A Pizza to Die For Read Online Free Page B

What kind of pizza are we having?”
    “I honestly don’t know what I would call it,” she said, “because I’m not entirely sure anyone’s ever made one quite like it before. But I’m hoping it’s good.”
    “That makes two of us,” I said.
    Whatever it was, it smelled delicious. I found my gaze drifting back to the conveyor oven, wondering what she’d put together. I knew our operation wasn’t fancy like having a wood-fired oven and pizza dough flying through the air would be, but our place was friendly and functional and, at least so far, it had allowed me to make a living doing something I’d grown to love. I couldn’t imagine my life without A Slice of Delight, any more than I could envision living in Timber Ridge without Maddy.
    I was going to have to do something to make sure that the pizzeria stayed open regardless of anything that happened outside its doors, and whatever I finally came up with was going to have to be good.

    “So, are you going to try some, or just sit there staring at it all afternoon?” Maddy asked me as I plated a piece of her pizza concoction. We’d knocked the dishes out as the pizza had been cooking, and I had no problem with leaving the few dirty dishes we’d created for later. Now we were sitting in a booth out front looking outside. We’d decided to sit there as we ate and discussed possible plans to combat Italia’s. It wasn’t that I didn’t love my kitchen, but I spent enough time back there working during the course of a day to want to get out of it now and then. We kept the lights off and the sign switched to CLOSED, and no one bothered us.
    I got my nerve up and took the first bite.
    “It’s interesting,” I said. “I’ve had pineapple and ham on a pizza before, but never combined with spicy sausage, mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, and Tabasco sauce. If you had to give it a name, what would you call it?”
    She grinned at me as she said proudly, “I don’t know about you, but I kind of like ‘the Volcano.’ Should we add it to the menu?”
    I thought about it and realized that updating the menu, and what we offered to our customers, might not be such a bad idea. “Why not? We can create a whole new section on our menu and update our prices at the same time,” I said.
    Maddy stared at me for a few seconds, and then she finally burst out laughing. “It’s really not that bad, is it? I made it as a joke to perk you up a little, but honestly, I kind of like it.”
    As I dropped the slice in my hand onto my plate, I said, “It’s not something I’d ever order, but you never know. Some folks might like it.”
    “Wow, just think what else I might be able to create if I have the chance,” Maddy said.
    “Tell you what. Why don’t we see how this does before we get too carried away?” I was still hungry, so I took another bite despite the heat in my mouth, and to my surprise, I found it starting to grow on me as well.
    Maddy finished another bite, and then said, “It has a little sweetness, a little saltiness, and a little heat.”
    I must have bitten into a pepper, because my mouth started burning and tears were welling up in my eyes. “More like a lot of heat,” I said as I grabbed my water glass and drained it.
    “Maybe I’ll back off on the peppers a little next time,” Maddy said.
    “I’d keep it exactly like it is. After all, a lot of folks love spicy food.”
    “All we can do is offer it and see if we get any takers.” She pushed her plate away as she added, “A little of it goes a long way, doesn’t it?”
    “I’m through, too,” I said.
    After we pushed our plates away, I asked, “Should we clean this up and get started digging?”
    “I don’t think we should leave the pizzeria again,” Maddy said.
    “Come on, don’t be such a baby. It’s not that cold out. Maybe you just need a warmer coat.”
    “It’s not because of the cold, Eleanor,” Maddy answered. “I just think our time might be better spent if we came up with some