“Seat belt,” I growled.
She ignored me and opened the cooler.
“Whoa. Did you put your fridge in here or what?”
“I’m pulling over if you don’t put your seat belt on.”
“Fine.” But it took her another minute before she did it.
“Holy crap. These are some monster sandwiches. What kind are these?”
I rarely cooked and I wasn’t very good at it either. I usually just slapped some bread, a lot of lean meat, and cheese together and called it a meal. There were probably five big sandwiches in the cooler. I wasn’t kidding when I told her I got hungry every hour.
“Ham, chicken. I don’t know. Food stuff,” I said.
“I’m vegetarian.”
“What’s a vegetarian?”
She glared at me for a moment, staring at my face, then laughed. “I’m serious. I’m hungry,” she grumbled.
“There’s a service station up ahead. I’ll get you something there,” I said.
She grabbed something in her purse, squirted something in her hand, and rubbed it all over them. It smelled like alcohol and peaches. A hand sanitizer probably.
“So what should I get you?” I asked, wanting to keep her talking. The sadness in her voice was fading. I wanted her to be happy, like she was before. With me. “I’m not sure if they serve smoked wild alfalfa sprouts a la carte there, but I’ll try.”
She pinched my arm.
“Ouch!”
That hurt. That really hurt. She wasn’t pulling any punches. I rubbed my arm, then quickly returned my hand to the steering wheel.
“When I’m hungry, I become the Hulk. Don’t joke around. I’m serious.”
I glanced at her and saw the little pout on her lips. Damn she was cute. I missed her. I missed her a damned lot.
She was pulling the sandwiches apart, checking what was in them. “You have an egg sandwich?”
“I thought vegetarians don’t eat eggs?”
“You’re thinking of vegans. They don’t eat animal products at all. I’m a vegetarian. There are different kinds. My kind eats eggs, milk, and cheese.”
I shrugged. “All right.” But I made a note of it.
“So, any egg sandwiches here?” She was still rummaging.
“That means boiling eggs, so no.”
She sighed.
“There are peaches,” I said quietly. I wondered if she’d figure out I ate them because of her, then I realized there was no way she’d know. “At the bottom of the cooler. Keep looking.”
“No way. Cool.”
I heard her biting on one, then she moaned.
My mouth watered.