Page 4 of Bear In A Boutique
She had no idea what was going to be fun but as Ryker’s expression turned from grumpy to skeptical to annoyed, her competitive side perked up. He looked her up and down and shook his head like she was a car he decided not to buy. “No.”
No? Her hairline heated at his dismissive tone.
“What do you mean, no?” Lulu challenged.
“She’s too small.”
“Everyone else is busy.”
“Forget it. She’s not the right one.”
Olive felt that like a punch in the heart. Stepping in front of Lulu, she crossed her arms and looked up at him. Screw his handsomeness. Forget how woodsy and wonderful he smelled.
He was an asshole. And she wanted to prove him wrong in the worst way.
“I’m not the right one, huh? Try me.”
Their eyes clashed. He looked at her hard as if trying to stare her down. Ignoring the lump in her throat and the ache between her legs, Olive stared right back.
He finally grinned but there wasn’t any humor in it.
“Fine, but I hope you’re good at stuffing ten inches in your mouth.”
Chapter Two
Dead. Silence.
Ryker worked his jaw, clearly realizing the implication of his words. Discomfort spread across his face when someone finally snickered.
“Ten inches?” Olive mimicked. “Seriously, there are children present.”
A teasing smile tugged her lips.
“That’snotwhat I meant. I was talking about pancakes.”
Well, well, it was sort of nice to see the asshole falter. Oh, she could grill him for this but decided to play nice. For now.
“That’s good because you haven’t even taken me on a date yet.”
Was it her imagination, or was Ryker blushing? He crossed his arms over his chest, his voice bland. “The pancakes are ten inches in diameter.”
“Ah, this is a pancake-eating contest. I get it now.”
“Easy, just like I said.” Lulu nudged Olive toward the table. “Let Ryker do most of the heavy eating, so you don’t throw up.”The other two tables were already filled with contestants. Wow, that was a lot of people hoping to be the alpha pancake stuffer.
“How many do we have to eat?”
“The first team to finish twenty pancakes wins. This is the first year they’re doing teams. Ryker usually wins all by himself, so don’t overextend yourself for the sake of a win.”
Olive shrugged. “It’s no problem. I can eat my fair share.”
Lulu’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? I can barely get two normal-size pancakes down before I’m bursting.”
She’d grown up with food insecurity and homelessness. Eating more than she could comfortably handle when the opportunity arose was a survival skill she’d learned young. Granted, she hadn’t had to utilize that in a very long time, but her body would remember. Besides, she wanted to prove Ryker wrong in the worst possible way.
“I’m going to show him I can manage ten inches.”
A man with a clipboard called the teams together. She sat beside Ryker and a waft of sage tickled her nose. The scent got stronger as he unclipped the radio from the waist of his jeans and laid it on the table, then slightly turned her way. Oooh, the butterflies were back.
