I recover first.
“So what else do you need from me for Christmas with the St. Claire clan? Do you need a boring know-it-all who dominates every conversation he gets into?”
“I assumed that was the plan, given our time together so far.”
She blinks at me, a vision of pure innocence, and it takes a second for me to realize that she’s the one fucking with me now.
“Careful what you wish for,” I warn her. “Do you know how many varieties of flowering shrubs thrive in the central Illinois hardiness zone? Because I do, and I’ll list them all.”
She laughs softly. “Impressive.” Then she turns serious again. “So, um, my parents live just outside of Chicago, and I’m planning on getting there December twenty-first and staying through the twenty-seventh. Would you be available that long?”
I nod. “Not a lot of landscaping jobs in December.”
“Okay,” she says. Then she takes a deep breath, her shoulders rising and falling under that damn sweater. “I guess we need to talk about your payment.”
“My payment.” Okay, now I do feel a little like an escort. “Faith kind of presented this as a favor to a friend.”
Faith actually presented it as a favor to a sweet people-pleasing friend who was incapable of telling her overbearing parents to butt out of her life, and since I know a thing or two about family conflict and didn’t have any particular plans for the holidays, I agreed to meet this woman out of curiosity. And now that I know she’s cute and funny and blushes easily, I’m glad I did.
“I can’t ask you to give up your whole Christmas to hang out with a bunch of strangers for free.” She presses her lips together and runs her hands over the tops of her thighs. Both of those activities are highly distracting, and I force myself to focus on what she’s saying.
The thing is, I don’t need the money. I mean, I’m opening a business, so I always need money. But the amount I could reasonably ask for something like this is a drop in the bucket when it comes to the small business loan Jonesy and I are in the process of securing. Then again, it feels a little pathetic to just do this for free even though it’s a huge relief not to spend the holidays alone again.
Inspiration strikes. “Any chance you own your own house?”
She nods.
“Any chance that house needs some landscaping work?”
“Yes.” She’s grinning now; maybe she felt as weird about offering me money as I felt about taking it. “I’d be delighted to hire Hot Guys Landscaping LLC to do some work once you’re up and running.”
I sling myself back against the chair, twisting my mouth into a confident smirk. “How’d you know that’s what we’re calling it?”
Her laugh is embarrassed, and it heats my blood. Cute librarian Darby thinking I’m hot makes everything about this deal more interesting.
“Okay then. You’ve got a fake bad boyfriend for the holidays.” I stand. Stretch. Sitting still for too long makes me antsy. When I raise my arms, Darby’s eyes focus on the slice of exposed skin between my jeans and the hem of my shirt.
That’s when I decide that I want to learn more about this woman.
“Here.” I grab my phone, unlock it, and hand it to her. “Put your number in. I may need to text you for inspiration as I work on my character.”
She glances up from where she’s typing in my phone. “Your character? So professional.”
“You’re going to hire me to plant every flowering bush in the 5b zone.” I grin at her as I take the phone back. “I’m planning to earn it.”
CHAPTERTHREE
NINETEEN DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE
Gabe: What teams do your parents root for?
Darby: The Cubs and the Bears, obviously.
Gabe: Okay.
SIXTEEN DAYS BEFORE DEPARTURE
Gabe: What’s your type?
