I smirked. “Sure thing.”
While she did as she said, I rooted around the car, in the front of, under and down the sides of the passenger seat of my car for my phone. I’d shifted to see if somehow it had made it to the back when Avery knocked on my window. When she had my attention, she gestured with her thumb for me to get out.
As she was doing me a favor, I didn’t complain about not yet finding my phone. It was in the car somewhere. I’d find it later. I got out. I was about to offer my help again when she stopped me.
“I know how to do this. Please get in the truck and wait for me.”
“Yes, ma’am,” I said and gave her a brief salute, which I knew would piss her off. I couldn’t help myself. She was so damn cute when she had her mad face on.
It was about twenty minutes later when she got in the driver’s seat of her rig. Though she’d left it running, I hadn’t spotted a clock.
“I would have thought someone who’d grown up around here would know better than to drive a rear-wheel car in the winter.”
She was right, and I didn’t bother defending myself. “Thought I’d beat the storm. I was wrong.”
“I’d park your car until spring.”
Her dismissive tone rubbed me the wrong way. “Did I do something to make you hate me?”
“I don’t hate you. I don’t know you.”
“But you want to,” I said, deadpan.
“Do you think every woman will fall to her knees to be with you?”
“No. But the attitude you’re giving me suggests you’re fighting the urge to get on your knees.”
She didn’t even look at me when she spoke. “Your dick is not as appealing as you think it is.”
I shifted so I could look at her straight on and not have to angle my head. “You have seen the picture.”
“I’ve seen enough of you to know I’m not interested.”
It wasn’t as funny as it had been at the beginning. “Keep telling yourself that, babe.”
“I’m not your babe.”
“Nope. You damn sure aren’t.”
We said nothing else. But the ride wasn’t that long. She pulled down the road and past the gates that welcomed everyone to the ranch.
She pulled to a stop in front of the house. She pulled a tablet from a side pocket and clicked some keys. “I’ll send you the bill and you can pay using the link while I get your car off the flatbed. I hope this is a suitable spot.”
“I don’t have my phone,” I reminded her.
She pulled out a square device. “You can pay by credit card.”
“I need to see the bill,” I said. By this time, the hostility between us was at a fever pitch.
She did something on the device and handed it over. “Review and then you can pay.” She got out without waiting. And she turned off the rig this time, signaling me to get out as well.
I did and took the tablet in the house and reviewed. The bill was high, as she’d said. She’d likely screwed me on that. But I wasn’t in a position to argue. Had she not come along, I might have been stuck there for hours. I imagined tow trucks were in high demand with the snow coming down the way it was. We were used to bad weather, but this was next-level.
What I hadn’t checked was whether the generator for the house was working. It had just slipped my mind, as I’d been focused on getting a full house renovation done so quickly. Now that I had the battery, I could drive myself over to Aiden’s or the bed-and-breakfast if there were rooms if the worst happened.
Avery rapped on the door, and I took my time answering. She held out her hand, much like she’d done when she asked for her bracelet. I pulled my wallet from my back pocket and fished out my black AMEX.
“We don’t take American Express,” she said, sporting a smug smile.
I stopped myself from replying and instead fished out my visa.
She snagged it from my hand, clamped her mouth shut as if holding back a laugh. I wondered if she was pulling my chain about not accepting American Express. She stuck my card in the small square device she held. Then she pointed at the tablet I still held in my hand. “Sign, please.”
I did, and then I stepped closer because I caught her eyeing my mouth. “Tell me you don’t want me to kiss you right now.”
She bit her lip and damn her, that was all the confirmation I needed. I extended my arm and set the tablet on a table that was next to the door, where I deposited my keys. Then I took the final step forward, leaving no distance between us. I cupped her face, giving her time to stop this, before I bent my head and kissed her.