Page 35 of The Huckleberry Bookshop

“What? Is that a yes? No? I’ll think about it?”

“She’s having an aneurism,” Meddy said with amusement.

Athena simply shook her head and added liquid coconut oil and chilli powder to the vegetables. She left the wok on high heat for less than a minute, tossing the contents, then pouring them out into a serving dish.

“Can I try?”

She snatched a clean fork from the stainless steel countertop, scooped up a mouthful of steaming veggies and held it out for him to take. She waved it impatiently when he didn’t respond. The food smelled wonderful, but he knew what would make better footage.

He shook his head like a stubborn toddler, crossing his arms. “Only if you make choo-choo sounds.”

She gave a dramatic, full-bodied sigh. “Aren’t you a big boy? Can’t you feed yourself?”

“No.” He angled closer, keeping his mouth closed. It was either this or grab her around the waist and pull her in, and he was pretty sure she wasn’t game for that.

Plus he didn’t especially want to create footage where she was kneeing him in the family jewels. That would surely go viral when the guy working in the editing room thought it would make a funny outtake.

Meddy giggled from behind the camera, and Athena shook her head in exasperation. “Choo, choo!” her sister said encouragingly.

With a dramatic sigh, Athena said in a voice one might use with a baby, “Open up, here comes the veggie train. Choo-choo!”

Mullens couldn’t believe he’d gotten her to do that. In front of the camera, no less. She really was a different person in the kitchen.

Obediently, he opened his mouth, and she dropped in the food. His taste buds exploded with a burst of flavors.

“How does that taste better than when I make it?” he asked in wonder, his mouth still full. At one time his mom would have murdered him for such poor manners. Now he wasn’t even sure if she’d bother to tune in to the show.

Athena laughed, then stopped abruptly, studying him.

Uh-oh.

“More?” he asked hopefully.

Chapter 7

“What is he doing?” Athena leaned across the diner’s red-and-white-checkered tablecloth to look past her date, Glenn, a professor of literature.

She lowered her hands, realizing she’d been waving them about in indignation.

The man at the other table was an adult. He could do what he wanted.

Even if it was a direct attempt to get a rise out of her.

Glenn turned to peer over his shoulder at Chad Mullens, and Athena grabbed his wrist, startling him. “Don’t look.”

But she couldn’t resist doing so. He was wearing a body-hugging black sweater and jeans, and was manspreading at his table for one, his shoulders practically as wide as the table itself, greasy food piled up in front of him. Then again, Athena figured, a built hockey player such as Chad couldn’t help but manspread. His quads were so stacked with muscle he probably couldn’t sit with his legs together even if he’d wanted to. She’d seen him in the gym, seen the girth of those bare thighs shoving weights the size of a small car up a metal incline.

Okay, not quite that big. But big enough.

“I forgot. Karen says you’re a dietician?” Glenn glanced around the small-town diner, then winced at his almost empty plate. The poor man was clearly afraid she was going to lecture him about the saturated fat content of his burger and fries.

“I’m sorry. I promise I won’t rant and rave about your meal. You can eat whatever you want.”

He smiled politely as Chad took an enormous bite of his own cheeseburger, juice dripping off his hand and onto his plate.

“Um. Can you excuse me a moment?” Athena slid from her chair.

She shook her head as she moved past Chad, studiously avoiding looking at him. Just like she had since he’d walked in—right after she’d sat down with her date. What was Chad even doing in town? They were done filming until April.

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