Free Dirty Little Mistake (Dirty #2) by Amber Rides

only place I’m allowed to make those strawberry thingies you’re so in love with.”
    My eyes widened. “Seriously? A secret kitchen?”
    “If you knew my boss, you wouldn’t be so surprised.”
    “Oh, I’m not surprised. I’m just storing this info for later. In case you ever get on my bad side and I need to go to the press.”
    “Hmm. Then I guess you don’t want to see how the magic happens?”
    I knew I should leave.  Or at least insist that we go somewhere more public.  But when Ridley slipped on his white chef’s jacket and offered me an apron, I somehow found it impossible to say no.
     
    ***
     
    Ridley handed me one of the little pastries from his first batch and I popped it into my mouth. 
    “How’s that taste?” he asked.
    “Very…” I tipped my head to one side like I had to think about it.
    “Delicious?” he filled in.
    “Nope.”
    “Tasty?”
    “No, that’s not it.”
    “Orgasmic?”
    “Ridley! That’s inappropriate. And also not what I was thinking.”
    “Fine. I give up.”
    I smiled. “I think the perfect word is…Triangular.”
    “Thank God I did it right. Wouldn’t want to have to take any more home with me.”
    I reached down and grabbed one of the turnovers waiting to go into the oven and folded its corners in until it was a perfect square.
    “ That particular one may not work out,” I said, then picked up another and rolled it into ball. “Or that one.”
    Ridley frowned. “You realize my boss counts those, right?”
    My face reddened. “Crap. I’m sorry.”
    “And he docks me a dollar for each one that’s missing. Or a whole day’s pay, if there’s more than ten unaccounted for. It took me a year to collect those ones I fed you yesterday morning.”
    “That’s —” I cut myself off as I met his eyes, which were sparkling with amusement. “Dammit, Ridley. I thought you were being serious. Teasing me like that is just mean.”
    “Sorry, PC.” But his smile was as wide as his face.
    “PC? Now you’re shortening my nickname?”
    “Seemed like the next logical step in our relationship. And PC…I can’t help but tease you .”
    I rolled my eyes. “ And why’s that?”
    “You’re just such an easy target.”
    “I am not.”
    He dipped his finger in the flour and very quickly marked my forehead with an X.
    “See?” he said. “Even says so on your face.”
    “Hey!”
    I scooped up a finger-full of the strawberry sauce.
    “Don’t you dare,” he warned.
    “Or what?”
    “Or else.”
    “Brace your self for an imminent strawberry attack.”
    He grinned. “You realize your offen se is useless if you’ve warned your prey, right? The mighty lion doesn’t announce itself to the gazelle.”
    “So you’re a gazelle?”
    “That is not what I said.”
    “That’s what I heard.”  
    I drew my hand back, but the rattle of the door handle made both of us freeze.
    “Shit,” Ridley hissed. “That’s Ronaldo.”
    “The mean boss ?”
    “Yes!”
    “How do you know it’s him?”
    “He’s the only other person with a key.”
    “What’re we going to do?”
    “Hide!”
    He grabbed my hand and yanked me across the kitchen to a heavy door, opened it, then pulled me inside an ice cold room.
    We huddled against a wall of chilly boxes, waiting.  Heavy boots stomped across the tiled floor, but from where we stood, the sound was muffled.
    “What’s he doing?” I whispered.
    I was so close to him that my back vibrated against his chest when I spoke.
    “Wondering how the hell thos e tiny tarts made themselves,” he whispered back.
    A giggle burst from my mouth and his hand shot up to cover it.  His palm was warm under my lips and I had to fight off a little gasp at how good it felt. 
    “If you promise not to laugh,” Ridley said right in my ear. “I’ll let you go.”
    Very slowly – because I wasn’t one hundred percent sure I really wanted him to let me go – I nodded my head.
    His hand loosened its grip on my mouth and slid down my