“But we are.”
“Nah, Luna, we’re not. Choose something else,” he insisted, still focused ahead.
Was he being serious? He’d spent fifteen hours in my company, including the time he slept in a room down the hall from mine. If that didn’t count as a massive favor, a favor that should make us totally even for all intents and purposes, I wasn’t sure what else would.
Unless….
Did he really feelthatbad about getting mad at me?
“Rip, it counted. Just because—”My sister kicked me out, I thought but didn’t say. “—we didn’t end up having to stay or do anything, doesn’t mean it doesn’t count. You went with me. That’s more than enough.” I just wanted to… move on.
He had other ideas though.
“Too fucking bad.” Those blue-green eyes slid back to me for a split second, and I could see the tightness at his jaw. “Figure it out and let me know what you want.”
“Nothing. I promise. There’s not a single other thing you need to do.” Because there wasn’t. There really wasn’t.
Those long fingers tapped along the steering wheel, and his jaw did that tightening thing again. “Yeah, there is. The other one doesn’t count. All we did was take a fucking ride and eat a late dinner. Figure it out, Luna. I don’t wanna be sixty when you decide.”
I pressed my lips together.
Don’t do it, Luna. Everything is not fine and dandy. Don’t do it. Don’t—
Let it go.Let it—
I didn’t.
“So I have… two years… before then?” I whispered, grimacing at the joke that I shouldn’t have made so that we could focus on the serious topic of our conversation. So I could hold on to the distance I was supposed to put between us because he was my boss.
What I got was silence.
Freaking silence.
The sigh that came out of him reminded me of what I figured a hot air balloon would sound like if it deflated. “I should’ve fired you the other day.”
I sucked in a breath, and my entire upper body turned to him.
He was smirking.
He thought he was being funny.
He was… joking.
These mocking, laughing eyes I had never seen before slid over to me, and the second they spotted my expression, they changed. My name came out a grumble. “I was playing.”
Sure, he’d been.
His mouth went so tight, it was edged in white. “I was messing with you,” he insisted, seriously.
He was messing with me.
Those long fingers flexed again. “You that mad at me?” he asked.
“I’m not mad at you.”
“Upset with me?”
I didn’t look at him as I said, “No.” I wasn’t.I wasn’t. “I just…” What could I say? “You don’t ever joke around with me. I’m just surprised.” I started to crack my knuckles but stopped. “Okay, maybe I am a little upset with you, but I’m almost over it.”
