Page 31 of Lovesick
Yes. Yes, I was.
Not only would I be working for Mark Bailey, I’d basically live with JJ. The man of my most sacred, secret dreams. The person who tangled my heart into knots but still convinced it to beat. Who had no idea about my wild crush.
The man who didn’t believe in romance.
NowthatI was still determined to change. And if this wasn’t a worthy opportunity to convince him of the error of his ways, I didn’t know what was.
All the breath rushed out of me at once. I nodded.
“Then I’ll take it. Thank you, Mark.”
Mark grinned and stuck a hand out. “Welcome to Adventura, Lizbeth. We’re happy to have you.”
12
JJ
“You were right.”
Mark said it as the Zombie Mobile ambled around a tight corner away from Lizbeth’s house. The headlights illuminated a snow-packed dirt road with dark trees on either side. A knot had taken up residence in my stomach. Surely, the unease I felt had more to do with inviting a new person into our world, not with that new person being Lizbeth.
“About what?” I asked.
“Lizbeth. She’ll be good for this.”
“You didn’t seem convinced at first that hiring her would be a good idea,” I said.
“I wasn’t. But then I thought about the way she presented herself after almost dying. Her general disposition. The fact that she has a really intense degree and a few weeks to spare. It fit. Also, I think you have the hots for her.”
He looked at me as he said it, but I kept my expression unchanged and pretended to ignore him. Of course Mark had noticed.
Whether he’d keep it to himself or not was the real question.
“I don’t have the hots for her. I’m ... intrigued by her opinions on romance.”
“Right,” he drawled.
I punched him.
He laughed. “She’ll be good,” he said in the tone that meant he’d already convinced himself. “This is smart. I feel good about this direction. I thought you were insane about offering forty dollars an hour, but now I see your point. Website design is specialized. Mav would never have let her come for less, I bet. The fact that he didn’t counter meant something. I mean, did you see the looks he gave us? That guy woulddestroyus if we ever laid a finger on her.”
“But that would never be a problem,” I said in a controlled tone.
Mark grinned. “Youdohave the hots for her, bro. Niiiice.”
My suggestion of forty dollars an hour had been legitimate—Mark needed to get all of that paperwork out of the office. He needed an online presence to satisfy antsy investors. Finding someone else to come all the way to Adventura wasn’t likely. Nor was I at all interested, nor the person for the job.
But planting the idea of Mark hiring Lizbeth had beensomewhatselfish on my part. Adventura had been bleak in the days following her visit. Now she’d lost everything and needed a job.
There had to be arithmetic here that led to this being a good idea, but I couldn’t find it.
Silently, I cursed that deep part of me that wanted to protect Lizbeth. Because why? Of all the people on this planet, we would likely be the worst suited. Her unusual, bright innocence. My jaded logic. A relationship with such a polar opposite could slowly shave away all that made her who she was.
“You’re still good getting her cabin squared away?” Mark asked, drawing me from my thoughts. “I bet Mav drops her off right on time in the afternoon after she goes shopping for clothes in Jackson City. She seems like the punctual type.”
“Of course.”
“Better get some mousetraps.” He flashed a grin as he pulled onto the highway that led to the canyon. “She doesn’t seem like the rodent-tolerant kind.”
