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fast on my feet.”
    “You could have fooled me.”
    Rachel forced herself to meet Griffin’s gaze. She hadn’t trusted her heart to anyone since Isabel broke it. If she gave Griffin a chance, would she have the time of her life, or would she set herself up for another fall?
    “One can never have too many friends, Rachel. Perhaps I can be yours,” Griffin said with none of her previous bravado. Rachel sensed a vulnerability about her that added to her considerable charm. Griffin nodded at Colleen, who was frantically waving them back to the table.
    “Your wings are getting cold,” Rachel said, giving Griffin permission to leave.
    “If there are any left,” Griffin said with another grin.
    As much as she hated to admit it, Rachel liked the cheeky chef with the killer smile. But, then again, wasn’t that the point of this whole affair?
    Oops. Poor choice of words.
    “Are you staying?” Griffin asked hopefully.
    Rachel shook her head. Staying wasn’t in her best interests—or Griffin’s. She had too much thinking to do. “No, I think I’m going to take off.”
    When Griffin handed Rachel the final shot of tequila, her bracelet caught the light and Rachel could clearly see the words etched into the metal. Don’t let reality get in the way of your dreams .
    Rachel drank the añejo ,and the room started to spin.
    “It was a pleasure meeting you. I hope we see each other again soon.” Griffin extended her hand. “And I hope the second time is less traumatic than the first.”
    Griffin flashed a disarming smile, and Rachel nearly changed her mind about leaving. But, sticking to her guns, she said her good-byes and finally slipped out the door. On the street, she buried her hands in the pockets of her coat in an attempt to ward off the cold, but it was no use. The chill she felt had nothing to do with the frigid temperatures. Her pilot light had gone out when Isabel walked out on her. Tonight, she had felt the flame begin to flicker back to life. When she had held Griffin in her arms, the flame had turned into a wildfire.
    As she headed to the subway, she wondered if she were about to get burned.

Chapter Two
     
    Griffin tossed her keys on the console table in the foyer and hung her coat in the closet. “Better luck next time, old friend.” Normally her good luck charm, the black leather jacket seemed to have lost its magic. The blind date Jane and Colleen had arranged had been awkward at best. Rachel had been interested in her, if her body’s reaction to their accidental collision was any indication, but her interest had quickly faded.
    She acted like she couldn’t get away from me fast enough. Is she still too haunted by memories of her cheating ex to move on, or did I forget to take a shower this morning?
    She sniffed her shirt to see if she smelled like the fifty servings of Chilean sea bass she had dished out tonight. The CK One she always wore was mixed with something else. Something bold but not overpowering. Rachel’s scent. She closed her eyes and breathed her in.
    She was usually attracted to hard-driving Type A personalities. Women who were headstrong and so confident they bordered on cocky. Women she could compete with, butt heads with.
    As one of her former instructors loved to say, “Steel forges steel.” She needed someone who kept her sharp. Clingy, emotionally needy types blunted her edge.
    So what was it about Rachel that excited her so much? She was nothing like the women who usually found their way into her bed. The others were like ghost chilies—so hot she couldn’t enjoy the flavor. Rachel was like a bell pepper—sweet with a hint of spice.
    Griffin remembered looking into Rachel’s warm brown eyes. Eyes the color of hot chocolate and just as comforting. She had never needed an introverted counterpoint to balance her sometimes forceful personality, yet she was definitely attracted to one now. Was she drawn by the challenge of cracking Rachel’s tough protective shell or the fact