Dirty Little Mistake (Dirty #2) by Amber Rides Read Free Book Online Page A

memory,” she informed me.
    “That’s pretty bad, Pancake.”
    “I know.”
    “What else?”
    “I may or may not have called him a pervert.”
    I covered a laugh with a cough. “Sounds like the worst phone sex ever.”
    “Thanks,” she muttered.
    “So you thought you’d come by first thing this morning to tell me about your failure as a phone-lover?”
    “I wanted to catch you before you went to work,” she said.
    “If that’s the case…You have plenty of time to go home and make me some cocoa instead of that coffee.”
    “You don’t work?”
    “I do. I’m on the evening shift at the Serenity Inn and Restaurant. Our guests like late night pastries and they like them fresh.”
    She frowned for a second, and then her face lit up. “Oh my God! You make those delicious little strawberry thingies?”
    I raised an eyebrow. “Strawberry thingies? You mean the world-famous, secret recipe, Serenity-exclusive, Strawberry Cream Cheese Turnovers?”
    “Yes!”
    “Yeah, Pancake, I make ‘em. In fact, I helped invent them.”
    “Liar.”
    I shot her a wounded look. “I’m not lying. Why do you think they’re R-Rated on the menu? Because they’re so damned sexy?”
    She blushed. “Maybe I thought they were sinfully delicious.”
    “Oh, they are. But in this case, the R definitely stands for Ridley. Of course, if you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to join me in the kitchen anytime you like. I’ll show you how those bad-boys are created.”
    I don’t know why I made the offer.  My boss, Ronaldo, was a hard-ass who probably would’ve fired me long ago if it weren’t for my claim on the turnovers.  No way was he going to let me bring someone into the kitchen.  And he’d shit himself if he thought I was going to give away our secret recipe. 
    Except the delighted look on Brenna’s face made it totally worth risking Ronaldo’s wrath.  In fact, I was damned sure that look would make almost anything worthwhile.
    “Seriously?” she sounded like she was trying not to squeal.
    I suppressed a chuckle. “If you promise that next time – which will be the second time, in case you’re keeping track – you decide to accost me while you’re in your pajamas, you’ll bring hot cocoa. With marshmallows.”
    “Marshmallows?”
    I shrugged. “Up to you. If you think that’s too much to ask…”
    “Definitely not. Those Strawberry Cream Cheese Turnovers are one of my favorites. I could eat twenty of them.”
    On cue, her stomach growled just loud enough for me to hear.
    I raised an eyebrow. “You sure you only want twenty?”
    She blushed again. “I was in a hurry to get here. I didn’t eat breakfast.”
    I stood and stretched, pretending not to be pleased by the way her eyes travelled across my bare chest before I slipped my T-shirt over my head.
    “Can I offer you some stolen strawberry thingies ? Or are you still in a hurry?” I teased.
    “Even if I had plans, I’d cancel them for one of those turnovers.”
    I laughed and led her through the garage, into the mudroom, and then into the kitchen.  I pulled a container of the desserts from the freezer and stuck them on a tray.
    “I have to warn you,” I said. “These are the ones that didn’t meet the Serenity standard and were destined for the garbage.”
    “They won’t be as good?”
    “No,” I correct ed with a grin. “They won’t be as triangular.”
    “Ha ha.”
    I slid them into the convection oven, then straddled the chair across from her. “So. Don’t you have a job to go to?”
    “It’s Spring Break.”
    “You’re a teacher?”
    “Preschool. But we work out of an elementary school so we shut down when they do.”
    “Preschool?” I couldn’t quite keep the surprise from my voice. “And you really want to date Ian?”
    “Is that weird?”
    I forced a laugh. “Nope. Not hard to believe at all. You spend all day finger painting with monkeys. Why wouldn’t you want to come home to an ape like Ian?”
    “Hey!”
    I