Back to the Good Fortune Diner by Vicki Essex Page B

like they’d go for each other’s throats. Tiffany’s stomach torqued.
    Two heavy heartbeats later, Tony spun and pushed through the kitchen doors, uttering something in disgust. Tiffany exhaled, tension draining from her bones. Her mother continued wiping the counter. The customers in the diner didn’t notice the exchange.
    “Got any chicken balls left?”
    She jumped at the sight of Chris standing in front of her, grinning wide.
    * * *
    T IFFANY’S CHEEKS CHANGED from pale to flaming red. Chris wasn’t sure what had put that worried expression on her face, but he was glad to be the one to wipe it off. The lights from the steam counter bathed her in a golden light. Despite the hairnet, apron and sheen of sweat, she really was an attractive woman.
    She regained herself quickly as her dark eyes dropped to his chest. “Nice T-shirt,” she said wryly.
    He looked down. His T-shirt had come from a poultry farm in the next county, and featured a cartoon chicken serving up eggs in a pan, the words It’s Clucking Good hovering over its head. “Thanks. It’s all the rage in Paris.” He struck a pose and gave a duck-lipped moue.
    She smirked. That seemed to be the closest he’d ever gotten to making her laugh. She pointed toward the golden deep-fried spheres. “I didn’t realize you were a chicken-ball fan.”
    “I thought I’d get some for Simon. They’re his favorite.” He didn’t want to admit he’d only stopped in to see if she was there and to say hello, even though he had a million things to do.
    She filled a take-out box, studiously avoiding eye contact. Her reserved manner reminded him of the way she’d treated him in high school, and it made him smile.
    “You must be hot,” he drawled.
    Her hand jerked, and two of the balls jumped out of the container. “Excuse me?”
    “Back there. From the steam.” He grinned.
    She blinked slowly as her expression closed once more. “It’s good for the skin.” She continued filling the box with laserlike focus. He chuckled to himself. Getting any kind of reaction out of her was a private win. There’d been times as a teen when he’d wondered if she was immune to his charm, or simply hadn’t been interested in the opposite sex. And though he hadn’t admitted it to himself then, it had needled him that she’d been so unaffected.
    He leaned up against the counter. “So, I was thinking, if you have time this week, I wouldn’t mind if you swung by and got a jump on things with Simon.”
    She didn’t look up as she answered. “Simon doesn’t start class till Monday. I’ll work with him then.”
    “Oh.” His disappointment surprised him. “I thought you might want to help him out in some of his other subjects.”
    “He said he wanted a break before summer school starts. I don’t blame him. He looks like he could use a two-month nap.”
    He laughed. “I was tired all the time in high school. That didn’t stop you from giving me a hard time.”
    “He needs a break,” she said, mouth turning down steeply. “It’ll be hard enough making him sit through an extra two hours of tutoring regularly. If I don’t give him some space, he’ll shut me out completely. When he and I sit down, I’ll put him to the task. But I’m not going to drive him into the ground before we’ve even started.”
    Chris was stunned she’d reacted so vehemently. “I thought you’d—”
    She plopped the box of chicken balls and the tub of glowing orange sweet-and-sour sauce on the counter by the register. “My mom will ring you up.” She went back to the far end of the steam counter to serve the next customer.
    Rose Cheung grinned brightly at him as he paid. She asked him some questions about his family, but his eyes kept going back to Tiffany, who wore an easy, bright smile as she filled a take-out container for the old man. Why he should be jealous that she smiled so easily for a stranger and not for him was something he didn’t want to examine too closely.
    * * *
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