Page 25 of You Chive Me Crazy

Betsy kissed Marty on the cheek and started taking ice cream orders at the other end of the dining room.

Lucas leaned close and whispered, “See the bald guy over there?”

I glanced over at the quiet, round-faced, forty-ish man wearing a baby-blue Prada cashmere polo that I was sure cost more than my monthly apartment rent. “Yeah . . .”

“That’s Jeremy Hayes,” Lucas said.

“Doesn’t ring a bell,” I said.

“Director of Programming at the Food Network.”

“How do you know that?” I glanced back over at the man who had been on his phone since we had come downstairs.

Lucas shrugged. “I just know.”

“There’s something you’re not telling me.”

He beamed with delight. “You are correct.”

Betsy snuck up behind us before I could interrogate Lucas further. “What would you two lovebirds like for dessert?”

I smiled. “A chocolate shake, please.”

“Overruled.” Lucas grabbed the three-by-five card from my hand and handed it to Betsy, along with his own. “Zoe won’t be able to have ice cream this evening. Are there any other options?”

I twisted in his direction. “Excuse me?”

Lucas shook his head. “No butter, cream, milk, cheese, or excess sugar.”

“That’s basically everything I live for,” I whined.

“Sorry. You need to watch what you eat.”

Damian looked over. “I think she’s old enough to decide for herself. What kind of man are you to tell a woman what she can and cannot eat?”

Here we go again . . .

Lucas glared at Damian, then crossed his arms for added impact. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m the kind of man who cares enough about her to know that butter, cream, milk, and cheese are not recommended for people trying to recover from concussions.”

Damian opened his mouth and closed it, sinking lower in his chair.

“A concussion?” Betsy said. “You poor thing—I did not know. I just thought you were a little under the weather.”

“It’s nothing, and it’s only apossibleconcussion,” I said, not wanting to make a big deal about it since all eyes at the table were on me. “Just a minor bump on the head. I’ll be fine.”

“She crashed her food truck into a tree, and had to go to the hospital,” Lucas said. “Zoe needs to take it easy for a couple of days. By chance, do you have any blueberries or cranberries? That’s a better option for her.”

“You’re in luck—I just stocked up on blueberries for pancakes tomorrow morning,” Betsy said, placing her hand on top of mine. “I’ll get you some right away, dear. What about you, Lucas? What do you fancy?”

“I’ll have some blueberries as well, if you don’t mind,” he said.

“You got it. I’ll be back in a jiffy.”

“You could have had ice cream,” I whispered to Lucas. “I know you like chocolate.”

He studied me for a moment and leaned closer and whispered back, “You remembered.”

I sighed. “Don’t read too much into that. You wrote about your chocolate obsession in one of your reviews. It’s public knowledge.”