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"You accuse me of the nicest things," he said with a teasing lilt in his voice.
"Don't worry, payback is coming."
Brady's eyes narrowed. "You mean me giving you use of the high school in exchange for helping me with the play?"
I shook my head, enjoying the suspicion in his expression. "Oh,no. Again, you extorted me into helping. You could have just asked. I might have done it out of the kindness in my heart. But you made it a condition of using the school, putting me in an impossible position."
"If I say I'm sorry, will you forgive me?" he asked.
"Maybe if I believed you meant it. After all, I'm not a monster. But…"
"Butwhat?" Brady asked, looking intrigued.
I pointed a finger at his chest.
"Best you gird your loins, Principal Gleason."
It wasn't bright to warn him ahead of time, but he'd been nice enough to feed me, so maybe he deserved a heads up. The idea had come to me while watching him with his students and wouldn't let go. Brady was going to learn averyimportant lesson.
"What does that even mean, "gird your loins"? I'll be honest, I've never known."
"Effectively? Hike up your pants and put on a belt."
"Are you trying to get meoutof my pants then?" Brady asked.
Sputtering, I muttered, "No," not liking it when he grinned unrepentantly.
Brady clasped his hands over his heart. "Ms. Pendleton. If you get me naked, Silvia Nemitz will have a pool going on us in no time."
"How did we go from me making veiled threats to you talking about us hooking up?" I asked, aghast to have lost control of the conversation.
I'd wanted to tease him about retribution for manipulating me into helping with the play, but he'd started with a half-assed apology and maneuvered me into merciless flirting.
And dammit, I couldn't even be mad.
His more relaxed side was fun to see up close. I didn't want to think about how much more fun we could have together. Especially pants-less.
"Are you hungry?"
Brady's abrupt change of topic made me wonder if there was an offer underlying the question.
My stomach growled on cue, prompting a chuckle from Brady.
"Asked and answered," he said mildly. "Why don't you grab bowls from the cabinet to the right of the sink. I'll gather glasses and see if I can find that wine."
Companionably, we moved around his kitchen, pulling together dinner.
I half-expected to carry our bowls into the living room and eat in front of the TV, but instead Brady pulled out placemats and cloth napkins, placing them on the kitchen table. In McDonald Grizzly colors no less.
I chuckled, unable to hold back my amusement as I took my spot next to him at the table. He was close enough that our knees brushed, and I hid the small shiver of excitement that I couldn’t quite repress.
"Brady, do you ever feel you take the principal thing too far?" I asked, hoping to distract myself from his nearness.
I took a bite of the savory stew, barely avoiding a moan of pleasure over how good it was.Of course, Brady Gleason could cook. Was there anything the man couldn't do?
"Easy, there, Tiger. You're not criticizing me for being a grown-ass adult with placemats, are you?"
"No-o," I said, holding back laughter at his mock-severe expression.
