Nova’s golden eyes studied him, serious for the first time since he’d met her. “Apology accepted,” she said finally. The mischievous sparkle that usually danced in her eyes returned. “But only because you saved me an apple dumpling.”
Torin couldn’t stop his smile this time.
“That’s two,” Nova murmured.
“What?” he asked.
“Nothing.” She took another bite of shrimp and put her fork down as she chewed and swallowed. “Okay, I can’t eat another bite of this if I’m going to enjoy that dumpling.”
Torin swept up her half-empty plate. “I’ll box it up for you and stick it in the cooler. Your dumpling should be warm by now.”
He could feel her watching him as he set about boxing up her food. He wrote her name on top of the container before he stowed it in the cooler and then set about plating up her dumpling and adding a scoop of the ice cream he’d made that morning.
When he set the bowl in front of her, she touched his hand before he could walk away.
“Will you share it with me? I’m almost positive I can’t finish it and I hate for it to go to waste.”
His kneejerk response was to say no. Maybe she wasn’t flaky or flighty as he’d first believed, but she was still his employee. He needed to keep a distance.
Instead, he heard himself say, “Yeah. Let me grab a stool.”
When he took his first bite, he wasn’t sure if the warmth in his belly was because of the dessert or because of the smile she shot him.
ChapterSeven
Nova almost wished Torin hadn’t apologized to her.
Not because she didn’t like him and had to pretend she did.
No, it was because she discovered that she truly liked him. Sure, he was grouchy and grumbly and intolerant of nonsense.
But he was also funny.
And kind.
After the night she nearly fainted in the kitchen, he often stopped her after lunch or before dinner rush was over, depending on her shift, and made her a plate of food, chatting with her as she ate.
Once, he even made himself a plate and ate sitting across the counter from her on another stool.
While he didn’t treat his employees like besties, he was considerate toward them and seemed to genuinely care about how they were doing. About their families and their lives.
And he started bickering with her. Now that he seemed to understand her sense of humor, he often gave as good as he got from her. Which was pretty damn good considering he was witty as hell.
While he might not talk a lot, he could deliver a one-liner like nobody’s business. So much so that she often spent her time in his presence laughing. A lot. All the time.
She didn’t want to like him and shedefinitelydidn’t want to be attracted to him. He was too rigid for her and he was her boss.
But those things seemed to matter less and less as days and weeks went on because she discovered that she liked him, flaws and all. And she admired his drive and his work ethic, even if her goals weren’t like his.
There was a lot to like about Torin Gallagher.
Which sucked because Nova knew that she had to keep her distance.
Tonight, it was even harder than usual because Torin decided to eat with her again. Not just to give her a hard time, but to ask for her opinion on the new dish he’d made.
“I think it needs more salt and acid,” he said as he chewed the shrimp.
“So add a slice of lemon to each plate,” she replied. “Because it tastes delicious to me.”
