“Hang on just a hot minute. I am not stressing her out.”
His head turned one way, then another. “Where is she?”
“She’s relaxing in the hot tub, and I’m taking the tea out to her. Three bucks for the swear jar.”
He did a double take, then pinned his eyes on her. “How so?”
She counted off on her fingers. “Two bucks for ‘shit,’ and a buck for ‘ass.’ That’s what Liz told me.”
“Wait. Did she give you a price sheet or something to torture me with? And ‘ass’ is not a swear word.”
Sarah gave him an exasperated eye-roll. “No, she didn’t give me a price sheet, but she did make me put a few bucks in for ‘shit’ a little while ago. Oh, wipe that ridiculous smirk off your face.”
His dark eyebrows quirked. “And she pegged you for ‘ass’ at the same time?”
“No, just the one word, but she said lesser swear words are a buck.” She paused a beat. “Is ‘ass’ really not a swear word?”
“Nope. Know why? I could say, ‘That woman has a very fine ass,’ and I wouldn’t be swearing, whereas ‘shit’ is ‘shit.’ It’s a pure swear word.”
“That’s ridiculous. You could also say, ‘You look like shit,’ but you wouldn’t be swearing.”
He pointed at her. “Two bucks.”
“No! That was an example.”
“Technicality.” He shrugged. “And speaking of money, do you use Zelle? I need to deposit your first paycheck.”
Sarah couldn’t stop her mouth swinging open. “I just got here. You’re supposed to pay in arrears, not in advance.”
He shook his arms and rolled his neck in a loosening-up motion. “Well, I’m paying in advance. And I have a feeling you’re going to need every penny for the swear jar, toots.”
A phone rang—it was an old-fashioned kind of ring—and he slid a device from his pocket. Huh. Which of his two phones is that one, I wonder?
“Aw, shit!” He shot her a warning glare. “Don’t say it.” He pressed a button and put the phone to his ear, barking, “Now what?”
Sarah took it as her cue to clear out, and she carried the mug outside to Liz, who looked as though she were being blissfully boiled in steaming bubbles. “Here you go.”
Liz flashed her a happy smile. “Aw, thanks, doll.”
Sarah had grown up wary, thanks to her mother drumming daily messages into her head that most people—especiallymen—were only interested in what they could get from you. As a result, she didn’t usually bond with people quickly, and certainly not people of her mom’s generation. But this woman? Inwardly, Sarah admitted she’d already developed a big soft spot for her. She was drawn to Liz’s smarts and her lively spirit. As Sarah watched her take a careful sip, two things occurred to her. One, why couldn’t her mom be more like Liz? And two, how could someone like Liz raise a womanizing, conceited, pretty boy like Quinn?
A pretty boy who wanted to pay Sarah early. Okay, so he wasn’t all bad. Then again, with what he got paid, he could afford to be generous. Oh shit! Is he getting paid? No play, no pay? She had no idea.
“I’ll come back and help you when it’s time to get out, okay?” Sarah leaned down to pat Archer, who lay on the hot tub decking.
“Take your time. I’m in no hurry.” Liz made a shooing motion with her hand.
Sarah eyed the phone within Liz’s reach. “Just call or text if you need an early rescue from prune skin.”
Back inside, Quinn was still on the phone. He was shaking his head, unknowingly flicking his wet strands, and his face was a study in frustration. “Yeah, I get it,” he huffed. “Right. I’ll make sure I’m ready.” A beat passed. “Oh, don’t you worry. I’ll be wearing the biggest fucking smile you’ve ever seen.” He grumbled a good-bye and hung up.
Sarah decided to hold on to the swear jar snark itching to leap from the tip of her tongue. “Troubles in Sparkyland?”
A distant look haunted his eyes. He dragged a hand over his face, which was when she noticed his dark whiskers. Nice. No! Not nice. “I guess there’s no point keeping it quiet. You’ll find out, if Gage hasn’t already mentioned it.” He told her about slapping microphones at a press conference.
A laugh like the crack of a whip escaped her. “What are you, five fucking years old?”
His eyebrows knotted together in a fierce glower.
“You gotta admit, even for you that was really dumb.”
“What do you mean, ‘even for me’? Never mind. Management agrees because now I have to do this PR connect-with-the-fans virtual interview thing in a few days. And apologize to the stupid-as-fu—reporter.” His shoulders sagged, and he nodded his head solemnly. She almost felt sorry for him. “Hindsight’s twenty-twenty,” he groused.
Says the man who seems to live by impulse.
His head snapped to hers, and his eyes zeroed in on her. “Did you say something?”
“Me? Nope. I was just wondering where your second phone was.”
His head did a little jerky shake thing. “My what?”
“Your other phone. The one you had on you last night. What’s it for?”
“Jesus Christ, you’re nosy.”
Yeah, none of her business, but she couldn’t resist needling him. “Does ‘Jesus Christ’ fit in the swear word category?”
“No. And speaking of Mom, why’s her wheelchair in the family room and she’s outside in the hot tub?”
“Well, she says her legs felt pretty good after the stretching, and she wanted to walk to the hot tub and back. I thought that was a good sign, so I encouraged her.”
A look of alarm spread over his features. “You weren’t just planning on leaving her out there, were you?”
“Of course not! What do you take me for?”
His lips quirked. “Don’t even get me started.”
Her mad-o-meter started to climb, and she narrowed her eyes at him. Why did this guy get to her anyway?
He took a step
