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“Why? Are you a vampire and you’re going to change me if don’t leave?” She gave a little laugh. “Now that sounds interesting. A blood-sucking vampire who wants me to become one of his brides.”
She gave a toss of her long blonde hair and turned back to the cookbook, hoping he would go away. Maybe if she ignored him, he would depart.
Glancing around the kitchen, she didn’t want to leave. This was a dream kitchen setup and she could just imagine all the lovely dishes she was going to make in here, without Tanner Burnett.
She heard his footsteps walking up behind her and she whirled around to face him again, wishing he would just leave her alone. He stood less than a foot away from her. Close enough she could smell his tantalizing man smell. She could feel the tension radiating from him.
And the urge to reach up, wrap her arms around his neck, and pull him to her, was strong. But that wasn’t going to happen.
“Here,” he said approaching her. “You can find another job and—”
The timer on the oven went off. She pushed past him and pulled the apple crisp out to check the crust.
Perfect.
The kitchen filled with the smell of cooked apples and cinnamon.
She put the second one in and set the timer again. Both of them would be finished in time for the dinner in two hours.
When turning back to him, he shoved a piece of paper in her hand.
“Please be gone by tomorrow morning,” he said and walked away.
She gazed down at the paper. It was a check for five thousand dollars. Rage filled her as she thought of what she’d gone through to come here.
Oh, hell no.
Stomping after him, she followed him into the dining room, which was thankfully empty.
“No, I’m not leaving,” she cried out.
He whirled back around to face her.
Staring at him, she crossed her arms across her chest. “Are you such a weakling that one night of sex is going to ruin a working relationship? Unless your aunt fires me, I’m not going anywhere. I’m perfectly fine working beside you, knowing that we made a mistake that night. Believe me, I’m never going to think about it again or mention it to anyone. How you decide to handle it is up to you.”
He turned red as he glared at her. “I’m not a weakling.”
“Then why am I, a small petite woman, causing you so much terror? I moved over twelve hundred miles for this job. All I want to do is cook. I don’t give a damn about you and your penis. Just leave me alone and we’ll get along just fine.”
A door slammed somewhere.
“You can’t be here,” he said and she didn’t understand why.
“Are you planning on murdering me?”
“No, it’s just that I suffer from…”
“From what? One-night standitis? Fragile penis syndrome? Fear of women? Tell me what about me is so frightening and I’ll be sure not to do it. But I’m not leaving.”
With that, she tore up the check and threw it at him.
Just as she was turning to walk away, she heard him say, “I suffer from PTSD.”
Turning, she sighed. “Well, suck it up, buttercup. So do a lot of people. So did my dead husband. At least you’re stillalive.”
With a heavy heart, she returned to the kitchen. John’s episodes had been horrible. And somehow, she’d had sex with a man who suffered from the same disease.
God, she hated war. She hated what it did to people. She hated how it ripped a hole in your soul and left you feeling empty. How it took the man you loved and left you hollow while the whole town celebrated his life.
And all she could do was wish he’d never gone back to that damn war.
The memory of standing over John’s grave while the military did a twenty-one-gun salute wrenched her heart.
Taking a deep breath, she threw open the fridge, more determined than ever to make this a great meal. It could be her last one here at the ranch, but it would be a damn good one.
One that even Tanner would enjoy.
