Page 105 of Men or Paws

Beth smiled. “Mucho gusto.”

Emilio’s eyes lit up. “Your Spanish is very good.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” she said. “Like Rocco, my vocabulary is extremely limited, but I did pick up more than a few words when I worked in the restaurant business. Although, many of those things I would never repeat in public.” She laughed.

Emilio laughed with her. “I totally understand.”

“Beth used to be a chef, but now she’s starting her own line of organic dog treats,” I said. “You may be seeing a lot more of her because she’s going to start selling them here at the farmers’ market.”

Emilio smiled. “There’s nothing like owning your own business. Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” Beth said.

He gestured behind him to the paella pans. “Let me get your paella. What size would you like?”

I grinned and held up two fingers. “Dos grandes.”

Emilio pointed to me, grinning. “Muy bien.”

I pulled out my wallet to pay, even though he’d never allowed me to pay in the past.

Emilio shook his head. “Put your money away.” He walked back over to the first paella pan, grabbed the utensil, and prepared two big servings with a couple of pieces of bread.

I quickly pulled out a fifty dollar bill and stuffed it in the tip jar when he had his back turned, winking to Emilio’s wife, who normally takes the money from the customers.

She gave me a knowing smile and nodded, right before Emilio returned with the food.

Emilio handed us the two paellas. “Here you go, my friends. Hope you enjoy it, Beth.”

“I’m sure I will,” she said. “It looks and smells amazing. Thank you.”

“My pleasure. Come back to say goodbye before you leave today.”

“Will do, amigo,” I said. “Gracias.”

We sat at the first available table and didn’t waste any time, diving into our paella. The live music nearby and the pleasant temperature made the experience close to perfect.

Beth’s eyes rolled back ecstatically after she took the first bite. “Whoa.” She took a second bite, then a third, looking like she was going to devour the entire portion of paella without stopping for a breath.

I laughed. “Hey—you might want to slow down.”

She shook her head. “You slow down. I eat at my own pace.” She laughed and took another bite, moaning. “This is amazing. You’re right, five stars.”

I grinned. “I told you. Emilio is the best.”

“Why doesn’t he have his own restaurant?” Beth asked.

I shrugged. “It’s like he said, he loves being around the people instead of being stuck in a kitchen all day. You can relate to that.”

Beth nodded and took another bite. “Very true. The restaurant business can be grueling.”

“He does a lot of private catering jobs. He probably makes more doing this, plus he has the flexibility of taking time off whenever he wants. Not a bad gig at all.”

Beth glanced over at the table across from us, then leaned in and whispered, “Someone appears to be recording a video of you right now.”

I grinned. “You mean, a video of us.”

She stopped chewing.