Page 158 of The Dragon 2
I glanced at the shadows where Hiroko watched me with this victorious smile.
Well. . .
Frowning, I took another bite of the black-eyed pea cake, already accepting my delicious defeat.
I can’t even think. Her food is so good. So perfect. She really can fucking cook.
I closed my eyes for a long breath and then opened them again.
Fine. They win this round also. Although. . .I feel like they’ve won other rounds that I didn’t even know were there.
Chapter thirty
Sip. Sway. Sin.
Kenji
Soon, one waitress silently appeared, bowed, and began to remove the trays.
The other waitress returned and placed two cocktails in front of us.
Hmmm. My Tiger is pairing the meals too?
Each glass was a small work of art—delicate crystal, filled with something the color of fire. There was a curl of orange zest floating on top, and the glass was so cold it clouded near the base.
I studied it. "What is this?"
"It’s the Bronx Cocktail. Which is funny since it was invented in Philadelphia, not New York.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. A Bronx restaurateur discovered it in 1905 while visiting Philly.”
“What’s in it?”
“So. . .the cocktail is four parts gin, one part orange juice, and one-part Italian vermouth."
I stared at her. "You memorize cocktail trivia?"
"Only the ones that matter."
"And this one matters?"
She shrugged. "This was the first alcoholic drink I ever had."
I lifted the glass and swirled the liquid gently. "When did you have it?”
"My parents had this huge party at our house. Black-tie. Politicians. Business moguls. Basically, all these important people my father wanted to impress. I was thirteen. They told me to stay in my room. But I snuck downstairs in my pajamas and socks like a damn spy, and when one of the servers wasn’t looking, I swiped a glass of this."
"You’re a thief."
"I would like to say I am sneaky when necessary.”
I took a sip. The taste was stronger than I anticipated, biting at the back of my throat with a tangy twist that left an aftertaste of sweet vermouth.
I quirked my brows. “You drankthisat thirteen? How did that go for you?"
“I was fucked up for days.”
