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“Yeah, pretty much. Unless I’m at a restaurant.”

I set her to-go cup of pop on the table. “Well, I mean, I guess I’ll eat and watch a show sometimes. But most of the time, I eat at a table. Have you ever noticed that when you eat and watch TV, you can eat your whole meal and not really taste it because your brain is focused on the TV? It’s like mindless eating. I love to eat, and more so, I love the taste of food, so I want to be present while doing so.”

She takes a seat across from me. “You’re just very fancy for a bachelor. Your house is spotless. You took the food out of the to-go boxes and put it on glass plates. You eat at a table. It’s different than what I’m used to.” She shrugs.

Furrowing my brow, I question, “So you normally hang out with pigs?”

She laughs. “Yeah, I guess, maybe I do.”

“Well, wait until you eat this burger. You’ll be glad you gave it your full attention.” I nod toward her plate.

“Oh, yeah?”

“So me and the guys have been on this quest to find the best burger in the city. We’ve eaten so many burgers at countless restaurants throughout Chicago, and we finally found the one. It’s actually from an Irish pub a few miles away.”

“Weird.”

“Right? Who knew? I don’t know what their secret is, but they seriously make the best burgers.”

She takes a big bite and I wait expectantly as she chews. She grins through her mouthful of food and gives me a thumbs-up and a nod.

“See. Told you. That’s not a burger you want to mindlessly eat through.” I take a bite of my double cheeseburger and groan, leaning back in my chair.

If I had to choose between sex with Lexi or this burger, I don’t know which I’d pick.

CHAPTER5

LEXI

It’s Sunday, a full thirty-six hours since I spotted Boss in Cam’s bar. If one listens to his version, he’ll say he spotted me, but I know the truth.

He walked through those doors and made the butterflies in my stomach dust off their wings and come to life. Our attraction was innate from the very beginning, and it’s only gotten more intense.

We’ve only left his condo once since Friday for a quick trip to Cam’s to grab my luggage. Every moment since we met in the bar, we’ve shared a connection of epic proportions. It doesn’t matter if he’s taking me to new heights in bed or we’re having a conversation—I feel more alive than I have in years, maybe ever.

If I had my way, we’d stay entangled with one another until I fly back to Florida. Unfortunately, he insists on going to this barbecue. Apparently, his friend Deacon has one every Sunday, and the whole truck crew attends. I wanted to stomp my foot and insist he skip it, but as spoiled as I am, even I know when to rein in the attitude.

“You still bitter?” Boss questions as he jogs around the front of his car and meets me on the sidewalk in front of Cam’s building.

“That I have to share you? Yes,” I grumble, causing Boss to laugh.

“It’s only for a few hours. Plus, you did come to Chi-town to see your bestie. It’ll be nice to see her today, right?” He entwines his fingers through mine and leads me into the apartment building.

“Yeah, I suppose.”

“Plus, I think our bodies could use a break,” he adds.

“Speak for yourself.” I squeeze his hand. I won’t admit it, but I am a little sore. I’ve never had this much sex in such a short period of time.

I open Cam’s apartment with my free hand and step inside. “Let’s go, Cam!”

“Coming! Coming!” she yells back, grabbing her purse. “Hey, Tony.”

“Hi, Cam. Glad you can hang out today,” Boss responds.

“Yeah, I usually have Sundays off.”

“Yeah well, the crew I work with at the firehouse usually does, as well,” he says.

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