Page 6 of Bear In A Boutique
The whistle blew and the clank of forks against plates and the cheer of the crowds quickly filled her ears. Ryker was already eating. Everyone was. Realizing she was now behind, she scrambled to sprinkle water on the pancakes, overshot the tilt of the glass, and doused them instead.
“Oh no.”
The super thin pancakes turned to mush, falling apart on the fork before she could get a decent bite. Anxious to catch up, she glanced at Ryker’s plate to see how many he’d eaten.
He was plowing through and would be done in no time. Clenching her jaw, she glared at her plate and made a snapdecision. There was no way she was losing this bet. It was time to get messy.
Tossing her fork aside, Olive shamelessly scooped the soggy pancakes with her fingers. Scoop, swallow, scoop, swallow. A cramp spread in her middle as she inhaled the food while intermittently checking Ryker’s progress with a side-eye. Delight sparked in her chest when she saw that she was catching up.
Reaching for another bite, she realized the last three pancakes were solid. Her stomach cramped in protest. Ten inches looked impossibly huge.
“Give them to me.” Ryker motioned hastily for her to pass him her plate. And though her stomach was threatening to burst, or even worse, force everything back up, she held onto the plate and glared at him.
“I’ll do it.”
“You don’t have to. Hand it over.”
“Aren’t we already at twenty?”
He grinned cockily. “If you’re going to win, win big.”
Win big, huh? In that case, he could take her to an expensive restaurant. Keeping Ryker’s gaze, she folded a pancake, stuffed it in her mouth, and chewed fast. Her body remembered how to do this. Full? No worries, just keep eating. It will settle eventually. She powered through the rest and just like that, her plate was empty.
Ryker’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief. Olive grinned in satisfaction.
“Winners!” The announcer came over and held up their empty plates. The other contestants groaned and tossed their silverware down. One of them called out, “Every damn year, Ryker. Could you let someone else win for once?”
He patted his middle, clearly pleased at another win. “Sorry, Bill. What can I say? I like a good pancake.”
“So does your girlfriend. Why don’t you two lick the plates, too?”
Everyone looked at her and the last mouthful of pancakes she’d eaten threatened to come back up.
“I’m not the girlfriend—” Bile rose in her throat. She quickly pressed a hand to her mouth. Don’t throw up, don’t throw up.
“You need some water?” Ryker stood, looking genuinely concerned.
“Just give me a minute.”
“I knew you couldn’t handle that much. You're too tiny. There’s not enough room in there for twenty pancakes.”
“You just don’t like to be proved wrong.”
Breathing through her nose for a moment, she stood, waited to see if her stomach would cooperate, and then took a sip of water from her glass.
Fox appeared. “You know what else he doesn’t like? Going on dates. Ryker, take this woman somewhere fancy. She earned it.”
Olive waved a dismissive hand. She didn’t have the urge to follow through. Seeing him lose was good enough. “No need. We’re good.”
Ryker walked away, probably to avoid more of his brother’s teasing. She tracked his copper-blonde hair as he moved through the crowd toward the exit. Pausing, he glanced back in her direction. Their eyes caught and the overwhelming urge to go to him pulsed through her. A flash of them together rippled through her mind—embracing, kissing, his hands in her hair.
Just then, a high-pitched beep sounded from Ryker’s fire radio. He wasted no time running out of the tent and disappearing from view.
She hoped the fire call wasn’t serious, but she was thankful the call had come in when it had so she hadn’t done something stupid like throw herself in his massive arms.
Chapter Three
His brother needed to back off.
