Page 51 of First Bride to Fall
“Yeah.” He frowned, looking handsome in the shadows. “Sure is.”
“Do you cook this when you’re camping?” she asked, starting to worry. While the initial couple of bites had been difficult, she’d muster through them. The more the flavors built up on her tongue, though, the more unpalatable they became.
“Oh yeah,” he said. “Trout is delicious cooked over a campfire or on a portable camp stove. You just wrap it in foil and add some lemon.”
“I bet that’s tasty.”Or not.
She scanned her plate and the enormous fillet, which she’d barely touched, and picked up a French fry. Then she ate another one, dousing it with ketchup. That sort of took the fishy taste away, but not entirely.
“Maybe I can make some for you and your sisters on our trip?”
Wait. He was back to that again? Grant really did seem to have a fixation on that camping trip. And about tents. “I’m sure they’d love that,” she said, fully aware the trip would never happen. Not if she had anything to say about it, anyway.
She picked at her fish, and his forehead creased.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, no. Everything is so, so good. I’m just…” She lifted a shoulder. “Not as hungry as I thought I was.”
“No worries,” he answered cheerfully. “We can save any leftovers for breakfast.”
Nell’s stomach roiled. “Breakfast?”
“Goes great with grits.”
She grinned tightly. Maybe she could find a way to just eat the grits part.
“Did you eat much fish growing up?” he asked her while continuing to polish off his meal. He seemed oblivious to how little she was eating, which was good. Except that she was actually hungry. She ate more fries, and then another bunch of them, stuffing them in her mouth.
“Um.” She chewed behind the back of her hand. “Not a ton. My dad did most of the cooking, so we ate lots of Irish food. Like colcannon, bangers and mash…”
“What’s colcannon?”
“It’s made from potatoes and cabbage. It’s one of those comfort foods. Really satisfying.” She’d give anything to have some of that now. She took another forkful of French fries, noticing she’d nearly cleaned her plate. Of those, anyway.
“Want more fries?” he asked her.
“No, thanks. I’m good.” She patted her belly. “Really stuffed all of a sudden.” Maybe she could sneak out here and make a PB&J after they’d gone to bed? If Grant was a really sound sleeper. And she didn’t stumble into a bunch of furniture while bumbling around in the darkness and hopping on her one good foot.
Okay. Bad idea.
“I’ll wrap up your fish in case you get hungry later. Don’t feel like you have to wait until breakfast.”
“Great. Thanks.”
“So you ate Irish food, hmm?” He continued working on his dinner. “Maybe you can make something for me sometime?”
Nell couldn’t wait to have him over to her place. “I’d love to.”
He cocked his head and studied her before changing the subject. “What do you do in your free time, when you’re not knitting and playing online Scrabble?”
“I read.”
“Oh yeah? What? Maybe we have some favorite authors in common?”
“Mostly romance novels.” Heat warmed her face, and he chuckled.
“Okay then, no. Maybe not.”
