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tomorrow night?’
    Dinner! Her head whirled. To go or not to go…
    â€˜I thought we could try Neil Perry’s Spice Temple. A new experience for both of us if you haven’t been there.’
    Neil Perry…one of Sydney’s master chefs! His restaurants were famous for their wonderful food. The Rockpool. The Rockpool Bar and Grill. The Spice Temple. She would love, love, love to eat there, but…
    â€˜I can’t afford it.’
    â€˜My treat. You gave me a great meal last Sunday.’
    True. He owed her. ‘Okay. I’d like that very much,’ she said recklessly. A Neil Perry dinner was worth one evening with the man, regardless of what inner turmoil he caused. And maybe that would stop on further acquaintance. ‘I’ll meet you there,’ she quickly added, not wanting her father to know she was seeing Jake Freedman again. ‘What time?’
    â€˜Will seven o’clock suit?’
    â€˜Yes.’
    â€˜You know the address?’
    â€˜I’ll look it up.’
    â€˜It’s a basement restaurant. Go straight downstairs. I’ll wait for you inside.’
    â€˜I won’t be late. Thanks for the invitation.’
    She ended the call, quite pleased with herself for handling it with a fair amount of control. Thismeeting could be contained at the restaurant…if she wanted it to be. Eddie would let her stay over at his apartment in Paddington on Saturday night so being taken home by Jake could be avoided, too.
    Excitement buzzed through her…wicked, wanton excitement.
    A sexy man, a sexy meal…impossible not to look forward to experiencing both.
    Â 
    Jake steeled himself for the Friday afternoon wrap-up meeting in Alex Costarella’s office, suspecting there was only one issue of real interest on the agenda. He was right. After a half-hour chat about the week’s work, Costarella leaned back in his executive chair, a smug little man-to-man smile on his face as he asked, ‘Will you be seeing Laura this weekend?’
    â€˜Yes. We’re having dinner together tomorrow night,’ he answered, hating this matchmaking farce, but knowing that going along with it was to his advantage, keeping his position in the company ripple-free until he was ready to strike.
    â€˜Good! Good!’
    Jake smiled back, playing the game to the hilt. ‘Thank you for introducing me to her.’
    â€˜Pleasure. Laura needs a man to take her in hand and I hope you’re the man to do it, Jake.’
    The only way he was going to take her in hand was in bed, if she agreed to it. ‘She’s certainly very attractive.’
    It was a noncommittal statement but Costarella found it encouraging enough to let the matter pass. ‘Enjoy your weekend,’ he said, and Jake was free to leave.
    He’d thought a lot about Laura Costarella since last Sunday. She was hostile to her father, hostile to his wishes, and he’d anticipated her saying no to the dinner invitation. Since he very much wanted her to say yes, he’d deliberately used the Neil Perry draw-card, knowing that her interest in cooking had to make her something of a foodie.
    Temptation…
    The stronger it was, the harder it was to resist.
    She wanted him, too. No doubt about that. If she was up for a wild fling with him, Jake would be only too happy to oblige. He’d been itching to oblige all week. Satisfying the lust she’d triggered in him was fast becoming a must-do, though he did feel ambivalent about taking on Costarella’s daughter. He hadn’t counted on liking her and he certainly didn’t want to begin caring about her.
    Spicy company, spicy food, spicy sex.
    That had to be the limit of his involvement with the daughter of his enemy because a line would be driven between them when he brought charges against her father, ensuring that the corrupt insolvency practitioner could never again bury another struggling business to secure his obscene