Page 60 of Banter & Blushes

I wipe the counter and wish I could Clorox my brain of the memories from that first kiss and all the ones that followed. The last thing I need is to swoon over a musician right before his big break. That wouldn’t help either of our careers.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but you could use a little spontaneity in your life.”

“That’s precisely why I hired you.”

“No, you hired me because you like me.”

“True.” I narrow my eyes at her. “And because your parents let me park this truck at a lot of prime locations rent-free.”

“Okay, so there’s that.”

“But you are the yin to my yang in business. I don’t have time for any yin-yang in other areas.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong.” Her tone is mischievous. She points a wet rag at me, slinging suds my way. I wipe my brow with the back of my hand.

“Sorry.” She swipes at my head, making it worse with her wet hands. “When’s the last time you truly let yourself like a guy?”

I cross my arms and scan through my last few dates. They’re further apart than I thought. “Maybe Joel?”

“That was over a year ago, and he stole from our cash register.”

“Well, if I’m honest, it was him.”

Genesis exhales and stares at the ceiling dramatically before finally helping me clean. “You need to have some fun.”

“I do have fun.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Work isn’t fun.”

“It is to me.” I glance around the food truck. “Making new recipes and feeding people and seeing them happy is fun.”

“For them.”

“And me.”

“You need to get back in the dating pool.”

“And you don’t?”

“I date all the time. In fact, I have a date tonight.”

I scrub the counter harder and resist asking any questions. Most women have a type. If Genesis has a type, it’s to date the polar opposite of whomever she dated before. That means she always circles back to the same two types, often the same two guys.

“It’s Jeremy.”

I stop cleaning and give her a look.

“Would it make you feel better if I’d said Roman?”

I shake my head.

“That’s why I don’t talk about my personal life.”

I cackle. She talks about everything and everyone, and everything about everyone, including herself.

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