Gross. Now Zach was falling in line behind the good guys. What had the world come to?
Asa and Dawson moved obediently to the back of the house while Zach remained leaning against the doorframe. Lauren pushed her hair back and let out a whooshing breath as if she’d just dodged a bullet.
Well, she dodged a bullet three years ago. That’s what got them all here in the same house, cooperating like seemingly normal adults.
Lauren lifted her chin and donned a smile. “Everything okay?”
No, everything was wrong, and he wasn’t sure which way was up. “Everything is peachy.”
Lauren crossed the kitchen and stepped into Zach’s personal space to peek around him at the demolished laundry room. His heart took on a life of its own and started a sprint as her warm scent tingled in his nose. Shoot, even her smell was addicting. What was that? She smelled like a holiday candle. It lit his nerve endings on fire.
“Looks good in here,” she said, studying the shambles of the laundry room.
Zach cleared his throat to push down the attack she’d just forced on his senses. “I think that’s the first time anyone has said a gutted room looks good.”
“It’s what I asked for. You ready to rebuild it?”
Zach huffed. “I watched a few videos while I ate. I think I can manage.”
“Good. I’ll go get your lunch.”
“We need to talk about that. You can’t keep giving me food.”
“Ha! And where exactly are you going to get it if I don’t? Did you find a job during your online search this morning?”
Man, that was infuriating. Did she have to press on the fresh bruise? Anyone would hate being a mooch. Couldn’t she just let him figure it out?
“I’ll manage.”
Her shoulders lowered as she looked up at him. “I have a friend who might be able to help you get a job. I’ll call him on my way back to work. I know this ishard for you, but I’m not trying to steal your independence. I’m just trying to help.”
Just trying to help? Why? He couldn’t understand why she would spare two seconds on him. No one cared if he lived or died except her, and he couldn’t wrap his head around it.
“Why do you care?”
Her delicate brows pressed together. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“I’m not your responsibility. You don’t owe me anything. Actually, I owe you, and I hate it.”
Rubbing a hand down one side of her face, she let out a bone-deep sigh. “I don’t know. Okay? I wouldn’t sleep well at night knowing someone—anyone—needed my help, and I didn’t do something if I could. You don’t owe me anything because I would have spent a small fortune hiring someone to do all this stuff. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
She made it sound so equal, but he didn’tfeelequal. He never would when he and Lauren were on opposite ends of the scale.
“I’d appreciate it if you’d get me in touch with your friend. If I can get a job, I can still work for you after hours.”
There. He’d be well on his way to paying her back and putting this whole rut behind him. He could say, “Nice knowin’ ya,” and get out of her life.
That was the way it had to be. Zach couldn’t let their lives get tangled any more than they already were. He lived in a web of lies, and she’d alreadygotten herself stuck in his trap—one he hadn’t meant to set. If he had any chance of keeping her out of his dark life, he had to keep a level head around her. Why was that so hard to do?
Lauren smiled as if he wasn’t a criminal who ruined her life and stole her peace. “I appreciate that. Now, I need to get back to work. I’ll be home around six-thirty. Do you know how to cook?”
“Cook?” Zach asked.
“Yes. Mix ingredients, then warm up food until it is nutritious and tastes good? I think that’s what cooking is,” Lauren said, squinting one eye as if unsure. “Oh, and no botulism or salmonella, please. Those are not good.”
Zach stared for an extra second because he could get away with it. If he acted stupid, maybe she’d keep talking and let him admire her.
“Can you do it?” she asked with a sarcastic fist pump, giving all the effectiveness of a coach rallying a football team giving his best halftime motivational speech.
