Page 32 of Unexpected Hero

He wins because I suck at staring contests. I blame my ADHD.

“Fine. It’s a shitty place, okay? A grungy dive hotel. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

He shrugs. “If it’s the truth.”

“It is.”

Dejected, I swipe the bag off the table, rip it open, and shove chips in my mouth like a glutton.

Chips. Making depression marginally better since... I don’t know when. For a long time. Likely since the dawn of fried potatoes.

“So why did you come down here with no job, money, or place to live? And I assume you’re all alone. Right?”

“It just so happens I have a very large, slobbery attack dog.”

He scoffs. “No, you don’t.”

“What are you? The fact police?”

“Up against the wall,” he grits out.

As hot as the joke was the first time, it’s equally as silly the second. A deep guffaw rattles my chest. This time, he joins in.

As he sobers, he pushes his basket over to me slyly. My eyes meet his.

“Eat,” he orders.

My nipples sharpen to stiff peaks at his sudden intensity.

“Did anyone ever tell you that you’re mighty bossy?”

I pick up the sandwich while holding his eye contact. His face softens minutely, causing a feeling of warmth to spread under my rib cage.

“Not often. But in certain circumstances, I’ve been called dominant.”

“Oo la la.” I wink at him. “And in what situations might Dominant James be present? When rescuing hopeless drifters he finds at gas stations having a meltdown?”

“No. Can’t say I’ve ever been in this situation before.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Another half of my sandwich is gone by the time he responds. “There’s a place.”

My eyes shift from side to side. “A place?”

“Where I go when I want...” He raises his brows at me like he’s trying to convey something. But it sails over my head.

Leaning forward, I whisper conspiratorially, “A place where you go when you want what, James?”

His frame stiffens. “Forget it.”

Mirroring his words from earlier at the cash register, I quip, “Do you really think I’m going to let you get off that easy?”

“Lettie, Lettie, Lettie.” He shakes his head, part dismissively and part indulgently. “Why do I feel like you’re going to get me in trouble?”

“Sometimes trouble finds us no matter how far we run from it.”

Chapter 7

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