Page 21 of Taco Daddy

“We know who you are,” Pink Hair said.

“You’re Taco Daddy.”

That was the first time anyone had called him something so ridiculous, and Andres internally vowed his friends would nevereverhear the nickname.

“Ah, well, I own the taco truck, if that’s what you mean.”Fuck, he was floundering.

“And you met our friend Rita Friday night, but only after you’d heard her talking about your tacos earlier that day.”Pink Hair raised her eyebrows.

“Eden.”The other girl nudged Pink Hair, whose real name was Eden, with her elbow.

“Bree.”Eden nudged her friend back.Well, at least he had their names now.“It’s not as if he doesn’t know.”

Bree pressed her lips together disapprovingly and glanced away, so he focused on Eden since she was the talker.

“Yes, and I fucked up.”

Bree swung her head back around, looking at him with the same interest Eden was now showing.Well, he’d gotten their attention.Now, he just had to hold it and convince them of his regrets.Hopefully.He kept his voice low, talking as quickly as he could, moving in the line with them.With every customer that stepped away from the food truck, he could feel his time shortening.

“I overheard your conversation when you were here for lunch, then recognized Rita at… the club that night.I had the thought I could get some payback for what she’d said, but I wouldn’t have gone through with it.”

“Then why did you single her out and take her off with you?”Bree narrowed her eyes at him.

“And why didn’t you tell her you knew who she was?Or who you were?”Eden jumped in, right on top of Bree’s question.

It was like being questioned by bad cop and bad cop.Not that he blamed them.

“I was immediately attracted to her and when I approached her, I wasn’t thinking straight.”He held out his hands pleadingly.“By the time I realized I didn’t want retribution, I just wanted her, I was afraid she’d walk away if she knew why I’d initially approached her.”

The two women glanced at each other.Oddly, the look they shared gave him hope.As if they were thinking about the point he’d made and conceding it.

“I wasn’t really thinking, I will be honest.I reacted instead of thinking, and the deeper we got into talking and… spending time together…” He glanced around to see if anyone was listening, but either way, he knew he would keep couching the facts in ambiguous language.“I wasn’t thinking about why I’d approached her, just about how amazing she was, how much I liked her, and how lucky I was to have found her.”

The women looked at each other again.

“Oh, he’s good,” Bree murmured.

Andres’ heart lifted in his chest with hope.

“Very good.As long as he’s not being slick, and he means it.”Eden turned back to him, tilting her head as she studied him up and down.Andres flexed his hands under her steady gaze.“What do you want from us?”

“A way to contact Rita.You don’t have to give me her number or anything,” he said in a rush.“But if you could get her to come back here…” He trailed off as both of them started shaking their heads.

“She was very clear that she’s never coming back here or the Outlands,” Bree said, using her finger to indicate the general area where the food trucks were gathered.

His heart sank again.That explained why she wasn’t there today with her friends.Bree’s expression softened when she met his gaze.

“Look, we can’t tell you how to find Rita.That would be a breach of friendship and trust.”

“Yup, a big breach,” Eden echoed, nodding firmly.Mischief was dancing in her eyes, though.

“We can, however, tell you wherewewill be this afternoon at five-thirty.”Bree grinned at him.

There was definitely mischief in her eyes, though she was better at hiding it than Eden.He had a feeling Eden was a brat of epic proportions, whereas Bree was the good girl, and Rita probably fell somewhere in between.

“Oh, yes.I don’t mind you knowing where I’ll be.”Eden smiled so innocently, her expression practically screamed, ‘bad intentions.’

“We’re having happy hour at the House of Starrett.”

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