Page 21 of Why Cheese?
“A spring mix salad with garbanzo beans.” I dig out the salad before Cheddy can tear it to pieces. Brie’s face lights up below his hair. “It sounded so good, I got one too.”
“Thank you,” Brie whispers. He climbs back up onto the counter to sit cross-legged and digs into his salad with gusto. Brie being a vegetarian cheese is the least weird thing I’ve seen today.
“He does not have to survive off of water and bread. Huzzah.” Cam hoists out one of the other pasta dishes covered in shrimp. “Oh, how my heart skips a beat at this taste of the sea. Assuming it is not pickled and brined.”
I shake my head.
“You are a true treasure,” he declares and takes a huge bite. “Magnificent. Here.” Cam plucks one of the shrimp from his dish and extends it to me. “You must have a taste.” Just as it’s about to press to my lips, he pulls it back to ask, “Or do you have the same proclivities as our Brie?”
“No. I like salads is all.”
“Then eat.Mangia.”
With his lips parted, Cam glides the tip of the seared shrimp towards my mouth. I open up in anticipation. A soft sigh trembles from Cam as my breath slips over his fingers. Growing more aware that three men stopped eating to watch me, I cup my lips around the head of the shrimp and try to bite down sexily.
“The food doesn’t matter. Where are the supplies?”
I swallow the wrong way and the nub of shrimp catches in my throat. Sputtering, I fight for air as Roq walks in. He barely glances my way before rummaging through the boxes. “Where is the milk? The rennet? We can do nothing without it.”
Cam gives a light tap to my back as I cough around the shrimp. Air goes out but has a hard time coming back in. With a loud woomph, Cheddy slams into my spine. It sends the shrimp head flying until it splats onto Roq’s cheek.
He doesn’t even acknowledge it, just wipes the food away while I funnel in air. “Well…?”
“For the love of god man, try to grow a heart in those black holes of yours,” Cam scolds him. “She needs a moment. Are you well? Do you need me to play doctor?”
“No,” I wheeze out, “I’m…what?”
“I happen to have a delicious bedside manner,” Cam says, then he smiles wickedly. “Though, it’s better in the bed than beside it.”
Roq’s low growl sends Cam walking away, his hands raised. He zeroes in on me. “You…”
“My name is Violette,” I fume.
“Yes, Violette. We require the milk. Where is it?”
“How am I supposed to get raw sheep’s milk in the middle of a freaking city?”
“You call up the supplier and ask them to deliver fifty gallons to…”
“Well, I’m gonna need more time. I might be able to get the raw milk, but I’ve got to go to a…shady farm to do it. As for sheep—”
Cam interrupts, “The cow’s milk will be fine. This isn’t southern France regardless of your delusions, Roquefort.”
Sighing with gravel, Roq nods. “Yes, cow’s milk will do, for now. Mention that this is for cheese making. They will not cause such a fuss.”
That would have been nice to know before I called up every grocery store I could and they all acted like I planned to drink poison.
“At least you found lard,” Roq says. “And supplies to rebuild the shelves.”
“Rebuild?” I glance around, confused.
Cheddy leans against one of the shelves nonchalantly. As he places his weight on his elbow, the middle board cracks in half, sending him plummeting through each shelf until he strikes the floor.
Roq gives a simple shrug of his eyebrow when Cheddy pops up to his feet. “I’m all right.”
“You two help with dismantling the shelves. Take stock of what needs reinforcing and what needs to be built from scratch,” Roq orders Cheddy and Brie. They both pick up a random tool and nod. “Cam, you can assist me—”
“I can, can I? How delightful. I can be of service to our illustrious, blue-haired dictator.”
