Page 66 of Flirting With Fire
Destiny nodded. “I think the spicy roasted nuts are my favorite addition. Have either of you tried them yet?”
Rosie screwed up her nose. “I’ve never really enjoyed nuts. Especially if they’re too salty.”
Destiny turned to me. “What about you? Have you tried Mr. Gomez’s nuts?”
I couldn’t remember double entendre being such an issue for me before. At least, not until Meyer showed up in town again.
“Not yet.” I smiled, willing myself to keep my composure and not morph into an adolescent. “I’ve been tending to the booth most of the day.”
Destiny brushed her hand through the air. “Oh, you must before the day’s over. You can always get a bag for later.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I sure wished Meyer would appear from wherever he was hiding and bail me out. “Any other booths I should try and visit?”
Destiny grinned. “As long as you asked, I have something new. I’m premiering them here. It’s been a devil trying to keep my new creations a secret.”
“I can only imagine.” Good sense should’ve kept me from asking the inevitable question, yet I ignored my inner emergency alert system and plowed ahead. “What are they?”
Destiny brought both fists to her mouth, almost vibrating with excitement. “Cream hand pies.”
I blinked several times. “Uh, wow. That’s…”
“Amazing, right? I mean, everyone has fruit or nut hand pies, but how many have cream pies?” She rolled her eyes. “Some people think they know everything about baking—even if they don’t. I’d like to see someone pull off a cream pie the way I can.”
I rubbed my forehead, wishing I could disappear, and Rosie seemed positively fiendish. Destiny and Alejandra’s decades-long feud was like catnip to her.
“Oh my.” Rosie glanced down at the now-empty sample bowls. “I suppose I’d better get one before they’re all sold out.”
Destiny nodded sagely. “You wouldn’t want to miss out.”
“No, I wouldn’t,” said Rosie. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a good cream pie.”
Somebody make it stop.
Rosie turned to me. “It was so nice seeing you again. We’ll have to continue our conversation later.”
I almost asked which conversation, but then my brain cells kicked in, and I kept my big trap shut.
I smiled. “Thanks for stopping by.”
Destiny and Rosie said their goodbyes, then right as Rosie left, Alejandra strolled by, waving at me. She made a point of not including Destiny, and as I responded with a wave of my own, Destiny caught Alejandra’s gaze. Now I was in the cringey position of being the innocent bystander as they mad-dogged each other.
As soon as Alejandra was out of sight, Destiny returned her attention to me. “Can you believe her? The nerve!” Destinyhuffed. “She’s just jealous of my butts and hand pies, wishing she’d thought of them before me.”
“I love your coffee,” I blurted.
Her forehead wrinkled as she tilted her head. “What made you say that?”
Cowardice? Stupidity?“I dunno. For some reason, all this talk of pastry made me think how well coffee goes with sweets.” I smiled as sincerely as I could. “Obviously, I couldn’t help but think ofyourcoffee.”
Destiny ducked her head, placing her hand on her chest. “Thank you, Dex. How nice of you. You’re such a wonderful man. I just can’t understand why someone hasn’t snagged you yet.”
I wanted to announce to the world that I had been snagged. As far as I was concerned, Meyer and I belonged together. Other than our small circle, no one knew we were an item. Perhaps we should fix that, but I wasn’t sure what the best approach was. I’d have to bring the subject up with Meyer when we got home later.
I grinned before I could stop myself.Home. What an awesome word.
Destiny laughed. “What are you smiling about? You look like the cat who ate the canary.”
I snorted. Actually, I was the rancher who ate the firefighter. However, she didn’t need to hear that—cream pies notwithstanding.
