Making Waves by Tawna Fenske

at her mouth, his expression unreadable.
    “Enjoying that?” he asked.
    Juli licked the spoon once more, watching as Alex kept his eyes fixed on her mouth. She flushed and set the spoon down. Alex took a deep breath and looked down at his own sorbet.
    “This is incredible,” Juli said. “Seriously, my mother is the world’s worst cook, and I’m a pretty close second. I can barely boil water for Top Ramen. If Cookie isn’t married, I’d like an annulment right now so I can snatch him up.”
    “I’m hurt,” Alex said as he scraped the sides of his dish with a spoon. “And here I thought we had this deep, meaningful connection in our marriage.”
    She patted his hand. “Deep meaning is one thing, but a man who can satisfy my appetite is a rare thing indeed.”
    Alex quirked an eyebrow at her, and Juli realized at once that she’d sounded a whole lot sluttier than she’d intended.
    Great. In addition to being socially backwards, you’re also a tramp.
    She realized she was still patting Alex’s hand and started to pull back, but he caught her wrist and held it. Then he smiled.
    “Judging from your appetite, that’s a big order to fill.”
    He released her hand, but Juli’s flesh tingled where he’d touched her. She held his gaze and saw his eyes were flashing with something—humor? Lust? She honestly couldn’t tell.
    She looked back down at her empty dish as her cheeks burned. Feeling silly, she glanced over to where Phyllis was spooning sorbet into Jake’s mouth. The two of them looked a little more relaxed now, which was good. Phyllis glanced up and Juli gave her an encouraging wave. Phyllis bit her lip and returned a weak smile.
    “Okay, gang!” Cody announced as Phyllis returned to the table with the empty plate and wiped her hands on a napkin. “Up next we have ankimo monkfish foie gras with dijon miso sauce and tobiko.”
    Juli watched as Cody set the next dish in front of them. She had to concentrate hard on not drooling as she reached for the platter.
    “Let me get it for you,” Cody said. “I’ve got this new serving spatula I’ve been dying to use.”
    Juli drew her hand back. “It’s a very lovely spatula.”
    Cody beamed. “It’s a genuine stainless steel blade with a red porcelain handle,” he said. “I’ve wanted one since I was eight.”
    “I’m glad you finally got one,” Juli said, admiring the food more than the spatula. “This looks amazing! If there’s enough to go around, I’d love an extra helping.”
    Cody smiled down at her as he heaped the food on her plate. Juli gave a small groan of pleasure as she forked the first bite into her mouth.
    “Are you always this passionate about food?” Alex asked.
    “Yes,” Juli said around a mouthful of fish. “Always. I love food. Especially decadent food like this.”
    “It’s a shame we never had a wedding cake.”
    “Oh, I’ve already picked out my future wedding cake. I got to help make it once at this bakery where I worked as a cake decorator—”
    “Didn’t you say you worked in marketing?” Alex asked.
    “Anyway,” Juli said, spearing a bite into her mouth and chewing blissfully. “The bottom layer is a white champagne cake layered with fresh strawberries, and the middle layer is a red velvet cake filled with amaretto cream cheese, and the top layer is chocolate fudge with an apricot glaze filling, and the whole thing is covered with ivory fondant and fresh flowers.”
    “No kidding.”
    “No kidding,” she said. “Best cake in the world.”
    Alex smiled and shook his head. “What about the ring?”
    “Ring?”
    “Wedding ring. Some big, expensive, hunkin’ rock. Or the wedding dress that costs more than a down payment on a house. Aren’t those the things women generally care about?”
    “Oh. Probably. I don’t know. The ring just needs to be round with a hole in the middle to stick my finger through. The dress should be white, I guess. Lacy, frilly, blah, blah, blah.” She speared another