Part 15 (2/2)

She let her head fall back against the seat rest. ”Sorry. I guess he's not in this car, is he?”

Nate laughed softly. ”Not unless he snuck in the trunk.”

”Then again, maybe he heard me back at the diner.” She took a deep breath. ”Sorry I yelled.”

”I'd tell you to do it some more but I know that would shut you up faster than a strip of duct tape over that mouth of yours. So I'm just going to keep driving and hope you don't come to your senses.”

”Why?” she whispered. ”Why are you being so nice to me?”

He frowned, his eyes narrowing on the road. ”Because you deserve it.”

She fought against a tide of foolish grat.i.tude. ”Even after what I said when you cleaned out the walk-in? Even after that day on the mountain?”

”Yeah. Even so. You can be a real pain in the a.s.s, but I think that's because you've had to be strong for so long. I don't mind cutting you some slack.”

Tears p.r.i.c.ked at the corners of her eyes. ”Well. How about that.”

They drove along in silence for a while and then she said, ”Take a left up here. There's a great view of the lake at the top of this mountain.”

He downs.h.i.+fted and took them to the summit. There were a few other cars in a small parking lot, well-s.p.a.ced. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on inside of them.

Nate pulled into a slot at the far end and turned off the ignition.

She looked across the seat at his profile. ”Tell me more about your family.”

”Don't have much to tell.”

”Which means there's probably too much to talk about, right?”

He smiled, his teeth flas.h.i.+ng white in the darkness. ”No. It means exactly what I said. They're not part of my day-to-day life.”

”Where did you grow up?”

”Outside of Boston.”

She waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she asked, ”What about your brother. What does he do for a living?”

”He's a business guy. He's also into public service.”

”That's admirable.”

”Yeah. I respect the h.e.l.l out of him.” Nate s.h.i.+fted in the driver's seat, turning so he was facing her with one arm draped over the steering wheel. ”So about us working together. Some things have to change.”

She let her head fall back against the rest again.

Maybe it was the wine, but she suddenly didn't want to talk anymore. What she wanted was for him to lean over and kiss her on the mouth. Hard.

”What are your terms?” she murmured. ”And you might as well know you have me over a barrel. I have to come up with $150,000 by the end of October.”

He whistled softly and rubbed his jaw. ”Will you be able to cover the debt?”

”If we do six more weeks of good summer business, I think I can make it because the leaf peepers come in the early fall. But it's going to be really tight. Especially if you leave. I've already put some feelers out for someone to replace you, but everyone's committed through Labor Day.”

She stretched her legs out, until her feet got squeezed under the glove compartment. She hated anyone having power over her, but she wasn't stupid. She really needed Nate to stay.

”So what do you want?” she asked, not bothering to hide the acrimony in her voice.

”First of all, tell the guests to keep their children out of my kitchen. Twice this past week, I've been at the stove and some kid's come running in, looking for something to eat. They stay out of my s.p.a.ce, got it?”

There was some serious tension in his voice and she wondered what it was all about. She could fully understand the safety issue, but she sensed there was something more.

”You don't like kids, do you?”

”Second, if business continues to be strong for another week, I want to hire a line cook. Nothing fancy and we could probably just find one through the want ads. George has come a long way, but he needs supervision and I don't want him hurt.”

Nice avoidance of the question, she thought. Though the tone in his voice answered it well enough.

The man didn't want a wife. Didn't want children.

No wonder he was so comfortable with casual s.e.x. It was either that or the life of a monk. And given the strength of his s.e.x drive, she couldn't imagine he'd spend a single moment considering a life of celibacy.

”I have one more demand.” Nate drummed his fingers on the dashboard. ”If I stay, I want to spend some time with you. Alone.”

Her head whipped around so fast, she pulled a neck muscle. ”What?”

Nate watched her jerk to attention. ”I think you heard me.”

In the silence that ensued, she stared at him as if he'd lost his mind. h.e.l.l, maybe he had.

But that just meant he was a crazy man with some serious leverage. She needed him. And he knew what he wanted in return. He'd tried the direct route with her and been shut down. He'd tried ignoring the attraction. Yeah, right, that had worked. So maybe he could strike a deal.

”I am not going to sleep with you to keep my house,” she told him flat out.

Ouch. That wasn't what he meant.

”d.a.m.n, woman, you really know how to throw an insult, don't you,” he muttered. ”Do you have a p.i.s.s poor opinion of all men or is it just me in particular?”

”Come on, what am I supposed to think? You remind me that we're not supposed to be friends and then want to spend time with me. What are we going to do? Play Scrabble?”

Well, jeez, he wasn't an animal, for G.o.d's sake.

Nate measured the curve of her lips.

He wasn't a total animal.

And the reason he'd brought up the friend's only rule was to get her off the subject of his past. It was just a conversational obstacle he'd put up.

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