“Okay, then.”
She watched in horror as Alec pulled a money clip out of his jeans pocket.
Alec? He was Alec now?
“I can pay,” she said, and hurried back to his truck to get her purse.
By the time she’d turned around, it was a done deal. Jasper was heading for his front door and Alec was walking down the driveway.
Zona ran across the stone front yard. “Wait! I need to pay you.” She had ten dollars in her purse. She could use it as a down payment and get the rest from her bank’s ATM.
Jasper smiled, waved her away. “We’re good. No worries.”
“No, I want to,” she insisted.
“Take it up with the man,” he said. “And good luck with that. He won’t take your money.”
“Oh, yes, he will,” she said, as much to herself as to Jasper.
Back in the truck cab, she demanded, “How much did you give him? I’ll pay you back tomorrow.”
He shrugged. “Not much. Don’t worry about it.”
“I’ve got money,” she protested.
“And it sounds like you’ve got better things to do with it than pay for car repairs.”
“Seriously, how much did you give him?”
“Just enough to cover parts. He’s a friend. He owes me. I helped him replace the floor in his bathroom.”
“Parts are expensive. I’m not going to let someone pay my bills,” she said.
“Okay, you can pay me back.”
“Great. How much?”
“Buy me a burger and fries and large shake at In-N-Out.”
The last thing she wanted to do was go out to eat with Alec. James. Alec James. She’d seen firsthand how relationships with him went. This was probably how he’d lured the redhead into his web. This was how he worked. Do a good deed here and there. Help with dog training, pick up a stranded woman. Who had been perfectly capable of getting herself home. She would be a fool to go out with this man.
“We can take separate cars in case you’re worried I’ll drive you off into the woods somewhere and chop you up into little pieces,” he said. “Of course, I could do that right now,” he added matter-of-factly, and she shivered. He glanced her way and his brows lowered. Did he sense her sudden unease? “It’s just burgers, Zona, and I’m trying to give you a break.”
“That’s nice of you, but I don’t need a break. Let me pay you,” she said. Thank God they were finally on their street. She was more than ready to get out of his truck.
“Why do I get this feeling that, in spite of giving me cookies and drinks, you’re actually scared of me?”
Her eyes widened. “You’re kidding, right?” Okay, she shouldn’t have said that. It sounded accusatory. “Why would you think that?”
“You blow hot and cold.”
Like you.
Understanding dawned. “Oh, wait. All the yelling, right?”
“Look, we saw your girlfriend come back and then leave crying yesterday. Whatever was going on with you is clearly not over,” she began.
“Girlfriend? I don’t have a girlfriend.”
