Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“Seriously, I’m glad to help,” I say.
“I know you are, but there’s no need. I’m just going to fry up some burgers, throw some cheddar on them, and put them on your buns.” His eyes twinkle. “Then later, I’m going to put something else between your buns.”
“I could cut up some lettuce and tomatoes,” I say, the warmth of a blush coating my cheeks.
“Okay,” he finally relents. “There are a couple tomatoes in the refrigerator. There should be some lettuce too. I had groceries brought over earlier.”
I open the refrigerator. Two tomatoes sit on the top shelf along with a head of iceberg lettuce. I use green leaf or butter lettuce on the sandwiches at the bakery. They’re more flavorful, but iceberg is good on a burger. Adds some crunch.
Once I have the tomato sliced and the lettuce ripped into hamburger-size pieces, I take the initiative and pull out the cheddar cheese for Brendan.
“Did you want something to drink?” I ask.
“Just water’s fine for me. I’m around booze all the time, so I don’t drink very often.”
“Good man.” I fill two glasses and add ice. “I can’t believe your place got done so quickly.”
“Money talks,” he says. “I got an amazing payoff from the insurance company.”
I cock my head to the side. “Really? You must have a great policy.”
“Apparently so,” he says. “They even waived my deductible, which I wasn’t expecting.”
“Why would they do that?”
“I didn’t ask questions,” he says. “Since I’m kind of broke right now, I decided it wasn’t in my best interest to make it an issue.”
I nod. Even though I don’t use my family’s money, I’m always aware that I have a safety net. It’s easy to take that for granted. Brendan doesn’t have that lifeboat.
Still though, I can’t help wondering why his insurance company would waive his deductible.
Not that I have a lot of experience with insurance, but I do own a policy on my bakery that I pay for myself. And because I pay it myself, I have a deductible. A rather high one.
I’ve never had to make a claim, thank goodness, but if I ever do, I certainly won’t expect the insurer to waive a deductible that I agreed to. Something smells a little strange here.
But I don’t want to spoil my evening with Brendan. He’s happy to have this place back, and I’m happy for him.
“How’d you get out of working tonight?” I ask.
“I already had the day off planned, since my place was going to be ready. I wanted to get everything moved back in. Plus, I just hired a new bartender.”
“Ah…”
“You know,” he says, turning away from the grill, “that was a better christening to that new shower than I ever could’ve hoped for.”
I can’t help a smile. “I enjoyed it too.”
“I’ve missed you, Ava.”
It’s not the first time he’s said this, and his words make me warm. “I’ve missed you too.”
“So no more,” he says. “No more shutting me out, okay?”
I nod. I really wasn’t fair to him over the last week. I just couldn’t get that reading out of my mind. The one about my family.
Secret knowledge.
Hypocrisy.
I don’t understand any of it.
My family has always been my rock. The people I could depend on and count on. I don’t want to think badly of them.
It’s just a tarot reading, I remind myself. They’re not always accurate.
But for me, with my own intuition, they are accurate more often than not, which is why this is bothering me so.
“Earth to Ava.”
I jerk upward. “Yeah?”
“You were miles away for a minute.” He gives me a chaste kiss on my warm cheek. “What are you thinking about?”
“Something I’d rather not be thinking about, not while I’m with you.”
“I’ll decide whether that’s good or bad later,” he says. “In the meantime, burgers are served.”
I inhale. You can’t be a member of the Steel family and not enjoy the smell of freshly cooked beef. I eat less meat than most of my family, but tonight, I’m looking forward to a good old-fashioned burger.
“Smells great,” I say.
“Good.” He sets the burgers on his small table and then holds out a chair for me.
“Thank you.” I take a seat.
“Not a problem.” He pushes the platter of burgers toward me and sits across from me. “Please, help yourself.”
I build myself an awesome-looking burger—tomato, lettuce, very little onion, and a touch of mayo—and slide the platter toward Brendan. I take a bite and then squeal as the juices run down my chin. I hastily wipe the drips with my napkin.
“Do I make the juiciest burgers on the planet or what?” Brendan smiles.
“I’ve got to say, these are fantastic. And that’s coming from a woman who was raised on beef.”
“This is Steel beef,” Brendan says, “but do I take it that no one in your family makes burgers quite this juicy?”