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Joyce swallows. “I’m breastfeeding. Trevor gets all my calories. Don’t try to change the subject. What’s it like living next door to the Chief?”
“Whoa, you’re living next door to the Chief?” Lucky repeats. “How did I miss that?”
Mostly because I haven’t talked about it. Joyce knows, of course, because her brother is our landlord, but I’ve avoided talking about it otherwise because… Well, I’m not really sure why. Except that I’m equal parts annoyed by and attracted to him, and even if we’ve taken the mortal enemy thing down a notch, I’m still not sure how I feel about him.
It’s easier just to not think about him at all.
I ignore Lucky’s question and answer Joyce’s. “He’s insufferable,” I sniff.
“Like how?” Bailey asks.
It’s a perfectly reasonable question, but as I scan my recent interactions with the Chief, I’m hard-pressed to come up with anything besides the box from Jezebel’s Cavern. I can’t mention that, though, because Bailey is sitting at the table with us.
He mowed the grass.
He took out the garbage.
He paid for coffee and cocktails.
He helped me bring in my books and listened to me read a children’s story to a class of fourth graders.
None of those really add up to He’s such a freaking jerk! At least not in a way that makes sense.
Then I remember. “Well, aside from trying to steal my building, he said I’m an entitled woman whose idea of hard work is reading a book.” My friends make appropriately horrified noises. “But he’s worried about Scarlett too, so we’re kind of on the same side, at least for now,” I concede.
An idea suddenly occurs to me. It’s sort of awful but it makes sense. “You know, I bet he’s flirting with me to get me off my guard.”
“He’s flirting with you?” Joyce looks up from the food she’s scarfing down. “Hold up. You didn’t tell me that.”
My face heats up. “Well, not flirting, exactly. He just… teases me sometimes.”
But the more I think about it, the more I wonder if there was an element of flirtation, not just teasing, in our exchanges over the Jezebel’s Cavern box or the check at the Cantina… and the less I trust it. Of course, I can’t tell them about Bailey’s gift, and I’m not sure I can describe the undercurrent of sexual tension that seems to flow through even our most innocent exchanges without sounding ridiculous.
It’s probably just me who feels it anyway. But the coffee, the cocktails, the compliments… It’s all starting to make sense.
The three of them are staring at me, waiting for me to say more. “Um, we’re going to need some details, please?” Lucky prompts.
“It’s hard to explain,” I say, “But now that I think about it, I bet he’s trying to charm me out of fighting for the Addison.”
Joyce shoots me a dubious look from across the table. “You really think he’s that sneaky?”
“Sneaky” doesn’t feel quite right. Whatever the Chief is, he’s pretty in your face about it. Still… “What else could it be?”
All three of them look at me funny now. “Maybe he’s actually flirting with you?” Lucky suggests. “There was definitely some chemistry between you guys.”
“I don’t think that’s it,” I reply with a laugh.
“Why not?” Joyce asks. “You’re totally hot.”
“You don’t need to worry about my self-esteem,” I assure her. “I’m attractive. I’m just not the type that someone like the Chief would go for.”
Which is true. I know I appeal to a certain type of guy. And I also know that the Chief is not that type.
Bailey shrugs. “I never would have thought I’d be Nikko’s type, but here we are.”
“The only surprise there is that someone as nice as you fell for a grouch like Nikko,” Lucky replies.
“He’s not a grouch!” Bailey leaps to his defense.
