Page 36 of Hers to Hold
“But for right now—”
“Right now I want to hear how much you love my secret sauce!”
She laughed and licked some from her fork. “Oh my goodness! What’s in this?”
His eyes twinkled. “Trade secret.”
“I haven’t had sauce this good in a long time. Long. You should bottle it up and sell it.” She moaned at the tenderness of the rib meat. Wes was an excellent cook. Between Kat’s bakery and meals with him, she would definitely put on weight.
Meals with him.
Was she envisioning a future with this man so soon?
“Glad you like it.” He winked. “How’s working at Kaye’s Kakes?”
“Mmm, yeah. Everyone is so nice. The smells are just great. I thought I’d get sick of all the sweetness, but it’s like working in cheesecake or…a cotton candy bubble, or something like that,” she ended giggling. “What am I saying?”
“It’s all the sweets.”
“It must be. Working in a cheesecake?”
“Is that even possible without drowning?”
She shrugged. “Me neither. But drowning in cheesecake doesn’t sound like a bad way to go. It’s hard to describe how much I love working there and I’m a—” He cocked a brow while she froze. She almost revealed what she was.Reallywas. A journalist. Someone whose job was words. She cleared her throat. “These mash potatoes are the creamiest. I can taste the chives.”
He grinned. “Grandmother’s recipe. Said it was good for catching women.”
She choked and washed her food down with a few gulps of sparkling cider he’d poured earlier. “‘Catching women’?”
“She liked to butt into our lives with the tips and tricks of courting.”
“She sounds practical.”
“That’s a nice way of putting it.”
“Did any of her tips ever work?”
His ears turned pink. “You tell me.”
She dipped her gaze.
“What do you like to do for fun, Kady?”
Kady quickly shoved a forkful of mashed potatoes into her mouth. Fun? What was fun? For years, she’d been working nonstop. Work. That was her idea of fun.Or maybe a crutch.Other than that, attending the occasional political debate at a local college or participating in a lecture series had occupied her time.Am I all academic and work? How boring.
She smiled. “I like picnics.”
His laughter cheered her. “Then we’ll go on many more. How about hiking?”
“Love it.” She hadn’t gone on a hike in a while. “I haven’t had a chance to really check out the trails here.”
“Then we’ll make another date of it.”
When he winked, her chest warmed and goosebumps peaked along her arms. She quickly changed the subject. “Tell me about your work. Did you ever get things straightened out with the contractor?”
He sighed heavily. “No, not yet. I dunno. Maybe I should have an audit done.”
“An audit? That sounds serious.” And like a story.
