It's A Wonderful Midlife Crisis (Good To The Last Death #1) - Robyn Peterman Page 0,45

I was forty. I was pretty sure I would lose my filter in my forties and be able to say anything I wanted and get away with it.

Wait. That was my eighties.

Whatever. Everything would be fine.

“Oh, hell no,” I muttered as I came to an abrupt halt about ten feet from my car. Closing my eyes, I did a mental inventory of what I must look like right now. I didn’t want to deal with anything or anyone else—especially not him.

As of this morning, I’d dealt with enough crap for one person for an entire lifetime. I didn’t need any more unsettling information or situations.

Although I had a very unsettling thought about the man staring at me, and it wasn’t remotely sexual. Well, part of it was, which made me want to smack myself in the head. I needed a shrink. However, I’d have to lie to the shrink, which would defeat the entire purpose. Anti-psychotic drugs were not in my future. I needed my crazy.

Gideon leaned on my car. Clad in jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt, he looked like a Ralph Lauren ad. It wasn’t exactly work attire, but he wasn’t at work. Longing to touch the dangerous man, I shoved my hands into my coat pockets and glared instead.

I was pretty sure he didn’t have a relative at the nursing home. Nope. I had a fine idea of who he was and why he was here. Every single instinct I’d had about him was correct. He was bad news in the literal sense of the word.

The man was as beautiful as I’d remembered and then some. The sun angled itself to give him the best lighting. It was ridiculous.

“What do you want?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.

“Nice to see you too, Daisy,” he said with a smile that would have charmed most women’s pants off.

Not mine.

“I asked you what you wanted, Gideon,” I repeated.

“I like the sound of my name on your lips,” he said.

“Don’t get used to it,” I shot back rudely.

He was quiet for a long moment and simply stared. Crap. Had I gone too far? Hell, I didn’t care.

“You know who you are now?” he inquired casually, eyeing me with concern.

I was a hot mess—that’s who I was. My eyes had to be bloodshot from all the crying and I hadn’t bothered with any makeup this morning. I hadn’t felt that committing a misdemeanor required blush and mascara. Right now, I regretted that.

“I know who I am, and I know who you are, Grim Reaper,” I snapped, wondering if I could shove him out of my way and get into my car. He was huge and all muscle. That probably wouldn’t go well.

Touching him was also a very bad plan. As much as I wanted to throat-punch him, I was afraid if I touched him, I’d do something I’d seriously regret. Embarrassing myself in front of Gideon was not going to happen anymore.

I even considered walking around to the passenger side and crawling across the seat to avoid him. But that was so incredibly undignified, I decided against it.

I had balls now. I was going to use them.

“She told you?” he asked, surprised.

“Nope. Figured it out. I put two and two together and came up with 666. I’m very good at math,” I said.

His laugh went all through me, and I wanted to punch him in the head. What was it about him that was so addictive? He was evil. I was definitely not as sane as I thought I was.

“I’m not the devil, Daisy,” Gideon said, still chuckling.

“Could’ve fooled me,” I muttered with an eye roll. “I need you to move out of my way. I have to go home.”

Slowly stepping away from my car, Gideon watched me with such intensity, I felt naked. I really did not like that. Getting into my car as fast as humanly possible, I put on my seat belt and started the engine.

His knock at my window startled me and made me scream. Letting my head fall to the steering wheel, I pressed the window button and rolled it down.

“What?”

“You okay?” he asked.

I could tell the asshole was smiling. I didn’t even have to look up. I could hear it in his tone. Who knew the Grim Reaper had a sense of humor? Who knew the Grim Reaper freaking existed? And who knew the Grim Reaper was the hottest man I’d ever seen? I wasn’t even sure what exactly he did. I seriously regretted thinking Gram had lost