Roman wouldn’t let her. “Theodosia, this is Victoria Langley. Victoria owns the cafe.”
Theodosia decided the woman thought she owned Roman as well. “How do you do, Miss Langley. I am Theodosia Worth.”
Victoria’s painted eyebrows rose. “The same Miz Worth who’s willin’ to pay gold for stud services?”
Theodosia’s own brow rose higher. “The wordsstud servicesare not accurate descriptions of—”
Victoria’s throaty laughter filled the cafe. “I ain’t above takin’ a little thank-you money from my own lovers, but I’ll be damned if I’ll ever pay any of them!”
Theodosia bristled. “Miss Langley—”
“You from England, Miz Worth?”
“Boston.” Goodness, Theodosia thought. Why did everyone in Texas assume England was her home?
Victoria waved to a young girl across the room. “Meg, show Roman and the lady to a table!”
Once the waitress had seated and left them to study the menus, Theodosia gave rein to her irritation. “Am I wrong in thinking thatyouare one of the men who has given that woman a littlethank-youmoney, Roman?”
“Wrong as wrong can be.”
Mollified, she glanced back down at the menu.
“Why should I pay Victoria for what she gives to me for free?”
She had no chance to release her stinging rejoinder. The waitress arrived to take their orders. “I would like a small portion of chicken and a plate of fresh fruit,” Theodosia said. “Oh, and would you mind removing the skin from the chicken, please?”
The girl’s freckled nose wrinkled. “It’s fried chicken, ma’am.”
“Still, I prefer that the skin be removed.”
Roman leaned over the table. “Why have fried chicken if you aren’t going to eat the skin? That’s the best part.”
“I don’t care for the skin.”
“Ordering fried chicken when you don’t like the fried skin doesn’t make any sense!”
“Why don’t you concentrate on your own order?”
Shaking his head, he looked at the menu again. “I’ll have fried chickenwiththe skin, roast beef, catfish, and baked ham. Creamed potatoes, corn on the cob, turnip greens, cowpeas, butter beans, stewed okra, and baked squash. Biscuits and cornbread, too. And for dessert, I want peach cobbler, blueberry pie, and apple cake. And coffee.Lotsof coffee.”
He handed his menu back to the waitress, saw Theodosia staring at him, and began to drum his fingers on the table. “I’m hungry.”
“But you are not a bottomless pit. You cannot possibly eat—”
“I’ll eat it.”
“It will take you hours.”
He certainly hoped so.
“You Miz Worth?” a man asked as he arrived at the table.
In his haste to stand Roman knocked over a glass of water.
It spilled into Theodosia’s lap. “Roman!”
“What do you want?” Roman demanded of the man.
