Testing The Boss(8)

Evelyn opened her mouth to reply, but Luke answered for her. “This pretty lady is Evelyn. She’s working with me for a little bit. Evelyn, this is Jake.”

She smiled up at him and his face fell. “And here I was hoping you finally found a woman to make an honest man out of you!”

Evelyn snorted. “It would take an army of women to make an honest man out of this one.”

Jake shook his head. “Nah. This one’s already had an army. All he needs now is one special one.” He shot her a knowing wink before he turned back to Luke. “What can I get you two today?”

“Two brats and two waters.” Luke reached in for his wallet. In a flash, Jake had the brats in buns and a thin paper wrapping and handed them over. Luke had his hands full, so Evelyn took them. She noticed Jake never had to say the price.

Luke just handed him over one bill that Jake tucked into his apron before he ushered Evelyn over to the toppings. “You can put anything you want on there except ketchup. That’s not allowed on brats.”

Evelyn raised a brow. As much as she did love ketchup, she wasn’t about to put it on a brat. But she decided to give Luke some grief about it. “Isn’t it just like a normal hot dog?”

The look he gave her was of pure disdain. “I take it back. You let me handle your toppings.”

He wrapped his fingers around her wrist to hold her brat still as he put a neat line of mustard along one side. “There. You get the basic. I don’t want you to get too overwhelmed with your first New York brat.”

“Well, I appreciate you looking out for me.” She smirked.

He smiled back at her and for a moment, they stood there, motionless. The pad of his thumb rubbed against the sensitive skin right beneath her palm, and Evelyn’s breath caught in her throat.

But just as quickly as the strange moment started, it was over. The man who’d been in line behind them gave Evelyn the stink eye for holding up the toppings area and she stepped aside so he could get in as Luke piled topping after topping on his own brat.

As soon as his was about twice the size of hers, Luke tilted his head to an empty bench across the sidewalk. She managed to keep her shoulder bag perched in place as they maneuvered through the pedestrians without spilling any of the toppings. Evelyn did a quick once-over of the bench to make sure that none of the pigeons had used it as a completely different type of seat before she sat and handed Luke his brat.

He set her bottle of water between them as he took a massive bite out of his brat. At that rate, it wouldn’t last more than thirty seconds. But he paused to savor the food, closing his eyes as he finished chewing.

“I didn’t realize food poisoning tasted so good,” she muttered.

He took one last swallow and motioned toward her own untouched brat. “Just quit your bitching and eat the damn thing. You won’t die.”

“Probably won’t die,” she clarified. “There’s a difference.” He glared at her and she decided it was time to bite the bullet. Or brat, in this case. The thing was massive and it didn’t make matters any easier that Luke stared intently at her.

She sighed before she opened wide. She made sure she got a bit of bun, brat, and mustard in the bite, but the second she bit down, juice squirted on her face. She quickly dabbed at her cheek with the napkin, wondering whether the whole experience could be any more undignified, but then the taste hit her.

Good Lord. It was moist and perfectly seasoned, and the bun was warm and scrumptious.

She moaned as she finished the bite and Luke laughed. Evelyn rolled her eyes, but she didn’t even try to hold off before she took another bite. “Why does everything so bad for me have to taste so good?” she asked when she was about halfway through.

Luke took one last bite of his own brat. “That’s just the way of things.” He leaned back on the bench.

He looked so at home here in the middle of the city, eating the gross (if fantastic tasting) cart food. She felt as if she had a giant spotlight shining on her, saying, “Outsider! Outsider! She isn’t welcome!”

“I’m surprised you like it here so much.” She leaned back, forcing herself to go slower and savor the rest of her meal.

He appeared surprised. “Why’s that?”

“Your family is from Georgia. You were raised there. That’s a far cry away from the busiest city in the country.”

Luke’s gaze scanned the busy street. “I don’t know. I think this pace is better suited for me. Michael might end up moving back home at some point. If Lori agrees to it. That whole scene fits him better.”

“And you’re a lifer?”