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She took a step back. “Is this— Are you trying to flirt with me?”
He laughed, a deep, glorious bass, and she didn’t know whether to be insulted or not. When he closed the freezer, he leaned in, one hand on the cabinet over her head. “Oh honey, if I ever decide to flirt with you, you’ll know it.”
She sucked in a breath. Damn, the man was pure sin and sex when he wanted to be.
He pulled back and nodded. “Now go on upstairs and put on something tight and sexy. We’re leaving in fifteen. You’re gonna drink some tequila, let loose, and have some fuckin’ fun tonight.”
“Doctor’s orders?” She arched an eyebrow.
He grinned that sexy grin of his again. “You bet your ass.”
She just shook her head at him and left the kitchen. The other guys called out to her as she walked through the den and she smiled and waved back.
She considered just going upstairs and tucking herself in bed with her e-reader. But then she thought about how Mack had distracted her from how miserable she’d been feeling moments before he’d come in the kitchen. If she stayed home tonight, she’d just retreat back in her head and get all stupid and self-involved again.
So, with that in mind, she walked to her closet and shoved aside all the practical, farm-worthy clothes and pulled one of the few dresses she’d brought off its hanger. She breathed out and bit her bottom lip as she undressed and then pulled the slinky black dress over her head.
When she’d ordered her work boots off Mel’s Amazon account, she’d also used the opportunity to order all the basics she might need. On impulse, she’d used the last of her money to throw a cute little pair of strappy black pumps into her cart.
She slipped them on and they fit perfectly. She went to the bathroom and tried not to look at herself too closely. She leaned in just long enough to apply some mascara and lipstick. She hesitated only a second before choosing her siren red lipstick. Because why the hell not? She was going to go have fun, dammit.
She rubbed her lips together and then popped them. She stood up, allowing herself one look at the full effect. Her hair was mostly dry and not too much of a disaster. She pulled it up and looked at her face left and right, puckering her mouth.
And for once… the woman reflected back at her actually looked sort of… pretty.
She spun away from the mirror, shaking her head at the strange thought. Grabbing her purse, she opened her door.
Well, here went nothing.
Chapter Twelve
HUNTER
Hunter scrubbed a towel through his damp hair as the microwave beeped. He tossed his towel on one of the chairs at his dining room table as he went to retrieve his food. A real dinner of champions. Microwaved beef lo mein. Oh yeah, he was living the life.
“Ow, shit.” He dropped the steaming hot tray to the counter, then shook out his stinging hand. He grabbed a kitchen towel and used that to hold it still while he peeled back the lid. More steam erupted and he grabbed a fork.
It was pretty tasteless shit but nobody bought Mr. Foo’s Instant Beef Lo Mein if they were looking for an amazing culinary experience. He stood at the counter and wolfed down the food as fast as he could without burning his mouth.
He was done with it all too fast. He looked at the clock. 9:00. He ran a hand through his damp hair and looked around his empty cabin.
Late evening was always the worst time of day.
He tossed his empty food container in the trash, grabbed a cold beer, then headed for the living room. Flipping through the channels was less than inspiring. Red-faced people bitching about politics. Stupid reality TV shit. Who’d be next to be voted off the yacht? Here’s an idea—anybody pretentious enough to be on a show called Hot for the Yacht.
Next. He finally came across a baseball game.
He settled in to watch. He’d already missed half of it and while usually a game was enough to distract him from shit well enough, today he couldn’t seem to get his mind off of a certain dark-haired beauty.
Isobel had given it her all today with the colicky horse. He could see how upset she’d been when they’d left without being able to give a positive prognosis. She might be a city girl but she did have a way with animals. He’d peeked in on her at the clinic a few times—just to make sure she wasn’t screwing up his practice. But she’d been doing great each time. Treating both the animals and their human owners with compassion, intelligence, and understanding.
He tipped his head back on the couch and took a long swallow of beer.
Truth was, what had seemed so simple—trying to alienate her so she’d leave quicker—was turning out to be much more difficult than he’d bargained for. Not to mention he hadn’t counted on feeling like such an asshole about the whole thing.
Which was bullshit. He was the one in the right.
She’d lied to him and then foisted herself on him as his intern when he clearly hadn’t wanted it.
