"I do not have a boyfriend," she said, matter of fact before I could even tell Izzie to cool it. "What about you?" Ariella asked, teasing Isabella. "Do you have a boyfriend?"
Izzie violently shook her head. "Gross! Boys are icky!"
I laughed under my breath. At least that answer settled my nerves. "Good keeping saying that." I didn't want her thinking about boys and boyfriends, or girlfriends. She was much too young to be thinking about crushes and what came along with that.
"What about you?" Ariella asked, scrunching her nose up and smiling just like Izzie had done a moment earlier. "Do you have a girlfriend?" she asked me.
While I knew she was playing games and entertaining my daughter, which I was grateful for, was she also asking because she was interested, or was I reading into it? I wanted her to be asking because she liked me, not because she was just putting me on the spot. Though why did I care how she felt? We barely knew one another.
"Daddy doesn't have a girlfriend," Izzie answered for me. "Do you want to be his girlfriend?"
"I don't think it quite works like that," I said, glaring at Izzie. She didn't seem to take the hint. Her mouth was opening about to say something else that would inevitably embarrass me further.
"Sure, it does," Ariella said. She was wearing a 100-watt smile, her eyes shining as she didn't seem to take her gaze off of me.
Lincoln brought out three plates from the kitchen, interrupting the moment. I wasn't sure whether to kiss him or kill him.
Izzie snuck back under the table and climbed onto the seat beside me to eat. I cut up her lunch into small bite-sized pieces and watched as she grabbed each bite with her hands, foregoing a fork. We'd have to work on that at some point.
"Saved by the bell," Ariella said, the smile more subdued, but she seemed at ease, happier, carefree. Her shoulders relaxed, and the tension seemed to slip out of her body as she ate her salad.
I helped Izzie with her meal before digging in on my burger. I hadn't realized how hungry I'd been or how late the afternoon had gotten. It was any wonder Izzie hadn't melted down.
When the bill came, I wouldn't let Ariella pay, although she offered. Knowing she didn't have a job, whatever money she had, she probably needed far more than I did right now. "You'll pay after you get hired at the lodge," I said. I hoped the job came through for her.
"Fine, but then you're buying the drinks. You said there's a bar around town, right?"
It had been ages since I'd gone out on a date. However, she hadn't exactly called us going out a date. I was reading too much into her intentions. We were friends, neighbors, and I was supposed to be helping her out, not trying to get in her pants.
"Jaxson?"
"Oh, sorry." I hadn't heard what she'd said after asking about a bar.
"It's fine," she said and waved her hand dismissively. "We should head back to the cabin and hook up the fridge to your generator. Assuming you don't mind me borrowing it. I promise it's just until I get a job and can buy my own."
My cell phone buzzed in my pocket. I reached into my pants and grabbed my phone, holding out a finger to her to wait a second. It was Declan. "Hey, what's up?" I asked. He had promised to tow her car for me, and while he was supposed to be at Eagle Tactical this afternoon, I hadn't heard about any big calls or operations come through. Usually, the team texted me if something important was going on, a big client, or a dangerous mission if I wasn't at the office.
"I pulled your girl's car from the ravine. Her tires are completely bald. The window was smashed, and the bumper dented. The bumper isn't a big deal, but the trunk latch looks broken and won't be fixable without some serious repair. It'll cost her a few grand to make the car drivable, and that doesn't include getting it in shape for Breckenridge winter. What do you want me to do?"
I exhaled a heavy sigh. Ariella would not be happy about the news. Already the smile fell from her face as I stared at her like she already knew.
"Let me call you back," I said to Declan before hanging up. "Do you have full liability on your car?"
Wordlessly, she shook her head. I already suspected that was the case. "Declan says it'll be several grand, and that doesn't get your car into safe shape for getting up the mountain. Even if I find you a pair of chains, I'm not crazy about you driving up in that car. You need four-wheel drive or at least all-wheel drive on a vehicle if you're going to be working in another town and having to travel up and down the mountain pass daily."
"Shit," she said under her breath.
"Shit. Shit. Shit," Isabella repeated, staring at Ariella.