Lust or Love (The Love Vixen #2) - Jeannette Winters Page 0,10

what she says every time she doesn’t want to do something with me.”

I’d heard her say that as well. But I had a feeling her reasons for not wanting to be alone with me were totally different. “Then go to the warehouse and talk with her there. When you were coaching me, you always said, ‘If you want something, you don’t quit ‘til you get it.’”

“I’ve never been to the warehouse,” he said.

That surprised me. “Why not?” I asked.

“She doesn’t talk about work with us. Deidre always changes the subject when we ask.”

I couldn’t help but recall the look on her face when I’d been about to open one of the boxes. I hadn’t thought she was doing something illegal, but whatever it was, I wasn’t the only person she wanted in the dark. When I got back to the warehouse, I might just have to ‘accidentally’ open one of the boxes anyway.

“I’m working in the warehouse. You can stop by and see me. And while you’re there, you can see Deidre,” I suggested.

Robert chuckled. “And what difference is there between you manipulating things and me doing so?”

Fuck! “I’m not lying about it.” If Deidre asked, I’d tell her the truth. Of course, I hadn’t mentioned that I was meeting Robert here, either. I might be digging myself a hole I couldn’t get out of. Which meant I would need to talk to her, too.

The waitress came over and asked, “Will there be anything else, gentlemen?” We both shook our heads and she pulled the bill out of her apron and put it on the table. “I’ll just leave this here for you whenever you’re ready.”

Robert reached for it, but I was quicker. “You can buy Deidre’s dinner when you talk her into going.”

Robert sighed, “If she’s even speaking to me after I tell her what I did.”

“I have a strong feeling she already knows and is just waiting for you to fess up,” I said as I pulled a fifty from my wallet and tossed it on the table.

I should’ve put it together myself, but I hadn’t wanted to. When Robert called me, all I could think about was seeing Deidre again. And now that I had, I wasn’t in any rush to leave. I wanted to be pissed at Robert for tricking me into coming here, but deep inside, I needed an excuse to see her. I just couldn’t figure out why she kept trying to send me away. There was a time when you begged me to stay. Guess time does change everything.

When I got back to the warehouse with the paint, she was there waiting.

“That took a lot longer than I thought,” she said, arms crossed.

Did she know where I had actually been? Her expression said yes. “I stopped for lunch. I guess I should’ve asked if you wanted me to pick anything up for you while I was out.”

“My mother called to say you were meeting with my dad. Funny, no one seemed to think that was worth mentioning to me,” she said, her foot tapping on the floor.

“I did meet him. For lunch. I hadn’t seen him since the Olympics and we had some catching up to do.” Mostly talking about you.

She seemed to relax a bit and said, “I’m sorry. When it comes to my dad, I don’t trust him about you anymore. I mean, he lied to me about why you were here.”

“Maybe you should talk to him about that,” I suggested. Because I want out of the middle of it.

“He’s not going to tell me,” she said.

“Maybe if you ask him directly, he will. Why don’t you ask him to come by the warehouse and you guys can talk it out?” I wanted to see if Robert was right about her not wanting him here.

“No. I’ll call him tonight.” She changed the subject and said, “Looks like you got the paint. You really don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”

I pulled my t-shirt off and tossed it to one side. “I plan on having it done in a few hours.”

“And it requires you…to…have your…shirt off?” she asked.

I couldn’t believe her voice was shaky. She’d seen me in a lot less than this at my competitions. She might be trying to avoid looking, but I caught her eyeing my chest and abs. I’d be happy to show you more. Just ask. “I don’t want to get paint on it,” I said. Shooting her a wicked grin I teased, “Then