A Spring Affair (4 page)

Maya swiveled back and forth in her chair, staring at the clock on the wall. The winery was closing up in another hour and then she was going to hurry home, change and then head to Sacramento to meet Xavier for their date at his café. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about that kiss. It seemed like such a chaste kiss, but the memory of it still warmed her body.

She could tell Xavier had held back. She knew part of it was because of the obvious gentlemanly nature that must have been ingrained into him. She had a feeling that another part of him was entering into this pursuance of her with caution. Although he'd been broken up with Darby for over six months now, they'd dated for many years before that. Her betrayal had to still sting a bit; he was probably leery of jumping into a new relationship. Maya understood and respected that.

But he'd told her on their date that he was ready to move on. Maya was more than willing to help him, she thought with a smile. She felt like Xavier was a man who deserved a woman who would treat him right.

"Amaya?"

Startled by the sound of her boss' voice, Maya sat up straight. She'd been so lost in her own thoughts that she hadn't heard him come up to her office door.

"Yes, Mr. Russell, what can I do for you?"

"I'd like you to email me a projection report of the upcoming quarterly records. I'm going out of town, so I would like it before I have to leave for the weekend."

"Yes, sir. I'll get that to you as soon as possible."

She glanced at the clock. Quitting time was in thirty minutes. She kept good records of everything, but it would still take a little time to put everything together for Mr. Russell and get it emailed to him. If she hurried, she might not be too late meeting Xavier.

As she began pulling up records on the computer, she heard a ping alerting her that she had a message. She opened up her window and was surprised to see Xavier online.

[Xavier Fuller: Still working hard?]

Maya smiled at the message and typed out a response.

[Unfortunately so. Just my luck, the boss comes in and requests some reports at the last possible minute.]

[Xavier Fuller: Damn that's too bad. Do we need to reschedule our third date for another night?]

Maya giggled and shook her head.

[
Second date.
And not a chance, I'm still coming tonight. This work shouldn't take too long.]

[Xavier Fuller: Are you sure?]

[Positive.]

[Xavier Fuller: Cool, well I'll see you when you get here.]

[Okay...hey, what are you doing at your desk right now?]

[Xavier Fuller: I have to do paperwork just like everyone else. Unfortunately, I don't have a gorgeous business manager to help me out around here.]

[LoL...well, I won't be a business manager here for long if you keep distracting me.]

[Xavier Fuller: Then that means you'll be available. ;-) Maybe I could hire you.]

[Sorry, but I don't mix business with pleasure.]

She'd been teasing when she typed out that last response and hadn't given it much thought. She realized that Xavier had been quiet for the last few minutes.

[Xavier??? You still there?]

After another minute of silence, she heard a ping.

[Xavier Fuller: I'm here. I was just thinking...]

[About?]

[Xavier Fuller: Well...we've been doing
business
for the last few years together. But I've found it to be quite a
pleasure
going out with you on these last two dates. I hope all of the time we spend together is just as much, if not more, pleasurable. Our seeing each other won't be a problem for you and your job will it?]

Maya smiled at his message.

[Of course not. And I've enjoyed our one date as well, I was only teasing about mixing business with pleasure.]

[Xavier Fuller: I figured you were, but I just wanted to let you know...but I wasn't sure if you would think me saying that was odd.]

[I didn't find it odd :-) In fact, I appreciate your concern.]

[Xavier Fuller: Good...I won't keep you any longer. I'll see you when you get here.]

[Okay, see you soon.]

Maya watched as Xavier signed out, then she did the same and quickly got to work.

The sooner she finished working, the sooner she could get to Sacramento.

Several hours later, Maya was rushing down the sidewalk, looking down at her watch. She wasn't
too
late, but she didn't want to keep Xavier waiting on her.

It hadn't taken her long to get the reports done, but it was still more time than she would have preferred. As soon as she hit send on the email, she was flying out the door. She'd already picked out an outfit to wear, so when she got home, she took a shower, freshened up her make up then headed right back out.

The traffic to Sacramento wasn't great, but she was thankful that there weren't any traffic jams. When she got to the area where Xavier's café was, she realized that his street was quite a busy one. She had to park several blocks away, which was why she was running to make it to the café.

When she finally arrived at Wined & Dined, she was confused by the closed sign on the door. She knew they served dinner, so Maya thought it was strange that they were closed on what had to be one of their busiest nights.

Maya looked at the door again and noticed another sign that said, "Closed for a Private Event".

Did he close his café down for me?
she wondered. There was only one way to find out, she thought as she reached out and grabbed the door handle. A bell chimed loudly above her head as she walked in and Maya took in her surroundings of Wined & Dined.

She was amazed at the rustic but modern combination the café had.

"Hello?" she called out, looking around.

"Hey."

She turned and watched as Xavier walked out from the kitchen, wearing a white apron with Wined & Dined's logo on it, wiping his hands on a towel.

"I didn't expect all of this when we agreed that I would come to the café," Maya said, grinning.

The corner of Xavier's lip lifted slightly and he leaned on the edge of the bar, staring at her.

"Well, I had to figure out a way to make quite an impression on you, especially after such an amazing second date."

"First."

He chuckled, shook his head and held out his hand to her. "Come on, I'll give you a quick tour, then we'll head back to the kitchen for dinner."

"I'm guessing from that apron you're doing the cooking?" Maya asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's right," Xavier confirmed. "You're not scared, are you?"

"The way you know your wines and food pairings, I would think you could hold your own in the kitchen."

"I guess you'll find out soon enough."

Xavier sat back in his chair and watched as Maya savored the last of her meal. She brought the food to her mouth, sighed, and rolled her eyes. Then she picked up her glass of chardonnay, took a sip and moaned.

"I see why your chef was in such a tiff over those truffles. This black truffle risotto is
amazing
! It would have been a crime not to be able to serve this to your customers."

He hadn't expected to be so turned on just by watching a woman eat. It was damn near erotic the way she would flick her tongue across her lips or lick her fingers.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Xavier said, grinning. He stood and took their plates and said, "You ready for dessert?"

"I get dessert too?" she asked, sitting up.

"Of course," he said with a chuckle. "You just sit back and relax, while I go and get it."

"Did you make the dessert too?" she asked.

"I sure did," he said, as he sat the dishes in the sink. Then he turned and faced her with a devilish smirk on his face. "And it's guaranteed to make you moan even more than the risotto."

He watched as Maya's cheeks darkened.

"There's nothing wrong with enjoying food," she defended with a shy smile on her face.

"Sweetheart, you do a lot more than just enjoy food. You savor it, and you make your appreciation of every morsel very well known."

It made him curious about whether or not she was as vocal in...other things.

"So what's for dessert?" Maya said, in an effort to sort of change the subject.

It was just as well, his mind probably shouldn't have been wandering off in that direction anyway.

He went and grabbed a cake stand and brought it over to where they were sitting then went and got another wine he'd been chilling.

"This," he said, removing the top off of the cake stand with a flourish, "is a nutty toffee-coffee cake."

Maya leaned forward and inhaled the cake. "It smells divine," she said, looking up at Xavier.

"Wait until you try it," he said, with a wink as he sat the top down on the island and picked up a cake cutter. He cut them each a slice then covered it back up and pushed it out of the way.

"And what wine are we pairing this amazing looking dessert with?" Maya asked, eagerly. She was clearly ready to dig in.

He opened the wine and as he filled two glasses, he informed her of the wine they would be drinking. "We are pairing this cake with a Tokaji wine," he said.

"A Hungarian dessert wine," Maya said, nodding her head, impressed. "Nice."

"I see you are well versed in your wines as well," Xavier said, putting the cork back in the wine bottle.

"While I may be biased in saying that Russell Oaks has some of the best wines in the world, there are just way too many varieties out there to enjoy. So yes, I know a little bit about wines from around the world. Not a lot of wine shops sell Hungarian wines."

"And that's what makes the wine shop part of Wined & Dined so unique. I like having some of those wines that are hard for people to find anywhere else. It gives me exclusivity to customers. Keeps them coming back."

"I think they would come back for the food and atmosphere alone, this place is amazing. Even the kitchen is great. You've managed to make an industrial kitchen feel...homey."

"That was my goal," Xavier said, feeling proud that she picked up on that. "Especially since we give cooking lessons once a month. I wanted customers to feel relaxed and not overwhelmed in here."

"You did a fantastic job then."

"Thank you," he replied. He nodded his head at the dessert and wine. "Give it a try."

Maya sat up, grabbed her fork and speared the cake. He watched, completely aroused, when she placed the dessert in her mouth and her eyes grew wide. She clutched the island with her free hand, exhaled deeply through her nose and shook her head.

With a satisfied smirk, he said, "Now drink some of the wine."

She exhaled again, picked up the dessert wine and took a sip, then, just as Xavier had promised, she released a moan that had the erection he was hiding twitch in his pants.

"It should be a sin to eat something this delectable," Maya exclaimed, as she continued eating the cake and drinking the wine.

"Need a cigarette?" Xavier teased.

Maya cut her eyes in his direction. "Shut up," she said with a smile as she finished off the dessert. She wiped her mouth and then studied him for a minute. "Okay, I get the feeling that your cooking abilities aren't just attributed to the fact that you're a wine lover who wanted to learn good food pairings."

He looked at her surprised.

She knew she'd hit the nail on the head with her assumption. "What's your story?"

He stood there quiet for a moment, then looked up at Maya, who was waiting expectantly. Finally he gave a fond smile and said, "Both of my parents were chefs."

Maya smiled as well. "That explains it."

Xavier nodded, feeling the emotions he always got when he thought of his parents well up inside of him.

"They had this little bistro when we were growing up. My parents loved french cuisine. They went to culinary school in Paris, that's actually where they met."

"It sounds romantic," Maya said, entranced by the story.

"It was," Xavier said. "Mom was studying to become a pastry chef. Dad said that he knew the instant he locked eyes with her that she would be the woman he was going to marry."

"Love at first sight!"

"Yep," he said, recalling how his father would tell their love story all of the time. Xavier began to absently wipe the island. "When they graduated, they came back to the states and settle down here in Sacramento. They got married, then had me and Lena several years later. Although she was kind of a surprise."

Maya chuckled. "I understand that. I was the surprise baby in our family."

"That's right, you said you have a sister who lives here."

Maya nodded. "Evie is eight years older than me."

"Wow."

"Yeah, I was more her baby than my parents I think. She never lets me forget all of the diapers of mine she used to change growing up."

She looked annoyed, but Xavier could tell Maya loved her older sister dearly.

"Okay," Maya said, "So your parents moved here, got married and had you and your sister. When did they open their bistro?"

"I was about ten, Lena was six," Xavier said. "They worked hard getting that place open, but it was worth it seeing the smiles on their face on opening day. I'll never forget that night after they closed up, my dad cranked up the music over the speakers and danced with my mom in his arms. We lived in the apartment above the bistro and Lena and I were supposed to be upstairs in bed, but the music was so loud we snuck down to see what was going on. When they caught us, they let us come down and dance with them. I danced with my mother and Lena danced on Dad's feet."

"Your parents sound amazing."

"Yeah..."

"They must be proud that you've followed in their footsteps sort of with your café."

"They..." he cleared his throat, "they, uh, never got a chance to see it. They died in a car accident when I was twenty-one."

Maya gasped. "Oh, Xavier. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Maya," he said. "You didn't know."

"I keep doing that with you it seems. Assuming stuff, saying the wrong things. It has to make you uncomfortable."

"I've had time to deal...I still miss them every day, but the pain from their loss is just a dull ache at this point."

"Still, I'm sorry for bringing it up."

He reached across the island and grabbed her hand.

"There's no need to apologize. Yes, it gets hard to talk about them sometimes knowing they're no longer here, but talking about them also means I get to remember all of the good times as well. Those are the memories that I cherish."

Maya nodded in understanding and squeezed his hand. "If you don't mind me asking...what happened to the bistro after they..."

"My uncle runs it now."

"Really?"

"Yeah, in fact, it's right down the street from here."

"It is?" Maya asked, surprised.

"It is."

"That doesn't make it hard for you? Being so close?"

Xavier sighed. He'd never really opened up this much about his parents to anyone except his sister and uncle.

He looked at their hands joined as he ran his thumb over her knuckles.

"You know, at first it kind of was. But when this space opened up it just felt like they were guiding me here. When I was in the process of putting this place together, it brought back a lot of memories of when my parents went through the same thing. Those memories gave me a sense of peace. It was as if they were here with me. I'll admit, it still gets hard sometimes, I'll walk by the bistro and it's as if I can look through the window and see them, my dad sneaking kisses with my mom while she rolls out dough for croissants or some other delicious pastry. I'll want to go in and tell them all about what's going on over here."

Xavier looked up when he heard Maya sniffle. When he saw her eyes wet with tears, he stood and came around the island to stand in front of her. He reached up and swiped the tears away from underneath her eyes.

"Don't waste any tears on me," Xavier said. "I don't handle tears very well."

"I promise I'm not usually so emotional," Maya said, giving him a watery smile.

Xavier continued stroking her cheek with his thumb and Maya lifted her head up to meet his gaze.

He was reminded of their kiss after their last date. He was amazed at how that one small kiss had stirred something in his body that he had never felt with any other woman. Not even with Darby and he'd thought that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with that woman.

But with Maya, he felt a connection with her that he couldn't explain. All he knew was that it awoke something within him that made him feel more alive than he'd felt, probably since before he lost his parents.

"My God..." he whispered.

"What?" Maya asked, her eyes widening slightly.

"You are so beautiful."

He couldn't hold back any longer. He turned her chair so her body was fully facing him, and he stepped closer. He watched the pulse at her neck speed up as he lowered his head until their lips met. This kiss wasn't like the innocent goodbye kiss they'd previously shared. There was an obvious hunger as his mouth devoured hers, taking in the taste of dessert and wine on her tongue.

He heard her let out a little moan and felt her legs open slightly. He stepped in between them and wrapped an arm around her body, pulling her closer to him. His heart was pounding so hard, he thought it would burst.

Finally their lungs demanded air, so they broke off the kiss.

When their breathing got close to normal, Xavier peered down at her and murmured, "That was some third date kiss."

Maya looked up at him, desire still laced in her eyes and grinned.

"
Second
date."

"Whatever," he murmured, before kissing her again.