Recipe for Love (Entangled Select Suspense) Read Online Free Page A

quirky smile. Usually his taste ran toward blondes, but his fingers itched to touch her bright red hair. The battle-ready spark in her blue eyes held out a challenge to him that he’d thought long gone out of his life. Tweaking her nose would be tantamount to an extreme sport. He couldn’t wait to have her face turn as red as her hair or for smoke to pour out of her ears.
    Prickly. He smiled as he settled back into the leather couch. She was thorny as hell on the outside, just like a prickly pear. Maybe one day, he’d get a chance to find out if she really was as sweet and juicy on the inside.
    The rush of arousal surprised him. The decadent chocolate chip cookie sat in his belly like hot boiling lead. It was all her fault. The night he’d spent with Gemma should’ve left him satisfied. Gemma knew the score. They had a good thing going, without either of them getting hurt. Or so he thought. She’d flounced out of the hotel early this morning when he couldn’t say the words she wanted to hear. He didn’t love her.
    If he told himself the truth, there was a void that even a night of explosive sex with a supermodel couldn’t fill. He was thirty-five, still able to satisfy a woman in her twenties, so why did he feel so alone?
    Tilly’s peaches and cream complexion made him soul-deep hungry.
    Confused by his thoughts, he stood. “Ready to face the music?” He smoothed the crisp fabric of his chef’s coat before he walked over to where Patty put the finishing touches on Tilly’s makeup.
    “There, now you’re ready to go—with two minutes to spare.” She patted a last bit of powder over Tilly’s delicate nose. “It’s too bad about Ethridge. It must have been awful to find him like that. Is it true that he was missing—well, you know?”
    “I’m not allowed to say.” Tilly waved her away with a gentle hand. “Detective Jericho would rip my lips off if I let out so much as a peep that might get back to the press.” Her gaze slid over to the clock on the opposite wall. “One minute.” She gave the mirror a quick peek. “Thanks. You did a great job.”
    Jordan held out his hand. “Come on, Matilda. Let’s go get ’em.”
    She gave him a “screw you” look, but she put her hand in his and hopped out of the makeup chair. “Sure. Tom’s already out there warming up the crowd.” If the claps and whistles from the convention attendants and media were anything to go by, he had done his job well.
    It was hard not to notice the uniformed officers standing at each exit.
    “Now let me introduce two of The Culinary Channel’s top talents, aside from myself.” The crowd laughed. The applause grew louder. “Here they are, my partners in crime.”
    The room went silent. Murmurs of shock raced through the audience.
    Tom slapped his hand over his mouth as he waggled his ginger-red brows. “My bad.” He stopped a moment, his face schooled into as much solemnity as he could manage. “We are saddened by the sudden passing of our colleague, Maxwell Ethridge. He was a noted traveler who introduced the public to a world of new foods. As a critic, he set the standard high.” He walked back and forth on the stage, head down, his eyes averted from the cameras. “Let’s take a moment of silence for one of our own.”
    The room was quiet for twenty seconds, that being as much dead space Hirschberg would allow on The Culinary Channel, even for a show of respect.
    “Now, here are Tilly Danes and Jordan Kelly, my fellow judges.”
    Jordan led her to her seat at the red-draped judges’ table and pulled out the middle chair. She smiled and waved as she sat down. “Hi, y’all.” The simple greeting elicited another burst of applause.
    Not to be outdone, he gave the convention goers a big smile. “Hello, Kansas City. It’s great to be here.” His fans didn’t let him down. A cheer went up to rival hers. Maybe it was childish to be jealous of her fans, but he felt good to know she hadn’t left him eating her