Just a Taste (9 page)

The next day, Carmen didn't know what she was doing. She and Liam spent hours together driving all over the city to follow food trucks. In the end, they only managed to hit about five, but as anxious as she'd been about facing all that food, Liam insisted they share and sample different things. She'd only consumed a bite or two of each item and felt no guilt afterward. It had been the first time in years that she'd been able to eat out without being self-conscious and worrying about how much she ate.

Now, she found herself primping in front of the mirror like she was preparing for a date. But Liam couldn't be a date; he had a girlfriend, or something. They never did get around to discussing the cute blonde who had rushed out of his apartment the previous morning. As the day wore on, it seemed to matter less and less. Liam shared so much of his life, his love for cooking and food, and what he hoped to have one day. Listening to him made her envious because he had dreams. She no longer remembered hers.

When she got back to her car in the afternoon, Liam said he would come over today to actually get into the truck and get a feel for how everything worked. She looked out the kitchen window at the truck sitting in the driveway. Her chest tightened. She hadn't stepped foot in it since her dad died. Pete had been kind enough to clean it out for her, so she wouldn't have to.

Thinking of Pete reminded her that he'd called while she was out yesterday. He wondered what she was doing with the truck and if she needed any help. She blew out a breath. After Liam got settled, she'd call Pete and let him know . . . what? She and Liam still hadn't discussed anything about hiring help. Although her dad had run the truck mostly by himself, he'd always said a second person was needed.

Her doorbell rang and she wrapped a scarf around her neck and grabbed the truck keys. She opened the door to see Liam holding two cups of coffee. His smile wasn't enthusiastic, but more of a sly hello. Even though they had laughed and joked over the last couple of weeks, she had yet to see Liam fully smile, like he was happy. Instead, his smile often looked like he was holding back—like he had a secret tucked away.

Unfortunately, she never mastered such a smile and she couldn't help but respond with a grin that took over her whole mouth. “Good morning.” She stepped aside so he could come into the house.

“Morning.” He closed the door behind him and followed her through the house to the kitchen. It was the one room he seemed most comfortable in.

“You want to head out now, or finish your coffee first?”

“Always coffee first.” He drank and she watched his throat work with the gulps.

As she sipped from her own cup, she averted her eyes. She couldn't stand any more embarrassment when it came to Liam, otherwise she'd never be able to face him for work.

“Something wrong with the coffee?”

“Nope. It's perfect,” she answered, still looking out the window at the truck.

“What's bothering you?”

“I haven't been in the truck since before Dad died. Pete cleaned it out for me, so it's not gross or anything, but I haven't been in there. I'm trying to decide if that's because I've been busy with everything else or if I've intentionally avoided it.”

Liam stepped closer and rubbed a hand on her back. “A little of both, I suspect. After my dad died, it took me a long time to be able to go back to the pub, but now, it's the one place that I go to feel close to him.”

She nodded and closed her eyes, reveling in the feel of his hand stroking her back. He abruptly stopped and it was like being jerked awake from an excellent dream. She heard his coffee cup hit the trash can, so she opened her eyes and walked out the back door, still cradling her cup to keep her hands warm.

She unlocked the truck and popped the window open. She led the way into the back of the truck and flipped on the lights. Cold air blew in through the window and Carmen shivered. When Liam stepped up beside her, she began a quick tour of the equipment. Liam followed first with his eyes, but then began to move and shift to get the feel for how everything was situated. He spun and turned and reached, keeping his stance wide. The man damn near filled the entire truck. It was possible that he might not be able to have someone work with him because he took up so much room.

Then without warning, he turned and bent over, to search the refrigerated compartments and storage. His ass thrust right at Carmen and she couldn't look away from the way his jeans hugged him. Lord, what was she thinking? She shook her head and stepped back, trying to figure out where to go, how to escape. Liam straightened and looked at her.

God, did her face show evidence of where her thoughts had just wandered?

“The setup and layout are perfect. Gus nailed it. Everything is within reach if you're working alone, but there's ample room for someone else.”

She huffed a laugh. “I'm going to take my ample ass back into the house to get the groceries I picked up so you can practice on the grill.”

She started to edge past him, but he braced his arms across the span of the path.

“I wasn't implying anything about your ass.”

Crap. She felt her cheeks flame. “I know. But you also said there's ample room in here and there isn't.” She inhaled slowly. “It's almost stifling.”

He stared into her face for a moment and she had a hard time keeping eye contact. She didn't know what he was searching for. Her gaze wandered to his lips and she wondered what his beard would feel like against her face during a kiss. She cleared her throat and said, “Excuse me.”

He flinched as if he just realized he'd been staring, and then he stepped aside. She couldn't move fast enough to get out of the truck. As she sped back to her kitchen she was struck by the idea that she made it through her first visit to the truck since her father's passing because she was too busy thinking about Liam kissing her to think about being sad.

A good distraction truly worked wonders. She grabbed the bag of food she'd hastily shoved in the refrigerator last night and then polished off her coffee before heading back outside. She had things to do in the house. She had an entire list of projects to complete.

But what she wanted to do was watch Liam cook in her dad's truck. Which meant that she couldn't. The man had a girlfriend. What had gotten into her? She hadn't had a boyfriend in so long, she couldn't remember what a date felt like, but she'd never in her life tried to poach another woman's man.

Taking the bag to the truck, she decided the smartest move would be to pass it through the window and go back to her own work. She held the bag in the air, not quite tall enough to set it on the counter inside the truck. Liam saw her, she was sure of it. She waved her arm a little and he caught her wrist.

“What are you doing?”

“Handing you the food so you can practice cooking.”

He took the bag and then leaned out the window. “Aren't you coming in?”

She was struck dumb by the look in his eyes. She pointed over her shoulder as if that would tell him what her plans were. “I have stuff—”

“Stuff can wait. Keep me company.”

“You don't need company. Besides, if you're going to run this by yourself, you need to get used to being alone.”

One eyebrow flicked up. “What if I can't figure something out and I start a fire?”

She crossed her arms. “Don't pretend to be incompetent. We both know you can figure it out.”

“Just get your ass in here. I'm cold hanging out the window like this.”

She sighed, but did as he told her. Yanking on the back door, she felt the warm air from inside letting her know that he'd already figured out how to start everything. She pulled the door shut behind her. Liam looked over his shoulder and smiled as he unloaded the small bag of groceries.

Carmen leaned against the closed door and let the sensations of the truck wash over her. The heat, the smells, the sounds—they all made her think of Gus. All she needed now was to hear him yelling at her to get out of the way or to hear him cursing Pete for screwing up an order. She smiled at the memory.

“That's a nice look.”

She jolted from her reverie. “What?”

“That smile was one of the rare ones. One that said you were in a good place. Can I ask what you were thinking about?”

“My dad.”

Liam chopped peppers while he talked to Carmen. When she had that dreamy look on her face, he'd hoped she'd been thinking about him, and he tried not to be disappointed that she had been thinking of Gus. He'd wanted her to think of good memories of Gus.

But he also wanted to grab her and kiss her. Before she went back to the house for the food, he almost had. If she hadn't had a shell-shocked look, he probably would have followed through. He set the knife down as she talked about her dad, and he couldn't help but look at her mouth and her full pink lips. He wanted to taste those lips.

She shoved away from the door and sauntered closer. She had no idea how sexy she looked walking toward him like that. She wore another curve-hugging sweater, but no jacket to conceal it all. A cream-colored scarf was wound around her neck three or four times in loose loops and her hair flowed in waves over it.

As she walked past him, she began to unwind the scarf, and he caught a whiff of her perfume as her hair bounced up from the movement. She tossed the scarf on the passenger seat of the truck and then leaned against the opposite wall from where she'd started.

“Are you uncomfortable in here?”

She slowly shook her head. “I thought I would be, but it's good.”

He returned to chopping and tossed some ground beef on the grill. He smacked at it with a spatula and tossed seasoning over it. He dug through the bag and brought out the tortillas. He felt her eyes on him and while being watched had never bothered him, something about this made him slightly uncomfortable. It was probably because he kept thinking about kissing her instead of paying attention to the food.

Liam still wasn't sure about the whole taco thing. It seemed too simple to make a food truck successful. They were competing with the likes of Taco Bell. He shook his head.

“What's so funny?” Carmen asked.

He looked over his shoulder. “I don't see how Gus was successful selling tacos. It doesn't seem like enough. At least not different enough to make people want to keep coming back or to follow him around.”

She shrugged. “People like tacos. They're good walking food. You don't need utensils. They're cheap and filling.”

He flipped the nearly cooked meat on the grill. Everything she said made sense, but he wanted to be more than cheap, filling finger food. “I think we should consider expanding, trying new meals in addition to tacos.”

“Like what?”

“I'm not sure yet. I haven't thought it all the way through.” Which was odd that he would even mention it to her. He never talked without thinking first.

“Before you go rushing into changes, I think you should keep it as is and give it a shot. Adding more menu items will complicate things and you haven't been on the road yet. It's a lot to handle.”

Again, she had a point. The woman was a businessperson without a doubt. He heated a tortilla and scooped beef on. Then he sprinkled cheese, lettuce, and tomato. He turned to her, holding his taco. “Here.”

Her eyebrows slammed together. “I'm not hungry.”

“Just try it. Let me know how it tastes.”

He stepped closer, putting the taco to her lips, and waited. She pressed her lips together and he nudged at her mouth with the food. This brought a smile, much like it had yesterday when she'd claimed repeatedly that she didn't want to eat anything. She opened her mouth and took a bite.

His fingers grazed her lips. Her eyes widened a fraction at his touch. He pulled his hand away, but stayed rooted to his spot, mere inches from her body.

Her eyebrows crinkled again, this time wrinkling her nose in the process—never a good sign for the chef.

“What?”

She visibly swallowed, as if it took effort. “It's awful.”

He looked at her and waited for her teasing smile, but none came. “You're serious?”

She nodded.

He took a bite of the taco and before he even chewed, he realized she was right. It was awful. The meat was bland and rubbery. It had no kick at all. He reached for a paper towel and spit the food out.

Carmen nudged his arm. “That's not fair. I swallowed it.”

“That was your own silly mistake.” He stared at the food, and then started scraping it into the trash. “What the hell did I do wrong?”

“I have no idea. I'm not a cook, remember?”