Two to Tangle (A Tangle Valley Romance #2) - Melissa Brayden Page 0,46
neckline. She had zero regrets about it now.
“This old thing?” She winked, feeling coquettish and liking it.
Ryan stopped and rested on her broom. “I don’t think you have any idea of the power you carry. It’s not fair.” She shook her head and went back to sweeping.
“I wish I could say the same back, but I think you’re well aware.”
Ryan didn’t seem fazed. She took the ball cap off and let her hair tumble out of it in a movie Gabriella would hold on to and play back again later. “You’re different. With you, my confidence is”—she shook her head—“unrecognizable, lost, and confused. Wandering in the desert looking for water. Stranded on an island with a lone volleyball. Floating through space unaccounted for.”
Gabriella raised a hand. “Now you’re just being dramatic,” she said with a laugh. “Which in my experience is very unlike you.”
“See? That’s exactly my point.”
She leaned against one of the columns she’d grown to like so much. “How do you account for it? Because we’re so different?”
“We are, and we aren’t. I like food, kissing, and seeing a project come together. So do you.”
Gabriella nodded. “Oh, you’re highlighting our common ground. We also both have fingers and toes.”
“This has taken an interesting turn.”
“It always seems to.” Gabriella folded her arms and smiled. There was that ping-pong chemistry again, flitting back and forth. God, it was addictive.
“Do you want to keep logging body parts? We can discuss all of them. I certainly have favorites.”
Gabriella grinned but said nothing because she could see that game taking them to forbidden places, and that unnerved her.
“I have a feeling we have even more in common than we realize,” Ryan said like a know-it-all.
Gabriella reached for the broom, understanding that this cleanup session was the last step before Ryan would leave for the day. The least she could do was help out. “Well, we can both sweep as well. Another commonality. Let me have a turn, so you can finish up.”
Ryan handed her the broom and gathered up a few stray tools Gabriella couldn’t identify if her life depended on it.
She felt Ryan regarding her from across the room. “Let me ask you something about your job.”
Gabriella pushed the broom and on the last shove lifted her leg like an ice skater gliding after a jump. “Go for it.”
“Do you ever feel frustrated working in a truck for all of these months, given your skill set, your training?”
Gabriella shook her head automatically and paused her sweeping-ice routine. “The minute a chef starts to think like that, they’ve lost themselves. If you want to make amazing food, you have to step outside of your comfort zone, get creative, and roll your sleeves up.” She gestured in the direction of the truck. “I worked in a truck for the first time one summer about ten years ago. Some of the best down-and-dirty culinary education I’ve ever had. Some of it better than the fancy institute that trained me.” She looked around the room behind them. “Am I ready to get back into a full-sized kitchen and elevate the dishes I’ve spent time out there developing? Hell, yeah, it can’t happen fast enough. But the back-to-basics refresher has been invaluable.”
Ryan had been listening intently, having paused her work. “I admire that. Not allowing yourself to be above a valuable experience.” She nodded. “I’m going to remember that one.”
“The ego is a horrible roadblock on the road to achievement. That one is from the fancy institute.” She slid a strand of hair behind her ear. “I don’t want that to happen to me, you know?”
“Somehow I’m not worried. Speaking of ego, I’m about to check mine.”
Gabriella raised a brow. “Dangerous.”
She took a breath and walked the distance to Gabriella. Up close and personal, Ryan did not disappoint. Her skin was practically flawless, and those expressive blue eyes were so easy to get lost in, dreamy as they were. “There’s a place on Center Street, Truth or Dare. Heard of it?”
“Of course.”
“Good. They have developed a very impressive list of craft cocktails, and their head mixologist is hosting a gathering to launch his latest find, a Ginger Snap Smash. He took a trip to New York and apparently fell in love with it at this up-and-coming bar in the city. Anyway, he’s bringing it to Truth or Dare, and I thought maybe we could meet up there. Try one out.”
“Hmm. You want to hobnob with me in public. Possibly get ginger-smashed.”