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Both women turned to find Earnest standing in the doorway. For one brief moment, Barbara thought about how well his name suited him. He did look very earnest as he continued speaking. “Some men are not very versatile. Some of us are real narrow-minded about relationships. We only have enough time, energy, and focus to take care of one woman properly. When Shelly was alive, I didn’t want to waste my time with anybody but my wife. I felt that every minute I wasted with another woman was a minute I missed being with her.”
Tiffany looked devastated. “I suppose what you’re saying makes sense. I just never had very many friends, and I thought Ace and I were tight.”
“Give him some time to get acclimated to being in a relationship. I’m sure he’ll eventually come around.” Barbara was in wonder at herself for giving that kind of advice to the pretty nurse she was beginning to think of as competition for face time with Ace.
“Thanks,” Tiffany said solemnly. “I’m going to go see if Alyssa wants to do something.”
“You know that you can’t leave the clubhouse right now,” Earnest reminded her. “We’re on lockdown. Hickory should be dropping off your mother anytime now, the filthy bastard.”
Tiffany’s smile was tired and sad. “You two keep it up and she’s going to kick you both to the curb.”
Barbara tuned out the conversation they were having about Tiffany’s mother and finished Ace’s breakfast. Arranging it nicely on the plate, she headed out back in the direction Tiffany had come from. Sure enough, Ace was sitting outside tipping the last of his coffee into his mouth.
Though his expression was blank, his eyes lit up as he watched her walking up. Handing him the plate, she heard him gasp. “This is not whoremade food. It looks like something out of a magazine and it’s too pretty to eat. Don’t get me wrong, I’m gonna gobble it right down ‘cause I’m starving.”
Barbara watched him look the plate over with happy eyes.
“Where does a man start on a delicacy like this?”
Picking up the fork, she cut off a bit off the side. “This isn’t my best work because I didn’t have a lot to work with in terms of ingredients. The bottom is toasted Italian bread cut at an angle to give it the unusual shape. I fried your egg ‘cause I didn’t know if you liked poached or not. I made a light hollandaise sauce with some fresh chives and bacon on the side. The greenery is just garnish. I suppose you could eat it, but it wouldn’t add much to the meal. I should have made a little side of hash browns but I couldn’t find any potatoes…”
Leaning over, he opened his mouth. Barbara loved spoon feeding her big, complicated guy. Biting her lip, she watched him chew and swallow.
“Do you have any idea what I’ve been eating for the last ten years or so?”
“I’ll bet prison food is kind of like the food served in the cafeteria when we were kids,” she guessed, and that was never very good.
“Close but not quite. It’s nowhere near as good as school food.” Pointing to the plate, he explained, “Compared to this, prison food is like something you scraped off your shoe and tried to eat. This tastes amazing. Quick, shove some more in my face, before I do a face-plant and just start gobbling it up like a dog.”
Laughing, she fed him a large fork full. “You’re such a goof. I made you a special coffee as well.”
“Good, ‘cause I just finished the cup I made.”
“Well, I cleaned the pot out and found a fresh packet. I don’t know how you take it normally, but I jazzed it up a bit.” Handing him the cup, she waited for him to chew his bite and take a sip.
Smiling, he murmured, “It tastes like a cross between coffee and hot chocolate. It’s really good.”
Taking the plate back from him, she fed him another bite. “I’m glad you like it. I love cooking and always dreamed of having a man who appreciated the effort that went into making a good meal.”
“You definitely found him.”
They sat together and she fed him a few more bites. “You’re really sweet, angel. Thanks for last night and for making me this nice breakfast.”
Smiling at him, she quipped, “I can see you’re all confused. The nice breakfast is my personal thank you for last night, big guy.”
“Liar. You’d have made this for me even if I was crap in bed, ‘cause you like to cook.”
Smothering back a laugh, she had to admit the handsome devil had her number. “I wish you’d let me make you a nice meal at my place. I have all my cooking utensils and spices there. It would be a hundred times better than this.”
His eyes glittered. “You’re on, sweetheart.”
“Really?”
“Once we put this whole mess behind us, I’ll let you cook to your heart’s content. If I get fat eating all that delicious food, you’re still gonna love me, right?”
“You already know the answer to that question, but for the sake of argument, I’m going to say nothing could make me stop loving you. You’re totally it for me, handsome.”
That expression she couldn’t nail passed briefly over his face again. “It’s the same for me, angel. I can’t imagine feeling about anyone else the way I feel about you.”
