“Actually, my favorite team really is the Broncos. And if you want to survive another day here, yours better be too. I just said that back then to see if you were paying attention, workaholic.”
“I haven’t been able to stomach a Packers game since. And no matter what the insane people in this town come up with, I’m not leaving, Meg.”
Yeah. That was what she was afraid of. Because Josh was like a vanilla ice cream cone dipped in chocolate on a hot summer’s day.
Hard to resist.
After he finished his morning shave, Josh poked at the puffy skin around his eye. The color palette varied in shades from toad green to puke yellow and his nose was still swollen. It might be a good thing he wasn’t meeting Haley today. He’d probably scare her.
He’d wanted to tag along with Megan for the day, spend some time with her, but she’d shut that idea down quick enough. But after reminding her of their deal, she’d reluctantly agreed to meet him for a drink to discuss their terms more fully at a place called Brewster’s after Haley went to bed.
Maybe he’d even dance with her. Dancing sucked, but it’d give him an excuse to put his hands on her.
He pulled the door closed behind him and headed down to the lobby for breakfast. When the elevator doors opened, he spotted a woman herding a bunch of kids toward the dining room. After reasoning with a cranky child, she looked up at him. When she noticed his battered face her eyes widened.
His probably did too. It was Angelina Jolie.
A sudden sharp pain in his left arm nearly brought him to his knees. Casey squeezed a hand around his bandaged arm as she led him into the kitchen. “I’ll serve you breakfast in here today.”
“Take it easy, will you?”
Casey released her death grip. “Your face looks so bad, I forgot all about your arm. Have a seat at the island.”
Megan’s Rottweiler sister had probably chosen his bad arm on purpose.
He pulled out a stool, hoping Casey wouldn’t resort to sprinkling rat poison on his food next. “So, why are all these celebrities here? Some special event?”
She crossed her arms. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I’ve seen them all—”
“Our chef will make whatever you like. What’ll it be?”
Another brick wall. Must be where Megan got her stubbornness from.
“Anything?” What the heck. “How about a cheese omelet, bacon, hash browns, toast, a side of pancakes, orange juice, and milk?”
“Fine, just stay here in the kitchen, Granger.” She frowned at him and leaned closer. “What are your plans for today?”
“Not sure yet. Why am I banished to the kitchen?”
“So I can keep an eye on you.”
More like so he wouldn’t scare off the celebrities with his face.
Casey scurried to the other side of the room and talked to Dax, their chef. What kind of name that was he didn’t know, but the guy was the first sane person in Anderson Butte he’d met. He’d stayed and shared a sandwich and a few beers with Dax last night after the kitchen had closed down.
As Josh waited among the sizzle of bacon and the grinding of fresh coffee beans, he spotted a muted flat-screen on the wall with the words to some fluffy women’s show scrolling across the bottom. Just when his brains threatened to leak out of his ears, Dax slid plates of steaming hot food in front of him. “Enjoy, bud.”
“Thanks.”
He picked up a slice of smoky, crispy bacon, something he hadn’t allowed himself in years in his attempt to keep his body mission ready, and dug in. He’d just started on his second piece when Megan busted through the double doors in spitting-mad mode.
She was damned cute when she was all worked up like that.
“There you are! What’s with the money in my account, Josh?”
“You’ll have to ask your brothers and sister about that.”
“I told you I don’t want anything from you!”
Casey appeared by Megan’s side. “Can you two please bring it down a notch? We have paying guests.”
“Meg has just figured out I’m one of your paying customers too, Casey. You deal with it.” He started in on his omelet.
Casey dragged Megan to the other side of the big kitchen. After a few minutes of eye rolls, gritted teeth, crossed arms, and huffed breaths, Meg made her way back and sat beside him.
“They thought you’d leave rather than pay their overblown fees. They obviously didn’t realize how stubborn you are.” She stole his last piece of bacon and popped it into her mouth. “Since when do you eat bacon and eggs?”
“Since I’m on vacation. Isn’t that what people are supposed to do?”