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“Yeah? Like what?”
Tucker scratches his forehead. “Off the top of my head, we ordered coconut curry beef, pasta primavera, beef stroganoff, chili, chicken lasagna, peanut curry shrimps, stew, spaghetti bolognese, mac and cheese, fettuccini Alfredo, chicken piccata, corn chowder… You name it, we have it.” He sighs regretfully. “Except for blueberry pancakes.”
“Why don’t we get pancakes?”
“Logan thought they’d be excessive.”
“What’s for breakfast, then?”
“Protein bars, but I stocked all the most delicious flavors—and coffee, of course.”
I sulk. Blueberry pancakes sound a thousand times better than all-flavor protein bars. No surprise Satan doesn’t love pancakes; he probably doesn’t care for marshmallows in his hot cocoa either, and—oh, gosh, is he one of those black coffee drinker types?
I grimace. “Please tell me we have creamer.”
Tucker winks at me. “Regular and vanilla.”
I let out a relieved breath. “Thank you! And you’re right, this is the most variety I’ve had compared to any other jungle trip.”
“Told yah. Plus”—he wiggles his fingers at me—“I add magical finishing touches to every dish. And if not restaurant quality, freeze-dried food is still better than consuming only cold meals, like we did on our first expedition together.”
“Okay, Gordon Ramsay, you have the benefit of the doubt.” I smile. “So, besides being a ‘boil in a bag’ chef extraordinaire, what else do you do when you’re not on a field trip?”
“I’m an accredited guide at Yosemite, so there’s a little of that, then I organize camping trips for kids, and I teach rock climbing on the side.”
Ah. The mountain climbing explains the lean, ripped physique.
“How many expeditions have you been on with Logan and Archie?”
“This is our fourth.”
“How long have you known them?”
“Three years.”
“How did you guys meet?”
“They came to one of my climbing lessons.”
“Who’s Tara?”
“Logan’s ex—No, wait! You tricked me into revealing that info.”
I bat my lashes and make an angelic face. “I asked a question, you answered.”
Tucker scowls. “You got me comfortable, then fired a million questions at me, and when I was on a roll answering, you asked the one question you knew I wouldn’t answer otherwise.”
I put my hand to my chest. “Okay, guilty as charged. But you brought her up in the first place, and I had no choice. No one tells me anything; I feel left out.”
“Listen, Logan is my friend, besides being my boss, and he wouldn’t want me to gossip about Tara—”
“Why not? She dumped him?”
“Yes, but that’s not—” I can’t hide a little smug smile, and Tucker catches me and gasps. “You did it again! You tricked me into saying more than I should have. What are you, some secret CIA interrogator in disguise?”
“Relax. If you’re not going to spill the beans about Tara, I’ll go ask Logan directly.”
I backtrack a few steps, but Tucker gently grabs my arm. “Please don’t, he’s just about getting over her.”
