Page 15

My gaze dropped, once again, to his mouth as he took a sip of his beer. His lips curved against the dark green glass in a tiny knowing smile, and I knew my eyes heated when he lowered the bottle and licked his lips.

He leaned in, making my breath catch. I tried not to copy him too eagerly, but my body was just drawn to his. It wanted to be near him. To touch him.

“Tell me something.” His voice was all husky. So hot. And his tone was low, intimate, which made my entire body buzz with exhilaration once more. I found myself nodding automatically in agreement, still distracted by his mouth; the way it moved, how each syllable formed. “How totally bogus is it having to work with that narbo Brett?”

I blinked, then burst out laughing. Elliot grinned, pale eyes tracking me as I sat back and rubbed my hands on my thighs, then shrugged.

“I mean, I try not to talk bad about people, but…”

His eyes flashed with amusement. He leaned in closer. “But…?”

“But…” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, the smile dropping from my face. “I mean, he isn’t very nice about… certain people, so I don’t actually feel bad saying that… yeah, he’s a total narbo. He’s the worst.”

Elliot nodded, sitting back once more and sipping his beer. “Yeah, he likes to talk shit about us, huh? Us guys in the other kitchen?”

Heat prickled in my cheeks. “Um…”

“It’s okay. We all know what he thinks about us.”

My brows furrowed. “Yeah, well, it sucks. He sucks. I… I don’t just let him say stuff about you guys, by the way,” I added hesitantly. “I don’t want you to think I just let him run his mouth without—”

“I know.” Elliot smiled at me—an uncharacteristically sweet, almost shy smile. He leaned in once more, and I mirrored him. It was like neither of us could go too long without minimizing the distance between us as much as possible. “You’re so fucking cute, Ricky.”

I blushed. Hard. “I am?”

“Yeah.” He nodded, gaze wandering over my face, taking in every detail. I’d never been looked at so closely before, but it wasn’t making me self-conscious. It was just making me hyperaware of myself, of him, of how close our bodies were. “You are. You’re just the sweetest.”

My blush deepened, and I chuckled sheepishly as I rubbed the back of my neck. The movement just made Elliot’s attention shift to my flexing bicep, and his eyes flared with heat.

“Even though you have to work with Brett, I hope you keep working there.” He dragged his gaze off my arm and back to my face to smile at me.

“I will,” I told him eagerly. “I mean, I hope to. I like it there.” I liked him. I liked working with him, even if we weren’t in the same kitchen. I liked knowing I could step out of the kitchen and bump into him. I liked knowing he was just on the other side of the wall.

I just liked him. I wanted to be near him.

“You’re doing great,” he reassured me. “Liz likes you, so you’re all good.”

I grinned. “Sweet. Yeah, I noticed Liz isn’t around all that much, but I’m guessing we just don’t see her in my kitchen because she… has the same condition, right?”

Elliot’s pale eyes shifted to the side, like he was suddenly interested in watching something I couldn’t spot across the bar. “Uh-huh. Yep.”

I fiddled with the label on my beer bottle, picking at the peeling edge, which was damp with condensation. “What are the guys in your kitchen like?”

His lip curled a little. “Eh, mostly fine. Johnny can be an asswipe most of the time, and Paul’s kind of a snake. Likes to gossip, you know? But other than that…” He shrugged, seeming mostly unbothered about it.

I nodded in understanding. “Do you hang out with them outside of work?”

He laughed and shook his head. “Hell no. Even though we’re all—”

When he cut himself off abruptly and looked away again with a tiny frown, I hesitantly offered, “Similar in age and stuff?”

He was probably going to mention the fact that they all had the same medical condition, but that wasn’t a reason they had to hang out. People could share similarities but still clash, and it sounded like the other two guys in the special kitchen were kind of bogus.

“Uh, yeah.” Elliot rubbed his cheek, then seemed to recover as he leaned in and gave me a big, toothy grin. A little like a wild animal that had just finished eyeing up its prey and was realizing it was about to have a very tasty meal. I shivered under that smile, under the intensity of his pale eyes. “You’re the only guy I want to hang out with outside of work.”

I grinned back, feeling a zing of excitement when his foot shifted against mine, pressing a little harder. “No way.”

He laughed. “Yes way.”