Holiday Temptation by Donna Hill

Author:Donna Hill
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2016-08-12T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Miranda watched with spellbound fascination as the well-honed muscles in Kyle’s arms flexed underneath his golden brown skin. She was thoroughly mesmerized, staring at the way they contracted and released, moving in a subtle, seductive rhythm as he crushed several spices into a fine powder using a marble mortar and pestle.

“The trick,” Kyle said, knocking her out of her captivated trance, “is finding the right balance of flavor for the type of beer you want to make. Too much or too little of any one ingredient can throw off the entire recipe.”

“Umm-hmm,” Miranda said. She stood up straight and pretended to pay attention, when, in fact, she’d lost all interest in her lesson on beer making the minute Kyle rolled up the sleeves on his gray cashmere sweater and began combining ingredients. There was just something about a sexy man in the kitchen that made him even sexier.

He picked up a bowl with dark purple flower buds. “I’m not sure how this one will work out, but I thought up the recipe while browsing the Spice Market back in Istanbul. The Myosotis flower has a walnut taste. It should do well in this recipe.” He handed her the crushed flower buds. “You do it,” he said. “This is supposed to be a team effort.”

With a wary glance, Miranda walked over to the pot of grain that had been boiling for the past half hour. “Should I be wearing protective goggles or something?”

“Goggles are for pansies. Take a risk,” Kyle said. She looked back over her shoulder. “I’m only joking. You won’t need goggles. You’re fine.”

“Where are all the tubes and kettles?” Miranda asked. “I once saw a show on the Cooking Channel about home breweries and there was a big setup that looked like a chemistry set on steroids.”

“That comes later, just before the fermenting stage,” Kyle said. “What we’re doing right here is called mashing. By letting the barley steep in the hot water, it’ll eventually convert the starches to sugar. It helps with the fermenting process. We have to cook the mash for another half hour before we can move to the next step.”

Miranda let out an exaggerated sigh as she sprinkled the purple flowers into the simmering hops. Then she turned to him. “How long does this whole beer-making thing take?”

Amusement flickered in Kyle’s eyes as he came upon her. He took the bowl from her hands and set it on the counter. He then took both of her hands and pressed a kiss to the backs of her fingers.

“Did I forget to mention that the number one ingredient is patience?” he asked.

“Yes, you did. Because if you had mentioned it, I would have told you that I have none.”

“Really?” His brow arched as he took her hands and brought them around his waist. Then he clasped his at the small of her back and pulled her in, melding her body up against his. “We’ve been here nearly twenty-four hours and haven’t made it to my bed yet.

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