Sal inched his way closer to her, taking in the mixture of her warm skin and lotion maybe. He leaned in to help pick up one of the plates, when she turned her face their lips were just inches apart. "We could-" She stopped and stared at his lips then her eyes wandered up and met his. "I was gonna say we could also warm tortillas to go with this if you want." He saw her gulp but she didn't move away from him and he was sure she was feeling the same thing he was.

"Gracie." His voice was hoarse and a near whisper.

"What?" She searched his eyes. The ease that had kicked in while she was cooking was gone and he saw the nerves were back.

"I wanna kiss you so bad."

Her eyes moved down to his lips again. "You do?"

"Yes. But I don't want you to-"

"Do it then." She brought her hand up to his face and caressed it, making his legs nearly give out on him.

Putting the plate down, he leaned in and kissed her softly not wanting to come on too strong, but he did trace her lips with his tongue. The taste of her mouth was incredible, just like he'd imagined. Noticing her inexperience almost immediately only excited him more, but he forced himself to go slow and be gentle. It wasn't easy.

He continued gently, placing his hand behind her neck and she leaned back allowing him better access. Then she eased her mouth open, inviting his tongue in and he really had to restrain from devouring her mouth. She followed his lead as his tongue moved around hers and he moved in closer, feeling her breathing become slightly labored. He didn't want to stop but he had to before things got too heavy. He still had the rest of the night with her. Forcing himself to, but not before giving her a few more soft pecks, he pulled away and stared into her eyes. She licked her lips. "You don't want me to what?"

At first, he didn't know what she was talking about. The kiss had clouded everything out but then he remembered. "I don't want you to think I'm coming on too strong on our first date."

She glanced down pulling a strand of hair behind her ear. "So there's gonna be more?"

"Of course," he said, pulling the other strand behind her other ear. "That is, if you want there to be."

She nodded, smiling. "I do."

"But I meant what I said about not dating anyone that's already seeing someone else." He had to get this one straight. "You're really not then right?"

"No. I'm really not."

Sal peered at her. "So who were you talking about when you told Oscar you were?"

"I just said that so he wouldn't get any ideas about asking me out." She shrugged. "I didn't want to be mean, especially because I knew I'd have to work with him."

The relief felt too good. Sal didn't even try to hide his excitement. He cupped her face with both hands and he kissed her again. This time just a quick one. "But you'll be okay with this, right?"

She bit the corner of her lip and hesitated. "I'm not sure."

He pulled back to look at her better. "Why?"

"You've never been in a relationship. I have. I've never done the casual dating thing. I'm not sure if that's something I'd like or could handle. Your sister said-"

"Never mind what my sister said, Gracie. My family only knows what I want them to know. I was away at school for a long time. Believe it or not, I did have a relationship or two. Just nothing I would consider serious or very meaningful, so I never mentioned them to anyone." She stared at him and he knew what he'd say next was risky but she's the one that brought it up. "I wasn't going to say this tonight but I don't want you to take this casually. Not once have I ever considered dating someone that works for the restaurant. I never thought I would. Not until I realized I want more than just a date."

She blinked and looked away then turned back to him. Her eyes glistened. "I do, too," she whispered, her voice nearly breaking.

She was by far the most emotional girl he'd ever met. But he was glad she was emotional about this. It meant she really cared and it felt damn good.

This time he hugged her. Having her in his arms finally, felt better than what he'd expected. It felt perfect. Like that was exactly where she belonged. Keeping his hands off her while they worked was going to be a challenge. But a challenge he more than welcomed.

CHAPTER 15.

Originally the booth set up had the place settings across from each other but after that kiss and their talk Sal said there was no way he wasn't sitting next to her. So they sat on the same side. He said he loved the Mexican fried rice and it would be a perfect addition not only to the menu but to the Sunday brunch. Grace still couldn't believe this was all happening to her. It felt too good to be true.

Not wanting to move into any subjects that were too nerve-wracking or that might have her in stupid tears again she asked about something safe. She really did want to know more about his plans on expanding the restaurants into a franchise. He told her more about it but said he was having second thoughts.

"Actually I thought about what you said the day I gave you the tour. It might be smarter to keep it on a smaller scale and work on perfecting the restaurants rather than expand into too many, because I know I wouldn't have the time to manage them all. If I don't have a close hand in it all it won't be the same."

She frowned. "You have to trust other people's judgments, too. You can't do it all."

"I can if I stick to fewer restaurants." He'd already helped himself to a second plateful of the rice and he was nearly done with it. That made her smile. "No one cares about this as much as we do. The family has their hands full even with the two restaurants we have now."

"Well maybe you should just do one at a time. Once you're managing all three smoothly, then you can try for another until you feel like you can't take any more on."

Sal smiled and kissed her. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

Grace stuck to safe subjects for the rest of the night. She was amazed that this whole restaurant business started with his dad in a catering taco truck. Sal was obviously very proud of how far his dad had come. It gave Grace hope that someday she'd be able to do the same.

By the end of the night, Grace felt almost drained from the amount of emotions that evening. She was so glad when he'd changed the subject from her mom and dad earlier. She'd been pretty close to getting emotional about that again and she would've hated for him to remember their first date that way.

When he dropped her off, he kissed her again the way he had in the restaurant. She didn't want it to end and it did go on much longer than their first kiss. He leaned his forehead against hers when it was finally over and gazed in her eyes. "You have no idea what you do to me." Then he smiled. "Hell, I don't even know how to explain it."

The way he looked at her at that moment made her wonder if he could actually be feeling what she was feeling. "I can't explain what I'm feeling e vquotet mither. All I know is... it scares me."

"Don't be. I'm not scared." He lifted his eyebrows. "Okay, maybe a little. But it's a good kind of scared, like I just boarded the ride of my life." He kissed her nose and whispered, "Hold on tight."

Even after talking to Joey for over an hour, going over every detail of her date and him reassuring her this was not only a good thing it was great she still couldn't sleep. But it was like Sal said-a good thing. She was too excited.

Every time she closed her eyes she relived those incredible kisses.

Grace wasn't sure what to expect when she arrived at the restaurant the next day. Their eyes met as soon as she walked in and he greeted her with most breathtaking smile. Her insides had already been going wild even before she got there. As she put on her apron in the back he startled her coming up from behind. She nearly let out a yelp before laughing when she realized it was him and he planted a long smoldering one on her.

"Is the door locked?" Grace asked when she came up for air and she was able to gather her thoughts.

"I think."

"What do you mean you think? What if someone walks in?"

He shrugged going in for another one. "Sal, I don't want anyone to know."

He pulled back immediately with a glare. "What? Why?"

"Aren't you the one all about professionalism? Isn't it gonna be weird for everyone to know me and you are... a thing now?"

The glare softened into a smile. "I like that. Okay, I'll be discreet to an extent. But Gracie, if anyone gets wind of this or somehow finds out, I really don't give a shit. It's our business, not theirs. They'll just have to deal with it."

With that, he kissed her again and the ride began. Gracie decided not to fight it and just hold on tight.

That afternoon Sal got a text from Romero. He was at the game with Isabel.

That Melissa chick really pissed me off. Just an FYI you'll probably be hearing from her.

Sal frowned and texted back.

What happened?

He sat back in his chair and waited for a response. Grace walked into the back room and he threw the phone on his desk, standing up. That could wait, this couldn't. She smiled when he pushed the door closed and pulled her to him. "You on a break, or are you just here to see me?" He kissed her before she could answer and she giggled against his mouth.

The door handle jiggled and Grace pulled away. It irritated him that she cared so much about people finding out. Grace spun around and opened the cabinet when the door opened. Sofia walked in. {a wth="I thought you were interviewing today at Angel's."

"Nah, I moved those to Monday. I'm only gonna do them on Monday and Tuesday now."

Grace said hello to Sofia and walked out with her phone in her hand, in too much of a rush. Sofia looked at him funny, lifting an eyebrow. Sal sat back down at the desk not acknowledging her suspicion and grabbed his phone that had buzzed twice since he threw it down. He read the first text.

She got rude with Izzy when I told her she took your ticket and well you know me. I wasn't having it.

"Godamnit!"

"What?" Sofia asked as she put her apron on.

"Romero."

"Ah," Sofia laughed. "'Nuff said."

Sal read the next one.

I told her I'd pay for the damn tickets but she said you'd be paying her for this one way or "another" I told the bitch that's probably what she needs. Ha! She didn't think it was funny. >=) Sal shook his head, exhaling loudly.

"What did he do?" Sofia asked.

"Just made another mess for me." He tossed the phone back on the desk and turned his chair around. "Grace has another great dish for us. Mexican shrimp fried rice."

"Ooh, sounds good."

"It is. I was hoping to get it in tomorrow's brunch 'cause she said it can easily be made in large quantities. I already told Alex and he said he'd come in just to try some, but I was hoping you can come in to help in the morning. I totally forgot I'm meeting my buddy in the morning for a few rounds of golf. I already told him we'd have to do it earlier than we planned so I can get here early and see how it goes."

He also wanted to spend as much time with Grace as he could before her two days off. He would've gladly just canceled the whole thing but Jason had beaten him to it, calling to tell him he was looking forward to it because he really needed to talk.

"Yeah, I can come in and open. As long as I can leave early. I have somewhere to be in the afternoon."

His phone rang and he picked it up to check the caller ID. Melissa. Shit. "You can leave as soon as I get here."

Sofia nodded and started out the door. "Can you close the door behind you?"

She did and he answered. "Hey, Melissa."

"I can't believe you gave that asshole those tickets." It was really noisy and Sal couldn't tell if she was yelling to be heard over the crowd or because she was that mad.

"I was supposed to go with him. But something came up last minute."

"And what about tonight? Will I see you there?"

He sat back. "No. Can't do it."

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I just can't. I'm sorry."

"What? I can barely hear you."

"I said, I just can't."

She was quiet and he wondered if she'd heard him. "You can't just brush me off like that. Do you know what I had to go through to get those tickets?"

"Sweetheart, I didn't ask you to, but I do appreciate it. I'm sorry it worked out this way but I won't be there tonight." He was trying to be as nice as he could. He knew what she was capable of.

There was a sudden roar in the background and she didn't speak until it died down a little. "I can't hear you. I'll call you later."

The line clicked and he threw the phone down again more frustrated than ever. He'd pay her for the fucking tickets if he had to, but he wasn't responding to her calls anymore. He shook his head. Never again.

The evening was spent pretty much the same as the one before only a little less formal and the food Grace prepared was a bit more simple-tacos al pastor. They ate them in the kitchen with beer. She sat on the counter.

Just like the night before while she cooked she felt completely under control. It was only when she'd sat on the counter and Sal walked up to her, pushing her legs apart to get closer to her that her heart began to hammer away. She thought of how experienced and put together Melissa seemed. She'd probably done things to him that Grace had only read about. How could she possibly live up to that? She still held her bottle of beer in her hand as she draped her arms around his neck keeping up with his deep kisses. He groaned and whispered against her lips. "You're getting so much better at this."

She pulled back a little. "Why? I wasn't good before?"

He let out a laugh. "Jesus, your lips have been perfect from the moment I first laid eyes on them and they taste even better, but you were a little tense in the beginning. I wasn't sure you were enjoying it as much as I was." He slid her closer to him and she felt his strong hard body against her, making her breathe a little harder.

"This is all a little new to me. But of course I'm enjoying it."

She saw the confusion in his eyes. "You said you'd been in a relationship. I was gonna ask but I'm not sure I wanna hear about it."

"I meant the only times I've ever been involved with someone it wasn't just dating. Both times it was understood we were in a relationship, but neither lasted very long and I've never..." She felt her face flush when his eyes widened. "I was real young, too. It was right before my grandmother passed."

Ah hell. She fell the lump in her throat forming. Not wanting to ruin the moment with her damn tears again, she kissed him, this time putting more into it than before. She put the bottle down and ran her fingers through his hair, kissing him frantically. The arousal she felt was electrifying. A {ectut ny thoughts of crying vanished, instead all she could think of was the possibility that Sal would make love to her one day-maybe soon. She moaned in his mouth and he moaned in response. His hands caressed her back and she wished she had the nerve to tell him to do more. Even though his body was pressed against her and he kissed her just as madly as she kissed him, he was incredibly gentle in every other way.