“I knocked at the front door, but no one answered. I heard you calling someone. So I climbed the fence.” He shrugged his broad shoulders like it was nothing.
Bethany tore her gaze from the fence to Hank to the fence and back to Hank again. Maybe he was part god.
“I work out.” Hank grinned. “A lot.”
She clenched her jaw. She was not impressed. He could go climb some other girl’s fence.
He moved toward her. “Who were you talking to?”
“I was calling Walter.” She pointed at the cat, who had not looked up from his plate once to check on her.
“I came to apologize.” He reached out a long arm to snag her hand like it was an everyday occurrence, but she dodged it by stepping backward.
“I’m sorry I scared you. I tried to call the restaurant earlier and got voicemail. I’m guessing you didn’t check your messages. I know I’m late, but are you still hungry?”
She shook her head and glared, although she knew it was wasted on him in the dark. “The kitchen’s closed.”
“I could take you to a restaurant. There must be a good one nearby.” He moved his head, and she caught a flash of his face in the moonlight. He looked earnest...young even.
“I ate already.”
“Ice cream?”
“I’m not hungry.” She picked up her keys and began walking to her car. He followed, as expected. If there was one thing she’d learned about Hank over the course of the day, it was that persistence was his middle name.
“Coffee?”
“I don’t drink coffee at night.”
“Then breakfast in themorning.”
Bethany stopped at her trunk and placed her hands on her hips. “Stop trying to manipulate me. I read the interview you did today. You’re going to open the fitness center and put me and the rest of the tenants out of business. You can forget the whole meal thing. I don’t care if you are my landlord. We have nothing to talk about.”
She turned and walked to the driver’s door. She didn’t trust herself to say another word. She was angry and disappointed enough to burst into tears, and she refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing she’d fallen for his line about wanting to cook for her. She’d believed there was more to Hank than what she’d seen on television. She was a fool. Maybe he would take her silence as a hint and go away.
He did not.
“Beth, wait. Let me explain. Please.”
She turned, catching another whiff of his musky scent. At some point this evening, he’d changed his clothes because with the parking lot light over their heads, she could see he had on a white V-neck and a pair of dark shorts that showed off his athletic build to perfection. She was eye level with his chest and his lovely golden chest hair. She raised her gaze to his. “I don’t like liars.”
He flinched, and his lips slanted down. “I didn’t lie to you. I was on the phone talking to my financial advisor. I called the restaurant to tell you I was running late. You didn’t answer and, apparently, didn’t check your messages.” He reached out a hand, but she backed away from it. “Please, I’d like to make it up to you.”
She narrowed her gaze. He dropped his hand by his side. “That’s not what I’m referring to.”
“What then?” He looked perplexed, but it was dark, and he was an actor.
“Oh, come off it, Hank. You did the interview, right? Or do you actors have body doubles who talk to the press for you?”
He cocked his head to the side and frowned. “Yes, and I told the reporter nothing had been decided yet. Let me guess, the gossip rags said I’m opening a fitness center, and you believed them.”
She crossed her arms. “Yes, they did. So that’s how we’re going to play this? You’re going to tell me you’renotputting me out of business? Oh, and it wasn’t a rag, it was our local news station.”
He shook his head. “I’m not surprised. They’re always looking for news, and I’m sure Elizabeth set the stage. That’s her job. And yeah, that’s right, I didn’t promise anyone anything. And I wasn’t talking over my finances to screw you over.”
She scoffed. “The local news lied on purpose, then? Why would they do that?”
“They only aired parts of the interview. I told them the same thing I told you: Nothing’s been decided yet. I didn’t say that I was going ahead with it. There’s a big difference.”
