Wes shook his head. “Get us some food, chef. Vegetable korma for me. Throw in some garlic naan, too, for that comment.”
Devin laughed. “Lucky for you, I have a stack of naan that won’t be any good tomorrow. I experimented with a jalapeño-and-cheese version tonight. You can tell me what you think.”
“Nothing sounds bad about bread, cheese, and chili peppers,” Wes said as he grabbed one of the bottles lining the counter and squirted a green sauce into a little takeout cup. He repeated
the action with two more colorful sauces, his movements efficient and sure, like he’d done that routine millions of times.
“You come here a lot?” Rebecca asked as Devin got their food ready.
Wes looked over as he put covers on the sauce containers and then stacked them on the ledge for Devin to put in the bag. “You can find some of the best food in the city in these kinds of places. Lots of experimental stuff. New chefs finding their groove. Gourmet stuff at reasonable prices.” He sidled up next to her and glanced out at the U-shaped park, something wistful crossing his face. “I mean, it’s kind of amazing. Who wouldn’t want to come here?”
She studied his profile for a moment before following his gaze to see what he was seeing. Not many trucks were left at this hour, but there were twinkle lights strung above the well-worn picnic tables and colorful potted flowers dotting the ground. A lone couple was sharing a tray of three colorful cupcakes as crickets serenaded them from off in the dark. The park did have a bit of a magical quality to it, especially at this hour when it felt like some kind of secret. “It is really lovely. I don’t live that far from here, but I didn’t know this existed.”
“Well, after you try Dev’s food, I bet you’ll put it on regular rotation,” Wes said, tucking his hands in his back pockets, which made his biceps bulge, temporarily distracting her from her vow not to check him out anymore. “You should also try the street taco truck, the Korean-Texas BBQ fusion, and Reel Cupcakes. The chef there names her cupcakes after horror movies. I recommend The Shining—it’s a red velvet cupcake covered with coconut snow.”
She lifted a brow. “You seem like quite the connoisseur of the food park. I guess you’re into eating?”
Not that anyone would be able to tell. His T-shirt was snug enough to show a body that didn’t look like it’d ever had a cupcake. Not that she was still looking. Nope. Not her.
Wes shrugged. “I teach culinary arts at an after-school program.”
“What he means to say,” Devin said, his back still to them, “is that he is a chef. Not as good as me, of course, but passable.” He turned and placed two takeout containers and a foil-wrapped package on the ledge. “Who is currently wasting his talent teaching children how to fry an egg and denying the rest of the world his skills.”
Wes’s expression darkened at Devin’s words. He grabbed the bag and tucked the food inside. “How much do I owe you?”
“On the house.” Devin smiled. “When you make that purchase I told you about, you can return the favor.”
Wes frowned and pulled out his wallet. He dropped a twenty on the counter, apparently making some point. Rebecca didn’t know what was going on between the two friends, but she sensed the tension, the air of challenge.
Wes turned to her, his expression softening into something friendly again. He pulled out a steaming piece of flatbread dotted with jalapeños and handed it to her. “Best to eat these warm. You ready to go?”
She took the bread, inhaling the enticing scents of garlic and hot peppers, and looked up at the truck. “Yeah. Thanks, Devin.”
“Anytime.” He lifted a hand in goodbye. “You come back and tell me what you think.”
“Will do,” she said and then bit into the bread as they took a few steps away from the truck. The soft dough was filled with melty cheese, and she moaned at the rush of flavor—garlic, spices, heat. Her empty stomach rumbled in victory as she stopped in her tracks. “Holy hell, that’s good.”
Stretchy cheese tried to escape, but she caught it with her finger and then licked it off the tip. Wes turned to face her, his lips curling at her obvious pleasure and the mess she was making.
He leaned close, next to her ear. “Don’t say that too loud. Dev’s ego is big enough.”
She shivered at the tickle of Wes’s breath along her neck and shook her head. “I can’t help it. You’ve got to try this.”
Without thinking, she held out the naan, the cheese oozing. Wes smiled at the invitation and bit into the bread while holding her gaze. The move should’ve been nothing more than a man taking a bite of food, but the way he watched her, the way he lingered in her space, made her heartbeat pick up speed.
He pulled back, a string of cheese stretching until it broke, and wiped the corner of his mouth, his eyes still on her. “That’s pretty damn good.”
“Yeah,” she said quietly, her body staging some kind of protest while her mind tried to remind her that this man was a cheater. And that she’d been mugged tonight, so she was in some weird vulnerable state that made her think inappropriate thoughts. And that she had way bigger things to worry about than how long it’d been since she’d felt attraction on such a visceral level.
Focus, Bec.
“This is fantastic, Devin,” she called out, breaking the eye contact and forcing herself to look somewhere else besides at Wes.
Devin’s face broke into a wide smile, and he lifted a hand in thanks. “Enjoy!”
Wesley handed her an extra napkin. “Let’s get you home.”
She didn’t trust herself to say anything appropriate, so she took another big bite of naan and followed Wes to the van.