Page 28 of Long Shot

“Sid’s been upping his game lately,” I say.

She starts again. “Um. Yeah. Seems so.”

“We don’t want to push him too hard, but it would be great if we could improve the whole menu.”

She bites her lip and bends her head.

“You must hear feedback from our guests.”

“Yeah. Sure.” She smiles briefly without looking up. “People seem pleasantly surprised by the changes.”

“Good.”

“Most people,” she adds.

I lift an eyebrow.

“Dussen didn’t care for the fresh salsa.” She appears to be amused by this.

I keep glancing sideways at her as I drive. Now she’s twisting the hem of her shirt between her fingers. “What’s wrong, Reese?”

“Wr-rong?”

“Yeah. Jesus, you’re as jumpy as a virgin at a prison rodeo.”

She chokes. “Oh, my God!”

“You are.”

“Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. Not at all.” She lifts her head. “Maybe I had too much caffeine.”

“Thatwasa large coffee.” I jerk my chin at the now-empty cup in the cup holder. “I gather you don’t do decaf.”

“Ha. What’s the point? It’s like de-alcoholized beer.”

“Maybe it tastes good?”

Her lips twitch. “I’ve yet to taste a de-alcoholized beer that tastes as good as regular stuff.”

“And decaf coffee tastes different than regular?”

“Totally.” She lifts her chin, but she’s trying not to smile. “It’s also like . . . like light cheese. Or fat-free ice cream. Those are an abomination.”

“So you’re a food snob.”

“No, I’m not!” She pauses. “Well, maybe. I just think if you’re going to put it in your body, it should be good stuff.”

“So you never eat junk food?”

She catches her top lip briefly in her teeth. “Well, I wouldn’t say that.’”

“Ha. What’s your favorite guilty pleasure?”

“I have a few,” she admits. “Burgers from Shake Shack. Fries from McDonalds. And I love egg salad sandwiches with potato chips in the sandwich.”

“Ugh. Really?”

“Don’t knock it till you try it. There must be some strange food combinations you like.”

---