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“Nope.”
“You’ve been acting weird since Jared offered to take me canoeing.”
He takes in a deep inhale, his chest expanding as it fills. “I thought you wanted to learn how to canoe, not go on a date.”
My eyebrows hit my hairline. “I’m not going on a date.”
“Uh-huh.” He glances at me over the rim of his sunglasses. “Just remember rule number two. Don’t bring him back to my house after your day on the water.”
My jaw drops open.
That’s what he’s mad about? “Okay, first of all, I’m not going to sleep with a man I just met, so I’d appreciate it if you don’t insinuate something like that. Secondly, is there a reason I shouldn’t hang out with Jared? He seemed nice.”
“It’s obvious what he’s after.”
I lift my chin. “Maybe I didn’t mind it.”
“You did.”
I hate that he’s right. “Well, he actually talks to me without snapping at me, unlike someone I know.”
Bryce clamps his mouth shut.
Exactly.
I sit back against the seat, and cross my arms over my chest. “You know, this hot and cold routine of yours is really getting old. Besides, it’s not like you offered to teach me how to canoe. You don’t have the right to get mad when someone else does.”
He rolls to a stop at a red light, and stares straight ahead. “You want me to take you?”
“I’d rather you than Jared.”
And I hate how pathetic that sounds, but it’s the truth.
“But you didn’t ask me because I have a disability, so you assumed I couldn’t row a boat.”
“What?” I can’t help the edge in my voice. “The reason I didn’t ask you has nothing to do with your disability, but thanks for assuming the worst of me.”
“Then why?”
I pick at my thumbnail. “I’m enough of an imposition already. I’m living in your house, and you clearly don’t want me there. I didn’t want to bother you and ask you for more than you’ve already given me.”
He slides off his sunglasses, and sets his dark eyes on mine. “You’re not an imposition. I’m sorry I’ve been making you feel like one.”
“It’s fine.”
He reaches over the console, and clasps my hand. “It’s not fine.”
Sparks of electricity shoot up my arm, and my heart thumps against my chest. He holds my gaze like he’s willing me to understand what he isn’t saying.
But I’m not a mind reader, and I need him to give me something. “So, you’ll take me because you want to? Or because you don’t want Jared taking me?”
“Both.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling.
“I’d like to teach you how to canoe, Charly.” The traffic light turns green, but Bryce keeps his attention on me.
A small smile pulls at one corner of my mouth. “I’d like that too.”
