Vegetables?Winnie’s smile felt bigger than it’d been since she’d moved to town.
It’s mostly vegetables, yeah. Cabbage, crushed tomatoes, black beans, and ground beef. She puts a lot of chili powder in it, and it makes my nose run in the best way possible.
A picture started to come through, but it didn’t load before his next text popped up.
Of course, the real prize is the cornbread with lots of honey butter.
The buttery, glistening cornbread madeWinnie’s mouth water.
Wow, that looks amazing.
What are you having for dinner?he asked.Wait—if I only get one question, I don’t want it to be that.
Her smile started to fade.Who said you only get one question?
I don’t know,he said.I guess if you’re willing to answer more than one, you can tell me what you’re having for dinner.
Well, now I want to know the other question.
I was going to ask if you’re really not going out with Cross.
Warmth moved through Winnie’s chest, and her smile came roaring back.No, I’m not going out with Cross. Apparently, they had tickets to the brunch at the orchards today, and the woman he was going to take backed out at the last minute, and Taylor made me tag along.
She sent that text, her thumbs already flying across her screen for another message.
And I was probably going to order Chinese for tonight. Taylor’s going out with Burt again, so it’s just me and the cats.
Two more questions,Ty said.And you can stop answering anytime. What Chinese restaurant and what kind and how many cats are we talking?
Do you not like cats?
I’m more of a dog person myself.
I’ve got two cats. Rocky and Salmon.
And I’m probably going to get the chicken rice teriyaki bowl from Wok This Way. It was the first restaurant I ate at after I moved to Three Rivers, and I loved it.
Winnie wasn’t sure if it was the food she loved or the freedom of being in a new town and picking whatever she wanted to eat, where no one knew her name and no one looked at her with an edge in their eyes that said they knew she must be hurting inside.
After all, wasn’t everyone?
Winnie intimately knew that a person could look okay on the outside—happy even—show up to work every day, pay all their bills, and still be shattered and bleeding on the inside. Some people, like Tyson, had to wear those wounds outwardly, but she knew they carried an inner hurt as well.
I’ve never been to Wok This Way,Tyson said.It’s your favorite place?
It was good,Winnie said.I’ve had the noodle bowl and the fried rice bowl, and I like them both.
I’m not sure the last time I ate Chinese food.
No? Are you more of a steak, burgers, sandwiches kind of guy? And soup, obviously.
Obviously,he said back.Honestly, I could eat eggs for every meal. They’re fast and easy and full of protein.
Winnie shook her head, a flirty buzz sliding down her spine.This is going to be bad news, but I don’t like eggs.
How can you not like eggs?he asked.Every person on the planet likes eggs.
Obviously not,she sent back.
