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“Obvious?” He stared at her with confusion. “What was obvious?”
She scowled at him, then looked away. “Never mind.”
“No, you can’t just say something like that and get to tell me to forget it. What did I ever do to you?”
She shut her eyes and sighed. “You’re right. I guess I’m just tired.”
He peered at her once more, wishing he could read between the lines, figure out why there was such animosity from her. But that was wishful thinking.
They sat there in silence much like they had at the barn. All she wanted him for was to be a laborer, but he couldn’t see them spending the next several months together without at least getting on good terms.
The waitress returned with their food. First, she placed a plate in front of Ella, then in front of Lucas. She winked before she said, “Let me know if there’s anything else I can get for you. Enjoy.”
Ella groaned, picking up her fork.
“What?” Lucas glanced at her. “Is something wrong with your food?”
“No. It’s fine.” Her focus darted toward the waitress, then back to Lucas before she leaned forward with a whisper. “Don’t you get tired of it?”
“What? Burgers?”
“No. The flirting.” She nodded toward the waitress. “Don’t you think it’s obnoxious? What if we were on a date? What makes her think she can just flirt with you?”
Lucas stared at her for what felt like a full minute before he laughed, causing her to straighten. Her expression remained irritated, and he sobered, although his voice was still light. “You’re not serious.”
When she blinked a few times, he laughed again, but it was harder this time.
“Youareserious. Is that what this is about? You didn’t like that she was being nice to me?” His hand landed on the table with a thud. “That’s it, isn’t it?” Lucas leaned forward, prepared to tease her into oblivion. She deserved it, after the way she’d been treating him.
Ella blinked again. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Boy, it must be hard for you to see people being nice to me. Do you hate me that much?”
“I don’thateyou.”
“Yes, you do. Ever since you showed up today, that’s all you’ve been showing me—hatred. Come to think of it, I can’t remember a single kind word you had to say to me.” He leaned back in his chair and smirked at her. “The ironic thing is that you probably don’t even think you’re being mean.”
Her mouth hung open now. Initially, a part of him could find amusement in the irony. But then it hit him hard. They were going to be working together for the unforeseeable future. He didn’t know if he’d be capable of dealing with this kind of abuse from her on a daily basis.
He’d made his decision—he was going to stay. There was no backing out now. They were stuck together whether or not either one of them wanted it.
Lucas’s amusement faded from his face, and he jabbed his finger into the wooden tabletop. “I get it. You don’t like me for whatever reason. That’s fine. I don’t have to like you either. ButI’m not going to allow you to treat me with anything less than respect.”
Ella’s mouth closed slowly, then pressed into a tight line.
“No more making snide comments. No more telling me that you don’t want to work with me. It’s old hat. And you can stop looking at me like that, while we’re at it.”
She snorted, looked away, schooled her features and stared at him blankly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Lucas muttered. He’d tried to be nice. He was making an effort, wasn’t he? Grabbing his fork, he stabbed at his salad. Without looking up at her, he said, “I’ll make it easy on you. We don’t have to talk unless absolutely necessary. No small talk. Nothing besides work.”
“Great.”
They ate in silence for the rest of the meal. Every so often he shot a look at her across the table and his thoughts went rogue. What was it about him that she hated so much? He couldn’t remember a single time in his life when he’d done anything to her or any of her friends.
There had been some guys in his grade who made snide comments about others, but he didn’t recall Ella being one of those victims. It probably didn’t matter anyway. One of his friends in particular, didn’t live locally, but he would have been the ringleader of their little group.
“What?” Ella demanded.
