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he asked as he topped the cheesecake with cherries.
    “No,” she barked. “It’s a business meeting.”
    “Do you attend all your business meetings looking like a sex goddess?”
    She blushed, and fire shot straight to his loins. Frowning, she rolled her eyes and glared at him. Probably doing everything she could not to look like a sex goddess. It didn’t work.
    “Sorry,” he said. “You look really beautiful.”
    “Should I go change? Put that green gunk back on my face?”
    “I liked the green gunk,” he admitted.
    “Whatever you’re cooking, it smells good.” Winona eyed the table, which he hadn’t had a chance to set up yet. He finished adding the fresh cherries on top of the cheesecake and placed it in the fridge.
    “Can I help with anything?” she asked.
    He checked his veggies and the temperature on the chicken. He’d bought a meat thermometer at the store because he didn’t know if she’d have one. The secret to good chicken was the right temperature.
    “I just finished setting the table. Do you want to pick out music?”
    “Music? I’ve never had a business meeting with music.”
    “It doesn’t have to all be business,” he said. He already felt better after cooking, and Winona would be enjoyable company.
    “If you think this fancy dinner and charming table set up with soft music and candlelight is going to make me sleep with you, think again.”
    “If I wanted you to sleep with me, I wouldn’t go for dinner.” Jake carried plates and utensils to the table. Arranging a small arrangement of flowers he’d picked up at the market, he lit the array of candles beside it. “I do this for Amy all the time. She loves it. Cooking is my … I don’t know. It’s how I relax. I love it.”
    “So you’ve never done it to impress a woman?”
    “I never said that.”
    “What would you do?”
    “About what?”
    “If you wanted me to go to bed with you. What would you do? How would you play it?”
    The fire in Jake’s loins made camp, blasting his entire lower extremities with heat. He burned with the need to watch her squirm. Sweeping his gaze over her body, he grinned and shrugged. “I don’t know. I’d start by kissing you. I’d slowly come in with my mouth.” Heart pounding, he swaggered slowly towards her, his smile wide and confidence at its peak.
    She impeded that confidence with a palm to his chest as he closed in.
    “Won’t work.”
    “Maybe not right now,” he drawled.
    “Maybe not ever. Don’t think I can be swayed with fancy food and feel-good kisses. I still don’t think I’m the girl to find your Amy.”
    His back stiffened. He remembered exactly what brought him here, and there was no escape. Turning, he checked the chicken and shut off the oven.
    “Jake.”
    “Dinner’s ready.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “No worries,” he said lightly, brushing her off. She was right, and for a moment, he’d lost himself. He nodded to the table. “Sit down. I’ll bring you your food.”
    She sat while he arranged her food on the plate. Appearances were everything, after all. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed her fuss with her fork and shift her empty wine glass. He figured she probably wished it were full about right now.
    He opened the bottle of wine and brought it to her, pouring it into her glass.
    “I can’t drink this,” she said.
    He finished pouring and popped the lid back in, sitting in on the table near her. “Why not?”
    “Well,” she began. “Because you can’t.”
    “And I won’t. But to give the true taste of the meal, you should enjoy it with a glass of wine.”
    “What about you?”
    “Sparkling apple juice will suffice.”

Chapter Five
    Winona was pretty sure she’d never had a meal this fantastic before. The tastes melded together as if designed to suit each other. Definitely an erotic meal that would have most women screaming for more—no matter what Jake said. Except for the fact they’d be too full to do anything but waddle to