“They need work.” He arches an eyebrow.
More irritatingly hot cheekiness. But at least my attempt to de-stress him seems to be working.
“You can always take your chances with the elements instead, if you like.” I point toward the front door. “Up to you.”
“I’m sure they’ll be great. Once you’ve figured out how to get them to stay up.”
“Yes, thank you. Anyway, Elsa sleeps in the bedroom with me. You’ll have the sofa all to yourself.”
5
OWEN
Well, this is awkward.
I’ve spent the night with women I’d just met, but never on their sofa.
Summer carries a pile of sheets and pillows so high she disappears behind it. It’s like the bedding has legs and is walking itself downstairs.
“Here you go,” says the stack of linens.
It’s kind of her to let me stay, but I’m vibrating with frustration at being stranded here and not even being able to get in touch with anyone. “Has your internet company not heard of backup generators?”
She drops the bedding on the armchair and huffs. “You need to let it go. It’s out. You’re stuck. And neither of us is happy about it. Please don’t make this worse than it already is.”
I sigh. “There’s no need for snow to knock out all communications, that’s all.”
She takes a sheet from the top of the pile. “Well, I’m sure no one’s ignoring it and not bothering to fix it purely to irritate you and prevent you from making a phone call that can easily wait till tomorrow.”
She shakes out the sheet and throws it over the sofa.
I catch it just before it floats down on top of a layer of dog hairs. “Hold on a second.”
As I push back the sheet, my hand brushes hers. Sparks race up my fingers, shoot up my arm, and explode in my chest. The exact same thing happened when I shook her hand on the doorstep. I’d thought it was a weird one-off.
Is this what chemistry is? The sparks from a touch, the irresistible desire to tease her, and the throb in my groin when she teases me back? No one except my sister and my cousins has the balls to give me a hard time the way Summer is.
I do my best to dust off as many of the dog hairs coating the sofa as possible. I glance at Elsa, who has her chin on the ground but hasn’t taken her beady eyes off me. I’m not sure about that hound yet.
“Okay, go ahead.”
“At your service, sir.” She does a little curtsey, tosses her curly hair over a shoulder, revealing one side of her flawless neck, and then flings the sheet back over the sofa.
I can’t let this annoyingly attractive spunky woman distract me from the matter at hand. It’s okay for her, living in the middle of nowhere, happily out of touch with reality, but I have shit to deal with.
“Anyway, the phone call can’t wait till tomorrow. This investment would be abigdeal.”
“It seems like you’re doing pretty well already.” She shoves the sheet down around the edges of the cushions to hold it in place.
“We are, but this would turn us into a billion-dollar company.”
She stops with her hand between two cushions and looks up at me. “Did you say billion? Like million, but with a ‘B’?”
I nod.
She laughs. “That’s ridiculous.” And goes back to the sheet.
“The rest of my cousins all have big companies too,” I say, as if their success might make her think less badly of mine.
