La Vie en Rose {Life in Pink} by Lydia Michaels Read Free Book Online

slice, doughnuts the size of grapefruits, and even specialty booths for vegans and other diets she’d never heard of before.
    “Oh, we have to start here,” he veered to the right and she followed. When the walkways became clogged with people, he reached through the crowd and pulled her to his side. “Watch this, Em. This is how meat should be treated.”
    It was indeed a performance. The vendor tossed a steaming brisket onto the wood surface and unwrapped the charred foil covering. Juicy morsels of fat were trimmed away to unveil perfectly cooked, tender, pink beef. As the peddler made a show of slicing the meat in precise portions, it fell apart and her mouth watered.
    Riley’s voice turned gravelly. “Oh my God, we are so eating that.”
    She grinned at him, loving the glazed lust in his eyes. Only men got that way with meat. She supposed beef and pork were to a guy what shoes and purses were to most women.
    As the chef prepared their sandwich, Riley asked questions about the smoking process. The vendor was very friendly and informative. “You want everything on it?”
    “What’s everything?” Riley asked.
    “Cheese, pickles, hot peppers, sweet sauce.”
    He glanced at her. “You afraid of hot?”
    “No.” She wanted to taste the sandwich the way the creator intended it.
    Riley grinned. “Give us the works.”
    The man dressed the small sandwich until it was bursting with meat and dripping with sauce. Riley paid and she followed him to the side of the booth where coolers held the vendors’ supplies.
    “Are you ready for this?” he asked, eyes set with excitement.
    “You taste it first.” She wasn’t sure what would be more enjoyable, watching his exhilaration or actually tasting it for herself.
    “You sure?”
    She nodded as he carefully held the messy sandwich and took a bite, bits of cheese and meat falling from his fingers. “Oh my God,” he moaned over a mouthful. “You have to try this.” She reached out, but he shook his head, still chewing. “Just open. It’s too messy.”
    Opening wide like a ridiculous baby bird, she let him shove the corner of the sandwich in her mouth and bit down. “Oh my God!” she echoed.
    “I know, right?”
    An exquisite blend of flavors burst over her tongue. “It’s amazing,” she mumbled, holding her fingers over her lips so food didn’t fall out.
    “I could eat twenty of these.” He took another bite.
    “We so should.” She opened as he held the rapidly shrinking sandwich out for her again.
    They didn’t waste time talking for the next few minutes as they devoured the most delicious sandwich she’d ever tasted. When they finished, Riley snagged some napkins and passed her several to wipe her mouth.
    As they journeyed onward they sampled maple bacon cupcakes, Bangladeshi street cuisine, and even shared a pumpkin spiced S’more cooked under the flame of a blowtorch. It was an incredible festival of food.
    “Do you like oysters?” he asked as they approached a merchant standing before a bowl of crushed ice.
    “I don’t know.” She’d never tried an oyster before.
    “Wanna try one?”
    “Sure.”
    As the chef sliced open the rocklike case and revealed an opalescent inner shell, she tried not to be revolted by the goopy booger looking mollusk inside. He shucked the blob loose, leaving it resting on half a shell, and placed it in a bed of crushed ice.
    “What do they taste like?” she asked.
    The chef continued to shuck. “Briny, like the ocean. If you’re virgins I can dress them in a mignonette sauce to soften the taste. I have a nice ginger cucumber one.”
    “What do you suggest?” Riley asked.
    “I’m a purist, sir. I like them with a bit of pepper and lemon and that’s it.”
    Riley glanced at her.
    “I think I should try it with the sauce.” The more she stared at the little glob the more unappealing it became. These were considered delicacies? If she was remembering correctly, they were also aphrodisiacs. She didn’t see