“I’m not the best. Not anymore.”
My hands automatically moved to my thigh. The one that suffered from the accident. The one that had been amputated just above my knee. Jensen followed the movement with his eyes. Something shifted in them, but he didn’t comment.
He walked over to me, holding out his hand. I held my breath, waiting, bracing myself to feel his touch. Only he didn’t touch me. He let his hand hover in the space between us awkwardly before he lowered it and shifted on his feet. I looked away.
“You still are,” he said quietly. “To me, you still are the best.” He stood up a little straighter before continuing. “Besides, it’s as you said. Elodie’s only two. I’m sure you don’t need to put in much effort.”
“So I’ll be like a glorified babysitter?”
His lips curved up in amusement. I raised one eyebrow in question. “Think of it however you want. Do we have a deal?”
He held out one hand for me to shake. I didn’t. I looked down at it. I wondered if it was still there. That electricity I had felt buzz across my skin whenever I touched him, no matter how brief and innocent those touches might be. A part of me was afraid to find out.
“Why do you want this so badly?” I asked quietly. “Why me?”
If I hadn’t been looking at him, I wouldn’t have noticed the way his eyes shifted. There was something he wasn’t telling me, only I didn’t know what. What secrets could he have kept from me?
We were, at worst, merely strangers.
I tilted my head to the side. He kept his hand there. I might regret this later, but thirty thousand dollars was a lot of money. Money a woman in my position shouldn’t turn down.
I grabbed his hand and shook it. Before I could pull away, he tightened his grip on me and pulled me in closer. My breath caught and I leaned my head back to look him in the eyes. This close and in this light, I could make out the silver flecks in them.
“Deal,” I whispered.
He smirked, the devil knowing he got exactly what he wanted. “Perfect.”
All I could think as he kept hold of my hand was that it was still there. That electricity. The buzz that nearly drove me insane.
Damn.