Page 81 of 5 Golden Flings

He held up his hands. “And I completely understand how having me crash here would be uncomfortable for you. But I assure you I would much rather be stranded in my apartment with my beer and cable TV.”

This time she did smirk. “You won’t find either of those here.”

He glanced over at the television set. “Looks like Maria has an antenna. Do you want me to try to see what the local channels are saying about the roads?”

She waved a hand in that direction. “Have at it.”

He could feel the waves of rejection the whole time he worked on the reception, but at best he was able to get a very staticky picture with an emergency banner across the bottom. If he was seeing it correctly, it was a long list of closed roads. At least he was justified in his decision.

Not that he needed to be, but he did feel kind of bad for putting her in such an awkward position.

“I guess that’s that,” he said, switching the television off.

When he turned back, the look on her face was stern. What was this attitude all about? A bit of intrigue curled in his stomach.

“Fine. If you have to stay here?—"

How could she still doubt that?

“There’s gonna be some rules,” she insisted.

“Rules?”

“Yes, sir.”

Rules were Colby’s least favorite thing. But maybe he should indulge her a little. After all, she was a woman alone. Boundaries would help her feel more comfortable. “I think you’ll find I’m really handy to have around.”

If he’d been a lesser man, that stare would have burned right through him. Okay, he’d give her the space she needed. He gestured for her to continue.

“You’ll keep to yourself. And only go where I tell you that you can.”

“Fair enough.”

“And no ‘getting to know you’ stuff. Got it?”

That was a weird one. “Do you really think?—”

“You heard what I said.”

“That puts me at a bit of a disadvantage, don’t you think?”

She shrugged. “It’s either that or a very uncomfortable walk to your truck.”

Tough room. “Okay, I only have one question, then.”

The way she clutched her blanket amused him, but he didn’t think it was safe to let it show.

“Go ahead.”

“Is there any food?”

CHAPTER 5

As Brynn watchedColby wolf down a double-decker sandwich with all the fixings, she realized that if he stayed, they were gonna need more food.

He had an appetite kind of like she’d heard for teenage boys who would eat you out of house and home. Not that she knew anything about that. Her father had rarely had an appetite, especially toward the end. And she’d never developed any other relationships close enough to get to the living together stage.

She must have been staring because suddenly he met her look full-on with those startlingly green eyes. “Sorry,” he said, grinning before taking another big bite.

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