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The question surprised me. I stopped and turned to look at him. Mark’s hands were still in his pockets. He should have looked ridiculous in his expensive suit walking along Highway 60 behind me in the middle of the night. But instead he looked devastatingly handsome.
I wasn’t under any illusions about what I looked like after a long day’s work at Abberly’s. My shirt was stained with grease, my hair was hanging limp around my face. In defense, I wrapped my arms around my waist and glared at him.
“What does it matter?”
He stepped closer until there was a frisson of awareness that sparked between us. “I don’t like the way he looks at you.”
I could feel my brow crinkle in confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“Real men don’t talk to the women they care about with such disrespect. He undresses you with his eyes, and yet he treats you like something under his shoe.”
I grunted in surprise. The man had just summed up the relationship I had with Gabriel in two sentences. How had he gleaned all of that from one shift at the bar?
“We aren’t dating,” I found myself telling him the truth. “We aren’t even friends. His mama was kind to me when mine couldn’t be.”
I didn’t want to go into the reasons why Mama had been absent—not physically, emotionally.
To my surprise, Mark said something under his breath that sounded remarkably like, ‘Stupid fucker.’
I was used to obscenities, so that didn’t shock me, it was just that it seemed so out of place with his perfectly polished demeanor. It made me like him just a little.
“You are tired,” he said softly, those gray eyes not missing anything.
I let out a loud and rather unladylike yawn and replied, “It’s nearly two in the morning, and there is a stranger following me home.”
I wasn’t sure why I felt the need to poke the bear. But when his jaw ticked, I couldn’t help the broad smile that broke across my face.
“I just want to be sure you are safe,” he said gruffly.
It was oddly endearing. I was either far more tired than I had anticipated, or he was wearing on me. Because the next thing I knew I was offering him a place to sleep for the night.
“Listen, I have a spare bedroom. It’s nothing much, but the sheets are clean and there aren’t any bugs. If you are going to follow me home anyway, you might as well get some rest.”
I could tell I had surprised him. He opened and closed his mouth twice before nodding and adding curtly, “Thank you.”
I turned to start walking again, but his hand reached out and grabbed my arm.
“Wait. Let’s take my car.”
I couldn’t help the laugh. “Says the mass murderer to the innocent girl not noticing the rope and duct tape in the back seat.”
He blanched. “I do not have rope and duct tape in my back seat!”
It was fun teasing him. I had already decided that he was harmless, but there wasn’t any harm in ribbing him a little. “You should pick some up for your next abduction. I hear they come in handy.”
He shook his head. “You really are impossible.”
I grinned. “So I have been told. Let’s see this car of yours.”
He led me back to the parking lot of Abberly’s where a nice BMW was parked on the street.
“Nice car,” I murmured.
Distractedly, Mark answered, “It’s a rental.”
Like the true gentleman he was, Mark opened my door and made sure I was safely inside before rounding the car and getting in the other side. As he started the engine, I asked him, “What is this inheritance all about?”
He looked over at me in surprise. “We can go over all of the details in the morning. But the basics are that you now have enough money to buy and sell this town if you wanted to. Your father has left you a significant portion of the company. But you have to come to New York to claim your inheritance. I have all the necessary documents for your lawyer to go over with you.”