“With what food?”
“There’s a grocery store in town.”
“And you think that fancy car of yours will get you through snow-covered back roads?”
“I think your snowmobile will. I saw you have one. I’ll order another for myself if I have to.”
I’m not sure what floors me more. The fact that she can so easily blow money, that she’s telling instead of asking, or that I’m considering allowing her to stay because I want to keep her around.
“I’ll be fine,” she huffs, pulling the lid off the quesadilla and folding it in half. It’s perfectly golden this time. “And I won’t take no for an answer.”
Now I’m pissed. “You don’t call the shots here, Grace.”
“I know. But I’ll pay you double the amount per week.”
“What?”
“Fine. Triple.”
Why does she want to stay so badly?
With a confident stride, Grace carries her plate over to the table and sucks some of the barbeque sauce off her thumb. I don’t like being pushed around, even by a sexy city queen who can’t cook for shit. This woman is up to something.
“Why are you really here, Grace?”
She snags a knife from the drawer and saunters back to the table with it. While cutting the quesadilla into four sections, she says, “That’s none of your business.”
It is if she’s trying to take my property away. “Who do you work for?”
“Myself.” The prickly woman slides two sections onto another plate and shoves it across the table. “There you go.”
I’m not hungry. But I also don’t want to offend her by turning the meal away. She sits down and takes the first bite, doing a little happy wiggle in her seat about it. Some of my anger fades because she’s too cute for her own good. If she’s desperate to stay in the middle of nowhere all alone, and she’s not here on behalf of that New York Fuckhead, then…
“Are you in trouble?” I cautiously ask, sitting across from her.
“No. Why?”
“I’m just trying to understand why a little city mouse like you would be so hellbent on staying in a dump like this during the worst time of year.”
“One, winter is my favorite season, so don’t diss it. And two, I just need some alone time.” She licks the sauce off the corner of her mouth. I wish I could have done that for her.
Christ Dean, make up your mind! Are you attracted to her or are you annoyed by her?
Both. I’m both. It’s a heady combo that my dick is enjoying way too much.
Working through all the things flying in my head, I take a bite of her meal. It’s pretty good. Really close to the one they make at the bar, except there are no seasonings in Grace’s version. “You did a good job on this.”
“I know,” she says, all sweet and cocky. Then she wiggles her butt in the seat again.
A laugh huffs out of me. I’ve never seen a grown woman happy dance so much before. And whatever her reason is for wanting to be here, I have to trust that it’s for her own good, and not to fuck me over.
Besides, I could use the money.
“If you want to stay… stay. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”
Instead of responding to that, she saunters over to the fridge and pulls out my favorite beer. “Thirsty?”
I nod.
