Just a Taste by Shannyn Schroeder Page A

face. Her cheeks were pink from the cold, but she looked a million times better than she had when he’d arrived at her house last night. When she saw him, she smiled and waved. He ushered her through the door. “You could’ve waited inside for me. It’s cold out.”
    â€œI’m fine. The fresh air felt good.”
    The hostess led them to a table and handed them menus. Carmen barely glanced at the menu before setting it aside. Liam studied his choices and tried to remember what he’d be eating with the staff at the restaurant tonight. He discovered he didn’t care because he wasn’t very hungry. He decided on a burger to keep it simple.
    The waitress arrived with two glasses of water and asked if they were ready to order. He looked at Carmen.
    â€œI’ll have a garden salad. Low-fat Italian on the side and a coffee, please.”
    â€œIs that really all you want?” He looked at her face, trying to determine if she was hiding something.
    â€œSalad is a good lunch.”
    He ordered his burger, but in the back of his mind, something about the way Carmen talked about salad felt off. He thought about how she’d picked at dinner last night. Maybe she was still in a funk and it was affecting how she ate. Who could blame her? Her life had been turned upside down in the last couple of weeks.
    As soon as the waitress left, Carmen set a file folder on the table. “You wanted to talk about my dad’s will, so I brought all of the information with me. I should’ve had the lawyer invite you to the reading. I wasn’t thinking.”
    â€œSo you knew about this? You knew he was leaving me part ownership in the food truck?” He was sure she hadn’t known.
    She shook her head. “I knew you were in the will. I never asked him what he was leaving you.”
    Liam couldn’t read her. He’d thought she had been upset by this information, but now he wasn’t convinced. “He shouldn’t have done that. I have no right to his business. What do we have to do for me to sign it over to you?”
    â€œHe wanted you to have it, Liam. You were like a son to him.” She reached out and laid her hand on top of his.
    He’d been a pretty crappy son as of late. “But this belongs to you. This is your future, your inheritance.”
    She lifted her shoulders. “What am I going to do with it?”
    â€œYou can sell it. Use the money to do whatever you want to do.” He suddenly realized that he had no idea what she might want to do. Ever since college, she’d been at home taking care of her family. That knowledge reassured him that she needed the business far more than he did.
    She sighed. “I can’t sell it—we can’t sell it. We each own half, but my father has a provision in the will saying we can’t sell it for a year.” She puffed out her cheeks with a breath before continuing. “We can do whatever we want, even let it sit for the entire year. The problem with that is—”
    â€œIt loses value. By then, you’ll just be selling a truck and not a business, not the business your dad built. That’s not a realistic choice.”
    She turned her palms up on the table. “I don’t know what to do.”
    â€œWould you want to run it?”
    She shook her head. “I told you. I’m not a cook. I do the business end: the office stuff, inventory, invoices, taxes. I have no desire to be on the truck every day. I’ve thought about hiring someone. My cousin Pete worked with my dad off and on. He knows the routine.”
    Liam watched the way she spoke about her cousin. “But?”
    â€œBut he’s not reliable. The off-and-on part came from his inability to show up on time. He became a bigger frustration for my dad than a help.” She toyed with the edges of the folder, curling them up and then releasing.
    The waitress arrived with their plates. Carmen put the folder on