Page 96 of Never To Be Mine

“This is the last one… for today.”

“Fine, one more. But that’s it.”

I signaled to the server who’d been waiting discreetly near the elevator. He wheeled out a cart with a silver domed tray on top. He took our empty plates and left two more before he walked away. I stood up and walked over to it, my heart pounding. This was it. The moment I’d been building toward.

I removed the cloche with a flourish. “Ta-da!”

Juno’s expression fell. Her brow furrowed as she stared at what was on the plate. “Is that a burger?”

I nodded, unable to keep the grin off my face. “Yes, it is.”

Her eyes widened as understanding dawned. “Wait. Is that the burger?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She stood up, walking over to the cart like she couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. “That’s what you and my dad have been doing the last few days.”

“I brought him a sample of the burger I’d been working on. Your father thinks we can get it to market in the next three months.”

“Three months?” She picked up the plate, examining the burger from every angle. “That’s incredible. How did you solve the production cost issue so fast?”

“Your dad’s team is brilliant. They figured out a way to scale the process without sacrificing quality. The price point is going to be competitive with regular beef burgers. Maybe even slightly cheaper.”

“Can I try it?”

“That’s why it’s here.”

She cut the burger in half, placing half on my plate and the other on hers. “I’m going to use my hands,” she said with a laugh. “I’m wearing an outfit that probably cost fifty grand and I’m going to use my hands to eat.”

“It’s a burger, is there another way?”

I watched her face as she took a bite, looking for any hint of disgust or disappointment. That was the thing with her, I knew she’d give me the brutal truth.

Her eyes closed. She nodded as she chewed.

“Oh my God,” she said around the bite. “Hollis, this is so good.”

“Yeah?”

“It tastes like a regular burger. Maybe better because I’m not thinking about the cow it came from.” She took another bite, then another. “The texture is perfect. Not mushy or weird. And the flavor—how did you get the flavor this good?”

Pride swelled in my chest. I’d spent countless hours perfecting that recipe. Hearing her validate it meant everything.

“Your company knows the recipe now.” I took a bite of mine and it tasted like success.

The server brought out the rest of our meal. A fancy fish dish with steamed veggies.

“This has been the best day,” she said as we finished dessert, some chocolate thing that had way too much sugar. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I wanted to do something special. You deserve special.”

We stayed on the rooftop for another hour, talking about everything and nothing. She told me about her college years, the disasters she’d dated before me, her dreams for Young at Heart’s future. I told her about growing up in the shadow of Hollywood royalty.

By the time we left, I felt like I knew her better than I’d known anyone in my entire life. And the scary part? I wanted to know more. Wanted to spend every day learning new things about her.

“My place?” I asked.

“Yes, please.”