Page 13 of Landon (In Safe Hands)
Scoffing,I shake my head. “You’re never going to believe who was doing the hiring.”
“Who?”
“RememberLandon from the bar?”
“Jeremy’sfriend?” she squeals. “You’re kidding!”
“Nope,he inherited this huge house that apparently hasn’t been cleaned since it wasbuilt, and he was looking for some help.”
“So,did you take the job?”
Peekingat her over my glass, I admit, “He offered me twelve an hour. I really couldn’tsay no.”
Shefans herself with the menu. “Why the hell would you want to say no? The guy ishot as hell.”
“I’mnot screwing him!” I toss a napkin at her.
“Whynot?”
“Becausethat would make me a whore. He’s paying me, remember?”
“So,you make some extra tips,” she teases.
“Whatabout you? How was Jeremy?”
Shespreads her hands about eight inches apart. “And the girth of a damn Pringlescan.”
Laughing,I dig into my plate of spaghetti before asking, “Are you going to see himagain?”
Sheshrugs. “Doubt it. If he calls, I’ll give him another go, but I’m notbothered.” Something in her tone is off. I wonder if she might actually likethis one. That is, until she starts flirting with the dark headed waiter.
“What?”she asks when the guy walks away.
“Justyou,” I reply, smiling. “Don’t ever change.”
* * * *
Therepair shop calls an hour before I have to be at work. Just enough time for meto take the bus there, grab my car and make it to Landon’s on time. A young guycomes out of the garage when I approach, wiping his greasy hands on an equallygreasy rag. Bright blue eyes land on mine. “Zoe Page?”
“That’sme.” And you are just too damn cute.
“She’srunning good, now. Come on in and we’ll settle up.” He flashes a wide smile andhis eyes run up and down my body before he leads the way inside. It’s possibleI took note of the way his ass filled out his blue work pants.
Hetrades me the invoice for my check and hands me a business card. “My name’sJason. You call me if you have any problems.”
“Thankyou.”
“Mycell number is written on the back. Or I could call you,” he suggests with agrin.
Myeyebrows climb my forehead as I try not to smile. “To see if I have anyproblems? That’s some serious customer service.”
“Orto take you out to dinner. Are you busy tomorrow night? You have the mostgorgeous eyes I’ve ever seen.” His baby blues aren’t too shabby either.Frannie’s advice runs through my head. Maybe I do need to get out. I can go outand have fun, maybe even get laid without getting into a relationship, can’t I?My life is just too complicated for a relationship right now, but some time withbright eyes here might be just what I need.
“Thankyou. Dinner sounds like fun.”
“Ican pick you up at eight.”
“Sure.”We spend a few minutes talking, working out the details, and I leave with a bigsmile on my face. I’m actually looking forward to tomorrow night. I think I’vedone okay holding things together, keeping us fed and a roof over our headwhile still going to school, but it’s a daily struggle. It’ll be nice to have anight away from it all where I can act like a normal twenty-three year old.
