Her unexpected answer snatched his attention away from that alluring blush that had crept across her face.

“When did you live in Germany?”

“Much of my junior high and high school years. My dad is career Army, so I’ve spent most of my life living on different military bases all across Europe.”

Jamar nodded, suddenly fascinated by this peek into her background. Her boot camp workouts made even more sense now.

“I’ve always wondered what it’s like to be a military kid, living in all those foreign countries. Except for the one year I had with the Bears, I’ve spent my entire life in Texas.”

“Texas isn’t so bad,” she said. “I wasn’t completely sold on it when I first moved here, but it’s grown on me.”

“Let’s get one thing straight: there is no place better than Texas. None.”

“Texans,” she said with exasperation.

“But did I tell a lie?” His brows arched, daring her to refute his words. “After a single winter in Chicago, I realized that I never have to live anywhere but the great state of Texas.”

“Then you definitely wouldn’t have liked winter in Stuttgart, Germany,” she said. Her expression softened. “But I loved it. I especially loved that we were able to get the Food Network when we were stationed there. This was back when they actually taught you how to cook on the channel and didn’t have a bunch of silly competition shows. I became addicted to watching Barefoot Contessa and Emeril Lagasse. I’d walk around the house yelling bam! at everything.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s what Emeril would say when he cooked.” Her eyes grew wide. “Don’t tell me you have never watched his show?”

He shook his head.

She threw her head back and sighed. “You have so much to learn, young grasshopper. Okay, I’m adding this to the dating playbook. We’re going to spend an entire afternoon watching old episodes of Essence of Emeril.”

The image of kicking back on the couch with Taylor while they watched television held way more appeal than it should for someone who was only pretending to be romantically interested in her. But he couldn’t deny the way his pulse thumped at the thought.

Lowering his voice, Jamar asked, “How is a day in front of the TV supposed to convince the public that we’re dating?”

“Not everything we do has to be for public consumption,” she said. “Think of it as a practice session.”

He resisted the impulse to point out that, when it came to that particular subject, he didn’t need any practice. He would either sound like he was flirting or like he was an asshole. Or both.

Instead, he asked, “So what made Emeril so special?”