My eyes find hers. “No, I’m not.”
“Well, at least you recognize it.” She wads up the paper from her finished taco and sits back to drink her margarita, licking the salt off the rim.
I always had a weakness for that pink tongue.
“Is everything going well here in the house?” I ask her, changing the subject. “Are you comfortable? Do you need anything?”
“It’s thebest,” she says with a grin as Petunia sidles up next to me and starts to purr. “We love it here.”
“I’m glad.” I pet the cat as she curls up in my lap, and sip my drink.
“Speaking of that, I have the money for the deposits and such. I just keep forgetting to give it to you.”
“I’m really not worried about it, Sarah.”
And just like that, her chin firms stubbornly. “It’s your money.”
“I don’t need it,” I insist. “Those fees are usually collected because I don’t know the tenant. They’re a stranger to me. You’re not a stranger, and I know you won’t stiff me on the rent or destroy the place.”
“But, it’s justnormalto pay those things,” she says. “It’s how it works, Tanner.”
“Are you telling me that you have a couple thousand extra dollars just lying around that you can hand over without blinking an eye?”
She pauses and frowns.
“I thought so. It would just go into an account, waiting to be refunded to you later. That’s silly.”
“You make it sound like I’m the bad guy here,” she complains, and I chuckle at her.
“No, you sound like the stubbornwomanhere, and I’m explaining to you why you don’t have to be. Just say thank you, Sarah. Use the money for something you need, or whatever you want, for that matter.”
“Hmm.” She swallows the last of her drink and sets the glass on the table next to the couch. “Thanks.”
She stretches her legs out and bumps my foot with her own.
“Wanna go walk the beach?”
I glance at the dark window. “It’s dark outside.”
“That’s okay. I won’t let you walk into the water.” She winks, and I frown at her.
“Do you often walk on the beach in the dark after you’ve been drinking?”
All humor leaves her face. “Actually, no. I just thought it sounded nice. Forget I asked.”
She stands and I join her, taking her hand in mine. “The thought of you being hurt freaks me out, Sarah. I’m not trying to be an asshole. I just worry about you.”
“I’m a smart girl,” she says softly and looks up at me with those big eyes. “You don’t have to worry.”
She leans in, and I brush my fingertips over the soft skin of her cheek.
What I wouldn’t give to yank her against me and kiss the hell out of her.
But we’refriends.
And she’s a tenant.
“Thanks for the tacos,” I say as I pull away.