“Because I’m buying you a drink tonight, and you’re not gonna argue with me this time.” I moved my mouth to her ear. “I don’t give a fuck if you’re kinda seeing someone. You spend some time with me, and I’ll show you what it’s like to not ever wanna flirt with any man but the man you’re seeing.”
I pulled my face away from hers and took in how her eyes had widened a fraction and the way her breathing had slowed. Her mouth formed a small O before she finally said, “I hate to break it to you, bossman, but I can’t hang around tonight.”
“Tomorrow then.” Bossman. I fucking liked it.
“Nope, can’t do that either.”
“Pick a day, gorgeous, and I’ll be here. But no way in hell am I taking no for an answer.”
She stayed silent for a beat before exhaling a long breath. “I’m not trying to fob you off. I really do have stuff on tonight and tomorrow.”
“You got a date tonight?”
“You just don’t give up, do you?”
I pressed my body harder against hers. “No.”
Staring at me, in what I presumed was either bewilderment or frustration, she ran her fingers through her hair and said, “I don’t have a date tonight. The guy I’m seeing is actually out of town for a week or so. I have to go home and look after my grandmother tonight. She fell yesterday and hurt herself, so she needs someone there as often as possible to help her.”
Her words wound themselves around me with an unfamiliar emotion. It was a mixture of happy surprise and respect. I didn’t meet many people who commanded those emotions from me, so it felt a little surreal.
“You live with your grandmother?”
“Yes. Why?”
I smiled. “It’s not often I meet people who live with their grandparents.”
“Well, my grandfather was an asshole, so I never had anything to do with him. My grandmother lived with my parents, but when my dad died six months ago, I knew I couldn’t leave her with my mum, so I moved her in with me.”
“Your family sounds like it might be as dysfunctional as mine.”
She checked her watch before glancing back up at me with a look of regret. “I really need to get a drink and freshen up before we go back on.”
I placed my hand on her waist to keep her with me, half expecting her to pull out of my hold. She didn’t, though, so I kept my hand there. “Name a day, Hailee.”
I could have sworn her body swayed against mine when she said, “Sunday afternoon, around three. I’ll meet you here for a drink.”
I let her go. “I’ll see you then.”
As I watched her go, I realised she was the first woman in years I’d hounded for a date. Not that she’d probably call it a date, but I was going to. As far as I was concerned, our drink on Sunday would be the end of whatever the fuck she had going on with the guy she was seeing. And the beginning of something with me.
6
Hailee
“Miss Hailee, how are you today?”
I smiled at the man who stood behind the counter of the convenience store waiting for my reply. “I’m good. And you, Avi? I was worried about you yesterday.” I had been visiting this store at least once a day since my grandm
other and I moved in to a house up the road six months ago. Avi and his wife, Preena, had become my friends in that time, and I’d been concerned when neither of them had been at the store the day before.
He waved away my worry. “Preena took ill, so I stayed home to look after her. She’s much better today.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” I scribbled my phone number on a piece of paper from my bag and handed it to him. “I want you to call me if you ever need help with anything.” I knew they had no family close by and not many friends. They’d called a friend in yesterday, but I wasn’t sure how many people they had to rely on, so I wanted to help them in any way I could.
Avi gave me a huge smile. “Thank you, Miss Hailee. You have been very good to us.”
“I haven’t really done anything.”