Savage in a Stetson (Crossroads #4) - Em Petrova Page 0,19

and get out of here.”

He dropped her a slow wink, loving how her jaw dropped. She whirled away from him and took off to collect her grill. He watched the sway of her hips for a heavy, ball-throbbing moment before he hefted two bags onto his shoulder and crossed the road.

While she dragged her grill, singing some show tune as she did, he hopped in his truck to drive over and load up the other eight bags of charcoal.

“Nice doin’ business with ya,” he called out to Jada.

She raised a hand and gave him a very unladylike gesture.

He chuckled the whole way to his restaurant and through the task of loading three grills with charcoal and lighting them. He figured he won that round. He got the kiss, didn’t he? And Jada’s dazed expression and the wetness on her lips would linger on his mind a long time.

When he had some fresh racks of ribs grilling over the charcoal, the scent made his mouth water. Maybe having no power wasn’t so bad after all. A few vehicles drove by, saw the fragrant smoke coming off the meat and then circled back to purchase some. He had his employees set up outside with a table to take orders and without lights in the dining room, they ate outdoors.

While the grills worked their magic, he switched on the radio in his truck and cranked up the tunes to create a block party feel to the day.

He glanced over at Jada’s to see that she seemed to be gaining some customers as well. He almost felt bad about only trading one grill. Then he saw her talking with a couple guys, moving her hands around in the air in that animated way he hadn’t seen from her since he left Crossroads and he stopped feeling bad and started feeling irritated.

Was she flirting? Had she dated since their brief relationship? He hated the way she distracted him without even knowing it. She probably wasn’t dwelling over him at the moment as she smiled and served up her pulled pork sandwiches.

She saw the men off with a wave and a smile Dom could see from here. Shaking his head, he returned to his work and threw himself into making his grandpa proud. In the morning, he’d pay him a visit and tell him about his resourcefulness.

His kitchen manager waved him over.

Dom walked toward him. “What’s up?”

“You got any more charcoal hidden somewhere?”

They both looked up at Mortimer’s.

Dom shook his head. “Man, I can’t ask her. I’ll be lucky to walk back across the road with both my balls.”

His manager bent at the waist with his laughter.

“Can you make do with what we got?”

“I’ll have to, but we need to stop the brisket for the day. It takes a lot of cooking time, even being pre-smoked yesterday.”

“Cut the brisket. We’ll have power tomorrow and we’ll use it then.” As soon as he spoke the words, a guy approached the table and asked the clerk for brisket. Dom quickly interrupted.

“Sorry, no brisket today. We’re operating on a limited menu due to the power outage.”

“Man, I really wanted that brisket.” The customer stared over at Mortimer’s. “I think I’ll see what they’ve got on menu. Sorry.”

Dom watched his customer drive over to Jada’s. He got too busy to see if she sold him what he wanted, but how could she with only one grill and brisket taking so long to cook? Next time he glanced up, he noticed the guy’s truck was gone.

He also noticed Jada looking his way at the same time. He lifted a hand in a wave, and she spun around to speak with her employee.

Dom sighed. He didn’t want to be enemies with her. He saw that his idea to make this the part of town where people came for barbecue really wasn’t going to earn him any points with Jada.

Did it matter?

He twisted his lip. Yeah, it did. He wanted Jada on his side. In his arms, actually. He’d screwed up with her by leaving, but he’d damaged their relationship further by not backing down on his location for the restaurant. He could still move—sever his lease agreement on the building. But moving all the equipment when he just got settled, and finding a spot to accommodate his needs, wouldn’t be easy.

He’d just have to wait for her to calm down. In time, they’d settle in like a pair of old friends, her with her infamous barbecue chicken and him with his brisket.