Page 24 of Where She Belongs

“We were terrible at selling. I’m pretty sure he lost money when I was in charge of the till.”

They paused in front of the booth filled with potatoes, peppers, corn, and tomatoes. Tate picked up a tomato and examined it. Then his gaze slid to hers and he winked.

Her heart stuttered.

“Do you still eat these with mayo, salt, and pepper?” he asked.

Rylee’s mouth dropped open and a soft gasp broke the silence between them. “I can’t believe you remember that.”

Tate reached for a bag and placed the tomato inside. Then he picked two more and a couple ears of corn. “That’s because it was disgusting.”

She gasped again, then shoved him with her hip. “Don’t you dare deny that you liked it. I saw you eating tomatoes⁠—”

“Not with mayo,” he insisted, making a face. “I definitely didn’t like them with that. You know mayo has raw eggs in it, right?”

“So does royal icing. And meringue.”

Tate looked like a fish, his mouth opening and closing. He couldn’t decide whether to argue or put the conversation on hold long enough to look it up.

She giggled. Then she picked a few pieces of produce for herself. When they passed a vendor selling seasonings, she wasn’t surprised when Tate was drawn in. He smelled each one and tasted a few samples. In the end, he’d purchased the starter pack and when he caught her staring, huffed at her.

“What?”

Rylee shook her head. “Nothing.”

He wiggled a finger toward her. “No, that wasn’t nothing.”

Her eyes dipped to the spices. “Are you really going to use all of those?”

“Why wouldn’t I? Besides, spices last forever.”

She snorted. “They most certainly do not. The ground spices you just purchased will lose their potency in about two years. A few last longer. Some go bad before that.”

He frowned, glancing down at the bag he held.

“Do you even know how to cook?” It was a silly question, but one she tossed at him just to get under his skin. The spices he’d picked out would be put to use as marinating rubs.

Tate’s eyes flared and she could practically see the steam coming out of his ears. “I’ll have you know I’m a master at barbecue. Just ask Jason. No one else likes to man the grill, and no one is better than me.”

She stepped closer to him, letting the distance between them shrink little by little. When she stood before him, their bodies nearly touching, she finally spoke. “Prove it,” she whispered, and let it come out husky.

There was a twitch at his lips. Those eyes she still had dreams about were so full of desire and heat that her flesh pebbled. They were surrounded by people in the market. So many neighbors and friends could be watching them right now, but Rylee didn’t care. The rest of it fell away, and it was only the two of them.

But then her phone vibrated in her pocket. She nearly pulled it out to forward the call to voicemail but when she got a look at the caller ID, her moment with Tate evaporated into the air.

“Sorry,” she murmured, stepping back a few paces. “I have to take this.”

Rylee turned away from him before swiping across the phone screen. “Alexander…” she said with mock surprise. “How nice to hear from you.” She peeked over her shoulder at Tate, catching him staring at her before he looked up and away in the most obnoxiously obvious way.

She fought a smile. He’d likely heard her say Alexander’s name.

“Rylee? Are you there?”

Startled, Rylee forced herself to focus. “Yeah, sorry. What did you need?”

“What did I need? Rylee, you took off without telling anyone where you went. You’re ignoring my calls. I… I’m worried about you.”

“Worried about me?” She snorted. “You don’t need to be worried about me. And I didn’t tell you where I went because it wasn’t necessary for you to know.”