Read Online Heat 1 (Heat: Master Chefs #1) by Kailin Gow - Free Book Online

found someone who could
direct us back to where we could grab a taxi, we were soaked to the bone.
    Giggling,
we hopped into a cab and tried to shake off as much water as we could, much to
the chagrin of the driver who glared at us through his rearview mirror.”
    “ Je
vous dépose …?”
    “Oh ,
oui.  Milles pardons.  Le Passage Vivienne pres du Palais Royal, s’il vous
plait .”
    “ Tres
bien .”  He drove off without offering us the slightest hint of a smile.
    Nonetheless,
Bobby and I clung to one another giggling the whole way.  At our destination we
paid our fare and got out and I led him to the area’s version of a mall.  “This
is a covered passage,” I said.  “A great place to go on a rainy day.  We can
walk all the way to la rue Cadet without getting wet.”
    Wandering
through the passage, we stopped at various vendors, trying on silly hats at one
and throwing silky scarves around our necks at the next.  We grabbed fresh
croissants at a kiosk then sat down for a hot cup of coffee when we realized we
were still wet and chilled.
    It’s
only later, when I finally got back to my apartment, took a hot shower and
slipped into my flannel pajamas that I realized just how fond I’d become of
Bobby Cummings.
    My
student.
    Yes,
student.
    Any
and all attraction to him was highly inappropriate.
    Yet,
when I arrived at my class Monday morning, the first thing I did was check to
see when Bobby had my class.
    The
last class of the afternoon.  It would be a long day.  But, as it turned out,
it was a long week.  Every day, students surrounded us and kept us from barely
saying a word to one another.  Our exchanges were strictly student/teacher,
strictly based on the lesson of the day.
    I
longed for Thursday to come around.
    Our
dinner date.
    I
couldn’t remember the last time I’d been so nervous.  Not only did I feel the
pressure to cook a gastronomical meal, but entertaining a man in my home…  It
was so foreign to me.  As I took out all the necessary ingredients and lined
them up on the counter in the order in which I needed each, the phone rang.
    “ Allo .”
    “Lilly,
it’s me, Bobby.”
    My
heart sank.  If he was calling me at this late hour instead of heading to my
place, it couldn’t be good.  “What’s up?”
    “I
hate having to call you at the last minute like this…”
    Tears
burned their way to my eyes and I had to blink repeatedly to keep them from
spilling over my cheek.
    “I
can’t make it tonight,” he finished.
    The
past days filed quickly through my head; hardly talking to one another, barely
a glance.  He’d lost interest, whatever interest there may have been, it was
gone.
    “Oh,
okay.  I’m sorry to hear that.”
    “Taryn
called me at the last minute and insisted we get together to go over my first
weeks at the institute.”
    “That’s
fine.  I understand.”  But I didn’t.  Surely his sister could meet with him
another day.  “Thanks for calling ahead to let me know.  Bye, Bobby.”  I hung
up before he could say anything more.  I was livid.
    I
guess my lack of experience with men made it that much harder.  I knew men
played with women’s emotions.  I knew men could be fickle.
    Ha! 
Never mind all that.  I pushed myself to make a great dinner.  I wasn’t about
to let all this good, fresh food go to waste.  But in the end, I sat alone at
the table with barely the appetite to enjoy my meal.
    The
next morning, as I prepared the day’s lesson in my office, I was still angry about
Bobby’s rejection, and I dreaded my next class with him with more apprehension
than ever. Should I just ignore him?  Play it cool, like he’d never mattered?
    A
knock at the door broke through my thoughts and I reluctantly got up from my
desk to answer.  With the door barely ajar, Bobby pushed his way in, backed me
up against the wall and pressed his body to mine.
    “I
can’t wait any longer.”  He kissed me, his soft, sweet lips hard and demanding
as his tongue