“Please stay for coffee,” Callie said. “And I also made dessert.”

Anandur was about to bow out gracefully when Wonder beat him to it.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t manage another bite. Can you save it for tomorrow?”

That perked Callie up. “I can do that. But it means that you have to promise to come back tomorrow for dinner, and this time leave room for dessert.”

“Maybe this time we can come for coffee and dessert only?”

Callie waved a hand. “No way. From now on you’re going to be my tasters. If I want to open a restaurant one day, I need to add more items to my repertoire, which means that I need honest opinions about the dishes I make.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal,” Anandur said, to put an end to the conversation. “Thank you for having us and goodnight.”

When Callie opened her mouth again, Brundar put a hand on her arm and opened the door. “You’re welcome.”

Grabbing Wonder’s elbow, Anandur led her out.

“That was so rude, Brundar,” they heard Callie complain as they descended the stairs down to the walkway.

“Your sister-in-law is really nice. I like her.”

“They are not married, but yeah. Callie is awesome. Brundar is a new man with her.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a long story. He has some issues that she helps him deal with.”

“They are so in love. It’s touching to watch.”

Wrapping his arm around her waist, Anandur pulled her closer to him. “It’s better to do than to watch.”

“I bet.” Wonder chuckled nervously. “You promised to tell me what you were thinking over the past two days.”

“Yes, I did.”

He kept leading her toward a secluded corner. There were a few of them along the fence separating the village from the new development. If they were about to do some kissing, he didn’t want to get interrupted.

“Well? I’m waiting.”

“I think you can guess it by now. I decided not to focus on your age, which none of us can be sure of anyway. Instead, I decided to follow my own advice and listen to my gut.”

“And what is your gut telling you?”

“That you’re mine.”

Wonder’s breath caught. She stopped and turned toward him. “That’s one hell of a leap from your attitude of only two days ago.”

He put his arms around her. “Is it? What is your gut telling you, Wonder?”

She swallowed. “That I want you. Does that mean that you’re mine?”

“Do you want me to be yours?”

“I do. But that’s not the same as calling you mine, is it?”

He was a little disappointed, but then Wonder was young and inexperienced and didn’t know how to interpret her own emotions. He needed to give her more time.

“Does it scare you when I say you’re mine?”

She shook her head. “No, but it worries me. What if I’m not?”

“I have a strong feeling that you are.” It was more than a feeling, it was a conviction, but he didn’t want to overwhelm her. “What we need is to spend more time together to find out if what we feel is the real deal. That’s why I asked Kian for time off so I can take you out of here and show you some good times. How does spending an entire day in the city with me sound?”

“It sounds lovely, but I have to work.”

“No, you don’t. I asked Carol to give you time off too.”

Wonder frowned. “You shouldn’t have done that. Not without asking me first.”

She was right, but he’d prepared the perfect excuse. “Doctor’s orders. Didn't Vanessa tell you that you need more experiences?”

“How do you know about that?”

“Carol told me.”

Wonder’s frown deepened. “Before or after you asked her to give me time off?”

Damn. The girl was too smart.

“After. But that doesn’t change Vanessa’s instructions. If you want to get your memories back, you need to expose yourself to more experiences.”

She shook her head. “That doesn’t change the fact that you should’ve asked me first. I’ll let it slide this time, but please don’t do things like that in the future.”

“I promise. Am I forgiven?”

This wasn’t a good time to tell her that he’d also mentioned to Carol his plan to take Wonder to Egypt. Luckily, he’d been smart enough to ask her to keep quiet about it until he told Wonder.

“Yes.” She lowered her head and looked at her feet. “Did she tell you the rest of Vanessa’s instructions?”

“Yup.” He smacked his lips. “And I’m here to deliver.”

She lifted her eyes to his. “Only because Vanessa said I should get more kisses from you?”

He lowered his hands to her butt and pressed her against his hardness. “What do you think?”

“I think you’re excited,” she whispered.

That was putting it mildly, but he didn’t want to scare her off by saying something crass. Instead, he brought his hand to the back of her head and wrapped it around her nape. “Are you excited too?”

It was evident that she was, and not only because of the intoxicating aroma of her arousal. Wonder wasn’t wearing a bra, and he would’ve been blind not to notice the way her nipples had hardened. He could see their exact outline through the thin fabric of her blouse.

“Yes,” she breathed.

“Come here.” He brought her lips to his.

She tensed in his arms.

If this was about the hard rod he was sporting in his pants, she had one hell of a delayed response. It must’ve been something else.

Anandur leaned back and looked into those mesmerizing jade eyes of hers. They were glowing, casting a green light on his white shirt. “What’s the matter, sweetheart?”

She shook her head. “Just kiss me.”

“A moment ago you were all excited and soft in my arms, and now you’re stiff as a broom. Tell me what’s wrong.”

A haunted look extinguishing the glow in her eyes, she hesitated for a moment. “What if I say his name again?”

Aha, that was an understandable reason for worry.

“Then you do, and we keep going. The whole idea is for you to regain your memories. I’d rather find out who that Esag dude is, so I can prove to you that I’m a better choice, than compete with a ghost. Do you get what I mean?”

She nodded. “Are you sure that your feelings won’t get hurt?”

He chuckled. “If you haven’t noticed, I’m a big boy. I can take one hell of a beating and keep going until I win. That’s who I am. That’s what I do.”