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I wonder if—
I jumped at a bang on my window. Sarah stood with her arms crossed and white puffs of air streamed from her nose. “It’s freezing out here, roll down the damn window,” her muffled voice penetrated inside the truck.
“What’s going on?” I asked, rolling down the window.
“Come inside.”
I didn’t even try to hide my eye roll. “Sarah, we talked about this. I’m fine where I am.”
“No, you’re not. It’s cold tonight, and I have warm lasagna inside. I can’t eat knowing you’re sitting out here cold and starving.”
“That’s a little dramatic,” I said, although not entirely wrong. My stomach had the bad grace to growl at that moment. She raised a pointed eyebrow at my weakness.
“Ok, you can bring me a piece.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not your server, Jake. Come inside and eat dinner with us.”
“I wasn’t exactly invited.”
“Oh, did I forget to mention that she invited you?” she added sweetly.
“I highly doubt that.”
“Well, come inside and prove me wrong.”
I sighed. “Nice try, Sarah. I’ll just stay where I am.”
Sarah pursed her lips and tilted her head. “You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“Wh-what?” I sputtered. “Scared of what? A home-cooked meal? No, I’m just doing my job.”
She shook her head. “You feel something and you don’t want to come in. Is that it?”
“Why would you say that?”
“Because you haven’t been in a relationship since Janine cheated on you, that’s why. You can’t be afraid—”
I gritted my teeth. “I’m not scared, Sarah.”
Her face softened. “All right. All right. You’re not scared. But you are hungry. Come inside,” she said, and then added, “It’s only dinner.”
While there was no written rule, I rarely stayed inside a client’s home unless it was necessary for the job, or I was invited in. Neither appeared to be the case here, so I was hesitant to walk into Nikole’s home. Although, I wasn’t sure if it was my professionalism or my pride talking.
As Sarah stood there, the wind picked up, and she shivered. “Get inside, Sarah. It’s freezing out here.”
“I’m not going in without you.”
I sighed. I was making this a bigger deal than it needed to be. “Fine. But if I get one look or any indication that Nikole does not want me there. I’m out.”
Sarah’s eyes widened, and I nearly climbed back into the car. “Sarah…” I said, watching her face. She licked her lips. “Well, she didn’t exactly voice the invitation. She sort of just shrugged her agreement.”
I groaned loudly and turned to get back into the truck, but Sarah stopped me, pulling on my arm. “Please, for me. Just come inside for a little while. I’ll get indigestion knowing you’re out here all by yourself.”
Her voice wavered, and I knew she was serious. Her eyes creased, and she even smiled. “Please.”
“All right. But just for a little while.”
She clapped her hands when I climbed out. I put my arm around the insistent pitbull and pulled her into my side.
