Page 3 of Take the Bait

What an asshole.Yep, this was definitely in the top five worst dates she’d ever been on.

“I’m the chef, sir.”

Hanna’s eyes panned back to where the waiter was standing.

Okay, so he was a sexychefnow.

That definitely didn’t help matters.

“You’rethe chef?” Josh asked.

“The chef, the owner, your waiter,” he responded. “Small business life, you know. I wear many hats.”

Hanna felt like her chest was expanding with the belch she was holding back as her eyes ping-ponged between the two men.

“Then you should know this isn’t shrimp cocktail,” Josh said, his tone laced with condescension.

“You’re right, it’s not atraditionalshrimp cocktail,” the chef/owner/waiter responded, biting back a smile in a way that made his sharp jawline tighten. “It’s our special shrimp cocktail. Instead of your classic cocktail sauce, it has our famous awesome sauce. Takes kind of a fun twist on cocktail sauce.”

Don’t burp. Don’t burp. Don’t burp.

Conspiratorially to Hanna, he added, “Old family recipe. Promised Granny on her deathbed I’d never tell anyone what’s in it. So don’t try to get it out of me, shortcake.”

She grinned at him, bemused that he seemed to be taking none of this very seriously.

And that he was bold enough to poke fun at her height, which must’ve been extremely obvious if he could tell she was five-foot-nothing just by looking at her sitting at a table.

Maybe it was the way her feet barely touched the floor that tipped him off.

Certainly wasn’t the first time she’d been called shortcake.

Despite the amusement, the urge to burp was only growing stronger. Her throat constricted, and her eyes started burning.

You. Will. Not. Burp.

Josh scoffed. “This isn’t Granny’s kitchen. If you have shrimp cocktail on the menu, people will expectcocktailsauce.”

Her date shook his head and rolled his eyes, locking contact with Hanna for a brief moment as if to say,Can you believe this guy?

She raised her eyebrows at him.

He thought she was on his side?Seriously?

“We actually haven’t run into that problem,” Sexy Chef quipped. “The menu says that we use awesome sauce instead of cocktail sauce, but people can always ask for cocktail sauce if that’s what they prefer. Maybe you missed that note on the menu. Regardless, I’d be happy to bring you some cocktail sauce.”

Hanna bit her lip and covered her mouth with her hand—partly to wipe away the smile, but mostly as added defense against the belch building within her.

Of course Josh hadn’t reviewed the menu thoroughly enough to realize what exactly he was ordering. He’d barely shut up long enough for her to order her drink. Hadn’t even commented on the fact that she’d ordered a Shirley Temple, of all things, in a desperate attempt to get him to ask a question about her.

Josh’s cheeks reddened. “That’s not necessary. I think we’ll just pay for our check and head back to my place.”

He waggled his eyebrows at Hanna meaningfully.

Hold it in, hold it in, hold it?—

She busted out laughing.

She couldn’t help it.

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