Read Some Like It Hot for Free Online

carpeted hall to the bank of elevators.

    “So what was Eva-the-Diva wearing?” Win asked, pressing the button with the down arrow.

    Danny blinked. “Huh? I don’t know, something blue. A dress.”

    Winslow sighed. “God. You’re such a straight boy. I need details, man! Eva Jansen is the style icon of the restaurant world. People are going to want to know what she had on. They’re going to ask me, and what will I tell them?”

    “Maybe it was purple,” Danny offered, feeling helpless. “Come on. I’m not Joan Rivers, I didn’t ask who the designer was. I had other things on my mind.”

    “But you knew it was designer.” Winslow pounced, looking triumphant. “That’s something. And I’ll just bet you had other things on your mind. If I swung that way, I’d be all over Miss Eva Diva. She is something way beyond fine.”

    Danny couldn’t help it. He sputtered. “I’m not all over her! I mean, I wasn’t. Damn it, Win!”

    Even Beck snickered a little when Winslow started snapping his fingers and singing. “It’s just … ah! A little crush … ah!”

    “I do not have a crush.” Even Danny was surprised by the amount of growl in his voice. Still, it was enough to shut Winslow up for a second, which wasn’t easy, so Danny couldn’t feel too bad about it.

    “Look, she’s hot,” Danny admitted, moderating his tone. “I’ll give her that for free. But spoiled little rich girls using Daddy’s money and rep to play with the lives of hardworking chefs? Not really my type.”

    “Ouch,” Win said, wincing. “Snap judgment much? I thought she seemed pretty cool when she emceed the regional finals.”

    “Come on, Beck, back me up.” Danny turned to their large, silent teammate.

    The guy blinked in that slow, assessing way he had, ripped arms crossed over his broad chest. Not for the first time, Danny wondered when the hell Beck found a spare four hours a day to lift weights, because surely there was no other way to get cut like that. He didn’t look a walking ad for steroids or anything, but still.

    “Win’s right. It’s bad tactics to form an opinion based on rumor and preconceived notions—you run the risk of underestimating someone.”

    Winslow did a quick hip-shaking boogie. “In your face, Lunden!”

    Unable to hold in a laugh, Danny conceded the point rather than continue arguing. “Fine, fine. Eva Jansen could quite possibly be the smartest, savviest, hardest-working woman in the restaurant industry for all I know. Happy? That doesn’t change the fact that none of us needs a split focus right now. The competition is all that matters.”

    “Someone tell that to Max and Jules.” Winslow shook his head. “If either one of them can focus on something besides each other for longer than ten minutes these days, I’ll be freaking amazed.”

    Danny sighed. “You’re not wrong. But they’re in love. They’re happy, which is a great thing, but they’re both professionals. I’m sure they’ll snap out of it when we hit the first challenge. Until then, we just need to pick up the slack for them, a little. It’s going to be fine.”

    He refused to contemplate what he’d do if they didn’t snap out the haze of fluffy bunnies, twittering birds, and prancing unicorns that currently surrounded them in time to help the team kick ass in Chicago.

    As Beck stepped forward, frowning, to jam his finger into the down button again—where the hell was the elevator, anyway?—Winslow sidled closer to Danny, his startling green eyes intent on Danny’s face.

    “You know,” Winslow said softly. “It’s okay to feel a little shitty and left out when you see Max and Jules together. I mean, they’re not my BFF and my older brother suddenly sharing this deep forever twoo-wuv connection, and sometimes I want to yell at them to get a room and leave the rest of us poor singletons in lonely, solitary peace!”

    “I’m happy for them,” Danny said. He was vaguely proud of that fact