Page 64 of The Accidental Wife

“What do you want to eat?” I ask her. Shayla clears her throat and bites her lip thoughtfully.

“Uh, there’s this place by the river, they have amazing street food, let’s go there.”

I frown, “Street food?” She glances at me and nods. “You sure that’s what you want? We can go to a nice restaurant?” I suggest, but Shayla smiles and shakes her head.

“You’ve never had street food, have you?” She asks with a wayward grin, and I shake my head looking ahead. “Oh boy, you really have been raised with a silver spoon in your mouth, time to widen that horizon, Lord Hoult.” She says, putting the address in my satellite navigation. “Drive.”

“Fine, but if I get food poisoning, you’ve been warned I’m going to throw up all over you.” I threaten her jokingly, and she grins while flicking through the songs on the stereo.

“You’ll be fine, Richie Rich.” She says, winking at me when I smile at her. She reaches over, pushing her finger into my dimple.

“If you’re getting the urge to tongue fuck my dimple again, baby, go right ahead.” I tease, and she giggles, smacking my arm. We spent the rest of the drive joking around about various things and rapping along to songs on the stereo.

* * *

The time was justafter nine ‘o clock at night when we pull up at the place Shayla suggested. It was bustling with people, everyone eating food while walking around, music playing in the background, twinkling lights. It was a nice setting. It felt cosy and welcoming. Shayla and I make our way through the crowd of people. I lace my fingers with hers and smile when she doesn’t pull away. She tugs me along to one of the carts. “So, what I usually do when I come here, is get little bits of food from different carts because there are too many good choices to just pick one. You up for that?” She inquires, looking up at me curiously, and I smile, nodding my head while I look around.

“Sure, let's do it,” I reply, and she pulls me to a Mexican cart first.

“Hola Guapa!” The guy in the cart greets her when he sees her. Shayla laughs when he takes her hand and kisses her knuckles.

“Federico! Cómo estás?” Shayla asks. I watch her in awe as she converses with the guy in Spanish.

“What can I get you, beautiful?” Federico asks, smiling and greeting me with a nod, which I politely return. “The Shayla special?” Shayla nods with a beautiful grin and holds up two fingers, indicating she wants two of whatever her special is. While Federico is busy preparing the food, I pull her against me and kiss her forehead.

“I didn’t know you spoke Spanish,” I murmur in her ear, and she smiles with a shrug peering up at me.

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Cole. I’m just full of surprises.” I brush my fingers through her hair as we wait for the food to cook.

“You really are, and I’m hoping to know more,” I tell her earnestly while I gaze into those endless green eyes of hers.

“You do?” She questions curiously, and I nod, looking over her angelic face.

“You simply fascinate me, Shayla, and I can’t wait to know more about you,” I admit brushing my fingers lightly along her jaw while she watches me.

“What’s so fascinating about me? I’m just like any other girl.” She replies, her brows knitted together a little, and I shake my head, my eyes on hers.

“You’re absolutely not,” I declare, my thumb gently dragging along her bottom lip. “You’re unlike any girl I’ve ever met.” Shayla smiles and turns to speak to Federico again. I can’t even begin to explain how awful it’s felt the last few weeks. It’s been so awkward since our fight over Sophie. Shayla did a complete one-eighty on me and was avoiding me like I was the plague. Thank God we work together, or I’d never see her the way she’s been with me lately. I’ve missed her terribly. I was so lost in thought that I hadn’t even realised I had my nose buried in her hair until she moved to take the food Federico was handing her.

I take my wallet to pay, but Federico waves it off and winks at Shayla, who beams at him. “Federico, te amo.” She coos, blowing kisses at him.

“Love you too, Princesa, now shoo, go have fun.” He grins, waving us off. I thank him, and he gives me a thumbs-up before we walk off. Shayla hands me the makeshift plate of food. I take it, and the smell alone made my stomach growl in appreciation.

“What is this?” I ask, taking a forkful of the rice.

Shayla looks at me sideways, chewing her food with a little frown on her face. “It’s a paella.” She answers after swallowing her food and smiles when I scoop up another forkful and moan. “Federico makes it special for me whenever I stop by.” She explains as we walk, and I notice she’s waving near enough to everyone she passes by.

“Wow, you’re popular here, huh?” I say, watching her as she converses with the people around her. I have never witnessed anything like it. She’s like this magnet that people flock to. So, it's not just me— she has this effect on everyone around her.

“I’ve been coming here for years. These people are like my family now. Usually, I’m here every other Sunday. The atmosphere is magical, isn’t it?” She says with a content smile, her eyes sparkling like emeralds under the twinkling lights. Once we finished our paellas, Shayla took me to another cart that was serving Indian food. We got two giant lamb samosas and ate them as we continued to walk. I must have bitten into a chilli or something because my mouth was on fire. Shayla laughs and hands me a bottle of water, which I gulp down. “You okay?” She asks, smiling up at me. I cough and nod, drinking more water to wash down the burning in my stomach.

“That was lethal, fuck.” I chuckle when she laughs, shaking her head, she takes my hand, and we walk to the next cart.

“The next one isn’t going to be spicy. I promise.” She assures me as we walk over to another cart. Again, the guy at the cart greets her in a foreign language, and she responds with a bright smile. Ah, kebabs—Turkish food. This one, I know.

Shayla ordered two kebab rolls for us and made sure to tell the guy not to add any chilies to mine. I can usually handle my spice, but that was insane. We take our food, and Shayla takes my hand and pulls me through the crowd. “Why are we rushing?” I ask, trying not to drop my food.

“Because I don’t want to miss it.” She says in a flurry swerving through the crowd. We come to a halt suddenly and join a crowd of people gathered around. We eat our food while we stood around.

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