Page 40

The guy was two hundred and fifty pounds of sheer muscle.

He was the quiet, brooding type who took and followed orders

exactly. The kind who wasn’t easy to shake and was immune

to any sort of flattery, trickery, pleasantries, wheedling,

begging, or pleading.

Over the past week, Haley had tried everything. Snake had

been in place by Monday morning, following her Sunday

swim, and he’d been the one to take her to class. The guy

probably hulked around campus all day, because whenever

Haley went out to stretch her legs, she saw his car parked in

the same spot. Sometimes he was in it, sometimes not. Unless

he’d crawled into the backseat for a nap out of sheer boredom,

which was laughable, because there wasn’t a backseat in

existence that could accommodate a guy Snake’s size.

Haley had wanted to complain to Claire all week, but after

their showdown on the beach, in which Haley knew she’d

pushed the other woman way too far with accusations she

didn’t entirely believe and bravado she didn’t feel, Claire

hadn’t made herself available.

Haley ate dinner alone for the first few nights, and when it

&nb

sp; was clear that Claire wouldn’t be joining her and no one else

would either, she convinced Jean to just leave her plate in the

kitchen. Snake ate the same things she did, though not at the

same time, until she started eating in the kitchen. It was almost

funny, watching him devour firsts and seconds and often thirds

and fourths. He ate everything without complaint or

compliment, but Jean was tickled pink by the large appetite.

He liked cooking, and Snake liked eating. It was a match made

in heaven and Jean wouldn’t hear her complaints or take them