Page 12 of Neighbors' Omega
“Umm… thank you…” I replied, accepting the offered cookie.
“This is Jace,” Shane said with a laugh. He turned to me. “Don’t mind Vince. He gets excited for test kitchen days.”
“To be fair, we all do,” Vince retorted. “And it’s nice to finally put a face to a name.”
My face heated. “They talk about me that much?”
Vince laughed. “Don’t worry, it’s not that bad. Mostly Shane telling D to say hi when he sees you.”
“Which I almost always forget to do.”
I jumped at the voice from behind me and turned to see Derrick standing just inside the door.
“Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
I shook my head and started to put down the cookie. “It’s ok. Shall we?”
Derrick held a hand up. “No need to rush. Enjoy whatever experiment Roland has produced.”
He strode over and snagged a cookie from the cooling rack. “What’s up today?”
“Chocolate chipotle raspberry,” Roland answered.
Derrick nodded and took a bite. “Damn, that’s good.”
I caught Roland’s grin out of the corner of my eye, and brought my own cookie up for a taste.
Spicy sweetness exploded across my tongue, the chocolate mingling perfectly with the fruity raspberry and the savory chile. I couldn’t help the moan that escaped.
“I think he likes it,” Shane laughed.
“Can’t get a more honest reaction than that,” Roland agreed with a chuckle. “On the menu they go.”
“Wh-where do you work?” I managed, trying to recover from the—frankly—lewd-sounding moan, even while my face heated with a blush.
Roland grinned. “I’m the dessert slash pastry chef atThe Thirteenth.”
“That’s the restaurant on the thirteenth floor of the financial building downtown, right?”
He nodded. “Seems none of the investment types wanted to work on the thirteenth floor, but my boss loved the space. It’s been a good move.”
“I’ll have to go one day.”
He grinned. “It’s pricey, but worth it. Come during the day though. The reservations for dinner are months out, and the menu for lunch is just as good but without the wait.”
I nodded at the information.
“I hate to break this up,” Derrick said. “But I think we should go before Carl comes back.”
“Oh, right,” Shane replied. He grinned. “We’ll save a few more cookies for you. Go on. Take a look at the house.”
“Will we be coming back?” I asked, turning to Derrick. “Am I riding with you?”
He laughed. “It’s a unique situation. We’re just headed next door.”
I blinked. “Next door?”
He nodded. “Come on, I’ll explain on the way.”
