Page 12 of Off the Grid
Phone. Phone.
If I were my phone, where would I be?
He ran a hand over his chest.
I’d been texting Nate when I fell asleep, so…
Leo winced, anticipating the sight before he managed to look down at the floor. There it was, his new phone, in pieces across the industrial tiles. He reached down, snatched the shattered bits off the floor, and tried to press theonbutton. Nothing. The display was black as midnight, blacker even, because at least the night sky still had stars. His screen was a complete abyss.
It must’ve fallen off while I was sleeping.
Or maybe it slipped when I woke up.
Leo blew a frustrated breath through his lips, letting them vibrate against each other as he pushed the annoyance down. Emotions did nothing in a situation like this. If being a Fed had taught him anything, it was focus on the task ahead, and right now that task was updating his partner. He needed to let Nate know he’d found McKenzie, that she was safe, and that he was watching her. Well, would be watching her—with both eyes open, this time.
“Excuse me,” he said, making eye contact with one of the waitresses glancing in his direction. “Could you—”
“Okay, people,” a familiar voice interrupted him. “It’s go time.”
Leo’s nostrils flared.She hasgotto stop doing that.
He spun in his chair.
“Amy, I need you to take the macarons and the éclairs first.” McKenzie kept talking, paying Leo absolutely no mind. She pointed to the right side of the prep table, and Leo couldn’t help it as his gaze followed. A tray with five little metal Ferris wheels sat along the edge, decorated with macarons, bright pops of color amid so much stainless steel. Next to that were five chalkboard trays with three éclairs each. The sight made his mouth water. His empty stomach may or may not have gurgled. “Sarah, the soufflés come out of the oven in two minutes and thirty-three seconds, and then I need them served immediately. When you come back, Amy, the berry torte is in the fridge chilling. Then I’ll need you both for the crème brûlée. I’m serving it flaming so you need to be careful. And when all that is done, I’ll bring out the showstopper. Are we good?”
“Good,” one of the waitresses said.
“You got it,” the other replied.
“Great.” McKenzie nodded, then turned her attention back to the mound of doughnut holes sitting on the table before her. She grabbed a set of tweezers and a flat sheet of gold. Leo watched, confused, as she peeled flakes of gold from the sheet and carefully attached them with studied precision to the display.
“Excuse me,” he said cautiously. Her gaze flicked in his direction for the barest instant before returning to her work. The only way he could think to describe the motion wastired.
“Welcome back to the world of the living,” she commented as her lips twitched.
Leo chose not to acknowledge the remark—hell, he deserved it for falling asleep on the job. “Can I ask…” He watched her apply a few more flecks of gold. Though his mind knew the words that should’ve completed the question—can I ask where there’s a phone I could use?—his mouth came up with something else. “What the hell is that thing?”
She didn’t pause. “It’s called a croquembouche.”
“Are those…” Leo took a step closer, letting the words drag out because he knew they were so wrong, and yet, he couldn’t stop himself. “Are those doughnut holes?”
One of the chefs working the stovetop started choking.
“No.” A sneer passed over her face as though the question were offensive. She glanced over her shoulder at the chef having a fit in the corner, and then looked at Leo. “They’re profiteroles.”
He stared at her blankly.
“Cream puffs?” she said, trying to explain.
Leo nodded, trying to play it off as though he understood, but the confusion must’ve been written all over his face. With a sigh, she grabbed one of the little balls from a tray to the side, what appeared to be extras, and tossed it in his direction. Leo caught the pastry smoothly in his fist, then took a bite. Pure buttery, sugary bliss exploded in his mouth.
“Holy shit, these are good.”
A smile danced across her lips. For the first time since he’d met her, those blue eyes twinkled with a little bit of warmth. The ice queen dissolved, and in her place was someone definitively human and infinitely more beautiful. Leo much preferred laugh lines and wrinkles to stony perfection.
She inclined her head toward a pot near her elbow. “Use the spoon to drizzle on some butterscotch and then get back to me.”
Leo did just that, groaning as he chewed his next bite. She watched, a note of pride in her expression, but not an ounce of surprise. Clearly, McKenzie knew these things were little bites of heaven, and she wasn’t ashamed to admit it. Leo blinked as he licked the butterscotch from his lips, looking at McKenzie anew. There was nothing sexier than a confident woman. She held his gaze in unspoken challenge, as though she’d be damned to be the first to look away.
