“What do you mean?” Clancy asks, helping himself to a second helping.
“The being nice approach is getting me nowhere. Bringing him coffee every day and pointing out ways to save money isn’t the right tactic. It’s only resulted in me seeing him naked and him being helpful to me in return.”
“Sounds like a win-win in my book,” Clancy says, amused.
“Well, it’s not,” I huff. “It’s a lose-lose.”
He takes my hand, his green eyes locking onto mine with an unmistakable sincerity. “Was the theory correct, son? Does Maverick driving an SUV mean he really does have a tiny ding-a-ling?”
Pip laughs, and man, I regret ever coming up with that stupid lie. Clancy is getting way too much mileage out of it. “His ding-a-ling is…” A sudden hitch lodges in my throat. “Fine. Back to my new plan. I’m pivoting.”
One of Pip’s eyebrows flicks up. “To?”
“If I want totrulypiss Maverick off, which I most definitely do, then I should be pointing out how much of a money pit the sanctuary is.” Clancy and Pip exchange a brief glance, which I ignore. “I know he’s loaded, but plenty of rich owners before him didn’t spend a cent on maintenance, much less upgrades. Maybe rich people aren’t wired to fix shit. Maybe the reason they have so much money is because they like to hoard it. Who the fuck knows? But if I want to deliver a truly fatal knockout, I have to hit him where it really hurts: his bank account.”
The guys share another look I can’t decipher. Clancy exhales through his nose, then asks, “Can I be honest?”
I wave my fork in the air. “Go ahead. It’s not like saying no will stop you.”
“You’re a grown man, so far be it from me to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do,” he says with that familiar gentle yet firm combo of his.
“But you will?”
He nods. “Correct. It’s blatantly obvious you two have something. It was on full display when you guys spent the whole night together on the Fourth of July. So, if you want to keep up the pretense of wanting to piss him off, knock yourself out.”
“Not a pretense,” I correct him.
“Okay. Fine. Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that you actually do want to piss him off.”
“Which I do.”
Clancy shakes his head, places his weathered hands flat on the counter, and pins me with his sharp eyes. “In that case, ask yourself this:whyare you so intent on pissing this guy off?”
I know the answer to that question. Clancy knows the answer to the question. Pip and probably most of the staff around the sanctuary know the answer to that question.
But I’ll be damned if I say the words out loud.
So I scoff, tip my chin toward Pip’s empty bowl, and ask, “You all done, or do you want another serving?”
“Can you focus, please? And stop smiling. This is a business meeting. Smiling isn’t allowed.”
My words have the opposite effect, and Maverick, annoyingly, smiles even more. “Picked that up at business school, did you?”
“No. The school of life. You know, the one that people who don’t have trust funds or millionaire parents go to.”
“Ouch. Feisty today.”
“I’m feisty every day,” I remind him, folding my arms across my chest and staring at the paper I gave him. “So, what do you think?”
Maverick looks at me for a minute before dropping his head and reading the list. The one I made of all the big-ticket items that need repairing around here. Like replacing the barn roof. Repairing the gutter and downspout system. Resurfacing stable stall flooring. Rewiring electrical systems. Repaving the driveway and parking lot. Refitting the tack room cabinetry and shelving.
It was his idea to take this meeting outside, something about getting some fresh air. He’s been smiling like a weirdo ever since we sat down a few feet from each other on the bench underneath the valley oak tree. I don’t get it.
I’m even more determined than before to make my plan work. I now have an additional goal: flaunting my success in front of Clancy’s and Pip’s faces.
Okay, so they’re right and can see that my goal isn’t to piss Maverick off. My actual, real objective is to create some much-needed distance between us. Because he is on my mindall the time. Even as I do my best to avoid running into him at the sanctuary. Even after I told him I had boundaries and tried to shut him down. Even though nothing more has happened since the kiss I’m totally ignoring and absolutely not obsessing over.
Nothing I do or don’t do, say or don’t say, stamps out the flames. The attraction I feel for him only grows more intense.
