Mr. Parker ignored me and held out his hand to Rico. “Glad to have you here, son. I think it’s a leak or may be low on coolant.”
Rico raised his eyebrows and glared at the older man. “You should direct your concerns to Ms. Hannon. I don’t know the first thing about fixing air conditioning units just yet.”
Parker made a sound of dissent but turned toward me. He explained what he thought it was, but his tone of voice was decidedly frostier.
I could live with frosty. It was annoying that it had taken Rico saying something to get Parker to behave, but at least he was talking to me. Having Rico around might not have been as bad as I expected it to be. Parker hadn’t said anything about me not being able to do the job, at least. I’d expected him to.
In the two years since I started my business, I’d dealt with snide comments from men constantly. It hadn’t been enough to keep me down, obviously, since my business was still growing by leaps and bounds, but a lot of that had to do with the fact that there wasn’t another maintenance business in the Black Claw city limits, and the next closest one had a waiting list a mile long.
Unfortunately, Parker was right. A small leak and easy fix once we ran back to the shop for what we needed. I would’ve preferred he’d been wrong even if that had meant the job was harder, but that was just my pride talking.
By the time we got him all fixed up, we were both starving. “Did you bring lunch?” I asked.
I hadn’t. I packed my lunch most days but had completely forgotten it, sitting on the counter this morning. Man, but I hated it when I did that.
“No, but I’m starving,” he said. “Got something in mind?”
I shrugged. “The diner is closest.”
He agreed, so we headed there for a late lunch after cleaning up at Parker’s. Thank goodness his job was quick and now over.
As soon as we walked into the door, I knew it was a mistake. Every eye in the place swung toward us. Damn it. They were all interested in who was out with the most eligible Kingston. None of them had ever been remotely interested in me or what I did.
Ah, when I thought about it that way, it made sense. They all wondered what I was doing with a Kingston. It wasn’t just that he was here, but that he was here with me. Of all people, I was the least likely to have a Kingston go out for a late lunch with me.
They’d figure it out soon enough and stop staring, so I tried my best to ignore it today. We grabbed an empty booth. Rico slid in across the noisy plastic and looked around. “I haven’t been in here before,” he muttered.
My jaw dropped. “How is that possible? We only have three places to eat in Black Claw. Four if you count a sandwich from the grocery store deli counter. Here, the ice cream parlor, and the fancy restaurant that’s technically outside of town.”
The server, a girl I’d known all my life, Cynthia, came by and took our orders. How I loathed her. If I’d known she was working here, I would’ve suggested sandwiches from the grocery store first.
Rico ordered two cheeseburgers and fries while Cynthia simpered at him and pressed her boobs together so her cleavage would be more prominent. I struck down the urge to remind her that it was a family-friendly diner. When she turned her eyes to me, I plastered a fake smile on my face. “Chicken salad and fries, please.”
Cynthia leered. “Hello, Kara. How are you?”
I sighed. “Fine, thanks.”
“Still seeing that woman?” Cynthia beamed at me with her perfect teeth and a perfect dimple in her perfect cheek. Too bad she was ugly on the inside.
I stared at her blankly. I had no idea what the fuck she was talking about. “Excuse me?”
“Weren’t you dating some woman from Aurora? I would’ve thought you’d have moved to the big city by now, where they’re more...” She tapped her chin. “Accommodating to women of your particular tastes and abilities.” Her glittering smile turned hard. She knew she’d provoked me. She knew it pissed me off.
But no. I was not about to sit here and let this horrible woman bully me. “No. I’m not dating a woman and I never was. And if you want to flirt with my employee, you can do it when he’s not on the clock.”
Rico’s eyes went wide as Cynthia tossed her hair back dramatically. “I’m not flirting.” Her tone of voice begged to differ. Then she winked at Rico. Of all the brazen bullshit. I didn’t give a shit who he flirted with, though if he ended up going out with Cynthia, I’d lose all respect for his ability to choose a partner.
But I wasn’t in high school anymore, and Cynthia was no longer the bully that tormented me. I didn’t have to sit here and put up with anything, least of all her snide comments. “Come to think of it, I don’t think we’ll have lunch here,” I said. “I can’t trust you not to spit in our food.” I stood and looked at Rico, who had wide eyes. “Care for a sandwich from the grocery store?”
He jumped up and pulled out his wallet. “Sure,” he said. He threw a five down on the table. “To cover our drinks.”
“I should’ve expected this from a woman with no mother.” Cynthia sniffed and pointed her nose in the air as we walked past her.
“Hey,” Rico said sharply. “Lots of people grow up without mothers and they turn out just fine. You should mind your own fucking business.”
I grabbed Rico’s shirt sleeve and tugged him down the aisle. “Thanks,” I whispered. “But you don’t have to defend me.”
He growled low in his throat and
