Tempting the Tycoon

Chapter 18

"No, Daddy, the wine glasses go at the top of the plate. Are there any spots on them?" Sydney turned from the spaghetti sauce on the stove and watched her father lift the glasses in question.

"Nope. Just as shiny as can be." He continued setting the table, and Sydney returned her attention to the bubbling pot on the stove.

Alexios was having dinner with them tonight, and her stomach did flip-flops at the idea. She'd been cleaning all week and had planned the menu down to the last piece of garlic. After all, this was Alexios, her boss, her lover, a gazillionaire who was coming to the humble home she shared with her dad. He was used to Baccarat and silk and fine china. They often ate off paper plates when they were in a hurry.

She'd inherited her mother's crystal and bone china, but for tonight's meal she'd chosen to use the everyday dishes and club store wine glasses. Spaghetti, garlic bread, and tossed salad seemed to lend itself to casual. Besides, a little part of her wanted to contrast their differences. She couldn't pinpoint why she wanted to do so, but she thought it had to do with the fact she needed to tell him about her upcoming interview with Mr. Hollenbeck, and she dreaded doing so.

Moving to turn on the oven to heat up the bread, Sydney stared unseeingly at the temperature knob and contemplated her dilemma. Of course she was excited about a dream career opportunity; who wouldn't be? She'd worked hard through college to get the degree, and now, thanks to the Midas Touch, she had the experience. Sort of.

She returned to the stove and stirred the sauce, tuning out her father's humming. It was her current job she was worried about. Alexios had blackmailed her into working for him and now, because he had, she was being offered a dream position. How would he react to this turn of events? How did she feel about the possibility of leaving him and the Midas? How did she feel about him?

Her job at the Midas was nearly done. The grand opening of the new night club loomed only a week away. Her mother's medical bills were almost all paid. Soon she would be returning to Jimmy's, unless she was offered a full-time position at the Paradise during her upcoming interview with David Hollenbeck. Or unless Alexios asked her to stay on at the Midas.

And there was the big question. Would he ask her to stay? Did Alexios care enough about her to fight to keep her, or would he let her go? Did he want her as a girlfriend, as an employee, or would she be a distant memory if she walked away? It was all well and good to heat up the sheets every night like they did, but was it more than sex to him? It definitely was for her.

Sydney grimaced into the spaghetti sauce and clapped the lid onto the pot with a sharp clank. During these past weeks, in his arms and in his bed, he'd grown to be very important to her. She was unused to wanting to be with someone as much as she wanted to be with Alexios. It was a need she hadn't yet grown accustomed to, and she was afraid it might have morphed into something stronger than sexual need. Something with the ability to hurt her heart. And she still didn't know how he felt about her beyond the sex.

The doorbell rang at that moment, and she swung around, catching her dad's gaze. He grinned.

"Want me to get it—I guess not."

She'd already left the kitchen, her feet flying across the wood floor until she realized it and deliberately slowed her pace. When she pulled open the door, her heart somersaulted in her chest at the sight of him on her porch. God, he was gorgeous, and that reaction told her more than anything how she felt toward him. She had it bad.

His short hair looked like it had been recently trimmed, following the shape of his head like a velvet cap. He wore a blue dress shirt open at the neck, displaying that tanned throat that she couldn't resist sucking at like a vampire most nights. He'd tucked the shirt into gray trousers, and carried a bouquet of roses, which he offered her. She couldn't see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but the smile he gave her spoke volumes.