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Mav’s shoulders slump in relief and I realize I should have kept my big mouth shut. Idiot. We need to move on. While standing in an enclosure with a dozen fennec foxes is not the time to re-hash the past.
“So, what? You’re going to come out here and help me every day? Let me guess. You’ll keep coming around until I agree to give you a second chance.”
In which case, he’ll be coming around forever.
“Or until you agree to go out on a date with me.”
“A date? As in we’ll order take-out and watch television on your sofa?”
This is what we always end up doing and it doesn’t exactly spell date. Not when the man is used to wining and dining at the best eating establishments Hollywood and LA have to offer.
“Nope. I’m taking you out to a restaurant.”
“In public?”
His brow wrinkles. “Yes, in public. Restaurants are public places after all.”
“But you don’t want to be seen out with me.”
“Do you think I’m ashamed of you?”
Of course, I do. He’s never wanted to be seen in public with me before. What am I supposed to think? Except that I’m his dirty little secret. The woman he’s too embarrassed to escort in public because she’s a hick who spends her days cleaning animal crap.
“June Bug,” he growls his nickname for me, and butterflies explode in my stomach. I rub a hand over my middle. Knock it off. He’s still the man who cheated on us. The butterflies don’t seem to care as they flap their wings.
“I’m not ashamed of you.”
I snort. “Whatever. We need to get to work.”
“What’s it going to take for me to convince you to go on a date with me?”
Hell freezing over.
When I don’t respond, he pushes. “What about if we make a wager? If I win, I have the privilege of escorting you to dinner. We can go to the brewery with the dinner we won for the egg hunt at the Eostre festival.”
“We won? I’m fairly certain I was the one who used the skirt on my ridiculous outfit to gather the eggs.”
“We were a team. I kept Ashlyn too occupied to hunt eggs, remember?”
I do remember. I remember the two of them whispering together. “What were you talking about with my baby sister?”
He smirks. “Sorry, top secret. Restricted to need to know.”
Whatever. They can have their secrets. I don’t care. Besides, Ashlyn can’t keep a secret to save her life.
“What do you want to wager on?”
He opens his arms wide. “Ask me anything about the Wildlife Refuge. If I can’t come up with the answer, you win.”
I tap my toe. “How about if I ask you to perform a few tasks?”
And I know just the perfect task.
“Go for it.”
I open my mouth to respond, but he stops me.
“Do you agree to the terms of the bet?”
