The Game Plan (Neighbor from Hell #5)(28)

“Stop doing that!” she snapped, ignoring the way her heart leapt every time he kissed her and focusing on the fact that he’d invaded her apartment and was clearly insane.

His answering shrug wasn’t really reassuring so she focused on the more pressing issue. “Why are you in my apartment?”

“For our date,” he simply said as he picked up a really thick slice of pizza covered in cheese, meatballs and mushrooms, her favorite, and put it on a plate.

“This isn’t a date,” she explained tightly before adding, “Get out.”

“Yes, it is,” he said with a shrug as he handed her the plate of that incredibly delicious pizza, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since last night thanks to a foolish decision to skip breakfast and Matthew helping himself to her lunch. That pint of ice cream that she’d devoured really hadn’t filled her up either.

“It’s really not,” she said walking over to the couch and forcing herself to place the plate on a stack of folders so that she could gesture for him to get the hell out of her apartment.

“It really is,” he said around a bite of pizza, ignoring her rather obvious gesture as he sat on the couch and got comfortable.

Struggling with an overwhelming urge to cry or throw something at him, she rubbed her hands down her face. “Look, I’m not in the mood to play whatever game you’re playing. I’ve got a lot of work to do tonight thanks to your boss and the Council so we-”

“Have to have our date here,” he finished for her with a putout sigh and a shake of his head.

She rubbed her hands down her face, having absolutely no idea how to deal with a man this stubborn. Normally when she said no to a man, he might make another half ass attempt to get her to change her mind before he shrugged and moved on. Then again, she’d already come to the conclusion that Danny wasn’t normal.

“This isn’t a date,” she said a bit more slowly as she once again gestured towards the door and waited, rather patiently in her opinion, for him to get off his ass and leave before she was forced to do something that would require that defense attorney that she couldn’t afford.

“Yes, it is,” the stubborn bastard said around another bite of pizza.

“No, it’s not!”

“It really is.”

“It isn’t!’

He paused to take a sip of soda before he said, “It really is.”

“Oh my God!” she yelled. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

He blinked up at her, looking adorably innocent and further pissing her off even as she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at him. “Nothing. Why?”

“Because you think we’re on a date!”

“We are,” he said, gesturing for her to sit next to him.

“No, we’re not! For Christ’s sake, you don’t even like me!” she pointed out, the tenuous hold she’d had on her patience quickly running out.

The smoldering look that he shot her sent a warm shiver tearing through her body. It also had her eyes narrowing on him and her hand twitching to grab the can of soda out of his hand and chuck it at his head.

“I like you just fine, Tinkerbelle,” he murmured, running an appreciative gaze over her.

“Well, I don’t like you!” she snapped, because honestly, she really just couldn’t take any more of his bullshit tonight.

He frowned, looking adorably confused, which of course made her wonder how a man who had more than a foot and a hundred pounds on her could possibly look adorable. He quickly dragged her out of her musings when he asked, “Then why did you agree to go out with me?”

Oh, that was it!

“I never agreed to go out with you!” she snapped, shutting the cover on the pizza box, picking up the stack of boxes and dropping them on his lap.

He sighed heavily as he stood up, placed the boxes back on the coffee table and reached for her. Before she knew what was happening he had her in his arms and his lips were hovering a few inches above hers. His expression was tender as he gazed down at her.

“No,” he said with a slight shake of his head as he leaned down, tilting his head to the side and pressing a kiss against her cheek, “but you will.”

Chapter 13

“I hear it skips a generation.”

“That would explain it,” Trevor said conversationally as the three of them walked around the library, trying to see if any of the structure could be saved and reused in the new building.

“It would definitely explain a few things,” Jason said as he placed an orange sticker on an ornate bookshelf by the wall, marking it as reusable.

Danny ignored them as he’d been doing since they’d arrived an hour ago and focused on the job he’d been hired to do and the little librarian that seemed to be going out of her way to avoid him. That was fine with him since the marine in him was more than up for a challenge, and she was definitely a challenge, he decided as he casually tracked her every move.

“Do you want some advice?” Jason asked as he knelt down to check the molding that ran along the edge of the wall.

“No,” he said, making a few notes on his iPad as he ignored his cousins.

Trevor sighed heavily from his right. “I’m afraid that you’re going to need our expertise on the matter if you want to win over your future wife.”