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Once everything was ready to go, he took two large boxes into his arms and carried them effortlessly out to the food truck, where he loaded them into the storage compartment.
I watched as he worked, admiring the way his muscles rippled under his skin. With only two cooking aprons for cover, very little was left up to the imagination.
Not that I hadn’t already caught a glimpse of… well, everything.
I noticed then that he was facing me, having finished putting the boxes away.
Oh, God. I was blushing like a fiend, wasn’t I?
He stepped forward and asked, “Is your ex going to be a problem? Should I escort you back home to make sure you get there safely?”
That would have been nice, considering Jacob knew where I lived. We used to be roommates back during college, before he ditched me for Paris and left me scrambling to pay for his half of the rent. “Sure, but… aren’t you uncomfortable wearing that?”
Lucian glanced down at his skimpy attire, then looked back up at me. “Perhaps. My apartment’s nearby. I’ll get dressed and meet you back here?”
I smiled. “Okay.”
Lucian returned my smile, and with that, he turned and crossed the street and headed toward the park, where his odd attire drew looks from just about everybody.
“Miss Gumbo” was written across the apron covering his backside, and with all the heads he was turning, maybe people would be less inclined to associate my food truck’s name with disaster. Instead, maybe they would think of the tanned hotfireman strutting through the city streets without a stitch of clothes beneath the aprons.
It was a better marketing strategy than I had managed to conjure up so far.
Just then, someone screamed behind me, “Oh sweet Jesus!”
I spun to see Annabelle and Pico lurking around the corner of my food truck.
She hurried over to me, whispering, “Okay, so what went down back at the competition was totally unfair, and I went looking for you so I could tell you just that, but then what did I see when I checked the contestant tent?”
Before I could answer, Annabelle motioned toward the park where Lucian had disappeared into. “Thatguy, all naked and toned and tanned and…! At first I was like, ‘Wait, is this dude a pervert and he’s flashing you?’ and I was totally about to sic Pico on him, but then two seconds later you were all melting into his arms and the both of you were talking so sweetly to each other so I figured, ‘Okay, so she’s, like, into this?’ and then I immediately backed out of the tent and gave you guys your privacy.”
Once Annabelle’s motormouth finally stopped, I blinked and said, “Thanks? Yeah, he was helping me. He just had a, uh… wardrobe malfunction.”
“If that’s what you wanna call it. Is he coming back?”
“Yeah, he’s heading back home to change real quick.”
“So are you two gonna…?”
I rolled my eyes. “Annabelle!”
She nodded quickly, giving me a sly look. “Right. Okay. So you’re good then? ‘Cause I’m totally here if you need a shoulder to cry on after what your dickhead ex did.”
“No, Lucian scared Jacob shitless. Like, possibly literally.”
“God, I wish I could have seen it. Anyway, I’ll leave you two to it, then.” Annabelle quickly added with a grave expression, her big blue eyes wide, “But youmusttell me the details after. Please. I gotta live vicariously through you until my dry spell finally ends. It’s like the Sahara desert down there, girl.”
I chuckled. “Wow, too much information. But okay, fine.”
After exchanging goodbye hugs, she was off with little Pico right at her heels, having more faith in me than I did that tonight would somehow end on a good note.
I sighed and looked off toward the park, where the crowd for the competition was starting to thin out.
Was he coming back?
Lucian had only known me for a short while and had already gotten a load of what a train wreck my life was. I wouldn’t be surprised if he took this as his chance to quietly ditch me.
I knew these worries were my old doubts talking. Lucian had been nothing but considerate toward me so far.
