Some Like It Spicy Read Online Free PDF Page A

he boasted. “Get ready to weep with joy.”
    He headed to the refrigerator, while Elena walked slowly and uncertainly to the pantry.
    Ashton focused her attention back on the sweet potatoes. Beside her, Jolene expertly cut broccoli rabe.
    She’d never been much for small talk, especially when cooking, but getting to know the competition was probably a smart idea. “Are you an executive chef?” she asked Jolene.
    Jolene shook her head as she poured sesame seeds into a small pan and set it on the burner to toast. “I write health-food cookbooks.”
    Ashton tried not to wince, but she didn’t think she was successful. Health-food nuts took the joy out of food. Really, if butter or bacon wasn’t part of the recipe, what was the point?
Jolene caught sight of her face and laughed. “I’ll convert you yet. When I was in the pageant, my platform was fighting childhood obesity. I actually went to culinary school so I could teach kids ways to make their favorite foods healthier without losing taste.”
    “Pageant?”
    “Miss America Pageant. I competed as Miss Texas.”
    Ashton swallowed hard. “Did you win?”
    She shook her head.
    Thank God.
    “I was first runner-up.”
    Ashton wanted to hate her. Jolene was too perfect, too nice, and she cooked health food. But the aroma floating toward her from the orange peel sautéing with the broccoli rabe actually made Ashton want to believe in vegetables again. If the dish tasted as good as it smelled, Jolene was going to be some serious competition.
    An hour later, the chefs were seated on the patio, along with a feast.
    “Dig into this,” Duffy said, placing a steak on each of their plates.
    Morgan looked down at her food and curled her lip. “I think I just became a vegetarian. What the hell is on this?”
    Ashton had been wondering that herself. A multicolored crust had been charred on the outside of the steak. If she had to guess, she’d say the temperature of the meat fell somewhere between medium well and cremation. Her stomach did a back flip.
    Duffy smirked. “Just eat it. Then, I’ll be accepting your apologies.”
    Out of sheer politeness, Ashton cut into the steak. Her eyes widened when she saw the middle was a perfect, pink medium rare. She looked up at Duffy. “How’d you do that?”
    He just shrugged. “Taste it.”
    She raised the steak to her lips, sniffing before the meat passed through. The rub had peppers, certainly. Black and red pepper flakes. Salt, a little garlic, and minced onion. She took a bite and then swooned. What looked like char had actually been a caramelization. Duffy had created a crisp outside, while keeping the inside soft as butter.
    “This is amazing,” Ashton praised him.
    “Like foreplay,” Lance added. “I totally want you right now, Duffy. Seriously.”
    Duffy’s chest puffed out. “If I had a penny for every time I heard that, I wouldn’t need this competition.” He reached across the table and pulled the plate out from under Morgan’s fork. “Sorry, vegetarian. I’ll just eat this myself. Wouldn’t want to offend you.”
    Morgan shot daggers at him and threw down her fork.
    Jin grabbed his lo mein noodle kugel and handed the plate to Ashton. “Let’s pass around the sides. Everyone has to taste everything.”
    It took only a few bites of food for Ashton to realize that any one of these contestants could be the next celebrity chef. The competition would come down to the person who made the least stupid mistakes.
    Not everyone agreed with Ashton’s assessment.
    “Chilled avocado soup is an interesting choice,” Morgan said to Elena, her voice patronizing.
    Elena shrank back into her seat.
    “Green soup is kind of unappealing,” Morgan continued.
    “Just like your attitude,” Jin shot at Morgan. “I thought Elena’s soup was delicious. Really refreshing.”
    Lance nodded in agreement. “I could have eaten a pot of the homemade salsa you had as a garnish. Some people just don’t appreciate