“You have to work in the morning?” he answered.
“Afternoon,” I corrected. “But I can call off.”
First refusing overtime and now offering to call off altogether. I was too far gone at this point to be saved. Sinking with the ship was inevitable. Riding it out was the only way through the storm.
He was quiet for a long moment. “My sister isn’t going to let you leave until she grills you. I hope you know that. She’s nosey as fuck.”
“I’m excellent at evading personal questions.” I nipped at his jaw again.
He laughed. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Again, I’m failing to see the problem here.”
“I’m trying tonotscare you off.”
I rolled my eyes. “Sisters don’t scare me.”
“How would you know? You’re an only child.”
Something bloomed in my chest—a warmth that spread along my shoulders and down my arms, tingling along the way. He actually had looked through my entire file—or whatever was available in the government database.
The corners of my mouth hurt from trying to fight my smile.
Flattery.
That’s what this was.
What a terrible thing to feel while trying to keep things casual.
When I pulled back to look at him, his eyes immediately darted away. “Okay, forget I said that. I’m going to pretend I know nothing about you. How’s that sound?”
What did it mean if I wanted to squeeze him until he popped?
Some kind of cute aggression was haunting me.
“What kind of boat did you pick out?”
He shoved me away. “Knock it off. I don’t even know your social well enough to fill out a phony loan application. Let alone buy a big purchase like that. Why a boat, anyway?”
“It wounds me that you wouldn’t take the time to memorize it. What good is looking at my file if you’re not going to use it for your own benefit?”
He shot me a look, sputtering as he spoke. “Do youwantme to commit fraud? Is that what I’m hearing?”
I shrugged. “I can afford a few loans under my name.”
At the moment, I had no large amounts of debt in my name. House was paid for, car was bought in cash, and credit cards were useless to me. I had no interest in purchasing anything for pleasure that would end up sitting in my driveway or inside my house unused because of my backbreaking work schedule.
However... the thought of allowing Terran to buy something for himself was...
It wasn’t so bad.
I wouldn’t hate it if he asked. He wouldn’t—he was far too prideful for a handout like that. But on the off chance he gave my dry-humored offer an actual passing interest, I wouldn’t keep him from exploring it. Boat-wise or something else.
Perhaps a new car to replace that beater he relied too heavily on. Two people using it would only rack up the miles quicker, even if they were sparse in using it. Older cars had a far shorter lifespan in a climate like Ellington Heights than more people realized.
Asking Avery for advice would be more beneficial than browsing the Internet myself. Brandon would know reliable car brands and had an acute understanding of our weather conditions considering he’d lived here his entire life.
“Your net worth actually disgusts me. I hope you know that,” he replied.
