Page 29 of Hungry Like A Dragon
He and Petra locked gazes. “Tell me about the display,” Petra said.
The human employee glanced over her shoulder; the tinkling bells indicated another customer had entered the shop. This place was tens times busier than the other shops they’d checked out so far today.
“The owner is as obsessed with those little figurines as all the people who come in to buy them,” the employee said before bustling over to sell more tiny dragons.
When she returned to Noah and Petra, she said, “There are boxes of them in the back, and whenever we sell one, I’m supposed to replace it with another. Never let the shelves go empty. I don’t know where she gets them all, and like I said, they aren’t even antique.” She shrugged. “But people love them anyway.”
“Is the owner here, by chance?” Petra asked.
The other lady shook her head. “She’s supposed to come in around noon today. Is there something specific you’re looking for? I could call her.”
“No, no, that’s okay.” Petra contemplated the shop. “How long has she owned this place?”
The employee’s nose wrinkled as she lifted her gaze to the ceiling, like she was trying to find the answer there. “A few years. No more than five.”
Noah heard Petra’s sharp intake of breath. “What’s her name?”
“Delilah. Delilah Dawson.”
Petra’s fingernails dug into his arm. “You said she’d be here at noon?”
“Yes, but I can help you if—”
Petra gave Noah a push, urging him toward the door. “No, that’s okay. Thank you, have a nice day!” She hurried out of the shop, speed walking down the sidewalk, barreling through the clusters of humans wandering at a more leisurely pace, no doubt attempting to enjoy the late-morning sunshine.
At the end of the block, she twisted to face Noah. “We found her.” There was unfettered excitement in her voice, almost as much as there’d been last night when he’d given her an orgasm, and she’d demanded more.
Uh-oh, was he going to start relating every damn thing to having sex with Petra?
Sadie made a noise and flung her toy onto the sidewalk. Noah picked it up and handed it to her, and she tossed it out again while looking at Petra.
“I think she’s hungry,” he said.
Petra cupped one of her boobs. “Yeah, it feels like it’s time to feed her.”
He sure hoped whatever physical attraction they had lasted until she was done breastfeeding. He had lots of fantasies stored up that involved those puppies. “Come on, Café Beignet is right here. I can’t leave New Orleans without trying their pastries.”
Petra walked along next to him while he pushed the stroller across the street. “You planning to go home soon?”
He gave her a sideways glance. “Not until your assignment is done.”
“Gabe’s okay with that?”
He held the door open for Petra. The place was packed, but she managed to snag a two-top table in a corner. Sadie had begun to fuss, so she plopped down, lifted the wiggling infant out of the stroller, and then held her in one arm while draping a blanket over them both. Noah was fascinated by the ease with which she managed the process of feeding their child.
“Show’s over,” she said with an amused smirk. “How about getting in line and ordering us some food?”
He shook his head like he was trying to wake from a trance and asked what she wanted.
“I’ll take a muffaletta, a glass of water, and an iced café mocha.”
Clearly, she’d been here before. He headed to the cashier to place their orders and returned a short time later with a tray loaded with food. Of course he ordered gumbo—and beignets. He placed their orders on the table and bent over and kissed the top of her head.
“No reason to keep up the act right now,” she said. Yeah, they weren’t, in fact, a couple, and she had no intention of moving in that direction. Obviously, he’d fallen a little too deeply into his role.
“Right,” he muttered, seating himself across from her. He savored that first bite of gumbo. Damn, he needed to find himself a few cookbooks while he was here, because he definitely wanted to learn how to cook New Orleans style.
“I haven’t told Gabe what’s going on,” he said after a couple more spoonfuls.
