Maverick’s tense shoulders relaxed slightly.
For several moments, no one said a word. The fire popped and hissed in the background. I didn’t dare look at JJ. If Mark didn’t put a weekly cap on my hours, I could potentially speed through this while the Frolicking Moose got sorted out. Not to mention earn some money to get my life back together. It would give me something besides Pinnable—and all my lost books—to focus on for a while.
Right now, my grieving mind desperately needed a focus.
“I want weekly pay,” I said.
“You got it.”
“Since my car is currently swimming with fishes, can I bum rides to come into town?”
“Of course.”
“At least twice a week? I want to come see Shane and help Bethany.”
“I’ll bring you,” JJ said immediately.
Some intensity hadn’t burned off of him yet, and I wished it wasn’t from the fire. But of course it was from the fire, because JJ had sworn himself to bachelorhood—he wasn’t feeling anything toward me.
Filled with even more surreal disbelief, I kept my gaze on Mark. Was this happening? Was I about to agree to this?
Yes. Yes, I was.
Not only would I be working for Mark Bailey, I’d basically live with JJ. The man of my most sacred, secret dreams. The person who tangled my heart into knots but still convinced it to beat. Who had no idea about my wild crush.
The man who didn’t believe in romance.
Now that I was still determined to change. And if this wasn’t a worthy opportunity to convince him of the error of his ways, I didn’t know what was.
All the breath rushed out of me at once. I nodded.
“Then I’ll take it. Thank you, Mark.”
Mark grinned and stuck a hand out. “Welcome to Adventura, Lizbeth. We’re happy to have you.”
12 JJ
“You were right.”
Mark said it as the Zombie Mobile ambled around a tight corner away from Lizbeth’s house. The headlights illuminated a snow-packed dirt road with dark trees on either side. A knot had taken up residence in my stomach. Surely, the unease I felt had more to do with inviting a new person into our world, not with that new person being Lizbeth.
“About what?” I asked.
“Lizbeth. She’ll be good for this.”
“You didn’t seem convinced at first that hiring her would be a good idea,” I said.
“I wasn’t. But then I thought about the way she presented herself after almost dying. Her general disposition. The fact that she has a really intense degree and a few weeks to spare. It fit. Also, I think you have the hots for her.”
He looked at me as he said it, but I kept my expression unchanged and pretended to ignore him. Of course Mark had noticed.
Whether he’d keep it to himself or not was the real question.
“I don’t have the hots for her. I’m . . . intrigued by her opinions on romance.”
“Right,” he drawled.
I punched him.
He laughed. “She’ll be good,” he said in the tone that meant he’d already convinced himself. “This is smart. I feel good about this direction. I thought you were insane about offering forty dollars an hour, but now I see your point. Website design is specialized. Mav would never have let her come for less, I bet. The fact that he didn’t counter meant something. I mean, did you see the looks he gave us? That guy would destroy us if we ever laid a finger on her.”
“But that would never be a problem,” I said in a controlled tone.
Mark grinned. “You do have the hots for her, bro. Niiiice.”
My suggestion of forty dollars an hour had been legitimate—Mark needed to get all of that paperwork out of the office. He needed an online presence to satisfy antsy investors. Finding someone else to come all the way to Adventura wasn’t likely. Nor was I at all interested, nor the person for the job.
But planting the idea of Mark hiring Lizbeth had been somewhat selfish on my part. Adventura had been bleak in the days following her visit. Now she’d lost everything and needed a job.
There had to be arithmetic here that led to this being a good idea, but I couldn’t find it.
Silently, I cursed that deep part of me that wanted to protect Lizbeth. Because why? Of all the people on this planet, we would likely be the worst suited. Her unusual, bright innocence. My jaded logic. A relationship with such a polar opposite could slowly shave away all that made her who she was.
“You’re still good getting her cabin squared away?” Mark asked, drawing me from my thoughts. “I bet Mav drops her off right on time in the afternoon after she goes shopping for clothes in Jackson City. She seems like the punctual type.”
“Of course.”
“Better get some mousetraps.” He flashed a grin as he pulled onto the highway that led to the canyon. “She doesn’t seem like the rodent-tolerant kind.”
“Can do.”
Maybe this was just utter selfishness on my part because I wanted to be around her more. See if I could gently let her down and help her realize that romance wasn’t worth the heartbreak that followed. Because my path had been dark, and maybe hers didn’t have to be.
Regardless, a part of me couldn’t help but look forward to tomorrow.
13 Lizbeth
My first day at Adventura started like a fireworks show.
In a cabin.
In the middle of the forest.
With leaky gas tanks.
And three feet of snow piled outside.
I arrived loaded down with bags of clothes charged to Maverick’s credit card as a gracious I’m-sorry-your-life-burned-down gift. He’d thrown in a couple of new books for good measure, even though I’d stopped at
