Page 34 of Under the Ink

Sage almost laughed. “How’s today any different?”

Naomi raised her eyebrows and then nodded. “Right.”

“What abouthere? This shit smells divine.” He couldn’t even see a sign anywhere, but he couldn’t miss the happy diners sitting at various tables through the glass—and he was sold.

“Yeah. It does smell good.”

Once they were seated inside, Sage scoured the menu for burgers first and found something he liked—but then he made his way to the appetizer section. “Wanna start with one of these appetizer boards?”

“Oh, sorry.” She’d been looking out the window with an almost dreamlike gaze. What she’d said earlier about liking Phoenix must have been true. As she turned her attention to the menu, her eyes quickly slid down the first part of the menu. “That’s a lot of food.”

“Yeah, so? Aren’t you hungry?”

“Notthathungry.”

“I’ll eat at least half of that shit. Besides, that way we get to taste a little of everything.”

When she looked back at the menu, she said, “This place is expensive.”

Sage hadn’t even looked at prices. It was something he hadn’t done since the royalty checks had started flowing. It wasn’t that he could blow money on anything, but food wasn’t something he worried about as far as finances went. Thanks to his dad’s advice, he had money invested—not just for retirement but to earn more in case he ever needed it.

What he had in his bank account was for day-to-day. And there was plenty.

“I’m buying, remember? So don’t look at the numbers. Just listen to your appetite.”

The way she raised her dark eyebrows was adorable. But her words seemed far more serious. “I think as a species we should listen to our appetites far less than we do.”

“That’s pretty dark for dinner conversation.”

Fortunately, she grinned. “Yeah, I guess so. Let’s just say if you get that appetizer, you’re on your own.”

“Fine. Then what about the nachos?”

“That’s still too much.”

“Wings?”

Pausing, she read the description—and Sage knew he could eat them allanda full meal even if she didn’t touch them. “Yeah, okay.”

“Good. That’s solved. And that Angus bacon cheeseburger’s caught my eye.”

“Itdoeslook pretty good.”

“Don’t feel stuck to the burger menu if you want something else.”

“No, that looks good.”

“Can you eat all that?”

The twinkle in her eyes warmed his veins. “We’ll find out.”

Based on day one, he never would have guessed Naomi had a playful side to her—and he loved it. Although it wasn’t full-on flirting, it felt like she was letting him see inside, just a peek, and he was relishing it. “Will you have room for dessert?”

“I doubt it—not with all this other stuff.”

“If you change your mind, I’m still buying.”

“I haven’t forgotten.” Her eyes went back to the busy street. When they’d first arrived at the hotel, there hadn’t seemed to be lots of people walking, although the traffic was heavy. Now that the sun had finally disappeared over the horizon, people were walking the streets, almost like ants searching for their next delectable morsel.

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