Crazy in Love (Blue Lake #3)(37)

“Like sweep the floors? Dust? Mop? Clean for guests who aren’t here?”

“You’re here,” she countered.

“For now.” He took another drink, and then set the mug back down. “Why’d you leave?”

He was acting like a different person. Rachael had never been good at reading people or detecting their energy, but Cole was wound tight. His fists and jaw were clenched, and the gleam in his eyes was harsh. Unyielding. There was no tenderness or fun, no hint of his natural flirty demeanor in the white lines of his mouth.

“If you’re fine with the coffee,” she said, leaving her cup where she’d poured it. “I think I’m going to head back to bed.”

He shadowed her move, blocking her way into the dining room. “Aren’t you going to ask how the concert went?”

“That’s not really any of my business.” She fisted the lapels of her robe and crossed them over one another, clamping them shut. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going back to bed.”

He didn’t budge. “I forgot the words to my own damn songs.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

Her hands fell to her sides. “What happened?”

“You happened!” He paced in a circle, tunneling his fingers through his hair. “You left dinner angry, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how you had absolutely no right to leave that way.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” He stopped pacing and put a hand in front of her that nearly touched her chest. “I thought about things I wanted to say to you, things I shouldn’t say, and when I should’ve sang one lyric, I belted another. I did that three goddamn times! You distracted me to the point that I couldn’t focus on the show and now my reputation as a performer is about to be flushed down the damn toilet.”

She recoiled. “You think this is my fault?”

“Damn right it is.”

“I wasn’t even there!”

He tapped his boot against the floor. “Why’d you leave dinner tonight?”

She opened her mouth to tell him and then clamped it closed. She didn’t have to explain why she was angry. She wasn’t his girlfriend. He was a guest. A paying guest. And she certainly didn’t have to sit here taking the brunt of his anger.

“Goodnight, Cole.”

She swept past him. He grabbed her by the arm and spun her around. His eyes were on her, cold and hard, the way they’d been this morning when she’d left him to call Joey. And when she stared back, raising her eyebrows in defiance, the intensity in his gaze ramped up a few degrees.

“Why’d you leave?” he said, his voice low.

She lifted her chin at him. “You’re a smart guy, Cole. Why do you think?”

“I want to hear you say it.” Gently, he pushed her back against the pantry door.

Her heart thumped in her ears. “I told you, I had work to do.”

“No,” he said, gritting his teeth together. “Try again.”

“I was tired.”

He cupped her face in his big, rough hands and lifted her chin so that she had no choice but to look him square in the eye. “Not buying it.”

She gave a full body shudder. “Lucy’s one of my best friends and she’s crazy about you. I think you guys would be great together, but I didn’t want to stick around to watch it happen.”

His hands dropped to his side. “Do you honestly think I want Lucy?”