He threw the car into gear and backed out.
“You never answered my question,” Noel blurted out. She felt weird, riding in his car, not knowing anything about him. She turned sideways and rested her cheek against the seat. At least this way she could study him freely. All logical thought seemed to evaporate when he pinned his gaze on her.
He took his eyes off the road for a moment, glancing at her sideways. “What question?”
“Did you just get into town today? Remember?” Thinking back to when she had asked him, she added, “You never got to drink your beer.”
“No, yesterday. And I didn’t want the beer anyway. I wanted a shot.” Hmm… he was a wealth of information.
“Why’d you order one then?”
He glanced at her again, this time with that mysterious sneer she couldn’t quite decipher. “You wanted to pour me a beer. Get me out of your hair until you’d cleaned out the ice bin.”
Oh.
Huh.
So, he’d been… being nice?
She might try this again– her witty bar conversation– to keep herself from feeling too uncomfortable. “So, you here for business?”
No answer.
He peered left, right, left again, and then turned onto the highway leading into town. He didn’t speak until the car was at full speed. “Not really.”
Oh. “Fun then?” Except ski season was over and the summer tourists wouldn’t start showing up until all the mud dried.
Again, with the pause.
Well, buddy, you’re the one who insisted upon this little outing.
Except he was going out of his way for her. No doubt a trip to the hospital hadn’t been on his agenda tonight. And he’d said he’d really wanted a shot…
Maybe she was too nosy for her own good.
“No. Not for fun.” He provided an answer finally.
Oka-a-y. Hmm. “Where are you from?” Noel hated silences. She wished she didn’t, but found herself searching for something to say every time conversations lulled.
Her mom had been that way and it had embarrassed her sometime.
Maybe she should just sit quietly until he dropped her off. Oh, hell! She was gonna have to call a cab to get back to the hotel. Unless she could convince the shuttle driver to come and pick her up.
But Alfred, the driver, was a stickler for the rules. Probably wouldn’t be willing to shuttle an employee.
“New York.” He filled the silence in for her. “The city.”
She wasn’t going to ask him anything else. She turned to face forward again and closed her eyes. She wasn’t feeling so hot.
“Hey, you okay?” His voice, so detached sounding earlier, now held a hint of concern. For God’s sake, she felt tears burning.
“Yeah.”
Except she wasn’t. She couldn’t lose her job. She couldn’t afford to take on anymore debt. And she wasn’t going to be able to pay a cab to bring her back to the hotel.
And her phone was back at the bar.
“A little nauseous,” she admitted. At a sharp glance from him she held up a hand. “No need to worry, I’m not gonna barf in your car.”
