Didn’t he… what?
His voice got even lower. “Didn’t I tell you not to do anything to it until we talked?”
“Yes.” I narrowed my eyes, wondering what had gotten his panties in a bunch. I had reread that orderthree timesto make sure I had it right. I’d even looked at the dates and checked on the computer system to make sure there hadn’t been any other orders written up for it since.
There hadn’t been.
So… “And I called you…” I trailed off, more confused by the second on why he was looking at me like he wanted to kill me again so soon.
Rip’s eyeballs didn’t move in my direction. His fist was still at his face. “Luna.”
Part of me knew it wasn’t time to joke, but… I still said it. “Ripley.”
Yeah, that had him moving his eyes back down to me somehow, that gaze shooting straight down his nose as his jaw got even tighter. Gritted. Pissed. “I’m not fucking playing right now,” he hissed down at me.
It was my turn to swallow. Even my poor little heart got tight at the pretty freaking uncalled-for expression he was aiming my way.
Rip was mad. At me.
So I blinked and wondered what the hell I had done to deserve it.
He must have been able to read my mind because he went off. “I asked you to talk to me about the car, didn’t I?” he snapped, his voice almost quiet but still so mad it caught me totally off guard.
I held my breath, and then I nodded because… well, he had.
But the thing was, I had tried to talk to him about it. Ihadcalled him. I just didn’t think it was the right time to argue that. From the way he was still looking down at me. I didn’t think that time was going to change anytime soon.
“Why would you paint the goddamn car after I told you I wanted to talk to you about it?” he griped, honestly, truly angry.
Still, I stood there.
He wasn’t going to hurt me or say anything I hadn’t heard before from a mouth I had loved.
So, I didn’t lie. Or bother trying to explain myself. I’d learned a long time ago that when certain people were mad, there was no reasoning with them. And Rip… he was being a jerk—a real jerk if I was going to be totally honest, becauseI had called him—but I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t worried. Not truly.
I stood there, my heart beating a little faster than it had been before, and told him the truth that wasn’t going to win me any more points. “I painted it because I called you to talk about the car, and you said you had no idea what I was referring to.” I kept my voice steady. “I did my job.”
I had.
His fingers went loose, and he swallowed again. “But I specifically fucking told you to wait for me to talk to you about it.”
I held my breath and didn’t move my gaze away from his face, not even for a second as I told him the same thing I already had. “I know, but I called you about it.”
Those white, white teeth flashed suddenly, and he hissed in that ugly, mean tone, “I didn’t want you to paint the fucking car that color, Luna!”
All right.
Everything was fine. Everything was fine. Everything was fine.
I finally let myself take a breath in through my nose and tried to keep my voice calm as I told him,again, like a dummy that didn’t know firsthand that you couldn’t get through to someone who was already mad, “But I called you—“
“I was fucking busy!”
I just… I just stood there, honestly, seriously, totally confused. What the hell was happening to him? It was one thing for him to be in a grumpy mood and gripe and be all condescending, but this?
Ripley looked at me and shook his head, his breathing choppy, going in and out of his nostrils. He dropped his hand then lifted it back up to the top of his head.
I didn’t move.
