He strolled away, pulling her bag behind him, and saying,“Protest to the other libbers who give a shit.Let’s just get out of here.”
He felt her following him mostly because he couldn’t missshe did it seething.
Dutch further did not miss the irony—and if he wasn’t sopissed, he’d laugh at it—that her bag was a goddamn carry-on.
When they made it to his truck (fortunately, the way therewas silent), he stowed it in the cab behind her seat.
He then nearly broke her hand when she made a show ofreaching for her door to close it after she’d gotten in, but he was making ashow of standing there, holding it, waiting for her to get her round ass in,then he made a further show of throwing it to.
Luckily, she had quick reflexes and got her hand out of theway.
They were headed to the parking booths when she declared,“I’m paying for parking.”
And he would admit, though never to her, that it was plainstubbornness when he replied, “Absolutely not.”
“Caveman,” she snapped.
“Battle-axe,” he returned.
She gasped.
He hit the button to roll down his window to pay forparking.
Of course, her being her, she did not let it go and theywere barely riding free on Peña Boulevard when she stated, “You could have justswung through arrivals and avoided parking fees altogether.”
“I was picking up someone for my brother, woman or not, andmy momma and daddy, both Chaos through and through, raised me better.”
He heard her huff.
But she said not a word.
Yeah.
That shut her damned mouth.
In fact, it shut her mouth so good, she was silent for solong, he got tweaked enough to look her way.
She had her head turned and was staring out her side window.
And she was a serious pain in the ass, but the look on herface that he caught even in profile, which wasn’t annoyed, frustrated,obstinate or haughty, but something softer, and definitely somethingconcerning, made him wonder what she’d been doing in DC.
And if maybe something that happened there, or was thereason why she went there, was not only putting that look on her face, but alsoputting her in a shit mood.
These thoughts being why he asked, “You okay?”
He’d turned back to the road, but he glanced and saw she’ddone the same and was looking out the windshield when she answered, “I will bewhen you drop me off.”
Right.
No.
“We don’t get along,” he pointed out the obvious.“And wedon’t have to.This is a one-shot deal, this time we’re spending together.It’ssoongonnabe over, so set that aside because I’masking genuinely.You okay?”
She didn’t answer.
“Right.Whatever,” he muttered.
She said nothing for so long, they were nearing the highwaywhen she finally spoke.
