I narrow my eyes, pretending to be annoyed even though I’m happy to be sparring with her. It’s so much better to have her annoyed than upset. “Are you kidding? I gave you a deal out of the goodness of my heart. And it would’ve been forty minutes of work because I had to fly back too.”
“Eight hundred dollars forforty whole minutes? Nowwho’s the one who should be up for sainthood?” she asks, rolling her eyes. “And speaking of the money, I want a refund.”
“You want a refund?”
She sniffs a little and lifts her chin at me. “It’s only fair. I paid you to get me to Azure Island. You failed to do that, so you should give me a refund.”
I stare at her for a second, then let out a laugh as the absurdness of the situation hits me.
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing, it’s just…” I shake my head and chuckle a little more. “Sure, if we’re ever somewhere where money matters again, I’ll give you a refund.”
Her jaw drops and her eyes grow wide. “If?”
Crap. I should not have said that. “Not if. When. When we get back to civilization, I’ll give you your money back for the flight.”
“Thank you.”
I take a bite of the snapper, then swallow it. “I will have to charge you for the food though.”
“What?”
“Yup. Don’t worry. I’ll keep a tally. Why don’t we say three dollars for the protein bar, a dollar for the bottle of water. I buy them in bulk so I get a good deal. Fresh snapper from the sea, now that’s pricey. That’ll run you a good thirty dollars for your half.”
“Thirty dollars?”
“I’m going with fair market value. Those fish hooks aren’t free, you know.”
“You’re insane,” she says.
“I wasn’t when I woke up this morning.”
Her nostrils flare with rage. “What is that supposed to mean?”
I give her a little smirk. “Nothing, it’s just been a long day with … interesting company.”
“Excuse me? Are you actually implying thatI’mthe difficult one here? If anyone is driving anyone crazy on this island, it’syoudoing it tome.”
Taking a pull on my water, I say, “I don’t think so. I’d say it’s the other way around.”
She blinks quickly, her expression suggesting her head is about to explode. Then after a second, she smiles. “Oh, I get it.”
There’s something about that smile that I don’t particularly like. “You get what?”
“Nothing. Doesn’t matter,” she answers, scooping up another bite of fish.
“I think it does matter.”
Shrugging, she says, “It’s nothing. Just that you’re one of those men who doesn’t know how to be around women.”
I snort laugh, then say, “Believe me, New York, I know my way around a woman.”
“Oooh, is that your way of trying to tell me you’re good in bed?”
“You said it, not me.”
“No, you implied it, Mr. Big Mac. I’m just calling you out on it so you can hear it for yourself,” Paige says.
