Recipe for Love (Entangled Select Suspense) by Dyann Love Barr Page A

just that I’ve never seen you out of uniform.” It was lame, but it was the only thing he could come up with without sounding like a complete idiot.
    “Oh.” She flopped down on the couch and pointed to the matching chair angled near a coffee table. “Same goes.” She pointed at his T-shirt. “You look like a bouncer in a bar, not a chef.” Her face turned a pretty pink. “What I mean is, you’re dressed all in black and with those guns…” She wrapped her fingers around his bicep and gave it a slight squeeze. The sudden contact of skin against skin, the warmth of her hand, the sensation of her touch made it difficult to think beyond dragging her to the bedroom.
    She must have seen how she affected him by the way she jerked back her hand. “Sorry.”
    “I’ve been known to hit the gym.” It pleased him to know that she wasn’t unaffected by his appearance.
    She shook her head and sighed in disgust. “Don’t talk to me about goin’ to the gym. You get results. I work out every day. The rest of me gets skinnier, but my backside has a mind of its own.”
    A small trickle of sweat rolled between his shoulder blades. No matter what he said about her derriere, it would land him in hot water. Fate rode to his rescue in the form of a knock at the door.
    “Room service.”
    Thankful for the reprieve, he rushed to the door and opened it for the waiter to roll a trolley laden with dishes into the room. “I hope you don’t mind ribs and coleslaw. It seemed appropriate since we were in Kansas City.”
    The waiter lifted the lids and the aroma of barbecue sauce filled the air. Steam rose from the loaded baked potatoes, and the tart, sweet scent of the coleslaw did its magic. She edged closer to the table. Her eyes grew wide as the waiter unleashed the coup de grace. The pie.
    “You are a mean, mean man, Jordan Kelly.” She stuck her finger in the cream topping of the chocolate pie, closed her eyes, and licked it with a look of ecstasy on her face. “I always knew you played dirty, but this is low. Now I’ll have to do two hours in the gym.”
    “We can work off the calories together.” He pulled out a tip for the waiter. “Put this on my tab. Room 1011.”
    The waiter nodded and pulled the trolley from the room. Jordan closed the door and motioned to the small dining table. “Shall we?”
    He helped Tilly to her chair. The clean strawberry and herb scent of her hair rivaled any of the aromas coming from the food. He wanted to slide his fingers through the little curls to see if they were as soft as they looked. His body might be on autopilot, but his brain brought him up short. He was supposed to be finding a murderer, not falling for a short, spritely woman who, until a few short hours ago, was his culinary rival.
    “This looks wonderful. I guess I’m hungry after all.” The peaches and cream voice, mixed with a touch of whiskey, tap danced down his spine to give him a wicked kick in the libido. She looked over her shoulder at him. “Are you goin’ to stand there or eat?”
    “I—ah—yeah.” He took his place opposite Tilly and cut the ribs into several sections before offering her the plate. “You take what you want.”
    “You don’t have to ask twice.” She filled her plate. She took a bite of the coleslaw. Her mouth puckered into a slight moue as she cocked her head to one side. After a bit of consideration, she smiled and took another forkful. “A little vinegary for my taste, but still very good.”
    “I like things on the tart side.” He picked up a rib. The meat fell off the bone and sweet, spicy sauce dribbled down his chin. He started to wipe it away, but she beat him to it by reaching across the small space with a napkin.
    “There.” She sat back in her chair and picked up some of the barbecue. She licked her lips. “Oh, my, I think I’m in love.” She took another dainty bite before she laid the half-eaten rib back on her plate.
    It became increasingly hard to concentrate