Page 85 of Roberto

Which died as soon as she saw me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“You’re leaving?” she asked in obvious disappointment.

I frowned. “No.”

“Youlooklike you’re leaving.”

I looked down at my clothes.

To someone unaccustomed to my habits, the suit vest might have looked a bit formal.

“This is just how I dress.”

She stared at me in shock. “First thing in the morning?”

“Yes.”

“To lounge around thehouse?!”

“Yes.” I added defensively, “I’m not wearing a tie.”

She burst out laughing. “You reallyarean accountant, aren’t you?”

“Ha ha,” I said in a deadpan voice as I gave her a playful glare. Then I walked over, put my arms around her waist, pulled her in, and kissed her.

She melted into my embrace.

We kissed for almost 20 seconds before she suddenly tore away, crying out in Chinese, and raced to the stove.

She flipped some eggs in a pan with a spatula – but the underside was a solid circle of golden brown.

“Dammit,” she muttered.

“Is that a Hong Kong way of cooking eggs?” I asked.

“No, they were supposed to be scrambled. I told you last night I could cook eggs, but apparently I can’t even dothat,”she said with a rueful laugh.

I came up behind her, looped my arms around her waist, and nuzzled my face against her hair. “I’m sure you could if you weren’t distracted by me.”

“Mmm,” she murmured, and I could hear the smile in her voice. She tilted her head to the side, giving me access to her neck, which I took full advantage of. I kissed up and down her bare skin –

Until she yelped again in Chinese and quickly returned to the eggs.

When she flipped them again, bothsides were now a golden brown.

“Great,” she muttered.

“You should’ve just told me they were ‘eggs à laHong Kong.’ I would’ve never known the difference.”

She laughed. “Okay – these are eggs à laHong Kong.”

“They smell delicious.”

“You’re really going to eat these?”

“If I get to eat them sitting next to you – absolutely.”

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