“Sounds like a good plan.”
“Denise mentioned that you RSVP’d for two. I guess we’re finally going to meet this mystery woman you keep speaking about.”
“Yep. She’s looking forward to it. She’s heard a lot about you over the last few months,” I said, making a mental note that I needed to find a date to his wedding to play along with my story of being in a serious relationship. It had been the only reason I could come up with as to why I was unable to date his daughter Chloe.
Joseph had pushed it.
Chloe had pushed it.
I’d made it clear that I had a serious girlfriend, who would now be attending his wedding with me. I had a few women that I could ask to play along, but I hadn’t reached out to any of them yet.
I’d be doing that this week for sure.
“All right, good work today. I’ll see you on Monday,” Joseph said.
“Yep. Have a good weekend.”
I came to a stop when I approached the house and took in the scene playing out in front of me. The little hellion staying at my brother’s place was wearing jeans, ridiculously high-heeled boots that came up to her knees, a white ski coat, and a white hat with a pompom on the top that was bigger than her head. She’d clearly never shoveled snow before, as she was slipping all over the place, and every time she scooped a little bit of the white powder, she tossed it over her shoulder and back onto the driveway.
Perhaps she should take fewer self-defense classes and learn how to use a shovel.
I parked in front of Easton’s house and climbed out of my truck. I hadn’t seen her since she karate-chopped me in the throat and accused me of breaking and entering.
I made my way up the driveway, shaking my head at the fact that she was making more of a mess shoveling than there was before she started. The snow was coming down hard, making it difficult to see. But she was sliding all over the place, so she was easy to track.
“Where’s Janson? Easton hired him to shovel a couple of times this week, and today was supposed to be a shovel day,” I called out.
She whipped around to face me, and I put my hands up to block her, just in case she decided to throw a punch.
“I’m not going to hit you, you big baby,” she hissed, as she grunted and dropped the shovel. “Janson drove all the way over here and knocked on the door just to let me know that he couldn’t shovel today.”
“And did you hit him over the head with a bottle, kick him in the balls, cut off a finger maybe? What is the consequence for coming to the door?” I asked, trying to hide my smile because she was glaring at me.
“I don’t attack people who knock on the door. Only those who break and enter when I’m coming out of the shower!” she shouted. “And apparently, Janson has a haircut appointment today, so he won’t be shoveling. But he said he’d come by tomorrow, but only if his girlfriend doesn’t want tohang out.I mean what kind of employee is he?”
“He’s a seventeen-year-old teenager with really good hair.” I barked out a laugh.
“Is this funny to you? My car is going to be trapped in the garage. I don’t have snow tires.”
“Well, here’s a little tip, Wildcat,” I said, quirking a brow as her honey-brown gaze locked with mine. “You don’t wear heeled boots to shovel snow.”
“These are the only boots I brought. I wasn’t planning on shoveling. I thought plows did that.”
“Plows clean the streets. The driveway is up to the homeowner. Why didn’t you just call Easton?”
She swiped at her face as the snow landed on her dark lashes. “Because I’m not some damsel in distress. I can figure it out.”
“That doesn’t seem likely.” I smirked, leaning down to grab the shovel.
She shoved me out of the way and reached for the shovel. “You don’t know anything about me. Maybe I grew up in the snow. Maybe I’m a professional shoveler.”
“For fuck’s sake. Give me the damn shovel.” I tried to take the handle from her. “You are just moving the snow from one side to the other. You clearly don’t have a clue how to shovel.”
Before I could process what she was doing, she stepped on the scoop side of the shovel as it sprung forward, aiming for her face. I quickly shielded her with my body as the damn thing hit me hard in the side of the head. I fell forward, taking the stubborn woman along with me, and we both landed in a bed of snow.
“Get off me, you big buffoon.”
I rolled off her as I rubbed the side of my head. “Damn. You nailed me in the head, woman.”
