fun grocery store adventure to a close, the sacrifice would be worth it.
“Look at that, Roomie.” Back in went the aerosol cheese, along with some pudding cups. “Two days together and you read my mind. I’d kill for some baked potatoes.”
“I also looked up the Airbnb legalese. Did you do that? No? Great. Then let me explain it to you.” He stood in front of the cart, blocking it. And, in case she decided to back out in a bid for freedom, he put his foot on the under-rack of the cart. Then took his sweet time selecting the perfect potatoes, which meant holding and weighing each one as if he were twelve and they were boobs instead a starchy side dish. “It states that, as the owner, I can cancel up to seven days prior to the stay.”
“I’ve been here a month!”
“Which means you know the town by now. And here I was worried I’d be a dick for kicking a lady out of my house.”
They turned the corner, almost colliding with a tall blonde wearing heels and a high-end handbag with a white fluffy feline in it. The cat looked at Annie and hissed.
“Emmitt! I thought that was you. It’s so good to see you,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and climbing him as if he were made of catnip.
“Great to see you too.” And there was something douchey about the way he said, “you too,” dragging it out while patting her back, that told Annie if the world depended on his knowing the blonde’s name, then Annie had better get moving on her BEFORE THE WORLD ENDS list.
When Emmitt managed to pry himself free, Annie gave him a friendly punch in the shoulder. “Emmitt, why don’t you introduce me to your friend?”
Emmitt’s Fuck me face was in full effect. It was followed by an uncomfortable chuckle, and finally a loud clearing of the throat, which did nothing—Annie was certain—to jog his memory.
“This is my roommate, Annie. Annie, this is Lena.” He said the name so quickly, Annie almost missed it.
Lena was in the same boat, because she looked at him strangely, but only for a moment. Then he winked. “Annie works for Gray, and since she is new to town, I offered up my place for a few weeks until she could find her own pad.”
“Oh,” the blonde said, her eyes darting back and forth as if trying to size up Annie and Emmitt’s relationship. Annie gave him another slug to the arm, and Lena—whose name was not Lena—took that as a sign that Annie had been friend zoned. Therefore a nonthreat. “I was so sad you couldn’t make our dinner. I heard you left to unearth some horrific world-shattering story.”
“It was just a human-interest piece, but I had less than two hours to catch my flight.”
“Human-interest piece?” Lena-not-Lena placed a finger on his chin, giving it a poke—complete with sound effects—before letting it run down his chest. “You make it sound like you’re doing a puff piece on pandas in China instead of single-handedly rescuing a bus full of kids who were on a field trip when the factory blew up.”
“Single-handedly?” Annie looked at Emmitt and held back a snort. “Sounds like a puff piece to me.”
“I called to make sure you were okay. I heard you were, but not from you.”
“Sorry about that. Only just back.” With a wink, he gave the cat’s tail a little ruffle, eliciting a purr—from them both.
“I guess I can let you make it up to me.” Her shrug said she’d forgiven him before he’d even left for his last assignment. She stuck her card into his front pocket—the pocket of his jeans. “Call me. Nice meeting you, Annie.”
“Bye, Lena,” he said, and Annie plucked the card from his pocket—with two careful fingers.
She read the card and laughed. “Lena?”
“Was I even close?”
“Her name is Lana.”
“Close enough.” He picked up a handful of frozen pizzas.
“Have you had sex with her?”
“What kind of question is that?” He was aghast, as if she were the rude one.
Annie stared him down. He smiled—one of the most arrogant smiles in the history of mankind.
“Then not close enough.” She flung the card in his face. “Give Lana a call. I’m sure she’d be more than happy to house you. If you need a reference, have her call me.”
“No can do. Sets a bad precedent. If I sleep there, then she’d expect to sleep at my place. See the problem?”
He added a gallon of