Chapter 3
Carina
When I get back from my break, the shop is bursting with customers. I make my way to the kitchen, slide my apron over my head, tie it up behind my back and get ready to grill some sandwiches.
The flames bursting from the gas oven are a reminder of the stranger I just met.
What a hottie.
I start my first round of sandwiches with a little shake in my hips.
From Summerville with love.
Miranda steps in closer and studies my face. “What’s that?”
“What’s what?” I frown my confusion.
“That goofy grin on your face,” she says. “Your mind is miles away. Did something happen on your break?”
“Nothing happened.” I cringe at my high-pitched tone.
“Like that wasn’t a dead giveaway.” Miranda laughs.
“It’s nothing,” I say.
She stares at me.
“Okay.” I breakdown and give up the charade. “Local men here are…”
“Red hot.” Miranda finishes my sentence.
“Yes. They. Are.”
“Welcome to small town USA, princess.” Nora says with a wink.
“Big city girl is eager to saddle up.” Melanie laughs.
“Oh, God.” I blush. “This is so embarrassing.”
“Nonsense,” Miranda says. “It’s just us girls “Was there a cutie out there?”
“Not a cutie. A god.”
“Woo-woo.” Nora and Melanie hoot.
“Oh, stop it, you guys,” I say. I’m surprised I’m still able to keep my production going considering how distracted I am. “Not that it matters. I’m probably not his type anyway.”
Miranda tilts her head to the side. “Why do you say that?”
“Yeah, why?” Nora arches a brow. “If I had your eyes, your hair, and that flawless skin, men would be tripping all over themselves.”
My cheeks burst into flames. “Thanks.”
“She’s right.” Melanie nods. “Won’t be hard for a pretty lil’ thing like you to git yerself a small-town boy—better yet, a cowboy—if you wanted to.”
She kills me when she exaggerates her Tennessee drawl.
“That guy looked like a model,” I say. “I’m sure he’s into dental-floss-thin girls.”
“Oh, my God, that’s hilarious.” Miranda laughs.
“Never heard that expression before.” Melanie grins, her light brown eyes shining with amusement.
“I have a few extra pounds.” I grimace. “I don’t fit the bill.”
“Welcome to the club,” Melanie says, slapping her ass.
I can’t help but laugh.
“You mean you’re not a size zero or a size I’m-starving?” Miranda sneers.
“I wasn’t going for zero, but maybe a few sizes smaller.” I shrug.
“Why?” Nora shakes her head. “Dang it, girl, you look fine to me.”
“You’re a woman. Of course, you’d say that,” I say. “Men see it differently… I might have a little too much cushion.”
“Oh, hush now, girl,” Melanie says. “Nothing wrong with a little paddin’. I got plenty of that, too—way more than you.” She slaps her ass again.
We all crack up.
“It’s a little challenging when you’re a chef not to taste your own food… hence the extra pounds.” I stack up a batch of sandwiches on a large platter, hand them over to Nora and move on to the next batch.
She’s already heading to the shop to satiate hungry customers.
“I’m not saying every man living in New York or LA only wants perfect skinny models with flat stomachs, but men around here are nothing like that,” Miranda says.
“Really?”
She nods. “I’ll use Riley’s go-to dating advice, Men down here, love girls with curves.”
“They do?” My eyes grow as wide as saucers.
“Uh, huh.” She nods. “And you, my dear, fit the bill perfectly.” Miranda grins from ear to ear.
“I wasn’t aware.” I frown. “Well in that case, I just experienced a bad case of love-struck… or is it lust-struck?”
“Maybe one of us knows him,” Miranda says. “Did you catch his name?”
“I didn’t.” I shake my head. “He’s just a ridiculously sexy and rugged stranger I was drooling over until an acquaintance of his killed the moment.” Thank you for nothing, Mr. Devon. “I can’t get his mesmerizing green eyes out of my head.”
“Sounds like the big city girl is lust-struck,” Nora says.
“I think I am.” I’m not afraid to admit it.
“We got a live one, y’all,” Melanie says.
We all laugh.
“They don’t make them like that in New York,” I say.
“I had the same thoughts when I moved out here,” Miranda says, “And trust me I only had eyes for my hotter-than-hell fiancé, but unless you’re blind, it’s hard to miss. Guys down here are rugged and manly. No man buns and no beanie hats. LA guys don’t hold a candle to Summerville men.”
Nora cheers waving her spatula over her head.
“Well, this guy was hotter-than-hell.” I flutter my free hand over my heart.
“Until you bump into him—”
“What are the chances?” I interrupt Nora.
“This is a small town, Carina. He’s out there,” she says.
“Oh.”
“As I was saying”—Nora goes on— “until you two meet again, you can fantasize about him. I do it all the time. Works wonders. If you have a toy, it’s even better. Makes for pretty amazing wet dreams.”
“Amen to that.” Melanie lifts a hand over her head. “If you didn’t bring your toys from the big city, there’s a shop in town that sells ‘em, unless you prefer ordering them online.”
And just like that, I imagine what the rest of Mr. Sexy Stranger would look like naked. He’d be the perfect toy.
I can feel Miranda’s amber eyes boring into the side of my face, but I don’t dare to meet them. “Damn, Carina. Even I can read those naughty thoughts.”
I’m sure my face is the color of a tomato.
What’s happening to me?
“Y’all, our big city girl just had a moment,” Nora says.
“Oh, stop it.” It’s a lame attempt at hiding the obvious.
There we go laughing again.
April says, bursting into the kitchen. “What are y’all laughing about? We can hear you from the shop.”
April Williams is another helper. She usually starts later, but today is Friday, and since two staff members are away until Sunday and Monday respectively, we need the extra hands.
“Nothing,” Miranda says. “Everyone back to work. We have hungry people to fee.” Her exaggerated stern voice only makes us giggle more.
April frowns my way.
I shrug in feigned ignorance.