On Any Given Sundae Read Online Free PDF

but—” she began.
    “Well, how about I take over your shifts,”
Rob said. “I could handle them, too, if…”
    “Oh, no. That’s not fair to you. I-I’m
willing to work—”
    “Let the man speak, Elizabeth,” Nick said.
“My baklava is being featured on page sixty-five. I’m protective of
this book.”
    She glanced at Gretchen, who winked
unhelpfully.
    They all turned their eyes to Rob, but
Elizabeth sensed his offer of help wasn’t quite as altruistic as it
seemed.
    “Here’s the thing,” he said. “I can see
you’re signed up for the first two shifts today, Elizabeth, first
with Gretchen from ten to twelve-thirty, and then with Jacques,
twelve-thirty to three. If I take over both of those, would you be
able to help me for just two and a half hours tonight instead?”
    “S-Sure. You mean do the closing shift for
you, from eight to ten-thirty?” This she could handle. It would be
like her schedule before Uncle Siegfried left, with only half the
time away from her computer screen. And Rob would, obviously, be
somewhere else. Nighttime party plans, no doubt.
    “Not exactly,” Rob said. “I can still do the
mid-afternoon and late-evening shifts you assigned me as well. What
I need from you is the time between five-thirty and eight. I need
you to come to dinner with me.” He paused. “At my mother’s
house.”
     

CHAPTER THREE
     
    “W-What?”
    Rob took in Lizzy’s—no— Elizabeth’s stunned expression, but if a little trickery was required to get
Mama off his case, he wasn’t too proud to stoop to it. Last night
had been an evening of enjoyment right up there with a toasty visit
to Hades. He had no intention of repeating it. Ever.
    “That seems like a more than fair trade,” the
young guy Nick said to her.
    The Frenchman nodded his approval.
    Only the blonde looked dubious.
    As for Elizabeth, she opened her mouth
several times but not a single word emerged after that first
“What?” This surprised him. Here was, after all, the woman who
apparently could talk up a firestorm without stuttering when among
her friends…
    He grimaced. So she thought he had a hot
body, huh? Wasn’t that always the case with the Wilmington Bay
crowd? Rob the Hunk. Rob the High-School Football Star. Rob the
Popular Guy. Just about anything but Rob the Intelligent. Hell,
he’d even settle for Rob the Occasionally Bright. But it was always
about his body and his face, never about his mind.
    Which hurt sometimes. Especially when he was
trying to talk to a woman as smart as Elizabeth Daniels.
    “So, what do you say?” he asked her. “Do we
have a deal?”
    “I-I—”
    “Of course you do,” Nick said for her. “Why
don’t you leave right now, Elizabeth, and get back to typing?”
    The blonde started to speak, but Elizabeth
stopped her. The ladies did some eye-contact thing and Gretchen
said, “Elizabeth?”
    Elizabeth said, “B-B-Bye e-everyone.” She
waved and headed for the door. Always one for abrupt
departures.
    “Pick you up here at five-thirty sharp,” he
called after her. She shot him a worried parting glance, but she
nodded.
    “L-Later,” she said, but he wasn’t sure if
she was talking to him or addressing Team Tutti-Frutti.
    The moment she was out the door, Gretchen
started whispering to Jacques rapidly and, it seemed, in code
because he couldn’t figure out from their words why Gretchen was
acting so panicky. He might’ve gone ahead and asked her if their
first customer of the day hadn’t shown up.
    “Roberto Gabinarri? Is that really you?” his
mother’s favorite hairstylist said. “Just look at how you’ve grown
up. Such a fine young man.” She sparkled at him and, yes, actually
pinched his cheek.
    He heard Nick stifle a laugh before the
Frenchman said to him, “C’mon, Nick. It’s Gretchen and Rob’s shift
now. You promised to help me with the Grand Marnier tortes.”
    “Okay,” he said to Jacques. “Need to be at
Jason’s Joint in two hours, though.” Then, to Rob,