Chapter 21
Rowe
“What happened to your face?” I ask Pane the next morning when he enters the foyer, a pencil behind his ear, tools threaded to his belt, new boots on his feet, and a tight shirt on his torso.
The man could make a blind woman swoon.
Except for the knuckle-length bruise that runs just under his left cheek.
He touches it and winces. “There may have been an incident at poker last night.”
“Anincident?”
He sucks in air through his teeth. “Yes.”
“With whom did you have this ‘incident’?”
“A fist.” His gaze flicks to the driveway, where Cristina’s pulling in. “Ah. Coffee delivery.”
He moves toward the door, but I dart in front of him, pointing my dry paintbrush at his chest. “Not so fast, mister. You’re not getting off that easily. I still want to know what happened to your face.”
“Are you showing concern for me, Sunbeam?”
“No.Yes.I mean, if you get hurt, it’ll ruin our progress.”
Keep telling yourself that all you care about is progress. Maybe you’ll start to believe it.
Inwardly, I sigh, because to be honest, these past few days I’ve learned that Pane Maddox is smart, dependable, and not nearly as snarky as when I first met him.
I do actually like him.
Notlike him,like him. But you know what I mean.
He studies me, the corners of his eyes tightening, but all he says is “Right. Me getting hurt will mess up our progress.”
Then Pane sidesteps me and opens the screen door for my best friend.
Did I say something wrong?
But before I can ask him, Pane puts on a big smile. “Cristina, just the woman I wanted to see.”
She enters the house holding a cardboard container full of coffee and looking confused. “Why? Did something happen? Is this about the other night?” Her gaze frantically searches mine. “What did I do? I didn’t try to kiss him, did I?”
A belly laugh rolls out of me. “No, you were a good girl. Except for Jace’s food.”
She groans. “Don’t remind me. But anyway, leaving the past in the past, here’s a salted-caramel mocha for you. Three shots of espresso for you,” she says to Pane. “And a latte for me.”
She takes a long sip and smiles at Pane. “Now that I’m caffeinated, why are you so excited to see me?” Then her eyes pop wide. “And what happened to your face?”
“That’s what I want to know,” I say, folding my arms.
She glances at me. “So you didn’t do this to him?”
“No, of course not.”
Pane pulls the coffee cup from his mouth and pats the air. “Can we please discuss my face later? For now, let’s discuss business.” He looks at me and smiles. My knees wobble. “Do you want to tell her?”
“No, no. It’s your idea.”
