More Than a Mission - Caridad Pineiro [37]
Aidan placed his hand on her waist, on the bare piece of skin exposed by the crop top. His hand was hot. His palm rough against the soft skin of her midsection. “Famished,” he replied and closed the last little bit of distance between them.
She had to look up at him with his greater height. She watched as he bent his head until his lips were almost on hers. “Is this crazy?” he asked and again, she was puzzled by his choice of words.
Brushing her lips against his in the barest of kisses, she said, “Is it because I’m your boss?”
He pulled away then and his face mirrored his bewilderment and withdrawal. “Let’s eat,” he said and held the basket so she could lay out the blanket.
She hesitated for a moment, equally confused and…hurt. She wasn’t normally one to just throw herself at a man and now that she almost had…
Denied, her repressed side almost gloated. It stung a bit, but she wasn’t going to let that ruin what had been a wonderful day.
Spreading out the blanket on the prickly grass by the rocky bluff, she then took the picnic basket from him and placed it to one side. Then she accepted the remaining items from him, including the bottle of wine, and worked on creating a spur-of-the-moment meal.
The goat cheese went on one plate and she surrounded it with the pear tomatoes, drizzling them with the fresh-pressed virgin olive oil she had bought. She took a bit of sea salt and, with her fingers, sprinkled it all over the cheese and tomatoes.
She placed that plate in the space between her and Aidan, who had taken a spot on the opposite side of the blanket.
On another plate, she placed the rolls and slices of a dry-aged ham similar to a prosciutto purchased at one of their stops. That plate joined the other, and then she handed Aidan the bottle of wine, a corkscrew and some glasses.
“Are you always this prepared?” he asked and took the items from her.
“We always picnicked,” she explained. “Sometimes it was after a shopping expedition or a hike. Sometimes a day at the beach.”
“It sounds like your family had fun,” he said and she nodded, but battled the mix of sadness and happiness the memory brought.
“Yes, we did. I miss them a lot.”
Her voice had a tight feel to it. As he looked at her again, he could see the glint of unshed tears. He picked up his hand and moved it toward her, wanting to comfort her once again, but then quickly let it drop back down. This was crazy, he thought, much as he had told himself earlier. Crazy because there were too many secrets between them. Too many doubts.
So instead, he concentrated on opening the wine and pouring glasses for each of them while she put out the final plate—a dish piled high with an assortment of summer berries.
He handed her a glass filled with Hector’s wine, and offered up a silent toast. He waited for her to take a roll, break off a piece and then scoop up a bit of the oil-drizzled cheese. She popped the snack into her mouth and smiled. “Delicious.” After, she reached for one of the tomatoes and did the same.
Aidan joined her, ate some of the bread and cheese. The flavors were…amazing. The tang of the cheese and fruitiness of the oil. The creaminess of it all against the crustiness and yeasty taste of the bread. He reached for a tomato and like the bread and cheese, the flavor was intense. Earthy and sweet. “Really, really good.”
“Try this,” she said and offered a bit of the ham that she had wrapped around a chunk of the bread. He let her feed him the morsel. Again, the tastes and textures were alive in his mouth.
“Hmm,” he replied and washed down the bite with a sip of the wine. It was, as she’d noted in the tasting room, quite good. And he could taste the hint of berries.
Or maybe it was his imagination, since from beyond the rim of the glass he was busy watching Elizabeth toss back a bit of the wine and eat a strawberry. As he brought the glass down, their gazes collided and he realized that no matter what he thought she might be, he found her incredibly interesting. Complex. Desirable.
And the feeling, it occurred to him as her gaze travelled over