’t even have sleeves.”

Caught off guard, Ace laughed. When he’d started doinghis show, The Sexy Chef, it had been Garett’s idea to take the sleeves off his jacket.

“Europe or no Europe,” Ronnie continued. “I’ve seen what you do, and I’m ready to take you and the others on. We’ll prove ourselves in the kitchen soon enough. But for now I just want to salvage what’s left of this day and enjoy being in Las Vegas.”

With their obligatory trash talk out of the way, Ace swiveled in his seat, letting his knee touch hers. Damn she looked good, he thought, resisting the urge to say it out loud.

Was she single? No ring on her finger. He hoped she wasn’t still dating that jerky food critic.

Unable to ask what he really wanted to know, he asked instead, “Is this your first time in Las Vegas?”

“Yes, I was supposed to come for a bachelorette party once, but I got the flu and had to stay home. The girls told me all about the fun I’d missed. Gambling, Chippendale dancers, staying up all night—”

“So much for What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.”

She sighed. “I know. I’m still mad that I couldn’t go.”

“Then you’ll just have to make up for it this time. I don’t know how much you’ll be able to squeeze in, but there’s the rest of today and part of tomorrow.”

“There are three things I want to accomplish before I leave Vegas. First, I want to gamble in the casino—not just slot machines like I’ve played in Atlantic City—but some real table gambling. Then I want to see a show. I love Cirque du Soleil.”

“And the last thing?”

“I just want to perform well enough to make it to round two,” she said, showing vulnerability for the first time as she rested her forehead in her palm. “Ugh, I don’t want to be the first to go home.”

“That doesn’t seem like too much to ask for.”

Ace smiled, both happy to be with his old friend again and excited by the crackling tension he felt between them. Was it mutual this time?

It could be. Her eyes had taken on a coy slant as she lowered her lashes to hide her normally direct gaze. When she raised them again, he saw her eyes trace his body from where their knees touched slowly up his frame.

Time to make his move. “Ronnie, are you—”

Before he could ask if she was seeing anyone, the car stopped. They had arrived at The Venetian hotel, where the first leg of the All-Star Food Fight would take place. The chauffeur pulled open their door just as things were getting interesting.

Bellhops instantly appeared, and the two of them were ushered off to check in. Unfortunately, Ace didn’t get the opportunity to finish his question.

On the elevator ride to his room, he made a silent vow.

If they were both as good as they thought they were in the kitchen, they would have up to three weeks together on the road. Ace decided it was finally time for him to take a shot at romancing the chef.

Chapter 4

The bellhop let Ronnie into her luxury concierge suite. As soon as she saw the giant, king-size bed, a huge smile spread across her face.

Thankfully Ace had helped her dispel the gloomy mood that had developed during the flight. Now her arrival at the hotel pushed her back into full elation.

After quickly unpacking her clothes, she walked over to the window to discover she had a fantastic view of the gigantic pool. Instantly, Ronnie craved a swim in the cool water.

Even though she had to run down to the event gallery to make sure the boxes she’d shipped had arrived, there were two motivating factors calling her to the pool. One was the hot Las Vegas sun, and two was the promise she’d made to Cara that she’d work out regularly while she was away.

After confirming that her shipment had arrived safely,

Ronnie changed into her bathing suit and headed out to the pool. But old habits died hard, and she covered her suit with a T-shirt and shorts as well as a long terrycloth robe.

Grabbing some towels, Ronnie set herself up in a lounge chair. The water was calling to her, but on such a hot afternoon, the pool was packed. Even though she’d lost a lot of weight since the last time she’d been swimming in a public pool, she still couldn’t bring herself to undress.

“Wow. I’m getting hot just looking at you.”

Ronnie looked up and found Ace standing over her. She silently caught her breath. A towel was slung around his neck and his chest was bare, showing every bulging muscle, from his abs to his pecs and biceps. His red swim trunks were wet and clung to his large, muscular thighs. Ronnie had to school her eyes to stay away from his lower body.

But there was no safe place for her eyes to rest when there were big muscles and sleek brown skin everywhere she tried to look.

“Ace. I guess we had the same idea about how to spend the rest of our afternoon.”

He laughed. “I don’t know about you, but I was actually swimming in the pool. Did you forget you’re in the desert? Because you’re better dressed for the Alaskan tundra.”

Feeling embarrassed, Ronnie shook her head. “No, I just got here. I’m planning to get in.” A bead of perspiration slid down between her breasts under all her layers of clothing.

“Well, come on. Take off your snow suit and get in with me.”

Ronnie’s skin became even hotter under Ace’s watchful gaze. It was one thing to show off her new figure under a carefully chosen outfit that complimented her shape. If she undressed now, there would be nothing left to the imagination.

“You go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute.”

He shook his head. “What are you waiting for? Come on in. The water is perfect. I know you’re roasting under that robe.”

Ronnie realized that if she protested any further she’d sound foolish, so she bit her lip and stood up. Untying her robe, she slipped it off and took her time folding it on her lounge chair.

Ace immediately snickered. “I can’t believe you have even more clothes on under that robe.”

Swallowing hard, Ronnie took off her shorts first, letting the length of her T-shirt cover her suit. Suddenly, she was overwhelmed with nerves. Even though her mirror showed her a thin person when she looked in it, she still felt like an overweight person on the inside. She’d always made a big show of confidence and bravado when it had come to her body in the past.

But now that Ace was standing there waiting for her to disrobe, all that confidence eluded her. All she could imagine was the disappointment in his face when he saw her in her modest black tank suit.

Trying to come up with some witty distraction to hide her insecurities, Ronnie whipped her T-shirt over her head like a child ripping off a bandage.

But her witty remark died on her lips as her gaze raised to Ace’s. Before she could utter a sound, he said, “Very sexy.”

Then she was scooped up in his arms and summarily dumped into the swimming pool.

When she came up sputtering water, the tension of the moment had been broken. Ace was suddenly next to her splashing water in her direction.

“You were moving too slow. I didn’t have the patience to watch you dip one toe, then the other before you declaredthe water too cold. So I thought I’d help you along. You’re welcome.”

“You—” Without thinking, Ronnie jumped on his back and pushed his head under the water.

Ace burst to the surface, laughing. He quickly grabbed her around the waist and held her so she couldn’t get at him again.

As her own laughter began to subside, she began to realize that only a thin, wet layer of bathing suit separated her bare skin from his. Feeling her self-consciousness returning, Ronnie began to kick her feet and flail her arms, sending wave after wave of water at Ace until he dumped her back into the water.

She felt safer, hidden under the surface of the water. “I’m free,” she said, goading him to chase her.

They played a cat-and-mouse game around the pool, carefully dodging the other occupants. Ronnie was able to evade Ace’s grasp for quite some time, until she made the mistake of feinting left when she should have feinted right.

“I’ve got you now,” he shouted, as she found herself locked in his arms.

Before she could stop herself, she said, “And just what are you going to do with me now that you’ve got me?”

“Whatever I want, of course.” His tone was light and playful, but she could see heat rising in his eyes.

Suddenly it was more than Ronnie was prepared to handle. She didn’t come to Las Vegas to have an affair. Especially not with the ridiculously hot Sexy Chef.

Immediately Ronnie began squirming in his arms. But that only made the situation worse. Ronnie applied a little pressure against his muscular embrace and quickly realized there was no escape. Ace’s arms were like bands of steel holding her against him. And her struggles causedan exciting friction between their bodies. Suddenly the heat in his eyes wasn’t the only thing rising.

Clearly a bit startled himself, his grip on her loosened and Ronnie wriggled free. In a full panic now, she dove under the surface and swam to the nearest ladder. She didn’t care that she had to now walk halfway around the pool to get back to her things.

Barely taking the time to fully cover herself, she gathered up her clothes and started heading for the hotel entrance.

“Ronnie!” Ace called out from somewhere behind her.

Darting a quick look over her shoulder, she waved in his general direction. “I’m going to go back inside,” she called to him. “I’ll see you later.”

Ace stood on the pool deck, watching Ronnie literally run away from him. Granted, things had progressed faster than he’d intended, but he hadn’t expected this kind of reaction from her.

Ronnie had always been sassy and confident. Ace couldn’t quite wrap his mind around it, but it seemed that since Ronnie had lost weight, she had become self-conscious.

It was obvious in the way that she’d dressed for the pool in layer after layer of clothing. It had seemed as though she was avoiding disrobing in front of him. From the way she’d been acting, he’d half expected to see gruesome burn scars or massive stretch marks, but her body had been tight and toned. The only thing wrong with her shape had been that matronly tank suit that covered up too much of it.

He’d wanted to stare, openly admiring her new figure, but, on impulse, he’d decided to drop her into the pool. He’d gotten the desired reaction. She’d been too angry to focus on her hang-ups … at least at first.

If only he’d been able to keep his hands off her, she might not have run from him. But that only made him more determined than ever to let her know how he’d been feeling about her.

“There you are. I’ve been looking all over this place for you,” Ace heard Garett say, walking toward him, looking like a fifties throwback in his straw fedora, white cabana shirt and pale plaid pants.

“Get a load of you, Frank Sinatra,” Ace said, looking his publicist up and down.

“Hey, if you think I’m not going to make the most of my time in Vegas, you’re crazy.”

“And here I thought you traveled all this way to give me moral support.”

“Why don’t you dry off and come inside, Ace. We have work to do. The press junket is tomorrow, and I want to do a little prep.”

Ace started across the pool deck to the lounge chair where he’d left his things. “I do press all the time. I really don’t think I need to prep.”

What he really wanted to do was go after Ronnie. He had a feeling that the more time he gave her, the more she’d be able to convince herself that nothing had happened between them.

“Of course we have to prep,” Garett said, coming up behind him. “We need an angle. Something that will make you stand out from the other contestants.”

Ace shrugged, drying himself off with his towel. “I’ll stand out from the others when I win.”

“We can’t wait until then. We need to find an angle now. Something that will make them follow you for the entire competition.”

Ace pulled his on T-shirt over his head. He should have been used to Garett’s push for publicity stunts by now.

Instead, he chose to ignore him most of the time. And it wasn’t lost on his friend that Ace was distracted at the moment.

“You’re not focused. Does this have anything to do with the girl I saw hurrying away from you just now?”

“She’s not just some girl. That’s Ronnie.” At his friend’s blank expression, Ace continued. “You know, Veronica Howard. She’s in the competition.”

“Are you kidding me? I didn’t even recognize her.” Garett rubbed his chin. “I don’t know how I feel about you mingling with your competitors. Unless, of course, you were trying to get in her head. Psych her out a bit?”

Ace waved him off. “We have a healthy rivalry going, but I’m not trying to get in her head. Ronnie and I are friends.”

Garett studied him for a minute, nodding his head. “I get it. Not in her head, just in her pants.”