Caught on Camera (39 page)

Yet he had wanted to show it to her.

Her chest had filled with a mix of love, tenderness, and outright fear. Because if she looked in that box, she would get a piece of him he’d never shared with anyone. And she was pretty sure it was the piece she wouldn’t be able to turn away from. It was the piece that would open her heart. She didn’t know if she was ready for that.

So she’d changed the subject and would continue doing so until she came up with something better to do. Right now, the plan was to watch the hottest man she’d ever seen stand at a stove and cook for his family. Not the picture she would have imagined a week ago, but now she understood how perfectly it fit him.

She entered the kitchen with her camera on her shoulder and smiled at the sight. JP—tall, dark, and six-plus feet of awesomeness—stood at the stove with a “Kiss the Cook” apron tied around his neck and the top of his designer slacks. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up to his elbows, his suit jacket and tie nowhere to be found, and the man was softly humming under his breath.

She zoomed in as he lifted a spoon from one of the pans to his mouth then sprinkled a couple spices into the mix. “You cooked dinner that first night too, didn’t you?”

Twinkling eyes turned in her direction, and a half smile brightened his face. Her heart thumped. She loved that look. The viewers would too.

“Of course I cooked for you. Why would I invite you for dinner and do anything else?” He narrowed his eyes a fraction. “Who did you think cooked?”

“I don’t know.” She hated to admit she’d at first assumed he’d hired a chef. “Cat?”

He laughed, his head thrown back and his white teeth gleaming, and she struggled to remember she needed to pull back from what they had. “Cat and the kids would never get home-cooked meals if it weren’t for me. Her husband was the cook of the house.”

“So, cooking for your family is a common occurrence? That’s pretty cool. I wouldn’t have expected it from someone like you.”

“Why not?” He turned back to the pans. “Because I’m a man?”

She stepped farther into the room, watching him through the eyepiece all the while. “Because you’re a Davenport.”

He raised an eyebrow at that but didn’t look her way. “You think we don’t cook?”

“I think you don’t need to cook.” She zoomed in until only his face filled the screen, and fell a little more in love. She pulled the view back out. “Doesn’t your family employ a chef? Why isn’t he cooking tonight?”

JP tasted the sauce one more time, then flipped the burner to low and faced her full on. His strong jaw and wide frame made her think about what he looked like naked. He held his arms out to his sides. “This is me. I cook.” He winked. “And I cook damn well.”

Man, this was good stuff. He could certainly turn on the charm when he wanted to. “I can vouch for that. You definitely know how to make a mean steak.” It was a good thing her words would be edited out. “Care to share who taught you?”

He chuckled. “What makes you think I didn’t teach myself?”

“Well, yeah, I guess that could be the case. Is that what happened? You got tired of eating out all alone because poor you, you never have dates, so you taught yourself to cook?”

A wry smile curved his mouth, and she almost begged him to kiss her then and there.

“Not exactly.” Without warning, he moved in her direction with a spoon held out to her. “Taste this.”

She shifted the camera to the side and let him feed her. Their eyes connected as she closed her lips over the spoon, but she quickly forgot the look in his eyes when her taste buds picked up on the delight now in her mouth. “
Mmmm
…” The moan slipped out on its own. She swallowed and gaped up at him. “That’s amazing.”

He used his thumb to wipe the corner of her lips, then licked the spot off his thumb. “I know. Even better than the steak, right?”

“Amazingly, yes.” She marveled at the fact that he had such hidden talents. “Seriously, where did you learn this?”

He shrugged. “I hired Wolfgang to teach me.”

“You went to classes with Wolfgang Puck, and no one spilled the news on that? You’re better at keeping the press out than I thought.”

“Not quite.” He went back to the stove and scooped up a taste of the first sauce. “This one is a traditional Italian, but with a secret ingredient or two.”

She tasted it and almost begged him to marry her right then and there. This was a way of life she could get used to. She licked her lips before he got the thought to use his fingers again. “What do you mean, not quite?”

“I hired him to personally come to my home and teach me. Six months, one night a week, and I can now cook most anything as well as anyone in the city.”

“Probably in the world.” She edged closer to the stove and motioned to the first sauce she’d tasted, indicating she wanted more. “Seriously, this is amazing. If you weren’t already capable of getting any woman you wanted, this would be all it would take.”

He slipped another bite into her mouth. “Is it working for you?”

Tension thickened the air, and she realized she now stood chest-to-chest with him, and she didn’t want to move away. Yes, it was working. If she didn’t have so many faults against her, she’d throw caution to the wind and say a silent prayer that he could somehow fall in love with her too, and that they could live happily ever after.

“Wait until you try the chocolate cake I made.”

Oh boy
. She gulped and looked around as if contemplating escape. He was very good at pulling her under his spell.

“It has dark chocolate shavings from Belgium and France. Only the best for you.”

The sight of her camera sitting on the counter a few feet behind her reminded her she hadn’t been recording the last few minutes. “Crap! I need to get you on camera, talking about learning to cook.”

When she started to move away, JP captured her around the wrist. “Answer my question, first. Is it working on you?”

“You’re seriously trying to woo me with your cooking?”

“I seriously am.”

“I’m not even here for dinner.”

He eyed her as if considering having her for a meal. “You’ll eat.”

“It won’t work, you know? I can’t be the woman you need by your side.” But maybe she didn’t believe that quite as much as she once had.

She stared up at him, begging with her eyes for him not to do as she wanted and kiss her, but he didn’t listen. He lowered his mouth.

But before making contact with her mouth, he changed course and touched a soft kiss to her cheek, then grazed his way over to her ear. A shiver shook her body. “I’m not giving up on us, Vega,” he whispered.

“Ahem.”

Vega froze at the sound of someone behind them. She turned to find Emma, Cat, and Cat’s kids all watching the stove action from the door. Cat wore a look of cockiness. Emma did not.

“I’m so sorry,” Vega hurried to explain. “I…uh…was sampling the…uh…”

“Sauces.” JP’s deep voice was tinged with laughter. “You were sampling the sauces. I was the one thinking of sampling other things.”

Vega grabbed her camera while JP grumbled something about taking their elevator key away from them. He moved to the convection oven sunk into the wall and checked on something inside.

“I’m so sorry, Emma. Cat. I know I wasn’t being professional.”

Emma crossed her arms over her chest and gave her son a look. “I very much doubt it was your doing, dear.” She turned her gaze to Vega. “We just wanted to let you know we’re here, and that Governor Chandler will be joining us a little later. You can go ahead with the interviews with Cat and the kids if you would like.”

“Tyler will be tired soon,” Cat joined in to explain. “You won’t want him on camera after that.”

“You’re planning to get Tyler?” JP asked, turning sharply back toward them.

“Sure.” Cat slid a hand over the shoulder of her youngest. “He loves his uncle, and he wants to talk about you for this.”

“I don’t think you should.”

“Why not?”

Vega watched the ping-ponging action between brother and sister.

“We’ve talked about this before, Cat. Tyler shouldn’t be exposed like that. We don’t want people giving him a hard time.”

“He has a mild case of dystonia, JP.” To Vega, she explained, “It’s a neurological disorder that, luckily for him, only affects movement in his right arm. That’s all.” She turned back to JP. “It’s not the Dark Ages. There is nothing wrong with him.”

“I didn’t say there was.”

Vega hadn’t thought to lift the camera for this argument, and she wasn’t about to now, but she would have loved to catch JP’s emotion on camera, if only for her private viewing pleasure later. He may try to pretend to be a cold, emotionless tyrant, but the man ran deep.

He faced Vega. “If you insist on recording Tyler, you must make sure nothing about his disorder is visible in the final result.”

“Of course.” She nodded. “If that’s what you want. But I must say, I think Cat’s right. Plus, I was hoping to get you and Tyler interacting together.”

JP hardened his features to what she now thought of as his “public” version. “It’s not up for discussion.”

She silenced herself as Cat glared at JP, their matching eyes shooting fire at each other, but Cat was no match for her brother. “Fine.” She turned to Vega. “But he wants to be on camera, so we’re getting him on camera.”

“Absolutely.” Vega glanced down at the boy who’d been watching the argument with interest, and wondered why this seemed such a big deal for JP. Sure, he was a protective uncle, but this was the twenty-first century. Tyler barely had a disability, and making that public wouldn’t do anything to harm him. Would it?

She looked back at JP and studied him. Or was the issue deeper than Tyler?

She’d tuck that thought away for another time. Right now she had an interview to conduct.

Vega kept one ear on the conversation going on in the hallway as she worked in the living room to get her lighting just right for the darker surroundings. During dinner, the sun had dropped, and the night sky now surrounded them, leaving the strategically placed lamps to cast an intimate glow around the room. It would have been better to film JP talking with the governor before eating, but JP had insisted they do it last.

Cat had disappeared to one of the guest rooms to gather up the now-sleeping Tyler, and JP had followed to help. They stood in the hallway having a heated, whispered conversation.

Vega glanced around to ensure she was still alone, then continued to eavesdrop. She wouldn’t normally be so crass, but she’d heard Cat mention the announcement, and Vega couldn’t help wanting to know what they were saying.

“Just because you are who you are, does not mean you have to do this. If taking this position isn’t what you want, then tell them no. ”

“It’s okay.” JP’s voice was low, and sounded worn out. “This will be good. It’ll make Mother happy.”

“But what you’ve never understand is that she’s happy as long as you’re happy.” Cat’s whisper bordered on urgent. “Yes, you remind her of Dad, but she has to move on as much as you do.”

“I miss him, Cat, but I’ve moved on from his death, just as you have.”

“I’m not talking about you moving on from his death and you know it.” She sighed her frustration. “You need to follow your heart, JP, and don’t worry about letting anyone down but yourself.”

“I’m fulfilling my responsibility. I can do this. I will do this.”

Two beats of silence passed, and Vega caught herself straining in the direction of the quiet. What was going on?

Finally, Cat spoke again, this time sounding leery and unsure. “I ran into Evan Martens earlier today and ended up having a short conversation with him. If you turned this down, I think it’s something he’d be interested in.”

“I’ll accept just to keep that man from thinking he’s beaten me,” JP snapped, and Cat shushed him.

“All I’m saying is, you don’t have to,” she started again. “You can back out, and you won’t be leaving Governor Chandler in the lurch. He’ll still be left with a decent candidate.”

“Chandler confirmed to me this week that Martens wasn’t an option.”

“Oh, then—”

Becca came running through the room looking for her mother, and the conversation in the hallway abruptly ceased.

Based on the snippet of conversation, Vega suspected Cat had sensed the same thing she had. Being senator was not what JP wanted at all.

Cat came into the room, one kid draped over her shoulder and the other with her small arms wrapped around her waist, and smiled warmly at Vega. “Nice to see you again. And I have to say, I thought you might pull this off and convince him to do the interview, but I wouldn’t have put money on it.”

Vega blushed. “It’s all thanks to you, I’m sure.”

“Oh, I doubt that.” Cat snickered. “I suspect you played hardball. That and the fact he doesn’t seem to be able to say no to you.”

Embarrassment flooded Vega, and she dipped her eyes. She didn’t want anyone thinking JP had allowed her to do this interview purely so he could sleep with her, even though she’d asked him that very same thing at the time. “With this weekend’s press conference coming up, I merely helped persuade him it would be good for his political career. I’m sure he had others tell him the same.”