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He walked through the foyer and opened the door just as she had her hand raised to knock.
“You again,” he said and was annoyed even more when he had to work to keep his eyes from running all over her.
“That’s funny, I was about to say the same thing.”
He considered her words. Had she just made a joke?
He stepped out on the porch, closing the door behind him. Politeness dictated he ask her in. Especially since it was getting dark and cold. It might be March, but it was March in North Dakota, which meant a lot of wind, a lot of cold, and a lot of wildness. He found he really loved it here.
Even if the woman in front of him was annoying him.
That’s what this feeling of warmth and excitement meant. Annoyance.
If he kept telling himself that, he might start believing it.
The woman bit her lip and looked up at him from under her lashes. “I... I was talking to my son some after he got home from school today. And it’s kind of embarrassing to be shown up by a twelve-year-old, but he pointed out that I hadn’t acted in the best way, not the way I tell him to act and not the way I claim to believe. I didn’t need him to tell me that, because I already knew it, but once he pointed it out, he knew exactly what I needed to do.”
He didn’t interrupt her, in fact, was a little mesmerized by the movement of her lips.
He jerked his eyes away. Maybe he’d been alone too long if a woman came to his doorstep and all he could manage to do was stare at her lips.
Maybe he would go to the auction tomorrow night.
Of course he wouldn’t. He wasn’t going out the way he looked. Not ever again. In today’s modern world, he did not need to leave his house for anything, not even to pick up groceries.
Even in North Dakota.
“And I just wanted to say I was sorry. I got angry, and I shouldn’t have. It wasn’t right of me, and I wasn’t kind. I was hoping that you would still give me a chance to do the job. I...love books.”
Yeah. He might give her a chance to do the job. Not. Ever.
“You could start tomorrow.” Where had those words come from?
“Actually, I can’t start tomorrow.”
“Then forget it.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. It wasn’t hard to tell that his comment had made her angry. “Seriously? I have a business. I can’t just drop everything and be at your little beck and call. If I drop my business and lose it, when this job is over, I’ll have no way of making a livelihood for myself and my child. I can’t let that happen. I need to be a little bit more responsible, and I would think that you would understand that. It’s not like you’re offering me a full-time job.”
“Come tomorrow, or don’t come at all.”
“I will be here Friday night, and I will work until midnight.” With that, she lifted her head up, as though daring to challenge him, but she spun on her heel too fast for him to be able to do anything more than open his mouth. “If you need to talk to me, you may text Miss Charlene. And if you’re brave enough, you can go ahead and let her know that you don’t want me. Otherwise, I’ll see you Friday night.”
She stomped off the porch, stomped back down the walk, and yanked her car door open, shoving herself inside and starting the engine before her door was even closed.
If she put her seat belt on, it was while she was driving out his drive.
He smiled.
Then he laughed. How long had it been since he’d actually laughed out loud?
He had to say, he was looking forward to Friday.
