Behind The Proposal novel Chapter 14

He met her amused gaze and smiled. "I warned you, I'm not a great cook. I can barbecue stuff, but salad and vegetable things are not my forte."

"Duly noted," she said, obviously forcing seriousness to her voice if the grin she was trying to suppress was anything to go by.

Turning the oven on, she put the potatoes in to roast and tipped the salad into a bowl that she found and set to work to make a dressing - something he hadn't even thought of.

They ate at the outdoor table, Jasmine sitting up next to her mother, enjoying the fish and potatoes, but making faces at the salad on her plate and pretending to feed it to her doll.

"Yuck, I don't like leaves," Jasmine objected, hitting the piece of spinach out of Sophie's hand and onto the ground below.

Tom stifled a laugh with his hand as Sophie rolled her eyes then leaned down to pick it up, putting it on her empty plate.

"Just one bit," she pleaded with Jasmine.

"No," Jasmine crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head once defiantly.

"If you eat that one piece, Jass, you can have the ice cream I bought for you," he offered. But as soon as the words left his mouth and Sophie looked at him, he realised he should have asked if the little girl was allowed to have some. "If that's alright with Mummy," he added hastily.

Sophie nodded and looked back at her daughter. "One piece, then you can have ice cream."

The little girl huffed then screwed up her face as she stuffed the spinach in her mouth and chewed it up.

He could get used to having her care about him. He'd seen with his own eyes what a loving and attentive mother she was. He had no doubt that she'd be a loving and attentive wife as well. Swallowing hard, he willed the thoughts away; he had to keep his mind on business. He couldn't afford to get distracted at this point in time - too much was riding on the successful development of his hotel. But Sophie would definitely be a nice bonus. He focussed on the beautiful blonde beside him. "Yeah, fine," he answered and forced a smile. Ice cream. He was supposed to be getting ice cream for Jasmine. "Want some?" he raised his eyebrows as he pulled the small tub of chocolate gelato out of the freezer.

"I thought you'd never ask," she smiled shyly and pulled some spoons out of the drawer as he dished up the dessert.

Little did he know that watching Sophie eat ice cream would soon become one of his favourite pastimes. He was mesmerised as she licked the chocolate off the spoon, closing her eyes and moaning in pleasure as the sweetness melted on her tongue. He wanted her tongue on him so badly he had to look away. His eyes moved to a very happy Jasmine, who had chocolate spread all over her face and fingers as she licked the bowl clean.

It brought back good memories from his own childhood and enjoying cold ice cream on hot summer's days with his siblings. In those days, Gabe would have only been Jasmine's age when he'd tagged along with him and Dani. Those were also the days when he'd imagined he'd one day settle down with a woman and have kids of his own. That was until he'd grown up and realised there was more to life than marriage and kids. And now here he was considering it. No, not even just considering it any more. He was determined to make it happen.

She was getting under his skin. She might be the first woman he'd met that he could consider marrying and therefore help him fulfil his dreams, but the fact that they had great chemistry hadn't gone unnoticed either. Yes, she was a great bonus alright.