Say It's Forever (Redemption Hills #2)(27)

Thing was a pile.

Unsafe and unreliable.

What she needed was a new one. But I doubted much that was an option considering she was standing there begging me to let her work to pay off the repairs.

“Are you asking me for an interview, Salem?”

Her brows spiked. “You want me to interview?”

“You wanna work here…temporarily…?” I let the question hang.

“Ugh.” She pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead, peeking at me around it. “Fine.”

A low chuckle flooded the air, and I shifted so I could open the lobby door. “Come on in, darlin’.”

Salem blew out the strain, and she straightened her shoulders and waltzed that fine ass past me and through the door.

It wasn’t like I was going to turn her away. Hell, I didn’t need her to repay me at all, but since she was insisting, figured I at least needed to know what she could do. Truth be told, I needed the help.

It didn’t hurt that I kind of relished the idea of her strutting around here in those heels all day long, either.

I stepped in behind her, and she stood there in the foyer of my lobby.

A storm.

Sweet, sweet ferocity.

There was something about her that was so compelling.

The girl was a fucking cocktail of toasted coconut and sultry sin.

Wanted to take a long, satisfying drink.

A smirk kept tugging at the corner of my mouth as I edged by her and rounded the counter. I started shuffling through paperwork again.

“So, tell me, gorgeous,” I mumbled as I foraged around, “why do you want to work here?”

From where she stood five feet away, she sighed out in defiance. “To repay a debt, Mr. Lawson. Obviously. And I’m pretty sure you should probably stop calling me gorgeous if I’m going to work here.”

I tossed a glance at her from over the high counter. “Impossible. Not when it’s true.”

Thunderbolt eyes struck.

A lash of lust.

A stroke of greed.

I slowed, pressed my hands to the counter as I looked her up and down.

I should lock it up.

Stop this fall before I hit rock bottom.

But there I went, tossing my ass right over the side. “You didn’t text me back.”

Her cheeks flamed.

Yup.

The girl was affected.

Could feel it thicken the atmosphere.

Tighten the cord.

The connection keened in the space between us.

Air suddenly shot from her nose, a burst of reservation and determination. “Because that would be inappropriate.”

“If you think that’s inappropriate, I think we should rethink our boundaries.”

Her head shook. “This can’t happen.”

“What’s that?”

She frantically gestured between us. “This.”

Her rebuttal didn’t even feel like an obstacle to hold us back. Not when it was clear she wanted it every bit as much as me.

I let the feigned confusion climb into the twist of my brow, unable to stop from teasing her. Not when she was so damned hot when she got all feisty. “This?”

“This,” she hissed in frustration.

A roll of low laughter tumbled out, and I was leaning closer. “You’re going to have to be clearer, darlin’.”

Frustration shot from her mouth, and the girl sauntered the rest of the way over to me.

The ripple of her hitched the air in my throat.

“Don’t toy with me, Jud. You know exactly what I’m talking about. I get it. I’m sure you’re more than accustomed to getting what you want, and I’m sure women jump into your bed whenever you flash them that smile. You’re charming and handsome and—” She bit down on the word she was about to let go. “But I’m here because I want to do what’s right, not because I find you attractive. When I saw the listing, it felt like a sign…a way to repay a debt. So please, if I can help, let me help.”

Damn.

This woman.

This fierce little wildcat who didn’t hesitate to put me in my place.

“Not tryin’ to disrespect you, Salem. I’m only making it clear how you make me feel.”

For a minute, she stared, two of us tied, before she shook herself out of it. “I don’t think it would be a good idea for either of us to explore that.”

She was right. The problem was how fuckin’ bad I was aching for her to be wrong.

She dropped her gaze, inhaling before she peered over at me. She tied me up all over again with the way that striking face deepened with loss and hope. “But I think we could try that friend thing.”

Something fluttered through my chest. Something hard and soft squeezing at my heart. “Okay, then, darlin’, but I’m not going to pretend like I haven’t been imagining more.”

Heat flamed, a rush of red to her skin, and it was clear she’d been imagining it, too.

I blew out the strain and went for a little of that pretending I’d just promised her I couldn’t do, while I searched around for the form I was looking for. “So, have you ever worked as a receptionist before?”

“I worked at the front desk of a dental office for a while.”

“Perfect. Honestly, if you can just answer the phone, that would take a huge burden off my shoulders.”