Just One Taste Read Free Page A

crew to supervise?”
    Will tossed the cup in the trash under the sink. “I do indeed, Ms. Russell. See you around.”
    “Not if I see you first,” she said sweetly.
    “Well, we all know you have vision problems.” Will couldn’t help himself—he stuck his tongue out at her.
    “Ms. Lassiter was right. Some of us never grow up.” She poked a pink-nailed finger into his denim shirt.
    Will had nothing to say to that at all. She was so damn close, and she’d touched him.
    So he touched her back.

Chapter 3
    T his couldn’t be happening . Will Garrity’s big rough thumb was on her mouth.
    “You talk too much, Princess.”
    She couldn’t speak at all. Should she bite him?
    He smelled of Irish Spring and wood shavings, and he hadn’t run a razor over his face this morning. His beard was coming in red, she noted, which was odd for someone with such dark hair—it was almost black.
    His eyes? Well, let’s just say he gave Paul Newman some competition in the blue department. Alexandra was an aficionado of old movies, and she never had been able to decide between Newman and Steve McQueen as her favorite dead heartthrob.
    Will Garrity was no classic movie star, however, and he was very much alive, annoyingly so. She stepped back, bumping against the marble countertop, having a feeling she’d never get her cup of coffee.
    She glared at him, and he only chuckled. “Relax. I’m only teasing.”
    “Well, don’t. I’m nervous enough already.”
    “Sorry about that. You’ll be fine. Tell you what. I’ll buy you a drink tonight to celebrate your new job.”
    As if.
    “I’m working tonight.” In the job she was desperate to ditch.
    “I’ll meet you after.”
    Alexandra opened her mouth to say no. But something else entirely popped out. “Okay.”
    “Great. When shall I meet you?”
    “I get out around ten fifteen.”
    His eyebrow rose. Alexandra wasn’t sure she’d ever seen a real person raise his eyebrow besides the Rock. They did it all the time in historical romance novels, though, her secret addiction.
    Like real life was romantic at all. Judging by Rick, books were way better.
    “Past my bedtime. Where the hell do you work?”
    “Chico’s. At Mohegan Sun. We stay open late—till midnight on the weekends.” Alexandra hated the night shifts. It meant her mother put Emma to bed, or more accurately, her mother’s housekeeper Bridget usually did. “I wouldn’t want to keep you up.”
    “Nah, it’s good. How long can one drink take? I’ll meet you at the casino and save you a seat at, um, Bar Americain.”
    Fancy. She’d chug it and they could both go home. Alexandra imagined Will Garrity was at work before the sun was up. And anyway, the restaurant’s bar closed at eleven, so she’d be safe from making a fool of herself.
    Not that she drank much. She couldn’t afford to. And the thrill of Rick ordering Dom Perignon at every opportunity was long past, especially since she was still paying for the bottles she’d drunk three years ago.
    “What if I don’t get the job?”
    “I have a good feeling. But if you don’t, all the more reason to drown your sorrows.”
    “ One drink,” Alexandra reminded him.
    “Yes, ma’am.” He gave her a finger salute and went back outside.
    The vast room was definitely emptier without him. Alexandra fiddled with the Keurig machine and searched for a mug. The selection of K-cups in the wicker basket was impressive, and on impulse, Alexandra put in a Kahlua-flavored one.
    The scent was delicious, the flavor better. Alexandra stared out the window at the hive of activity. Will’s workers were really banging and slamming away, yet they looked pretty happy. She watched their lips moved as they kidded around with each other. She couldn’t quite hear the laughter, but was warmed by it anyway.
    “Like what you see?”
    Ms. Lassiter had crept up behind her. Alexandra looked down to see that she had taken off her Jimmy Choos.
    “Uh,” Alexandra began.
    “Don’t be