“Did you need anything else?” he asked, hating that she was a distraction.
“Are you always this brusque?”
He arched one eyebrow. There was something unsettling about her, and he wished it made it easier for him to ignore the attraction between them. But it didn’t. He was half aroused from this exchange.
“So that’s a yes,” she said with a sigh.
“GC brings out the worst in me. I was actually surprised that you wanted to do the challenge here. Why did you?”
“The curse.”
He groaned. “Of course. You don’t really believe the local legend that if a Gilbert returns then the town will flourish again?” he asked drily.
“Oh, well...yeah. I mean, the publicity from being on your show won’t hurt either. I wasn’t sure you knew about the curse,” she said. “I was hoping we could have lunch after and discuss—”
“Let me stop you there. I’m here for the few hours it’s going to take to film this and them I’m gone. There is nothing that interests me in Gilbert Corners.”
She tipped her head to the side and narrowed her eyes. “Not even your cousin at the GC Care Facility?”
He shook his head and put down the large knife he’d been sharpening as he leaned toward her, using all of his height and the menace of his scarred face and body to intimidate her. “Is that all?”
She swallowed; he saw her throat work, and she frowned for a minute before putting her hands on her hips. “You’re not a very nice man, are you?”
“I don’t have to be, I’m the Beast.”
“Tell you what, Beast, I’ll wager a weekend of having you help out around town that I can beat you at this competition.”
“What’s in it for me?”
“The gratitude of the people of Gilbert Corners.”
He rolled his eyes. “I meant what do I get if I win?”
Her hands dropped and she chewed her lower lip for a moment. “What do you want?”
As soon as she said that, an image of her naked on his bed flashed into his head, but he knew that wasn’t something he could say out loud. “You, for one romantic weekend.”
He saw a flush move up her neck to her cheeks.
“Me?” she squeaked.
“Yup. Take it or leave it.”
He had no doubt that she was going to be dropping her wager faster than a hot dish. She’d made a bold move and he’d countered. He turned back to check the other tools in his chef’s kit figuring that was the end of the conversation, but he felt the light touch of her hand on his forearm.
Another jolt of fire went straight through his body making his blood feel like it was flowing heavier in his veins.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“I accept your wager. Winner gets a weekend. You get romance, I get you volunteering and working around town,” she said. “Deal?”
He looked into those large brown eyes of hers and wondered what was so special about this town that she was willing to go through so much to try to get him to come back here. She held her hand out to him. Was it just her show? This felt more important, more personal to her than just a television show.
“Why is Gilbert Corners so important to you?” he asked.
“I hate to see a beautiful town like this abandoned and forgotten. We should be taking care of our past and our history,” she said.