“Does it have something to do with you taking his clothes off?”
Her head jerks up and she turns wide eyes on me. “Did he say something about it?”
“No, you mentioned it that first morning, remember?”
Her expression calms. “Oh yeah. That’s right.”
“So just because of one little incident like that, you’d refuse a job offer that would keep you closer to home and probably put more money in your pocket?”
“Well, the more money in my pocket thing remains to be seen. You don’t know how much he pays.”
“I can almost guarantee it would be enough to make it worth your while. His club is pretty big.”
“Hmmm,” she answers again.
“You should at least think about it. Unless you want me to force you again. I could carry you in there, you know.”
She looks over at me and smiles. And I want nothing more than to pull over and drag her into my lap.
“On second thought, maybe I’d rather you make me force you.”
What the hell are you doing, man?
She picks up her head off the head rest then cocks it to one side. “Are you flirting with me?”
I shrug. She’s very direct. I like that.
“Would you mind if I was?”
“Marissa is my cousin, you know.”
“But you can barely stand her.”
“That’s not the point. I’m not that girl.”
I look at her. And I don’t doubt her for one second. She might think Marissa’s a cold bitch, but she would never purposely do anything to hurt her.
“Believe it or not, I know you’re not. I’m a pretty good judge of character and I have no doubts you’re not that girl.”
Her brow wrinkles. “Then why are you flirting with me?”
She’s serious. She’s not smiling or teasing, but she’s not judging me either. She’s just curious.
I’m fascinated and, for one second, completely honest with her.
“I can’t seem to help myself.”
CHAPTER SEVEN- Olivia
How in the world did I let him talk me into this?
I’m standing in front of the main door of Dual. I look long and hard at the sign. I have to smile. Dual. Double. Two. Twins. It appears Cash is cheeky in every aspect of his life. And clever.
Dammit.
It’s broad daylight and the parking lot is empty. I’m having serious reservations about what I’m getting ready to do. Nash has pestered me about letting him get me a job at the club since Sunday night when my dad dropped me back at the apartment.
Even though it seems that Cash and Nash don’t get along very well at all, Nash offered to bring me by and officially introduce me to his brother. Stubborn idiot that I am, I refused to even consider the job. But now that the weekend approaches and I’m dreading going all the way back to Salt Springs to work at Tad’s, I’m feeling more optimistic about working for Cash. Unfortunately, Nash had to leave to go out of town again, so now I’m stuck going in alone. And I’m having second thoughts. Especially since the reason I’m most anxious to stick around town on the weekends is to see more of Nash, who is strictly off limits.
You’re such a dumb ass! Talk about flirting with disaster!
I sigh and shift my weight from foot to foot, debating what to do. I look longingly back at my car, the car that Nash had a mechanic come look at and fix before I even got back home on Sunday. Turns out it was something simple with a spark plug, I think he said. But still… He had it fixed.
I sigh.
It’s the possibility of seeing more of Nash, of him casually dropping by to check on me, that pushes me in the direction of the door.
I open it and walk into the dark interior. Even in the middle of the day, very little light shines in through the small, high windows.
The bar looks totally different without the wild lights and the wall-to-wall crush of bodies. The high tables are clean and empty, the black floors are polished to a shine, there is some kind of instrumental music pouring softly from the speakers and the only illumination in the whole room is the backlit liquor display cases behind the bar.
Nash said Cash would be here all day, but I’m beginning to think I should’ve had him set a specific time. I have no idea where to look for him.
My flip flops make a hushed flapping sound against my heels as I make my way across the room. I walk to the bar and pull out a stool to sit on, hoping Cash is keeping an eye on the place since the door was open.
I nearly swallow my tongue when Cash pops up from behind the bar. “You must be Olivia.”
“Holy mother of hell!” I say, grabbing my chest to still my racing heart.
He laughs. “With a mouth like that, you’ll fit right in here.”