He had a nice ass.Oh sure, I couldn't see it now, but I'd caught glimpses here and there, especially last night, before everything had spiraled so far out of control.
I called back, "Has it ever occurred to you that I don't care about your ass?"
He crossed his arms, making his biceps pop to perfection as he said, "It'll beyourass, too."
I didn't get it. "What?"
"You want the place done, don't you?"
If he meant the house, yes, I did want it done.
If I didn't, I wouldn’t be mowing the freaking lawn.
And, on a more embarrassing note, I wouldn't have begged for such a thing last night. At the memory, I felt a surge of heat flash across my face – and not because of his distracting biceps.
I told him, "You aresucha bastard. You know that?"
I expected him to argue. But he didn't. Instead, he gave a tight shrug and replied, "Sure. But you've still got to turn off the mower."
So he was admitting that he was a bastard?
I felt my gaze narrow. It was a trick. Ithadto be.
And, as far as the mower, I didn'twantto turn it off. For the last hour, I'd been treated like garbage for mowing the stupid lawn, so the way I saw it, I might as well finish the job and be done with it.
And yet I didn'treallywant to run him over, as delightful as that sounded. I mean, hey, my shoes were messy enough already.
I tried to think.Maybe I could simply mow around him?
No. I couldn’t.
And why? It was because just then, the mower's engine sputtered out on its own.
I glared down at the thing.Well, this was just terrific.
Brody said, "You're out of gas."
Thank you, Captain Obvious.
And now, I felt doubly foolish.
This was exactly how italwaysturned out whenever I went toe-to-toe with Brody Blastoviak. Healwayswon.
Damn it.Even the lawn mower was on his side.
When I looked up, Brody's lips were twitching at the corners. He wanted to laugh. I could tell.
I coldly informed him, "That doesn't count, you know."
"Doesn't count for what?" he asked.
"A win for you."
"No kidding," he said.
I wasn't even sure what that meant. And I had no time to figure it out, because just then, someone new appeared at Brody's side.
It was a man I'd never seen before. He was short and stocky, with wavy brown hair, greying at the temples. He wore an expensive-looking business suit and a very bright smile.
