Chapter 3 #4
“Eh.” She shrugs. “He’s hot, and he fills out his jeans like Satan himself has a tailor on staff.
But it’s possible he’s also homeless, broke, and his ‘self-employed’ status is a little lie.
He’s accepting jobs through the classifieds and hinting at an extra dinner outside of the contract, which kind of makes me feel bad now because what if he doesn’t have anywhere else to eat? ”
With a heavy heart, I glance toward the door and sigh. “I didn’t consider that.”
“And then he was offering a nine o’clock start, which could cover breakfast and would definitely cover lunch. But you stole those from him, too. Now he’s gotta wait till tomorrow evening to eat again.”
“No. Stop it.” A deep line digs between my brows as his truck’s old engine rumbles along my street and echoes back on the breeze. I feel like a jerk. “He’s not skinny. Which means he eats well enough, right?”
“Maybe he’s just finished another job with another desperate damsel,” she counters, “and almost scheduled you perfectly so he wouldn’t have downtime between each. But you weren’t biting on the extra dinner thing, so now he has to go somewhere else.”
“He has an abuela.” I cling to that small fact and pray it means what I hope it does. “He has somewhere else to go. And he said cooking for people is how they show love. So she’ll cook for him. He’ll eat tonight. Right?”
“I don’t know, Princess! But now that I’m not worried about his meal, I’m back to worrying about you. What if he kills you and wears you like a skin suit?”
“Enough already.” I leave my wineglass behind and take the bottle, snatching the contract from her hands as I pass, and head into my living room. “He won’t murder me.”
“He smells too good to be homeless, don’t you think?” She follows me all the way to the couch and climbs on to perch on the arm, her feet on my cushions, and rests her elbows on her knees so she can watch me. “He might be regular broke like the rest of us. That wouldn’t be so bad.”
“You’re annoying me.”
“You were awfully close when I came in.” She sets her chin on her arms and smirks. “Really close. Did I miss the ‘we’ve just met’ portion of this insanity, or are you rushing toward the ‘I’m gonna bang him and run’ part? Because that’s on your bingo card for this year.”
“I’m not banging him.”
“Running will be hard, though, because he knows where you live.”
“I’m not banging him! I’m not running. I’m hiring him, just as I hired Mr. Tanner to fix my gutters and reattach my downpipes. It’s a business transaction and nothing more.”
“Earl Tanner is seventy-years-old, told you to call him Uncle Earl, and already has a wife. A business transaction with him is not the same as a business transaction with that Latin king who just walked out your door. You’ve jumped into shark-infested waters, and unfortunately for you, you don’t know how to swim. ”
“There are no sharks!” Why did he touch my face? Why did I let him? “There’s no water. There’s no issue. We have a contract and a seven-day arrangement. Stop stressing me out and turning this into more than it is.”
“You’ve invited a stranger to sleep in your home for a week! Woman, you don’t even let me sleep here!”
“Because you have a perfectly good home of your own. Three doors down! You don’t need to sleep here any more than I need to sleep at yours.”
“But Hot Stuff Ramos gets a seven-day pass,” she teases.
“You’re gonna bang by day four, the contract will be severed an hour later, Ramos will be kicked out so fast, he’ll have forgotten his pants, and you’ll go to the wedding alone, just like we knew you would.
Or better yet, you’ll listen to my brilliant plan and cancel on Saturday morning, citing appendicitis.
It’s so last minute you’ll ruin their plans, but it’s a medical emergency, which means they can’t get mad at you.
Not out loud, anyway.” Fast as a viper, she lunges forward and snatches my contract so the pages audibly whip through the air, then flicking to the third, she snickers.
“Nicolas Ramos must attend a suit fitting on day five with the groom.” She drops the papers again and cackles. “This whole situation is insane.”
Yeah. I tip my wine bottle back and drink a little more. He thought that part was insane, too. “He signed. It’s done, and you’re leaving. I need to drink and rest before this thing begins tomorrow.”
“You’re so lucky.” Falsely whimsical, she stretches her legs and sets her feet on the floor before flouncing away and circling my couch.
“You just bought yourself a hot seven-day hire. Get laid. Have fun. Forget Puny Peepee Pete. Turn up to the wedding, if you must, with a hickey on your neck, stubble rash on your thighs, and the sexiest guy on your arm. Skank bitch Karla will want what you’ve got—again—and Nicolas—” she rolls his name across her tongue just smooth enough to piss me off, “—would be in breach of contract if he returns her advances. It’s the perfect setup. ”
“You make it sound like I’ve just hired a prostitute for the week.”
“You have! Did you not hear where I called you Richard Gere?” She leans over the back of my couch and stretches around until I see her blinding smile in my peripherals.
“For such a smart, non-impulsive, educated, good girl, you sure called my bluff on this. I was so sure you wouldn’t have to cojones to follow through with the deal. ”
“Anna—”
“Cojones is Spanish for balls,” she teases. “You’re bilingual now.”
“You’re a pain in my ass.”