Gift of Gold

the expanse of hair-covered male chest above her. It was obvious that Jonas was every bit as hard and lean and smoothly muscled as she had guessed.
    “Uh, didn’t you bring a pair of swimming trunks?” she asked weakly.
    “No.” He was already stepping out of the jeans, revealing a snug-fitting pair of white briefs.
    For an instant Verity was half-mesmerized by the full, heavy male shape outlined by the white cotton briefs. Then she jerked her eyes back to her can of beer. She told herself the briefs covered as much as a pair of swimming trunks would. Then she reminded herself that she was twenty-eight years old; too old to be startled by the sight of a man in his shorts.
    “The water’s very warm,” she cautioned thickly.
    “Yeah.” He put one muscled leg into the bubbling pool. “Feels good.” He settled down close beside her on the underwater bench. “Damn good.” He leaned back and rested his arms along the tiled edge of the pool.
    One sinewy forearm stretched out behind Verity’s head. She was vividly conscious of its proximity. She was very conscious of the rest of Jonas’s body, too. She considered sidling away from him and decided that that would look silly. The man was tired after a busy night, just as she was. He only wanted some relaxation. She could hardly blame him.
    “How long have you been running the restaurant?” Jonas asked conversationally.
    Verity gave him a sidelong glance and realized his eyes were closed. She relaxed. “A couple of years. I worked in several restaurants including the one here at the spa before I got the money and the nerve to open my own.”
    “Where else did you work besides Sequence Springs?”
    “Oh, here and there,” she answered carelessly.
    “Here and there?” Jonas opened one eye. “Such as?”
    “Well, there was Claude’s place on Martinique. I learned a lot of French techniques there. Then there was a little cafe in Spain where I picked up a few pointers on vegetables. I spent a few months studying Mexican cooking at a restaurant in Mazatlán. I learned about wine while working for a woman who owned a little hole-in-the-wall place just outside of Rio de Janeiro and I learned to wash dishes all by myself.” Verity smiled. “I told you, you aren’t the only one who’s had a well-rounded education. I just don’t have any formal degrees to go along with mine.”
    “What did your father do? Drag you around the world behind him?”
    “Ever since my mother died when I was eight,” Verity confirmed. “Sequence Springs is the first real home I’ve ever had. When I settled here three years ago I decided it would take an act of God or an economic disaster to uproot me. What about you, Jonas? Think you’ll ever settle down?”
    “I don’t think about it much,” he said, his voice becoming surprisingly rough without any warning. His eyes opened and he looked directly at her. “I take it you didn’t go to college?”
    Verity gave him a wry glance. “Dad didn’t think much of the formal education process. He thought he could do a better job of educating me himself. You want to know the truth? I don’t even have a high school diploma, let alone a college degree.”
    He gave her a quizzical look. “Does that bother you?”
    Verity shrugged. “No, not really. I could have gotten my GED, I suppose, and applied to college, but the truth is, by the time that occurred to me I had already decided to open a restaurant and I didn’t need any formal degrees for that.”
    “You know something? You’re one of the more interesting employers I’ve had in the past few years, Verity.”
    “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
    Jonas’s leg idly brushed against Verity’s in the water and she felt a tiny thrill along her nerve endings. She took another swallow of beer and discreetly moved her leg out of the way. The last thing she wanted to do was give the hired help any ideas, she told herself. Then her sense of humor took hold. The thought of seducing her dishwasher was unexpectedly intriguing. It was also amusing.
    “Why the smile?” Jonas asked. “Think of something funny?”
    Verity shook her head quickly. “No. I was just relaxing.”
    “The restaurant business is hard on the feet.” Jonas reached beneath the water and pulled Verity’s foot onto his thigh before she realized his intention. He began a deep, slow massage of her calf and the sole of her foot. In fact, I’ve been meaning to tell you that you work too hard. I think you