Page 68 of Things We Fake
I put my glass down carefully before I crushed the damn thing. “If he gets anywhere near you, I’ll disabuse him of that notion.”
Sue looked surprised, maybe even pleased with my reaction. I knew some women got a kick out of men fighting over them. Hell, it’s why we did it. Although a fist fight wasn’t my first go-to in modern times.
I pursed my lips thoughtfully. “Maybe I should stick Britt on him. Until his wife gets her share, he’s still a rich man, right?”
She barely managed to swallow her wine before bursting into guffaws. “Oh, I’d pay to see that. Maybe they know each other. Warwick’s a small place, and surely Neil would have noticed her back then. But I can’t imagine her living in the countryside, plucking truffles.”
“Now that’s something I’d pay to see.” I pushed my empty plate aside. “Thank you for dinner. It was delicious.”
“You’re most welcome. I was in a hurry, but next time I’m going to cook some pasta myself.”
I arched an eyebrow. “I’d love some spaghetti carbonara made by a genuine Italian woman.”
“Just to be clear, real carbonara doesn’t involve cream. Or garlic. Or—God forbid—peas.”
I blinked. “Wait. No garlic?”
She pointed her fork at me. “No garlic, no cream, no onions, no parsley, no lemon zest, no avocado. No culinary crimes.”
I raised my hands in mock surrender. “I didn’t know the recipe was sacred.”
“It’s not sacred. It’s just correct. Egg yolk, pecorino, guanciale, black pepper, and pasta. That’s it. Anything else is just pasta cosplay.”
Cam grinned. “Wow. That was… passionate.”
I watched her amused and a little entranced. If she put this much passion into cooking, I could only imagine how passionate she might be in bed. I swallowed, yanking my mind from between the sheets.
Sue went on with no loss of enthusiasm. “Once you’ve seen reels with fettuccine alfredo labeled carbonara, you become scarred for life. My grandmother would rise from her grave and throw a wooden spoon at their heads.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “I bet she was formidable.”
Her smile faltered just a little. “I don’t really remember her. I only met her once when I was three. She and my grandfather came to see us, but traveling from Italy to US and vice versa isn’t easy or cheap, so that was the only time my dad was reunited with his parents. I’ve never been to Italy and now that my grandparents are gone…”
My expression softened. “I’m sorry you lost them. But I’d love to take you to Italy one day.”
She guffawed. “That’s quite unlikely on a teacher’s salary.” She changed the subject quickly. “So how did the conference call go?”
She’d already asked, and while I didn’t want to be distracted, I got the message and gave in with a small nod.
“It went really well. I sold the program to one of the largest education ministries in the country. They’ve beenlooking to modernize their system, and they accepted our bid. They want everything installed during their summer break—which is winter here.”
“Will you have to go there?”
The words sounded almost wistful, as though Australia was the moon and she didn’t want me to go there.
I smiled gently. “I will at first. But I’ll be assigning a Denver team to manage the project once it’s off the ground. If the other states jump on board, it could be massive. Have you ever been to the Land Down Under?”
She scoffed. “Does Mexico count?”
I chuckled. Led by an impulse, I reached across the table and slid my hand over hers. “You should come with me. Australia’s incredible. It really is a whole other world.”
She gulped her wine. “Sure. Just let me consult my bank account and the tyrants I work for. Also, I don’t do well upside down.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I. Between the price of flights and my work, I’d have to fake my death and cash in someone else’s life insurance. And no,” she added, “you can’t pay for it. I told you—I’m not that kind of girl.”
I cocked my head. I couldn’t figure her out. All the women I’d ever dated expected me—no,demanded—that I pay for things, for clothes, for jewelry, for trips. Susanne was the first woman I had to convince to let me buy her gifts. I wasn’t used to this. I didn’t know how to feel and how to react.
