"Sometimes I understand why people are vegetarians," she remarked. "Raw meat is kinda gross when you think about it."
"Yeah, a little bit," I agreed, trying not to act squirrelly. Instead, I forced my attention to the salmon, slicing carefully and checking for bones.
"I'd give up eating it, but I'd miss bacon and hamburgers," she said as if completely oblivious to my discomfort. "And your spaghetti Bolognese. Not to mention your meatballs. And lasagne. And… I think we can agree I have absolutely no future as a vegetarian." She glanced up at me and smiled.
I managed a laugh without choking and nodded. "Me either. I'd miss chicken nuggets."
"Oh God, chicken nuggets," she groaned. "I couldn't give those up either." She finished cleaning up the floor and washed her hands again.
"I'm starting to think I should put those on the menu," I said teasingly. "Nicely battered and deep fried."
That would help to dispose of evidence, but we didn't have a deep fryer here anyway. Nor did I want one. That wasn't the kind of food I made. Plenty of other restaurants in the city did and I was happy to frequent them.
"I'm getting so hungry right now," she said.
"Let's finish up here and we can have a break and a bite to eat," I said.
Personally, I wasn't that hungry. The meat lying in the trash can suppressed my appetite somewhat. Once I'd taken it out to the dumpster, I'd feel a lot better.
Until I replaced it with Eros, whoever he was.
CHAPTER 10
HARLOW
"You look stunning." Archer stood just outside the gallery, eyes on me as I walked, my heels clicking on the sidewalk. His gaze raked up and down my body appreciatively.
"You don't look so bad yourself," I said, giving him a similar appraisal. His dark suit looked expensive, like it was tailored for him.
"I'll be doing some research tonight." He slipped an arm around me and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "Seeing who pays more attention to you than me. My hypothesis is no one will notice me. All of their eyes will be on you."
"That's an interesting theory, Professor Hardwick," I teased. "How will you prove it?"
"Peer review." He pulled me in closer. "Boner and Cass will be watching too."
"Do you have an academic journal in mind to publish your findings?" I pressed against his warm, firm body.
"Just my phone," he said. "I think I just found my new lockscreen." He managed to tear himself away from me long enough to take a photo of me in a black dress that fell just abovemy knees and plunged at the back. In my heels, I was as tall as him. As a bonus, they made my legs look longer.
"Perfect." Without showing me the photo, he tucked his phone back into his pocket and put his arm around me again. "Shall we go inside?"
"I hope the host remembered to put us on the guest list," I said jokingly.
Trying to step inside only to be told we weren't on there would be embarrassing, to say the least. I doubted Boner would give us the opportunity to kick his ass like that though.
"The host wouldn't dare to forget you," Archer assured me.
"Does that make you my arm candy?" I raised my eyebrows at him.
A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, which was the Archer version of a grin.
"At your service my lady." He bowed from the waist.
I batted his chest with the back of my hand. "You're more than arm candy, Archer Hardwick. Come on, let's go in."
We stepped over to the door and waited while the security spoke to the couple in front of us. They waved them through and turned to us.
"Names?"
