Tara was just a small town girl working at a big name publishing firm in New York City. She was working hard on getting her first book published. Everyone said she was crazy to try to get a recipe book published when at the moment romance books were the big money makers. She didn't want to be like the rest and write romance books.

She was having a hell of a time trying to convince her boss the editor in charge to give her a chance and look at it. Tara was beautiful and she knew it, she knew she could turn heads just walking down the street but she didn't want to use her looks to get ahead in the world. She stood five feet tall, her hair was red shoulder length and her eyes were the color of sapphires. She had a nice body thanks to the gym membership and working on her family ranch in North Carolina before heading north. Her moving north caused a little tension between her and parents. She was sitting at her desk lost in thought when her boss appeared in front of her desk.

The editor said, "Do you have that romance novel edited to perfection yet, Tara?"

She replied, "Yes Mr.Smith."

She handed him the manuscript with a smile.

He said, "Good job you are one of my quickest editors."

She smiled and said, "Thank you sir ."

He walked away and she let out a sigh. He was the type of guy that all the girls in the firm wanted and damned if he didn't know it. He was hot even for an older man. He stood six feet tall and had brown hair and piercing green eyes. He was in great shape rumor has it he was retired military which explained his high expectations and strict dress code he had for his staff some would say he was a hard ass when it came to rules.

Later that evening.

Tara was sitting at the kitchen table in her condo pondering a new recipe when her phone rang. She muttered as she saw the caller ID. She really didn't want to speak to her mother, their last conversation didn't go so well since her mother was pushing the issue that she was the only child not married yet all her siblings had settled down and were enjoying married life. Tara just wasn't ready yet because she hadn't found Mr. Right. She spoke to her mother briefly and hung up.

She finished the recipe for red velvet cookies and looked up at the clock on the wall and realized she needed to go to bed. She walked down the short hallway to her bedroom and stripped off her skirt and blouse and bra and slide a big comfy t-shirt over her head and climbed under the cotton sheets and drifted peacefully off to sleep.

Across town...

Her editor George Smith was settling in for the night. For the first time in a very long time he was going to bed alone. He was tired of the one night stands and office flings with the receptionists; none of them fit what he was looking for. He was ready to settle down again it had been several years since his wife had passed away from a long illness. His kids surprised him by encouraging him to find someone to spend his life with. He stripped off his suit and slipped on his comfortable pajama pants and crawled into his king size bed ,he drifted off to sleep thinking about Tara and wondering how to get to know her more personally.

On the other side of town

Tara was having a rather steamy dream of George. She had never been attracted to an older man before but something about him made her heart race.

The next morning...

Tara woke up at the sound of her alarm clock and made her way sleepily to the bathroom and stripped off her night clothes and turned on the shower, stepping into the glass enclosed shower. A few minutes later she stepped out and dried herself off with a fluffy bath towel.wrappimg the towel around herself she walked back into her room.

Looking into her walk in closet trying to find the right outfit for work on a hot summer day but modest enough for the dress code at work. She finally decided on a pink low cut top that didn't show much and a matching skirt. She laid them on the bed as and went to the dresser and pulled out matching pink lace bra and panty set. She smiled as she got dressed for the day and left her bedroom and headed for the kitchen and grabbed a cup of coffee and a bagel.

Across town....

George was out for his morning jog and stopped for coffee on his way back to his house. He walked into the empty house. He never realized how empty it was with his youngest daughter gone off to college. He walked upstairs and stripped off his jogging outfit and stepped into the steam filled shower. He finished his shower and dried off.

Walking back into his room and going to his closet, he pulled out a light blue suit that he chose to wear today as it was too hot for his signature black suit. He got dressed and headed down stairs to his home office and grabbed his briefcase and keys and headed outside to his waiting limo to take him to the office.

Tara looked at the clock on the kitchen wall and got up from the table and got moving so she wasn't late. She grabbed her purse, messanger bag and car keys and headed out the door and down the stairs to the garage. She got to her truck. She unlocked her truck and climbed in, sitting her things on the passenger seat and started the truck and headed off to work .

Tara arrived at work and parked in her assigned spot and headed to the elevator. She was lost in thought wondering if she would have time between book edits to write out a recipe that was rattling around in her head. It would be the last recipe for her book and then she would ask George again to reconsider publishing it.

It had been a busy morning and it was finally time for Tara to go to lunch. She was sitting in a corner booth at the restaurant across the street from work. She was sitting alone and preparing to order when she looked up from the menu and saw George standing there.

Tara said, "Hello Mr.Smith."

George replied, "Hello Tara,"

She asked shyly, "Would you like to join me since there are no empty tables Sir?"

He smiled, "Thank you, that would be very nice."

He slipped into the booth across from her and smiled. She smiled back and wondered to herself what they would talk about over lunch. The waitress appeared and took their order. The food arrived as they were talking about their families and the next big book project that was coming up at the firm. She thought about it for a minute and then decided to go for it.

She asked, "Mr. Smith would you consider my recipe book again since things are kind of slow in the next few weeks?"

He looked at her and grinned.

He said, "I'll consider it on one condition."

She looked at him and asked, "What's the condition?"

He replied, "Have dinner with me tonight and bake one of your desserts."

She replied, "Sounds like a wonderful idea Sir and I'll bring a new recipe."

They made plans to have dinner at a local steakhouse that had a great menu and to have dessert at his house afterwards. They walked back to the office together after a long lunch. He held the door open for her and she smiled. It had been a long time since a man held the door open for her. They rode the elevator together in silence both lost in their own thoughts. She was thinking about what to wear tonight and he was thinking about how to get her in his bed. They stepped off the elevator and went their separate ways. She went to her desk and he went to check in an editor and then to his corner office.

Tara sat at her desk and was editing a book by a new romance author, she got lost in the story line. She looked up and realized a couple hours had passed and she finished the few small edits the book needed to be perfect.

Simple Fruit Pies

Preheat the oven to 375°degrees F

Put the rack in the middle position

Ingredients you will need :

1/4 cup of salted butter

1 cup whole milk

1 cup all purpose flour

1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can of fruit pie filling (blueberry, apple or peach )

Instructions:

Place butter in a 9 inch x13 inch cake pan and put it in the oven to melt

Mix: milk, sugar, flour, baking powder and sugar together in a medium sized bowl. This batter will be little lumpy and that's okay. Just like brownie batter, don't over mix it.

Using oven mitts or potholders, remove the pan with the melted butter, pour in the batter and tip the pan around to cover the whole bottom then sit on the cold stove top.

Spoon in the pie filling over the top of the batter don't mix in. Just spoon in evenly as possible (the batter will puff up around it)

Bake at 375° for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

To serve: cool slightly then dish into bowls and top with whipped cream or ice cream.

Will serve 6 people

She smiled when she finished it knowing it was one of her best recipes. She looked at the clock and noticed there was a few minutes left before she could leave for the day. She decided to check her email and see if she had anything new to edit.

She smiled when she saw an email from George.She opened the email and smiled at what it said, "Can't wait to see you and read your book. I'll pick you up at 7pm."

She smiled and typed out a reply, "Looking forward to dinner with you." and hit the send button

She packed away the manuscript she would edit tonight after dinner into her bag along with her pens and tablet.She stood up and grabbed her purse and keys and made sure her computer was turned off. She headed to the elevator and waited patiently for it to get to her floor when it arrived she stepped into it and pressed the down button. She was lost in her thoughts again the door opened into the garage and she stepped out and made her way to her truck. She unlocked her truck and sat her bags down and slide behind the wheel and headed home.

George smiled to himself as he left his office he headed downstairs to the front of the building and to his waiting personal limo .He relaxed against the leather seat enjoying the quiet ride to his house .When he got home he headed upstairs and decided to change the bedding on the bed in the master suite. He choose white silk sheets hoping they would impress Tara.

Across town..

Tara was standing in front of her closet trying to decide on what dress to wear to dinner, finally deciding on a knee length red dress and she decided to change her bra and panties as well. She slipped into her red bra and panties and slipped on the dress, smiling as she looked at herself in the mirror hoping George would like the outfit.

She smiled as she heard the doorbell chime .She opened the door and smiled as George stepped inside wearing a custom tailored black suit .He smiled at her and handed her a long stem pink rose.

He said, "You look beautiful tonight,"

She smiled and took the rose, "Thank you." 

She went and put the rose in a small vase and grabbed her small evening purse. They headed down stairs to the front of the building; she looked surprised for a minute as she noticed a long black limo parked there. George just smiled as the driver opened the door and helped Tara inside and he followed behind her. She looked around the back of the limo a little starry eyed. She had never been in a limo before. George smiled it was fun watching her reaction to things. She smiled at him and then relaxed next to him.

George asked, "Never been in a limo before Tara?"

She blushed, "Is it that obvious Sir?"

He replied, "Please call me George, Sir is only for the office, tonight is about enjoying each other's company."

She smiled, "Yes it is George."

They rode in silencer for a few minutes until the limo pulled up in front of one of the nicest restaurants in the city .The driver opened the door and helped Tara out and she waited for George to step out. He smiled and took her hand as they headed into the restaurant.

He said, "Don't want anyone thinking a beautiful girl like you is all alone or I'll have competition tonight for your attention,"

Tara blushed and said, "You have no competition for my attention tonight you have it completely already."

As they walked past tables behind the hostess Tara could tell that she was turning heads and that women were equally staring at George. She held on to his hand a little tighter knowing she was the luckiest girl in the room right now .

They were shown a quiet private corner booth by the hostess. The hostess apparently thought it was a good idea to try and flirt with George in front of her. Tara looked at the hostess and she instantly backed off and went away. A few minutes later, a waitress came out and took their dinner and drink order. George ordered for both of them and Tara didn't mind at all. He ordered them both steak and shrimp and nice bottle of red wine. They talked about favorite movies and books while they waited. They realized they liked a lot of the same books and movies. Dinner arrived shortly after they ordered it; they ate in silence for a few minutes.

Tara was enjoying the night more than she expected too. The conversation picked up again and then they realized the time and decided they were done. George asked for the check and paid it and left a generous tip for the waitress. They got up from the booth and George instinctively wrapped his arm around Tara's waist as they left the restaurant and went outside to the waiting limo the driver opened the door and Tara and George climbed in. The doors closed and George pressed the button to raise the privacy divide.

Tara moved a little closer to him. He smiled at her and leaned in and kissed her softly .She returned the kiss and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as his arms went around her waist. The kiss got more intense then he suddenly broke the kiss and Tara looked at him wondering if she did something wrong.

He smiled at her and said, "I want you Tara but not in the backseat of a limo. I want you in my bed so I can explore and make love to you like you deserve."

She smiled, "I want you to George."

They just held each other the rest of the drive to his house. The limo stopped in front of his house,the driver knocked on the window before opening the door. Tara stepped out and waited for George. When he got out he took her hand and led her up the stairs to wide front porch and opened the door. He lead her inside the beautiful home and Tara could have sworn she stepped into one of her dreams. He took her hand and lead her up the wide staircase to the master suite.

They got into the room and kissed passionately. They slowly undressed each other and explored slowly until he laid her back on the bed and smiled. They spent the night exploring each other in the morning they woke up together and smiled at each other. No words were needed they both knew it was only the beginning.