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Fuck.
Well, in for a penny and all that shit. “How could younotthink she’s hot? Have you never looked at her face? Have you not noticed that she’s built like a goddamn wet dream? The girl’s nearly six feet tall, miles of legs, and—”
“Okay, stop.” Quinn waved his hands. “You’re making me uncomfortable. Look, I may think of Roxie as a little sister, but she’s not my sister, and I do have two eyes. Although I haven’t dwelled on her body as much as you apparently have, I will acknowledge that Roxie is attractive. And she knows it, too.”
Joe shrugged. “Yeah, well, it’s one thing for her to know it, but it’s another thing entirely for her to knowIknow it. Believe me, O’Conner, I’m not gonna do anything about it because that would just be a fucking disaster. So please, Quinn, I’m asking you—on our thirty-seven-year friendship—please don’t tell Alex.”
“You think you can play the friendship card?”
“You bet your ass I can play it.” He stuck his hand out. “Deal?”
Quinn smirked and took Joe’s outstretched hand. “Fine. Deal.”
* * *
Roxie released a long breath and rubbed her temples when the front door closed behind Mrs. Bonnie Green. Getting punched in the face aside, no one could make her head throb quite like Bonnie. She was the mayor’s wife, but to hear the woman tell it, she was the first lady of Hudson Island. Regrettably, Bonnie was also one of her best catering customers. A damn shame.
Reverting her attention to the man waiting patiently in line, Roxie bit back a groan. Jeremy Neville.Great.
She took back everything she’d thought about Bonnie. This man was number one on her headache-inducing list. And unfortunately for her, Sheila was busy talking with a couple of customers in the dining area, and Nina was in the kitchen prepping for tonight’s catering event.
Straightening her shoulders, she put on a friendly smile.Focus, Roxie! You’re a businesswoman first and foremost, dammit.She tried her hardest to stop her eyes from rolling at the look of horror that crossed Jeremy’s face. She wasn’t quite sure she’d succeeded.
“Before you say anything,” Roxie began as she poured his customary cup of drip coffee, “it looks worse than it actually is.”
“Yikes. Please tell me that the other person looks worse. What on earth happened?” He ran a hand through his dark-brown hair and flashed her a smile she assumed was supposed to be charming. It wasn’t. It took everything she had to keep her smile in place.
Jeremy was a nice guy. She knew for a fact that lots of women on the island found him attractive. But he was like an overeager puppy. One that was neither cute nor cuddly. He reeked of douchey cologne, used too much hair product, wore tacky gold jewelry, and had an obvious fake tan. It was winter in the Pacific Northwest, for god’s sake. Who did he think he was fooling?
“Unfortunate accident with the new housemate,” she said, handing over his coffee as she rang up his order.
“Unfortunate, indeed. But hey, it’ll take more than a few bruises to dim your beauty, gorgeous.” He flashed her another toothy grin and handed over a crisp ten-dollar bill. “No change. Do you have plans for dinner tonight?”
It had been the same damn question day after day. For weeks. The guy was persistent, she’d give him that.
“I have a catering event tonight.” An event she’d scheduled down to the minute and was going to be handled by Nina—withoutRoxie, for once—but Jeremy didn’t need to know that.
“What about tomorrow night?”
God, if you’re listening, please make this end. Make the phone ring. Let locusts descend upon the town. Flash flood. Anything. Amen.
“I’m flattered, Jeremy. But like I’ve said before, it’s been really busy, and I just don’t have the time.”
“Surely you get a day off now and again?”
Her smile was beginning to hurt. “Actually, I don’t. I guess that’s the downside to being your own boss.”
“I suppose I can see your point there. But if you let me take you out just once, I promise you’ll have a great time. I can be patient, you know.” He winked and headed for the door, calling over his shoulder, “I’ll see you tomorrow. Same time, same channel.”
At that, she couldn’t keep her eyes from rolling. Hard. Luckily, he was already outside.
“You have to hand it to him,” Sheila said as she returned to the counter. “The man’s determined.”
Roxie groaned. “More like unrelenting.”
“Oh, come on. What’s the deal? Jeremy’s a nice guy. He obviously likes you, he’s rich, and on top of it all, he’s not hard on the eyes. At all.”
“Then you go out with him.”
