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Earning another laugh from her might actually be worth the very slim chance I could lose this property because of my goddammed dick.
“That’s it? That’s all you want.”
Walking over to her, I dropped down so that my lips were so close to her ear I had to whisper. “If I win, Natalie, I’ll already have what I want.”
Standing, I watched her reaction, any doubts I had about our little contest erased. Did I think her attraction to me was stronger than her desire to keep that land?
Not yet.
“There is one stipulation.”
She looked up at me with an “of course there is” expression.
“You can work, and catch fresh air, at my place. That way, if you have any questions, I’ll be there to answer them. Since,” I rushed to add, “your job seems pretty portable.”
She opened her mouth, likely to tell me to go screw myself, and then closed it. Natalie had to know a good deal when she saw one.
“How often?”
“Until the deal goes through.”
“Except you’re not buying the land. I will win this bet.”
She was pretty confident of that. “I will move forward but pull my bid if necessary.”
“I have some fieldwork on other jobs too.”
“When you’re working on my case,” I conceded, “my place.”
“Fine. Starting tomorrow.”
“See you in the morning, sunshine, with your coffee ready and waiting.”
With that, I turned and left, knowing I’d pushed my luck as far as it would go. Had I just potentially put an insane amount of money on the line? Maybe. But I’d put a hell of a lot more on the line in the last ten years. This was just money.
Besides, I intended to keep it, and get the girl, too.
TWELVE
natalie
“He did what?”
As I drove to Jaxon’s house, I remembered the conversation I’d had with Charlee yesterday the second he’d walked away. When I texted to tell her I needed to talk, she had actually showed up at Devine. Apparently, she’d been out and about already. We finished off the donuts Jaxon left as I dished the news.
“I’m not kidding. He actually bet me that we’d get together before the sale went through. If we don’t, he said he’s going to shut down the deal.”
“And you believed him?”
“Do Army Rangers lie?”
Charlee had laughed at me. “I have no idea, but I assume they’re capable of it. But I see what you’re saying. He does seem like the kind of guy who’s a man of his word, if nothing else. But that’s insane.”
“Totally insane. I’m gonna feel him out tomorrow, see if he really means it.”
“Just don’t literally feel him out if you want that inlet to stay unsold.”
Even now, driving toward his house, I could feel Jaxon’s breath in my ear. Luckily, I’d been wearing long sleeves so he couldn’t see the goosebumps that had broken out all over my arms. I could feel them, feel my neck flush, as I imagined his deep voice in my ear saying other things.
