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His mouth scrunched up. He wasn’t sure he believed her. “Okay, but a mac n’ cheese sandwich? That sounds disgusting.”
“If by disgusting you mean you’d sell a kidney to get one because it’s so good, then yeah, it’s disgusting.” She brought her fingers up to her mouth and kissed them. “Mmm, trust me. When you taste this, you will think you’ve died and gone to heaven.”
“Do they sell anything else?”
“Of course, but you aren’t going to want anything but this. When you bite into this sandwich, it will be like the heavens have opened up and the angels will be singing. It’s a freaking masterpiece.”
Ryan laughed. “Wow, that’s some sandwich. The Heaven’s will open up, huh?”
“Oh, absolutely.” She grinned. “Follow me there, and then we can figure out whose place to go to.”
“Alright.”
“And don’t make any snap judgments. The place looks a little rough on the outside but it’s spotless inside and seriously—” She rolled her eyes back and sighed. “Perfection.”
God, the woman was adorable. Who got that excited over a sandwich? “Lead the way.”
Ten minutes later, they pulled up at a rundown strip mall. Ryan winced. He didn’t even want to get out of his car, let alone eat at anyplace around here. Hell, his car would probably get stolen if he left it in this parking lot. He’d barely turned off the engine before he saw Peyton jump out of hers and beeline toward a group of people standing around with their cellphones out, filming what looked like a homeless person.
What the hell was she doing? He quickly jumped out of his car. “Peyton?” he called, but she didn’t slow down. She stormed up to the group.
“Put your damn phones away,” Peyton demanded as she stepped between the man on the ground and the group laughing while they filmed his pain.
“Fuck you,” a man replied.
“No. Stop filming him and either offer him some help. Or walk away.” Fearless, Peyton glared at the cluster of bystanders like she was ready to take on anyone. “But at the very least, be a human being and don’t make light of someone else’s pain.”
“Whatever,” another man said before he nudged the first and the group slowly dispersed.
Peyton crouched down on the ground a few feet away from the shirtless man, who was sobbing as he clutched a doll to his chest. “Are you ok?”
The man sucked in a breath between sobs and shook his head. He pressed the doll’s head harder against his chest and rocked back and forth.
Ryan stepped in closer in case Peyton needed his help. What the hell was she doing running into a crowd of people and now this?
“Is that your baby?” Peyton nodded at the doll in the man’s arms
The man nodded. “Sh… sh… she won’t eat,” he sobbed.
“You’ve been trying to feed her?” Peyton asked, her voice filled with compassion. She tilted her head to the side as she watched the man and his doll. Ryan stood poised on the balls of his feet in case he needed to react. He had no experience with this kind of thing, and if he was honest, it made him more than a little uncomfortable. But Peyton seemed perfectly calm and unfazed as she spoke softly to the person desperately trying to nurse their doll.
The man’s stomach growled loudly. “See,” he pleaded as he raised his head to look at Peyton. “She’s starving, but she won’t eat.” He adjusted the baby’s head against his nipple and cried. “My baby is so hungry. Why won’t she eat?”
As he shifted the baby, Ryan got a clear view of the man’s sunken stomach. The bones in his chest stood out prominently. It looked like the man had eaten nothing of substance in weeks.
“What’s your name?” Peyton shifted a little bit closer, closing the space between them slightly.
“Jason.”
“Jason, when’s the last time you ate anything?”
“It’s my baby that needs to eat, not me,” Jason cried.
“I know, but it looks like you’re nursing, so it’s important you eat because your food is the baby’s food too.”
Jason stared at her for several seconds, then wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “Really?”
“Mmm hmm,” Peyton replied.
