Jack sighed. “Shit. I dunno, I’m not in the best mood these days.” Running a hand over his hooded head, a silver ring he wore on his middle finger glinted. He looked around. “Hey, this place is awesome.” Reaching out, he ran his hand along the porch railing and stepped back to see the whole house.
“It’s the Butler family home. It’s been in our family for generations.” I couldn’t hide the touch of pride that came out in my tone. “It’s seen better days.” An understatement, but it was still beautiful. To me anyway, and any historical architecture buff. “There were some ... mishaps ... of the family money kind.” If that’s what you called them. “Anyway, Joey and I are trying to fix it up.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Joey?”
“My brother. He’s at Med school right now ... so I guess it’s just me trying to fix it up at the moment.” I realized I better head him off at the pass if I didn’t want to get into my life story. It wasn’t something you just blurted out to someone you’d never see again. “Thanks for walking me. What was the favor you wanted to ask? I’m not going to tell anyone, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
I finally found the key and stepped forward to press it into the lock while I waited. Wow, I was avoiding spending more time with Jack Eversea.
“I’m embarrassed to ask, but I’m starting to feel like I don’t have a choice. If you can’t ... or won’t, I totally understand.” Oh God, did he want to come in? Was that what this was about? When he said he wanted to forget his troubles for a night, did he mean ... with me?
What was even more disconcerting was my reaction to that thought literally caused my insides to flip over and strength to leech from my legs. I held onto the doorframe and was suddenly short of breath. This was ... not a comfortable feeling. He seemed to be still deliberating. What? I wasn’t hot enough? Too bitchy? Too plain Jane? Who was I kidding? My hair wasn’t brown, it was ... mousy. Even the highlights Jazz had persuaded me to put in were dull.
I gritted my teeth. Wait, I didn’t want to do anything with him anyway. I had gone from semi-calm to nerves stretched taut over a razor’s edge in the blink of an eye. Ugh. This was exactly why I didn’t do this type of thing. Crushes, guys, whatever.
“Out with it,” I finally said with exasperation.
He grinned at my tone, seemingly oblivious to the internal meltdown I’d just had. “You are so ...” He shook his head and closed his eyes. “Never mind. Ok, look. Here’s the thing. I’m scared someone’s going to recognize me. I have no food in the house, that’s why I came out for a burger tonight. But I don’t think I should go to the grocery store. So ... I was wondering ... hoping ... I could pay you to do that for me?”
I couldn’t work out if that was actual buzzing in my ears or if it was so damned quiet it was deafening. He didn’t want to come in, he wanted to pay me to shop for him?
He waited patiently, a hopeful, if slightly worried expression on his gorgeous face. Thank God I’d always been a good poker player. Of course he didn’t want to come in. What on God’s green earth had even given me that idea? He had been nothing more than friendly since I’d first allowed him back in to eat his dinner.
I looked around at the worn house I was struggling to fix up. I should say yes, but in reality there was no way I was taking money from him for going to the grocery store where I went anyway.
I shook my head. “You don’t have to pay me. I go anyway, I don’t mind getting a few things for you.”
“Thank you for agreeing,” he said, letting out a long breath. “I will pay you though, the same that I pay my assistant in Cali.” He looked at me carefully, “Just so there’s no ... confusion.”
“Confusion? Oh!” Mortification found me again for the umpteenth time that night. This time with an ounce of extra humiliation just for kicks. Aaargh! I hated this guy! What did Jazz see in him anyway? I drew myself up to my full five-foot-six frame and squinted at him. “Let me re-iterate what I said earlier tonight.” I wasn’t sure, but I might have stomped my foot. Sometimes I couldn’t control it. “I think fame may have gone a little bit to your head.”
He shrugged and pursed his lips. “Well, in the same sentence you also said I looked like God’s gift to humanity.”
“Aargh, that doesn’t mean I lust after you.” My cheeks throbbed with heat.
“Yes, you have made that patently clear,” Jack argued back, his voice rising and his body leaning dangerously close to mine as he suddenly seemed to tower over me. His green eyes were even more mesmerizing up close.