He seemed to rally himself, lifting his own food to his mouth. “Tonight, Mouse, you need to enjoy a five-course meal with me. And when people enjoy their food, they tend to finish it, do they not?”

“You know,” I mused, lifting one of the melts and eyeing him over the top of it. “What I like about you, compared to other … men … I’ve known, is that after you tricked me into this whole FiendPay scheme, you’ve been very upfront. You told me to expect four tasks, at your discretion, and you’re clearly committing to your bit.”

I took a bite of the melt and wanted to moan at how good the bread was, but I also wanted to cry, because I knew exactly how tonight was going to go down. And it was going to be from my worst nightmares.

But it was the lesser of two evils compared to not finishing this task. I swallowed the mouthful.

“It would have been nice if I’d gotten a little heads-up on your specific plans for tonight. I probably wouldn’t have worn this dress if I’d known the details.”

“Why not?” he asked, his eyes skating over me in a way I should have hated … but I really didn’t. “You’re so beautiful … in the dress, I mean. You look beautiful in the dress.”

I bared my teeth viciously. “Well, let’s just say I wouldn’t wear this dress for any old guy … and it seems that while you are absolutely not ‘any old guy’ … you’re not the guy who deserves me in this dress.”

He certainly wasn’t the guy I had been plotting (and stupidly hoping) would be peeling me out of this dress later tonight. I would be in no state for anything sexy after this meal … and after this stunt, I shouldn’t be interested in him in that way at all!

His expression turned bitter, and he took an angry bite of his own melt, the provolone cheese oozing off the bread. I watched his eyes slide closed for a brief second. Okay, so maybe I was still the teeniest bit interested in him in that way … stupid hormones!

“This is delicious!” he mumbled around another mouthful. I grunted, taking another bite myself.

Yes, it was delicious.

It was also poison to me.

But I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that. All I had to do was make it through the dinner before any symptoms appeared. And hadn’t Joe reminded me the other week that it had been years since I’d eaten gluten? Maybe my body wouldn’t rebel against it as viciously as it had in the past.

* * *

Joe was definitely wrong. I clenched my teeth through the pain of another stomach cramp. This was just as bad as it had been before I knew I was allergic to gluten.