The Slow Burn (Moonlight and Motor Oil #2) - Kristen Ashley Page 0,24
that thick, long beard.
It was trimmed into a fantastic wedge, done perfectly.
Hell, the sweeping mustache on its own was a thing of beauty.
Perry might even give his guitar for facial hair that awe-inspiring.
“So, what, now you’re ignoring me?” he asked, his question yanking me forcefully out of my beard trance.
“Sorry?” I asked back.
“Adeline, been callin’ your name since you left Macy’s.”
Oh.
I looked back at Macy’s, which was a block and a half away, a block and a half beyond that was where Gamble Garage stood.
I looked again to Toby.
“I didn’t hear you,” I told him.
“Bullshit,” he muttered, glowering at me.
Excuse me?
“I didn’t hear you, Toby.”
“You’re pissed at me,” he stated.
“No, I’m not,” I denied.
“And I’m shouting your name a half a dozen times, chasing you down the street, and you’re not pissed at me, you just didn’t hear me?”
“Yes, like I said, I didn’t hear you.”
“You were pissy when we hung up the other night.”
“That was the other night.”
“And you were pissy through your texts after we hung up the other night,” he reminded me.
To tell the truth, I was also pissy right then, and getting pissier at his attitude.
Except “pissy” wasn’t the word for it.
“I’m not a big fan of the word pissy,” I shared.
“Sorry, babe,” he said sarcastically. “Ticked. Irate. Fuming. In a snit.”
“I don’t fume, Tobe. And I’ve never in my life been in a snit.”
“You’re in a snit right now, Lollipop,” he pointed out.
“Okay, maybe I am,” I retorted. “And that’s because you keep telling me I’m pissy when I’m not. I just need to get back to work and I have things on my mind.”
More muttering when he said, “I’ll bet you have things on your mind.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.
With no hesitation, he laid it out there.
“Right, Adeline, you’re in a situation and you’re a Forrester Girl, which means you got too much pride to ask for help getting you out of that situation.”
Excuse me?
What was up his ass?
“What do you know about Forrester Girls?” I snapped.
“My brother’s marrying one.”
“Yeah, and you met her seven months ago, and he’s living with her and sleeping with her, you are not. So Johnny knows her, you do not.”
“And I’m standing here facing off with another one, the prideful one, the one who’s too fucking vain to reach out when she needs to reach out.”
Uh . . .
EXCUSE ME?
What in the hell was up his ass?
I shifted into his space, getting up on my toes to get in his face.
“And you’ve known me for seven months, and I can assure you, Tobias Gamble, you do not know me enough to call me vain. Let me correct you, the last thing on this earth I am is vain.”
He stood toe to toe with me, tipping that bearded chin down, which was all he had to do to lock eyes with me and get right in my face, which ticked me off (more), and shot back, “So, I learned what I learned on Wednesday night, and I don’t believe for a fuckin’ second it’s all good, just single mom shit, and I told Margot you were struggling and she pressed lookin’ after Brooklyn for you, and you would not lose your mind at me?”
“Of course I’d lose my mind at you,” I hissed. “That would be totally out of line.”
“And would it be totally out of line I shared with your own damned sister your shit was fucked, and she looked after you by lettin’ you live at her place or whatever Iz would do, and we both know Iz would do something to look after you?”
My big sister had looked after me enough.
My whole life, precisely.
So strike that off my list of things I could do to get out of my bind. I wasn’t going to ask Izzy to do dick.
“Yes, that would be totally freaking out of line too,” I clipped. “But just to be clear, that would be more out of line.”
“So, what? You’re gonna tough it out? Eat cat food and screw your credit by goin’ late on bills while Brooks is cush in a daycare center people who work in the city use because they make big bill in the city and expect cush for their kids while they’re off making it?”
“Yes.” My voice was rising.
“And you’d do that stupid shit even if you got folks who’re happy to look out for you?”