Her Halloween Treat (Men at Work 1)
Page 67
He shrugged his shoulders. “Anything. Nothing.”
“Anything or nothing. Good choices there.”
“It’s your choice. I said it. What you want to do with it is up to you.”
Joey’s hands shook and her heart raced. Panic. What she felt was pure panic. How could he be so fucking calm while she stood here in an absolute panic?
“You promised me, Chris. You promised me you wouldn’t do this. No, you didn’t promise me. You swore.”
“I swore on a fucking CD, not the Bible.”
“I don’t care if you swore on a bowl of oatmeal or a pack of gum or your own grave, you swore to me you wouldn’t make it weird. You swore you wouldn’t ask me to stay.”
“I didn’t ask you to stay. I told you I loved you.”
“You made it real fucking weird, though.”
“You asked me and I answered. I’m in love with you. So what? If you’re not in love with me, I don’t know what the problem is.”
“This is so fucking unfair, Chris.”
Chris laughed, and for the first time since laying eyes on him a week ago, Joey regretted coming home.
“Fair? What does fairness have to do with it?”
“You’re trying to keep me from going back home.”
“I’m not trying to make you do anything. I don’t want you to leave, but I’m not making you stay,” he said.
“I never figured you for the manipulative type, Chris. I have to say this is pretty fucking disappointing.”
“Well...welcome to my world. I tell you I love you. You get mad and accuse me of manipulating you. Disappointing is a damn good word for it.”
“I have a home and a job in another state.”
“You can have a home and a job in this state if you wanted it.”
“You can have a home and a job in another state,” she said. “Why don’t you quit your job and move to Hawaii if you think it’s so easy.”
“Is that an invitation?”
“No. It is not. You know you wouldn’t do it. You know you wouldn’t uproot your entire world to be with me.” She shoved her feet back into her shoes, angry, flustered, scared.
“I do? You sure about that?”
“I’m sure about that.”
“Try me.”
“I’m not trying anything,” she said. “I’m not even having this conversation with you.”
“Why not? What are you afraid of?”
She raised her hand and pointed at him. “Nothing. I’m not afraid of anything.”
“Are you afraid of falling in love with me? If you are, you don’t have to be. I’m not Ben. You won’t be my backup plan. You won’t be a dirty secret. I’m not a liar like he is.”
“You are a liar. You swore you wouldn’t do this to me and here you are—doing it.”