Page 41 of The Other Half

“Those girls? What do you mean?”

“The ‘I’ll just have a salad, no carbs, no gluten, gotta watch my figure’ girls.”

Heat flushed my cheeks. I was exactly that kind of girl since that’s exactly what I would say about ordering food.

When my answer stalled out, he rolled his eyes. “You are one of those girls!”

“Well, I do have to watch my figure!” I defended.

“So, you live on salads? Sounds enjoyable.”

“Well, I eat other stuff.”

“You need to try a burger. Seriously, Cassie. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried to fit your mouth around a Pub burger.”

“I can’t! It’s a burger! With cheese!” The thought of eating something dripping with grease sent a shiver down my spine. “I can’t even remember the last time I ate a burger.”

“Well after tonight you will. You can tell people the last time you ate a burger was that time you were with Jake at the Pen Pub. Kyle, we’ll take two burgers of the day. And an order of cheese curds.”

“Cheese curds? What the hell is a cheese curd?”

“You’ll love it. It’s breaded deep-fried cheese.”

“Deep fried?” The way my voice shot up even startled me.

“Yes. Deep fried. You’ll love them.”

“Honestly. I can’t! It’s gluten. Carbs. Deep fried. I literally can’t!”

“You girls and your fucking carbs. I eat carbs all the time. Are you saying I look fat?”

Taunting eyes met mine, then I raked him with a gaze. There wasn’t an ounce of fat on that body I was certain bulged with muscles beneath his blue flannel shirt.

“No.” I sighed.

“Good. Eat the carbs, Cassie. Eat the carbs.”

Groaning, I set down the menu. “I’m going to have to do like ten thousand hours of yoga to make up for this.”

“Totally worth it.” He grinned and winked at me.

Kyle appeared and set the old fashioned in front of me. “One old fashioned, on the rocks, extra cold, extra wet, extra brandy. Two cherries.”

I laughed at the good-natured jab and took the drink. They both watched with bated breath while I took a sip.

“Well?” Kyle asked, leaning on the bar.

“It’s delicious!” I took another sip of the sweet and strong drink.

“Old fashioneds kick the crap out of martinis any day of the week. Boom!”

He pounded Jake with a fist bump then strode away wearing a triumphant grin.

“Look at you go. Drinking sugar and everything!” Jake teased, and I shot him a glare. Admittedly, I’d forgotten we muddled a sugar cube in with the orange and cherry and if I’d have remembered, I’d never have ordered it. But not wanting to be “that girl” I shut my mouth and kept on drinking. And now that I had ordered one, I didn’t know how I was ever going back to my martinis.

“Big night for you, huh, city-girl?” Jake said. “Fishing, old fashioneds, and soon... cheese curds and burgers.”

“You may be laughing now, but when I’m five hundred pounds, I’m forcing you to push me around in a wheelchair when I can’t walk anymore.”