“No. Vera, please, stay. You are welcome here anytime, even if Cara’s out of the office. Make yourself at home.”
I turned to Cara who was staring daggers at Eloise, and I chuckled softly. Was my princesa jealous? Surely not. She’s stated more than once how nothing will ever happen between us again. I knew that she was right, of course, and I respected her decision, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to enjoy myself by teasing her every chance I could until she told me to stop.
“Is there something you need, El?” Damn, I loved it when she was commanding. Her tone was clipped and she was absolutely jealous. My woman was feisty.
“Right. So, the construction company called. Something came up and they had to cancel your reno.”
“Great. Thanks El.” Cara blew out a breath and took a drink of her water, shaking her head slowly. Eloise didn’t say anything else as she left Cara’s office with a final look back at me.
“What was that about? Sorry to pry.”
“Oh, it’s fine. I’m trying to have my home office renovated and the construction team just bailed. I was hoping to have it done before I came back from Bali, but I don’t think that’ll happen now.”
“Damn, I’m sorry. I’d be more than happy to take a look.”
“That’s sweet, but… actually, could you? That would be helpful. If it’s not too much trouble.”
“Wait, you're actually letting me help? What’s the temperature in hell?” I smiled when she threw a wadded up napkin at me.
“Don’t make me change my mind. Can you come by sometime next week and quote me?”
I frowned. “Yes and no.”
“Oh. Okay, the week after?”
I laughed. “No, princesa. I meant yes, I can come by, but no, I won’t quote you.”
She shook her head. “Don’t even think about it. I’m not letting you work on my office for free. Let me pay you.”
I smiled, but tossed away the flirting line I was going to use, since I didn’t want to break any more rules today. “I don’t like rule number two, just so you know. Fine, I’ll quote you, but I’m going to be very unhappy about it.”
“I didn’t expect anything less.”
Chapter Eleven
CARA
“Well, well, well. Look who it is. Little miss, ‘butch isn’t my type, but I’m secretly dating the hottest butch in Seattle.’ It was that good, huh?” As soon as I opened the door and heard Drea’s voice, I knew going to the bookstore was a huge mistake. Why did I think I could get away with shopping in peace? I was a bigger idiot than I thought.
“Good morning, Dre. Don’t mind me. I’m just here to shop. I won’t bother you while you’re working.” I smiled sweetly, hoping she’d leave me alone.
“Take your time. Let me know if you need anything, love.” To an outsider, her smile was sweet and genuine, but to someone who knew her, it was anything but. I didn’t dare question it, though. I planned to take so long she’d have to go handle some business in another part of the store, far away from me.
As it turned out, she had all the time in the world. I literally walked around the store at a snail’s pace for almost two hours, and when I finally decided to check out, Drea happened to be handling the cash register. Drea and Drea alone. Wasn’t the boss supposed to be in their office and not up front? Where was the rest of her staff?
“Did you find everything you were looking for today?” she asked as she checked out my books.
I had picked up six since I couldn’t decide. A dark romance, two fantasy, and three contemporary romance books I’ve read on my e-reader, but wanted the physical trophies of.
“Yes,” I said hesitantly. “Thank you.”
She smiled. “Well, not everything, I suppose. We don’t carry sexy latina lesbians. Maybe I’ll look into it, though.” She winked.
“Jesus Christ. Get it off your chest, Dre.”
Her laugh was maniacal. “I’m sorry, love, but imagine my surprise when my fiancée comes home after visiting her bestie, to tell me a tale of how our dear spinster friend found the love of her life.”
“Wow. Your sarcasm just gets better with time, doesn’t it? How long have you had that one brewing in your head?”
