Page 41 of Indecent Lies

He grunted, sharp eyes on her.

She meant it. She was never drinking again. The odd wine was fine, but a half bottle of strong rum almost killed her, that was never happening ever again.

“Got it.” Why did his voice sound weird? “You’re starting at Paige’s place today, right?”

“Yes. I hope I don’t puke. Do you think she’d fire me if I did?”

Tait’s lips twitched. “You’ll be fine.”

“You know her well?”

“Not too well. But she’s a good woman, she was new in town once too, so she’ll help you out.”

“I’m going to work hard to pay you back, Tait. I know this is only part time, and I’ll need something better. But I won’t forget what you did for me.”

He did that manly grunt thing again with the cup up to his lips.

“Forget it.”

She blustered. “A person can’t just forget one hundred thousand dollars. I start to sweat when I think about it. Are you mad?”

“Not the last time I checked. Forget it, Poppy.” Moving around her, his shoulder grazed hers and without thought, her skin sizzled and she sucked in a mouthful of air. He looked down at her. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. I mean, I’m dying, but I’m fine.” Then added. “I’m still paying you back. It’ll probably take me five hundred years, but I’ll do it.”

“Make dinner,” he said. “That’s how you can pay me back.”

Poppy chuffed an incredulous laugh. Yeah, he was crazy. “Making food is not paying you back.”

“It’s what I want.”

“But…”

“End of, Poppy. Don’t you need to get ready?”

“Damn, I do. But we haven’t finished talking about this.”

His face said otherwise.

Stubborn man.

Who would do the things he had for her and not expect repaying? She thought on it some more while she dressed in a new pair of skinny jeans and a gorgeous off the shoulder pink top. It might be a little dressy for a first day at work, but she intended to make a good impression. And the better she looked, the less nervous she felt.

Tait gave her an up and down glance when she re-entered the living area.

When he licked his corner lip, she felt it in the pit of her stomach, like she could taste him there too.

“Am I too dressy?”

“No,” he said thickly.

“I want Paige to like me.”

“She will.”

At the front door, she fussed with the seam of her jeans and then cleaned off a scuff mark from her leather boots. Next went the hair check and when she started the routine all over again it was Tait’s hands stopping her that brought her head up. “You look fine, stop being nervous.”

“I’ve never had a job, Tait,” she confessed, ashamed of those words. “Not even babysitting or selling cookies. Nothing since leaving college with my business degree. Which was just a fat waste of time because daddy never intended for me to actually use it for anything.”