Page 74 of Matched with Her Athlete Boss

“I work at a test kitchen, so I love to enjoy new foods. I’m always trying to analyze how they make certain dishes.”

I point toward her salmon. “Did they do anything special with this?”

She shakes her head. “There’s nothing out of the ordinary with the salmon but the dill sauce is fantastic. I’ve never had one with such a pop of flavor before. What about your steak?”

“Um, it’s cooked?” I say, and then try to backpedal. “I mean, there are some great flavors there and it was cooked how I like it.”

We finish the meal and head out for the final destination.

“It’s kind of weird to leave a restaurant and not pay for anything,” Kenzie says quietly as we walk out.

We’re guided up a couple blocks to a food truck that’s parked next to several small tables and a bench.

“Roll With It,” Liz reads on the truck. “That’s a clever name, especially if they sell rolls and pastries. And it’s a food truck.”

I laugh and nod, understanding what she’s talking about.

A petite woman takes our orders and passes them off to a taller guy behind her. “Thanks for coming to support our food truck. Good luck with your matches, everyone. Brennen and I were matched through Love, Austen and it’s worth it.” She points to the guy working the machines and grins at us.

“At least some people get the right match,” Kenzie says barely audible. She gets her croissant and takes a bite, moaning at how good it is.

“You really like that, huh?” Sam says, pointing to the pastry.

“I just really like chocolate. It always helps calm me down in stressful situations.”

Sam frowns. “Is this stressful?”

“Kind of. I mean, there’s so much behind these dates. Actual science or just computer systems that are telling us we’d make a good match. It’s just… a lot.”

“I thought we were having fun.”

Kenzie’s expression falls and she says, “Yeah, this has been fun. Something different. Sorry, I’m just saying this croissant hits the spot.”

There’s a tension between them now and I have to turn away to hide my smile.

“How’s your dessert?” I ask Liz, trying to stay present.

“It’s delicious. A blend of a couple different chocolates and the chocolate ganache is excellent. I’d love to recreate this in the test kitchen.”

“Do you have to make everything several times in order to get it right?”

Liz nods, reaching over and placing her hand on my arm. “Yes, once I had to remake the same cake twenty-five times before I got all the measurements right.”

“That’s a lot of cake.”

The camera crews direct us back toward the Common and we say goodbye to our dates. Liz slips me a piece of a napkin with her phone number on it and I have to force a smile when I say we’ll have to catch up another time.

“Do you want a ride home?” I ask, turning to Kenzie.

“That would be great. I’m ready to fall asleep standing here.”

“How did your date go?”

She lets out a long, slow breath. “To be honest, it was going well for most of the date. And then he got all defensive when I was trying to tell him how I felt about everything. That was a turnoff right there. I don’t need to feel like I have to walk on eggshells around him. I’ve done enough of that to last a lifetime.”

“With your ex, you mean?” I ask, curious. She’s shared bits about him before, but this is another piece of the puzzle I’d like to hear about.

Kenzie nods. “Oh man, at the time, I was devastated that he’d left me for royalty. But as the months have gone on, I’ve realized how many red flags there were that I’d conveniently ignored. I gave up so much to be with him and I shouldn’t have to change my personality for anyone.”

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