“Lucas was kind enough to let me stay with him because—” I can’t give her the real reason. The less people know around here, the better. I want no chance of the media finding me here. “Because I’m such a nature lover and his cabin is perfect for bird watching.”
Alison narrows her gaze. Lucas pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head. It was the only thing I could come up with. By the way Alison is pinning me with a baleful glare, I don’t think she believes me. If she only knew I’m no threat to her. Lucas is all hers.
“Is she your girlfriend?” she fires the question at Lucas.
If I was, would I let her have her hands all over him?
With a warning glare aimed at me, he says, “Don’t even think about pulling the same shit you did in the store.”
Now would be the perfect time to mess things up between him and Alison, but I keep quiet. I have no intention of causing trouble between the two.
To Alison, he says, “Allie, would I be kissing you in front of her if she was? And why would she be looking for a place to stay?”
So he calls her Allie, not Alison. Oh, that’s because they’refriends—and we are not. Although, from the way she stuck her tongue down his throat, they’re more than friends.
She purses her lips. “Good point.”
With another head-to-toe sweep over me, she nods to a door at the back of the bar next to the restrooms. “There is one room. I don’t normally rent it out. It’s not much. Could use a clean. There is a single bed, small stove—which doesn’t work—and a kettle. You’ll have to share the communal bathroom upstairs. The hot water lasts for about two minutes. If you’re not showering first, it takes a few hours for the water to warm up again, or you can take a cold one. The bar gets noisy and rowdy and closes at two in the morning. You may not get much sleep. It’s twenty dollars a night.”
As bad as it sounds, I’ll take staying in a dingy room at a noisy bar over spending the next few days with Lucas confined in a tiny cabin. “I’ll take it.”
Lucas raises an eyebrow. “After hearing what the accommodation is like, you still want to stay here? Do you think you can handle it?”
“Of course I can.”
He shrugs a shoulder. “Doesn’t sound like your kind of scene, city girl.” He smirks.
There’s no way I’m going to admit to him that the room is far from what I’m used to. And at twenty dollars a night, I’m a little scared to find out what it looks like. “And how do you know what my scene is?” I don’t wait for him to answer. “Thanks for your concern. I’ll be fine.”
Before I find out what kind of room I’ve booked—or more like putting it off for as long as possible—I set my luggage by a booth and slide onto the cracked, vinyl seat.
“What are you doing?” Lucas asks.
Picking up the plastic menu, I scan the food selections. “Ordering food.”
He doesn’t respond, but I sense his hard presence getting closer. I glance up and am met with an annoyed expression on his face.
“Is there a problem?” I ask.
He crosses his arms over his chest. “Yes, there’s a problem. I’m having dinner here with Allie.”
Alison caresses her hand up and down Lucas’ arm with sultry eyes. “And after dinner, I’ll have you for dessert.”
I roll my eyes, forcing myself not to gag. “I’m not stopping your dinner plans,” I say to Lucas. Then I pass Alison the menu and order the buffalo wings, fries, and a diet coke.
Pulling a face like the last thing she wants to do is serve me, she tucks the menu under her arm. “I’ll be right back.” She plants a kiss on Lucas’ lips before she leaves.
Walking away, she sways her hips, grabbing the attention of every man in the room. Except for Lucas. His eyes bore into me.
“What are you doing?” he asks.
“Waiting for dinner.”
He rubs the tips of his fingers across his forehead then slides into the seat opposite me. “You wanted to stay hidden in case you get recognized. Now you’re sitting in a bar packed with people. Are you doing this to piss me off?”
“First, the bar is far from packed.” I scan the room. The motorcycle gang has just left, there’s a couple having drinks in the booth next to mine, and two men are playing pool on the other side of the room.
No one is paying any attention to me. Except for Alison. She’s wiping down the bar, throwing heat-seeking missiles with her eyes in my direction. I hope she doesn’t spit in my food.
