THE HOT lawyer's

Part 16

Lisa

My fork dived into the edge of the pancake stack, drips of butter and syrup falling down the side, a round chunk of banana mashing as I cut through it.

I was more of an egg person.

A breakfast that I could pop into my mouth on the way to the gym or work. I wasn't looking for flavor; I was after the protein, needing all the energy I could get to make it through the day.

That was why I didn't normally eat brunch. Unless I was on vacation with the guys and there had been a night of heavy drinking before, I was usually moving so fast that I didn't have time for this meal.

But it was actually nice to slow down and take a moment to appreciate this.

And the beautiful girl sitting across from me.

The girl I kept tasting again and again, one lick never enough. The same one who had me reaching across the goddamn table, unable to keep my fucking hands off her. The one whose stare told me she was listening and holding on to every word and could probably recite everything I'd ever said to her. The one who subtly glanced at my mouth, licking her own at the same time, wiggling in her seat whenever she laughed or got excited.

Like she was right now, her eyes fixed on my lips as they parted to take in my first bite.

The second the brown sugar hit my tongue, my cheeks almost puckered, but that didn't last as the savory butter kicked in, cutting the sweetness of the banana and syrup.

"Wow." I spoke from behind my hand, taking my time to chew and swallow. "Not at all what I expected."

"Better or worse?"

"Far better." I took another bite, dipping it into the pool of syrup, the cinnamon from the butter still coating my mouth. "I honestly can't tell you the last time I had a pancake, but I can tell you, it didn't taste anything like this."

"Most of them don't. Not even the ones I make." She finally dug into her stack. "They cook the fruit on top of the pancake rather than inside, so it adds a whole different flavor. Then, you add in whipped butter instead of a cold, hard pat, and it's a mouth explosion."

I laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"You." I drank several sips of coffee. "The women I'm around don't talk about food, and they don't eat very much of it."

She shook her head. "Now, that's just a tragedy. Find yourself new women to hang out with, Lisa. There's nothing sexy or fun about what you just described." She wiped a glob of butter off the corner of her lip. "Life is far too short to only eat lettuce."

"That should be your slogan."

She poured more syrup on top of her stack. "Well, unless that lettuce is grilled with pine nuts and feta cheese and a tangy balsamic glaze on top." Our eyes locked, the most enticing charm moving across hers. "And no, that should be your slogan. The next time there's a girl sitting with you, nibbling on a leaf, looking all kinds of miserable, please tell her to order a pancake. Or two."

"You're adorable."

She wasn't just kind and caring. Jennie was real. I didn't see a lot of that, not when I only spent an evening with a woman, most of our conversation superficial and incredibly boring until it was time to fuck.

"I'm just honest." The compliment got to her; I could tell by the color of her cheeks. "I'm curious, what's it like, working with your brothers? Not all siblings can make magic happen—I'm a good example of that—so what's your relationship like with them?"