Page 97 of Recipe for Rivals
Which, as it happened, decided to growl the moment she approached.
Pink spots appeared on her cheeks. She posed the pencil on her notepad. “What can I get for you?”
“Coffee with the pancake breakfast. Sausage and bacon both, please.”
She nodded, writing. “How do you want your eggs?”
“Over-easy.”
“Toast?”
“Wheat.”
She scribbled it down, the redness growing on her face. When Nova finished writing her notes, she turned away. “I’ll have it right out.”
Was she…embarrassed? The woman wouldn’t meet my eye. I hadn’t taken my shirt off for her—how would I have known she was here? It was only a joke.
By the time Nova returned with the pot of coffee and a clean mug, I was at a total loss. I leaned back in the booth, running my arm along the bench. “Have I done something to offend you?”
Her eyes dipped to my shirt. “Besides your obscene little show back there?”
“Myobscene—wow, Nova.”
She put the coffee pot on the table with a thud and leanedforward on both hands, lowering her voice. “You’re going to send that table of grandmas to the hospital with heart attacks. Don’t you think about anyone but yourself?”
“I was thinking of you, actually.”
She saw right through that little tease. “Oh? Not something stupid like football rivalries?”
“No, of course not.” I grinned, loving how easily she could see through me. “I was wishing you were here, and then bam: wish granted.”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Heart attacks?” I asked, eyebrows up, my gaze flicking to the older women. “Thatwas ridiculous.”
“Do you own a mirror? I’m not the one exaggerating here.”
A slow smile curved over my lips. She’d leaned so close, our faces were only inches apart. I wasn’t even hungry anymore. I could live off banter with Nova. The rich aroma of coffee wafted up from the hot mug in front of me, making my stomach rumble again.
Comfort between us had been restored. I hadn’t seen her since the Battle of the Badges. I’d backed off, leaving the ball in her court. I didn’t know how she felt about violence or if seeing me and Chad fighting was a dealbreaker. She hadn’t blamed me at the time, but she had kids, so I wouldn’t fault her for being cautious.
“Do they not feed you over there?” she asked.
“At work? I’m the one who does the feeding. We had back-to-back calls all night, so I didn’t have time to grab anything.”
“I’ll bring out your food as soon as it’s ready.” She hesitated, and I liked that she didn’t seem to want to leave right away. “You doing anything fun today?”
“Puzzle shopping.”
“Huh.” She nodded. “That sounds like a fake excuse you’d use to let someone down gently. On par with cat feeding.”
“Are you asking to hang out with me? Because the puzzles can definitely wait.” I cringed. “But my grandpa can’t.”
“Why don’t you take him that one we did of the States? It’ll keep you both occupied for a while.”
“Until he throws the whole thing off the table.”
“Has he done that before?”