Read Online Abby Road by Ophelia London - Free Book Online Page B

salads on the other side of the glass. It was a regular Garden of Eden al fresca . Although my food allowances had changed during the last five years, my food preferences certainly had not. Anything greasy, sugary, salty, or fatty was a constant craving.
    When I looked up, Todd was grinning at me, probably noticing my gluttonous expression. “Hungry much?”
    “Yeahhh,” I gushed, throwing manners to the wind.
    “Good.” He turned to Bob. “Give me roast beef with mustard on wheat, no cheese. And how is the tuna today?”
    The proprietor didn’t have to think twice. “Best on the Gulf,” he bragged through fluffy whiskers, wiping his hands across the front of his red apron, “but we’re already out.”
    Todd huffed and slid his gaze back to me. “Hmmm.” He squinted, studying my face, index finger tapping his chin.
    Maybe he thinks he can detect my craving by staring at me hard enough. Yeesh, I certainly hope not. Talk about embarrassing . . .
    “She’ll have smoked turkey with cheddar— No, scratch that,” Todd corrected, eyes still on me. “Swiss cheese, on a hard roll. Tomatoes, pickles, avocado . . . sprouts.”
    Bob went to work, chopping, smothering, and smearing.
    Todd turned around and rested his back against the glass, looking mentally exhausted, like he’d solved a long-division problem in his head.
    “And they say chivalry’s dead.”
    “Did you mind my ordering for you?”
    I shook my head. Sure, Max had bossed me around for the past five years, but Todd’s bullying me through the door and deciding what he thought I’d like for lunch—that felt different. “How did you know, though?” I asked, leaning against the counter beside him.
    “Know what?”
    “I prefer Swiss cheese and sprouts.”
    He smiled first and then chuckled, replaying something funny in his mind. “I would say you’re an open book, Abby, but I wouldn’t want to insult you.”
    I smiled back as the heavenly scent of fresh food mingled with the memory of his aftershave. A part of me wanted time to stand still, to live in the simplicity and normality of the moment, while the frantic part of me was torn between shoveling food in my face and/or tackling this guy to the floor and smothering his bread with something other than mustard. Sometimes my physical cravings were difficult to differentiate.
    This was forgotten when I got a familiar prickly feeling up the back of my neck. It was a girl around twelve with curly red hair and a short yellow skirt a few aisles over, staring at me. She whispered to a boy a year or two older. I forced the corners of my mouth to smile and waved my fingers.
    At my simple acknowledgment, the girl let loose a loud shriek. “Told you it was her!”
    More giggling ensued until an adult shushed them.
    I knew Todd caught the whole thing. I wished he hadn’t. I wished I hadn’t.
    Bob handed Todd two bags over the counter. “Any sides?”
    Seeing the huge size of the sandwiches through the bags, I shook my head. Todd ignored my protest and leaned over to me. “We’re ordering more food, okay? You seem pretty . . .” His eyes looked me up and down discreetly. “Hungry.”
    When his gaze dropped to my mouth for just a split second, my throat went completely dry.
    “Do you want salad or pasta?” he asked. Before I could open my mouth, he said, “I think we’ll take both.”
    “Dessert?” Bob asked him as if I weren’t standing there.
    “One slice of key lime pie. Two forks.” I felt Todd’s hand on my arm. “You’ll thank me later.”
    No doubt I would.
    We left the market, taking the three hundred steps across Town Square back to Todd’s Tackle. Todd led the way as we paraded through the gonging front door.
    A very tan young man with shiny white teeth and a blond, bleached-out mop of hair glanced up. He waved from behind a pile of colorful board shorts he was attempting to fold.
    “What’s with the dang holdup, boss man?” he called out with goofy enthusiasm. A pair of neon