Free Temptation's Kiss by Janice Sims Page A

steamed crabs, one of his favorite foods. Wasabi didn’t faze him. He put the food in his mouth and withdrew the fork. He let it remain on his tongue a second so that he could discern the various flavors. It was delicious, peppery and definitely a tomato-based sauce, with a hint of sweetness. That was the top note. He chewed. The chicken was tender, the corn tortilla wrapping a delight.As for hotness, it was moderate at best. He smiled at Patrice. “It’s the best chicken enchilada I’ve ever had.”
    Patrice blushed. “It’s my mom’s recipe.”
    He continued to eat. Across the table, Nina and Patrick were watching him as though they expected him to expectorate any second now and dash to the sink to stick his mouth beneath the faucet and gulp mouthfuls of cold water.
    He laughed. “I’m all right, really,” he assured them.
    They laughed too and tucked into their meals. “It’s just that we’re used to hot peppers,” Nina said. “My momma puts them in everything—breakfast, lunch and dinner. She even makes pepper jelly to eat with her collard greens when she cooks them.”
    â€œI had that once when I was in New Orleans,” T.K. said. “It’s sweet but very spicy. Good stuff.” He made short work of the chicken enchiladas on his plate and didn’t once reach for his glass of wine or the glass of water in front of him.
    â€œWould you like more?” Patrice asked, rising.
    â€œYes, please,” he said, holding his plate while she placed another serving onto it from the baking dish on the table.
    â€œWhat do you two do?” he asked Patrick and Nina, as he started in on his second helping.
    â€œI teach English at the University of New Mexico,” said Patrick after swallowing.
    â€œAnd I’m a law student,” said Nina.
    â€œYou teach at the university level?” T.K. asked, surprised. “Excuse me, but how old are you?”
    â€œI’ll be twenty-five next month,” said Patrick. T.K. thought he sounded like someone who’d been asked that question a lot. He hadn’t meant to offend him.
    â€œHe’s the youngest instructor at the university with a doctorate degree,” said Patrice proudly, smiling at her brother.
    â€œI envy you,” said T.K. sincerely.
    Patrick’s brows rose in surprise. “You envy me? ”
    â€œYou’re only twenty-five, and you know exactly what you want to do with your life,” T.K. explained. “I’m thirty-six, and I still don’t know.”
    Patrick laughed. “You seem to be doing pretty well to me.”
    â€œI’m in the business of make-believe,” T.K. said with a smile. “If I do my job right, for two hours, I’m able to make the audience believe I’m whomever I’m portraying at that given moment. Then I’m on to the next project. If I’m good at what I do, I’m paid well and that’s a bonus, but I wouldn’t refer to this as a calling. You, on the other hand, probably feel as though teaching English is what you were born to do.”
    Patrick was nodding with a contemplative expression on his face. “I love it,” he said.
    Nina gasped. “You don’t love acting?” she asked.
    â€œLove it?” asked T.K., frowning. “It’s something I’m good at, and right now I’m in demand. It’s a business. I wouldn’t say I’m passionate about it.”
    Patrice was astonished by this revelation. With every T. K. McKenna film she’d seen, she had been convinced that the actor on the screen was totally into his craft—that he lived and breathed acting. He was a chameleon. How could someone fake that?
    â€œDid you lose the passion, or you’ve never really felt it?” asked Patrice.
    T.K. put down his fork. He didn’t want to disillusion Patrice because it was quite obvious to him that she did feel passionate about acting.