Free On the Steamy Side by Louisa Edwards Page A

breakfast for the first time since you arrived. You turned into a damn fine cook while I wasn’t looking. And Jesus, Adam really can’t spell for shit, can he?”

    “Your vocabulary has gone down the toilet.” Lilah laughed, a tiny bit shocked. Her sweet little friend was all grown up.

    “Yeah, sorry.” Was he blushing? Cutie. “But you’d better get used to it, I’m afraid. My potty mouth is nothing compared to the sewage most of those cooks upstairs spew during an average dinner service.”

    “I can’t wait. You gonna share those livers, or what?”

    They shared a companionable moment munching happily on the crispy, salty treats with their surprisingly rich, velvety centers. There was a hint of cayenne in the batter, which fired the roof of her mouth and made her throat tingle pleasantly.

    She couldn’t believe she’d allowed that condescending man upstairs to knock her off balance.

    “So.” Lilah swallowed, unsure of what she was even feeling. She knew it was better to sweep it under the rug and let it stay there, but she wasn’t quite able to let it go. “Devon Sparks. He’s some kind of big shot, huh?”

    Grant paused, eyes wide and intent on her face. “You really don’t know? Lolly, he’s a huge deal. He’s got his own show on the Cooking Channel, restaurants from Miami to Las Vegas. Christ, I think Target sells his own special line of spatulas or something.”

    Lilah blinked. Well. She already knew Devon was rich, but she hadn’t realized he was a celebrity.
    Although it made a certain amount of sense, now that she thought about it—his air of superiority when he talked about food, his chauffeur, his gorgeous apartment.

    It was interesting, though, that he hadn’t clued her in on his fame. Lilah remembered how squirrely he got when the subject of names came up, and looking back, she could see he was the one who’d pushed for anonymity. She hadn’t noticed at the time, since it suited her perfectly, but now that she thought on it, she felt it must mean something. Surely a man as arrogant as Grant was making out would’ve been trumpeting his status up and down the bar, expecting groupies to fal all over him.

    Instead, he’d coaxed and seduced nervous, clueless Lilah into his bed without mentioning one thing about being famous.

    The incongruity of it poked and prodded at her. If her life were a play, this would be highly significant character information about the new leading man. But it’s not a play, she reminded herself. Even if Devon Sparks is more than a perfect face and a towering ego, so what? It was one night of meaningless, albeit enjoyable, sex. And now it’s over.

    She couldn’t afford the distraction of trying to be nice to Devon Sparks, the man no one seemed to like.
    She had a new life to start, a new job to learn, and new friends to make.

    And if the surface of her skin from her toes to her fingertips tingled at the thought of being that close to Devon again? She’d just have to ignore it.

    As she and Grant headed for the staff locker room to don their server uniforms, she asked, “What’s the name of Devon’s show, anyway?”

    Idle curiosity, she thought defensively. It didn’t mean she was interested in him as a person or anything.

    Grant snorted. The arch look he sent her was clear even in the dim light of the back hallway.

    “You know what he does on his show?”

    Lilah shook her head.

    “He goes to a different restaurant in every episode and does one dinner service there; supposed to prove he can cook any kind of food perfectly, under any conditions.”

    “Sounds entertaining enough.”

    Tongue firmly in cheek, Grant said, “It’s called One-Night Stand with Devon Sparks.” Lilah’s jaw dropped. Grant grinned, and pretty soon, Lilah cracked a smile, then he snickered and she chuckled, and before she knew it, they were bent double, cackling fit to bust something.

    What the heck, Lilah thought, wiping her streaming eyes.

    It’s laugh or