Willow smiled but she wasn’t about to tell the woman who he was or what he was capable of. How he instilled fear into many men and even women. This woman was happy with Carson. The next had a disapproving stare, which she took care of and served.
They left as Carson returned with a small bag.
Willow frowned. “What is all this?”
“Food. You’re not taking care of yourself, so I have to.”
“I can’t close the shop.”
“Ah, I’ve always wondered what it would be like behind the counter.”
She had to have stepped into an alternate universe. Carson Dexter was a scary man, and yet he was talking normally to her, and he even sounded playful.
“You’ve never worked in retail?” she asked.
“Never.”
“How is that even possible?”
He shrugged. “When you need money, and you don’t have a lot going for you but the ability to use your fists, that’s what you work with.”
“Your fists?”
“Yeah, I was a fighter.”
“Okay.” She told herself she didn’t want to know more, but that was a lie. “Chinese food?”
“Yep, I know a place on the corner, does amazing noodles. You’ve got to try them.”
Willow had a vague memory of when they first met, Carson suggesting they go out for noodles.
“You’re not fooling me, you know?”
“Fooling you about what?”
“This, the noodles, all of it.”
Carson snorted. “I’m not trying to fool you.”
“I … I know what you do.”
Carson held out a pot of noodles to her as well as chopsticks. “And I know what I do.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
“You’re going to be my wife and last time I checked, getting a woman to be comfortable with me doesn’t involve going all killer on her ass.”
Willow knew she shouldn’t have found that funny. There was nothing funny in what he did, but she couldn’t help but laugh.
Shaking her head at what he said, she opened the pot and sniffed. It smelled amazing. Garlic, ginger, chili, along with other flavors she wasn’t sure of, but her mouth watered. She was so hungry.
The steak he’d cooked last night had been so good. Breakfast had been boiled eggs and toast, also good.
Willow hadn’t taken care of herself the past few months. The truth was, she didn’t feel like she could, nor was there a point.
“How does it taste?” Carson asked.
She used the chopsticks, scooped up a bunch of noodles, and started to eat. For Willow, there was no ladylike or delicate way of eating noodles, not when you were so hungry, and she was starving. They tasted so good. The instant hit of hot, sweet, salty, and spicy met her tongue, did a magical dance, and she chewed, closing her eyes in Heaven.