Page 11 of Come Fly With Me

“We’re just friends,” Mitch said. But the way he saidfriendsmade it clear there was a whole lot of something else going on.

She glared at him, and he widened his eyes in faux innocence.

“Friends?” Deke asked, practically challenging her to deny it.

“Just friends. Nothing more,” she confirmed.

An alarm went off in her head when Mitch smiled in triumph. Why the hell was he pleased she’d agreed with him? He was the one who insisted they were more than friends. What was he up to? She narrowed her eyes at him.

“So…” Her annoying brother would not shut up. “If you’re just friends,” he said to Mitch, “there’s no chance of you breaking my sister’s heart.”

“None at all,” Mitch agreed.

“Great.” Deke’s smile was cold. “Then there’s no chance of me breaking your legs.”

“Deke!” Jodie grabbed a handful of her brother’s olive-drab shirt and dragged him toward the door. “Time for you to go. I’ll deal with you later. We’re going to have a talk about all the ways I’ll be butting my nose into your business from now on, since that’s apparently what we do these days.”

Deke held up his hands in surrender as he backed toward the door. “You should know,” he said to Mitch, “that my sister gets violent when she’s cornered.”

“Yeah, I figured that out for myself.” Mitch sounded far too amused for her liking.

“Out!” Jodie snapped at her brother.

“I’m going.” He pushed through the door. “Don’t mess up my kitchen while I’m gone. Those surfaces are pristine. Keep them that way.” And with that, he disappeared.

Jodie spun to see Mitch smothering a smile. “Good to know you have family looking out for you,” he said.

“I don’t need him looking out for me. I can look out for myself. What are you doing here?”

“Dessert, remember?” He held up a bag.

Jodie waved a hand, indicating the room they were in. “We own a restaurant. I have food.”

“But you don’t have the best cheesecake in the Highlands. For that, you need me.” Mitch put the bag on the counter. “I have connections.”

Against her will, Jodie began to soften toward the man. He oozed charm with every word, and he was far too handsome for his own good. That was why they needed to keep their interactions to the bedroom. In the dark. In silence.

“Mitch, seriously, what are you doing? We have an agreement. You shouldn’t be here.”

“What I’m doing here is bringing you a treat to help you unwind at the end of what has been, no doubt, a very busy day. And to wish you all the best for the start of your new business tomorrow. I’m sure it’s going to be a hit.”

Again with the melting. Jodie took a step back. She didn’t need to melt. She needed to be strong. Compartmentalize. That’s what she needed to do. And right now, Mitch Harris had to be shoved back into his compartment. “That’s nice of you. Honest. But this isn’t what we agreed.”

“No?” Mitch rounded the counter and checked shelves until he found a plate.

He put a huge slice of chocolate cheesecake on the plate then rooted around in the drawers for a fork. Jodie’s mouth watered at the sight of the cake. She was a sucker for cheesecake, especially chocolate. She groaned when he pulled a small container from the bag and poured chocolate sauce over the top of it. All it needed was a scoop of vanilla cream, and she’d be in seventh heaven. Another tub came out of the bag, and Mitch spooned cream onto the plate. It was as though he could read her mind.

Jodie dragged her eyes away from the plate, which was pretty damn hard, and looked at the man. “No. We agreed to a friends-with-benefits arrangement. No relationship. No romance. Nothing.”

“Exactly.” He pushed the plate toward her. “This is me invoking thecompleteagreement. This is me being your friend.”

Oh, this wasn’t good.

Mitch leaned over the counter, grabbed the fork, and scooped up a piece of cake. He waved it in front of her. Tempting her. Just like the snake did to Eve. And look howthatturned out.

No, no, no, no.

This wasn’t happening. Jodie liked things just the way they were and saw no need to mess with the status quo. Mitch had to realizethat. She was more than happy to have the benefits without the friendship. And yes, that made her all kinds of slutty, but she was beginning to think she could live with the slutty part of her nature. Plus, it was the twenty-first century. Weren’t they past slut-shaming? What kind of feminist would she be if she slut-shamed herself? She was a woman. With needs. She eyed the cake. Right now, those needs were warring inside of her, telling her to take the cakeandthe man.