cooks.
He pulled out his laptop and was about to check his email when Lina escorted Sloane into the kitchen.
âYou still willing to feed me?â she asked and looked a little sheepish.
âAbsolutely. Grab a seat at the island.â
He pulled out what was left of the frittata and fruit salad from the refrigerator, made up a plate of the appetizers, and started heating everything.
âI donât think I can stand another Bun Boy burger, and Iâve been living off dinners at the Ponderosa,â she said.
âWeâve got limited options.â It was on the tip of his tongue to invite her to this great Indian restaurant heâd discovered in Glory Junction, but stopped himself. âIf youâre willing to drive a half hour there are a couple of good places in Glory Junction.â
âThatâs what Jake was saying. For a small town the Ponderosa is phenomenal and the fries at the Bun Boy canât be beat, but I like a little variety. In fact Iâd kill for sushi or a bánh mì .â
He liked a woman who was passionate about food. Hell, if he didnât watch it, he could really like her. Beautiful, nice to talk to, and not afraid to eat. Half the women in LA were anorexic, and the other half lived on protein drinks because they considered sitting down to a meal a time suck. He pulled her plate out of the oven, added a scoop of the fruit, wiped the edges, and placed it in front of her with a mock flourish.
âSo what were your favorite restaurants in HelLA?â he asked, and cocked his hip against the counter to watch her eat. Today she had her hair tied back in a ponytail, which kind of did it for him. Sporty and a whole lot sexy.
âThere were so many. Pizzeria Mozza of course; Mexicali Taco and Co.; Picca.â
He nodded his head in agreement, although he thought Kiriko was better than Picca.
âLetâs see,â she continued. âGjelina, Lucques, Langerâs . . . ah, the pastrami . . . Hunan Mao and my favorite, Pig and Tangelo.â
Before he could stop himself, Brady blurted, âThat was my place.â
âPig and Tangelo? The best, right?â
Apparently she thought he meant his place to eat. He kept quiet. A quick search on the Internet and sheâd know in an instant, but why advertise? The greatest thing about Nugget was that he could hide in plain viewâas long as word didnât get back to LA, where six degrees of separation really did exist.
âThis is good,â she said with her mouth full. âReally good.â
âGlad you like it.â He searched the refrigerator to see if any of the chocolate pots de crème were left and found one hiding in the back behind the milk. In a mixer, he whipped cream, spooned a dollop onto the chocolate, and slid the ramekin and a spoon to her. âTry this.â
She dipped the spoon in, held it up to her mouth and licked. It about drove him crazy.
âMy God, this is good. If you leave it here, Iâll eat the whole thing and then Iâll need a nap.â
He shrugged. âSo, take a nap.â
âI have to go back to work.â Sloane pushed the dish toward him right before Connie came over the radio, saying something about an 11-84 near the high school.
âWhatâs that?â Brady asked.
âThey need me to direct traffic.â She hopped off the stool. âMustâve been a fender bender. I hate to dine and dash without doing my dishes . . .â
âDonât worry about it.â He waved her off, happy that it wasnât anything more serious.
Â
By the time he got home the sun had started to set. Brady sat in the van for a few seconds watching color paint the sky. Theyâd had an unprecedented number of clear nights. But it was cold when he got out. Sloaneâs police SUV was parked in its usual spot. Sheâd beaten him home. Now didnât that sound funny?
He was halfway to the porch when she came jogging