I nod and take off my baseball cap. “Good to see you. Thanks for the invitation to dinner.”
Brady holds up the six-pack. “Hey, Tor. Look what Ethan brought. Your favorite beer.”
I’ll be damned. Guess the beer isn’t for him after all.
Finally, the mermaid turns around.
Maybe it’s the way the evening sun shines through the kitchen window, making Tori glow in a dreamy light. Maybe it’s the fact that I was baking like a catfish in the hot sun all day and probably have heat stroke. Or maybe it’s because I’m so hungry I could eat an entire Black Angus by myself. But Tori Duran looks like the most beautiful creature I’ve ever seen. No makeup or fuss. Just that thick, dark mane and those golden-green eyes staring back. Wary and cautious. Guarded.
Of course she’s guarded, asshole. You were a dick to her the other day.
I do that thing with my face where I try to smile. “Hey, Tori. Nice to see you again.”
The girl laughs humorlessly. “Did you really bring me that beer or did Brady tell you it was for him?”
Rubbing my jaw, I consider how to answer. Lying isn’t my strong suit. Never lied to my wife. Tried not to lie to my parents growing up. What was the point when they could always sniff out the truth anyway? So it doesn’t make sense why I want to now except I don’t want to hurt Tori’s feelings. Plus, something twisted in me suddenly wants to please this girl.
Taking a few steps closer and leaning in, so I don’t curse in front of Izzy, I whisper, “If I admit I got it for your brother-in-law, am I back on your shit list?”
Although I expect my answer to piss her off, the corner of her mouth tilts up like she’s amused. “You haven’t worked your way off it.” Her eyes squint playfully. “But honesty is a start.”
When I smile at her—a real one because I’m genuinely glad to see her—her lips part and she sucks in a breath.
I give her a wink. “I just need one chance, darlin’.”
Tori
Dinner passes in a whirlwind of pleasantries between Brady, Kat, and Ethan. I watch them and push the food around on my plate and contemplate why this guy is being nice to me when he seemed to loathe my existence two days ago. And I wonder why, when he aims that smile at me, I feel the singe of a live wire, my skin heating and burning under his scrutiny.
Why I can’t seem to catch my breath.
Almost as if…
Almost as if I like him.
Sweat breaks out on my back, and I sink back in my seat.
This is completely unacceptable.
I can’t like a man, especially this man. I will not be charmed by Ethan Carter or his big blue eyes and rough edges.
See, I can do this. I am a strong, independent woman who doesn’t need a man, and that’s how it’s going to stay.
I straighten my shoulders, proud of my internal pep talk.
“Isn’t that great, Tor?” My sister nudges me with her elbow.
“I’m sorry, what?”
Her eyes widen like I need to pay attention, and I shrug, willing myself not to feel embarrassed.
“Ethan was saying how if you took the nanny position, you could borrow his truck to bartend at night. Since you had mentioned wanting to pick up some shifts somewhere.”
Ugh. Like I really want him to know I don’t have a car. That I don’t have near enough money to fix my old clunker.
When I look up, my eyes connect with his across the table. “That’s… nice of you. Though I’m not sure I have anything worked out yet. No one seems to be hiring around here.”
“Have you tried the Yellow Rose? Just opened up off the access road. I know the guy who runs the place.” He scoops the last spoonful of chili into his mouth, makes a growly noise, and points to the empty bowl. “That was fantastic.”
“Tori made it. She’s a great cook.” Kat rambles on about my “eclectic cuisine” like I studied with Gordon Ramsay or something instead of the truth—that I like to veg out to cooking shows, and I have a big Mexican family that demands ten million tamales at Christmas.
Ethan tips his Corona at me. “Well, dinner was delicious. Chili is one of my favorites.”
“You don’t say.” My eyes shift to my sister, who eats her second helping of cornbread and salad, not daring to touch the chili. “Interesting. My sister said she was really in the mood for chili, and yet she hasn’t eaten one bite.”
Kat shrugs, her lips tilting up. “I started thinking you were right. That I shouldn’t eat anything that spicy.”
“Go figure.”
Izzy yawns over her plate of half-eaten chicken nuggets, and Kat motions for Brady to help her up.
“We’re going to get Izzy ready for bed. You two chat. There’s a fresh pot of coffee brewing and a cheesecake in the freezer, so help yourselves.”
When did she make coffee? I honestly can’t tell if she wants me to work for Ethan or marry the man.
Brady picks up his daughter, and a second later, Ethan and I are alone.
He chuckles and takes a long pull of his beer. His dirty blond hair is disheveled and pointing in ten different directions, but Lord help me, it looks good.
He’s still smiling when I level him with a stare. “Why are you being nice to me? What do you want?” I’ve been around the block enough times to know when something is off. “I’m not going to sleep with you, if that’s what you think you’re getting by having me move in.”
The smile slides off his face. “Jesus, Tori. Do you accuse every potential employer of lechery?”
My face burns, but I’m not ashamed of asking what I need to know. “Because I won’t have sex with you. Not even if you’re the last guy on the planet.”
An annoying smirk quirks his lips. “No one said I was asking, darlin’. Besides”—his eyes pass over me—“you’re not my type.”
For some reason, that irritates me more. “Well, good.”
“Good.” He rubs a rough hand over the stubble on his square jaw. “So we’re clear about that? No sex. Not even if I’m the last man on the planet.”
“Not even then,” I whisper.
We stare at each other, his amused blue eyes studying my face like he’s seeing me for the first time.
His eyebrows lift, and then—I can’t help it—I laugh. We both do.
Before things get any weirder, I get up and start clearing the plates with a sigh. “I’m not good at job interviews.”
“You don’t say.”
“Shocking, I know.” I’m not fool enough to think I had that one law firm internship because of my amazing people skills or grades. No, that came compliments of my sweet sister and her impressive Austin connections. She took me getting fired remarkably well back then, but she wasn’t pregnant when I called her crying because I had gotten axed for telling off one of the partners.
Truth be told, I don’t want to disappoint Kat. It’s one thing to disappoint my parents. They’re used to it. But Kat? For some reason, she seems to think I have potential. It cuts me to the core to think of letting her down. Again.
The only thing that freaks me out more than truly displeasing my sister is a face-to-face encounter with a spider.