Free Once Tempted by Laura Moore

Carolina, and were transforming it into an inn for lovers of all things equestrian.
    Daniel Knowles’s gaze swept the room. With Daniel present, Tess could see where Ward got his tall, muscular build—as well as his air of command. “So now thatwe’re all here, let’s sit down and get started on the important business of the day.” He grinned and Tess saw the source of Reid’s endless charm—charm that Ward had obviously missed out on at birth. “I, for one, want to see if that cake tastes as good as it looks.”

A CASUALLY CHOREOGRAPHED dance had begun, a stretch and retreat of arms and torsos as the baked treats were plucked from the center of the table and placed onto the small dessert plates Tess had distributed.
    Staff tastings, while far from arduous, were nonetheless taken seriously. Roo Rodgers and Jeff Sullivan, the chef de cuisine, were dedicated to their art. They expected the judgments passed on their culinary creations to be precise and considered. Adele had told Tess that she’d actually had to bar them from attending the staff meetings when food was being sampled. The sessions had begun to feel too much like a
Top Chef
episode in reverse, with the cooks grilling the judges. Often their interrogations took so long no other business got done.
    Busy putting her and Adele’s bouquets into vases, Tess had been the last to take her place at the table. When she lowered herself onto the leather and metal chair, she caught Ward’s speculative gaze.
    She suspected he reserved this special scrutiny just for her, solely to unnerve her. It wasn’t that he looked at her often. Most of the time his focus was elsewhere. But when his gaze did settle on her, it never failed to distract.And he was far too perceptive a man not to notice his effect on her.
    Even worse was the constant temptation to sneak glances his way. She might not like Ward much, but it was difficult not to admire the boldly carved lines of his face, from his aquiline nose to the sensual fullness of his lips to his squared jaw. There was nothing weak or soft about that face. His chiseled profile could have graced an ancient Roman coin.
    Sometimes she grew careless and her eyes lingered a fraction too long. Suddenly she would find herself caught in the magnetic pull of his gold-chipped gaze. A seeming eternity would pass, and then just as suddenly he’d release her and she’d be left feeling as ruffled and bothered as he’d made her feel that January afternoon when they’d first met, when their breaths had mingled and her pulse had raced as if she were on her first date. Infuriating man.
    She’d gotten smarter. This morning she had her pen and notebook at the ready. Best, the tactic was completely justified. As Adele’s assistant, taking notes on the meetings fell into her job description. Since their banishment from the tastings, Roo and Jeff received a full record of everyone’s reactions.
    The comments had already started. The orange-scented olive oil cake was a universal success; everyone mentioned its moistness and color and felt it could be served as a dessert for lunch as well as during high tea. The goat’s milk cheesecake also received a thumbs-up. That the goat’s milk came from Quinn’s beloved goats would be a huge selling point for the foodies who visited the guest ranch. More and more of them were finding their way to Silver Creek.
    This group wasn’t a pushover, however. Adele, as generous as she was, made the first cut.
    “The rum apple cake strikes me as a tad too heavy for a spring menu,” she said.
    “You’re right, sweetheart,” Daniel said. “Let’s suggest to Roo that she incorporate it into the fall menu. And I’m not impressed by the lemon macaroons. They—”
    “Just don’t compare to her ganache ones,” Adele finished his sentence. “I agree.”
    “Yeah, the ganache ones were amazing,” Quinn said. “Can we ask Roo to start baking them again? Though I like these apricot-hazelnut bars, too.” With