I threw my hands up in the air. “I can’t believe this.”
She shrugged. “You can just pull out. Look for an excuse.”
“I can’t do that. My competitors are breathing down my neck. If I give them an inch, they’ll strike. Why did you even lie?”
She winced. “Sorry. I was just trying to be agreeable.”
“Have you ever held a gun?”
She grimaced. “In a photoshoot.” When my eyes widened, she added, “I’ve shot a couple of times, but it’s not my thing.”
“Oh, God. Let’s hope he forgets about it.”
Clarita joined us, as well as a few of the staff, who trailed behind her with silverware. While they were setting up the table, Massimo was excitedly telling his wife that we would join them on their next hunt. I glared at Saffron the entire time, who only offered apologetic looks back. We ate the barbecue, which was paired with what one can best call a foreigner’s assumption of what Americans eat on the Fourth of July. There were even corn dogs. It was cute, and I complimented Clarita on her cooking again. She blushed through her wrinkles, making her look younger than her sixty-five years.
After lunch slash early dinner was over, we lounged on the terrace, nursing beers and cocktails. Massimo was really getting on with Saffron, which both got on my nerves and almost made me a fool by dragging her away from him, only to realize that it was my own irrational thoughts making me feel this way. Clarita didn’t seem to think they were doing anything untoward. What was with me and this woman? I didn’t like her, and yet whenever a man found her interesting, I felt like a Neanderthal.
She was driving me crazy. When it was time to leave, Massimo reminded us of the hunt again. Fucking hell. It seemedI was going to have to take some shooting lessons if I wanted to keep him happy.
Chapter 20
Saffron
Tyler drove up to the side of my apartment building and cut the engine. “Thanks,” I said out of habit and tried to open the door, but it was locked.
“You and I are going to have to go to the gun range together.”
“Why? He wants you, not me.”
“That’s not how I saw it. You were rubbing yourself all over an old man; it was embarrassing.”
“I thought you wanted me to please him. It worked, didn’t it?” I tested the door again. “Can you unlock your car?”
He jerked back. “So you were doing it on purpose?”
“I was saving your company, and the least you can say is thank you.”
He rolled his eyes. “You have some nerve.”
“Did I lie? Massimo now thinks you’re a good boy who can do no wrong, thanks to me. Open the door, please.”
I didn’t want to spend any more time in the same space with this guy whose default mode was berating me even after I had practically saved both our necks. Not when he made my blood boil and my skin tingle. The warring emotions had been battling within me all day, and at this point, I was tired.
“Were you flirting with him or was he flirting with you?”
I frowned, wondering what exactly he meant. His hands were taut on the steering wheel. The streetlights streaming into the dark car made it hard to make out, but I was sure his knuckles were white. “Are you jealous?”
“What! No! I just don’t want my wife to act like…”
“Like what? Finish your sentence.” His gaze was piercing. I returned his stare with a taunting one of my own. “Like what?” I leaned closer until my face was an inch away from his.
“Like a slut.”
I slapped him. “Fuck you, Tyler.”
“Is it not true?”
“You’re so ungrateful.” I tried the door again, shaking the handle as though it would magically unlock. “I want out of this car right now.”
