“You’re just short,” I said with a wink.
I backed away when I noticed her chest was heaving up and down quickly.
Yep, she felt it, too.
She let out an awkward laugh. “I guess so. Anyway, um…dig in!”
We sat down on the bar stools and ate at the kitchen island.
“Damn girl, this is the best French toast I’ve ever had.” I shoved another bite into my mouth.
She giggled. “Thank you. I’ve always loved to cook. I get to do a lot of baking with my business,” she said before taking a bite.
“What do you do for a living?”
She smiled, and my breath was taken away when her beautiful eyes lit up.
“I own a coffee shop called Rise and Grind. It’s right outside of Austin in Wimberley.”
I laughed. “I like it. Cute name.”
She smiled. “Thank you. It’s been a dream come true…well, at least for me, it has. My father, on the other hand, is still upset with me for not coming and working for him. He keeps telling me that my degree was a waste of his money—even though the coffee shop has done so well this last year. This is the first time I’ve left it. My mother has a business degree, so she has been helping me out with it.”
For a moment, she almost looked sad.
What is it about this girl that is getting to me?
“What is your degree in?” I asked.
“Ocean engineering,” she said with a weak smile. “My father is a petroleum engineer, and he owns his own company.”
I let out a small laugh. “Well, hell, why open a coffee shop when you could be building dikes and flood control systems? If you worked for your dad though, I guess you would be exploring offshore gas and oil fields,” I said.
Her mouth dropped open.
“What’s wrong?” I asked with a smirk.
“No one ever knows what an ocean engineer does. I always have to tell them,” she said with a small smile.
I smiled and gave her a wink. “Well, you’ve finally met someone who knows.”
I heard Jessie and Scott come in, and I turned to see Jessie barreling through the door. She stopped the moment she saw us. She smiled when she saw Azurdee, and Jessie immediately walked over to her. She took Azurdee in her arms and hugged her.
Jessie turned to me and gave me a look. She put her two fingers up to her eyes and then pointed at me as if to say that she’d be watching me. I was just about to take a bite, but I stopped my fork right at my mouth. I couldn’t help but laugh. I shook my head and winked at her.
Scott walked up, hit me on the back, and sat down. “You behaving, Lark?” he asked with a cocky smile.
“Yes, I am. Isn’t that right, Azurdee? I’ve asked her to sleep with me only three times.”
“What?” Jessie yelled out.
Azurdee laughed and shook her head. “He has not. He’s really been a gentleman.”
She looked at me, and I gave her my signature smile that I knew drove all the girls crazy—except it didn’t seem to faze Azurdee at all. Her smile dropped, and then she turned away as Jessie held up her ring finger. They both started screaming and jumping up and down. I threw my hands up to my ears and looked at Scott, who was laughing.
Holy hell, why must girls scream when they’re happy? The only time I want a woman screaming is when I’m giving her an orgasm.
“Jesus, make them stop, Scott,” I said.