Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 160684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160684 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 803(@200wpm)___ 643(@250wpm)___ 536(@300wpm)
“It’s a variety of celery,” Grady told her.
Her nose wrinkled adorably. “Eww.”
“You don’t like celery?” Steele asked.
“It’s a vegetable, so no.”
“You don’t eat vegetables?” He gave her an alarmed look. That wasn’t healthy. He liked sweet things, but he still ate well.
“Hmm. I like raw carrots with dip. But not cooked carrots. They should be illegal.”
“Illegal?” Grady repeated.
“Uh-huh. Oh, and I like potatoes. All sorts of potatoes, really. I like fries, curly fries, mashed potatoes, potato skins, potato wedges, roasted potatoes. I mean, they’re basically their own food group. Oh, and sweet potatoes are good too.”
“Right. So potatoes and raw carrots?” Steele asked.
“Uh-huh. What is creamy Tuscan chicken?”
“It’s delicious,” Grady replied.
“It basically has cream, spinach, garlic, chicken, tomatoes, and parmesan in it,” Steele added.
“Oh no, I can’t eat that.”
“You don’t eat tomatoes?” Grady asked.
“What? Of course I eat tomatoes! What sort of crazy person wouldn’t eat tomatoes?”
There she went again. When was the last time he’d felt this amused? The last time someone had held his attention this long?
Steele couldn’t even remember, it was that long ago.
“It’s the spinach,” she muttered.
“You don’t like spinach?” Grady asked.
He guessed a lot of people didn’t like spinach.
“I don’t eat anything that starts with an S,” she replied. “What’s carpaccio?”
“Thinly sliced raw meat or fish. In this case, it’s tuna,” he replied. “Were you joking about not eating anything starting with S?”
“That’s disgusting,” she muttered. “And of course I wasn’t joking. Why would I joke about something like that? It’s very serious.”
“You can’t not eat things that start with S,” Grady said.
“Why not?” she asked, looking like it was a reasonable thing to do.
“Because that’s crazy,” Steele told her. “What about salmon?”
“Nope.”
“What about Swiss cheese?” Grady asked.
“Well, it doesn’t really start with S because it’s cheese. So really it’s a C.”
“Is that your same reasoning with sweet potato?” Grady asked.
“Yep.”
“Then what about a Snickers? You have to eat those.” Steele smirked, knowing that he had her now.
Everyone liked Snickers.
“It’s not really a food name, though, is it?” she said. “Not like sardine or sauerkraut. Also, things I don’t eat.”
She was bonkers.
And for some reason, he found that fucking adorable.
12
“I have decided what I’m going to order,” she said.
“What’s that?” Steele asked.
“Baked Alaska.”
“Baked Alaska?”
“Uh-huh, food starting with B is always good.” Her eyes were twinkling with laughter.
“So what other B foods do you like?” Grady asked.
Steele eyed him. He’d never seen the other man this interested in a woman. Hell, in anyone else. Grady didn’t really like people.
Damon wasn’t a fan either. People could be dicks.
“Burgers. Bread. Buns. Bratwurst. Do I need to go on? Ooh, bon-bons, berries, butter, baklava, banana bread. That’s a double B. Yum. Oh, and we can’t forget bagels.”
Steele shook his head. “You can’t eat Baked Alaska for dinner.”
“Why not? It’s the best thing on this menu. Whoever owns this place might want to revisit their options.”
He gaped at her.
“What is it?” she asked. “Did I say something wrong?”
“Steele owns this restaurant,” Grady told her gently.
Her mouth opened. Then closed. Then she winced. “Sorry, sometimes I need to think more before I speak. I’ll do better. Really. I’m really sorry.”
Fuck. Steele didn’t like that. The way she kept apologizing, as though she was scared.
Of him.
She was tugging on her earrings. They were little zebras today.
Fuck, he needed to say something to put her at ease. “You like kale?”
“Umm.” She eyed him as though she was worried about insulting him. “I, uh . . .”
“Steele makes these kale chips that are out of this world delicious,” Grady explained. “Better than potato chips. I can’t get enough of them. Although he hasn’t made them in a long time.”
She wrinkled her nose, her shoulders relaxing. Back to being adorable. “I really don’t think kale chips can possibly be more delicious than potato chips. That’s impossible.”
“You’ll change your mind when you try my kale chips,” he told her.
She gave him a startled look, probably wondering when she’d ever have the opportunity to try his kale chips. But she would try them. And like them.
“Do you think Lee is coming back?” she asked, peering over at the door.
“Who?” he asked, confused.
“Um, Lee. The waiter.”
“Maybe you should get your memory checked, as well as your eyes,” Grady joked.
Something Grady rarely did. Effie gave Grady a startled look before her eyes twinkled.
“Here comes Lee,” Grady murmured.
“What are you really going to have for dinner, Miss Effie?” Steele asked, aware of Grady’s warning look but not caring.
She hadn’t signed on to work for them just yet.
And she really couldn’t have Baked Alaska for dinner.
“Baked Alaska.”
“How about the steak?” he countered.
She looked pale and he knew money was tight.
“Steak? It seems expensive.”
“Then that’s what you should get,” Grady said smoothly. “Since Steele is paying.”
“Oh. That doesn’t seem fair. I can pay.”
“You being serious right now?” he asked grumpily. Was she trying to insult him?