One Kind Desire by Christine DePetrillo

Author:Christine DePetrillo
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: small town contemporary romance, enemies to lovers, workplace, forced proximity, Vermont, one kind deed series
Publisher: Christine DePetrillo
Published: 2022-05-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

A Second Spoon

Daniel

I hold my breath, waiting for Robin to say she’ll have a drink with me. Instead she sets the SUV keys on the console between us and gently slips her arm free of my grasp.

“I want to get started on creating that parent survey my mom suggested,” she says. “So I can have it ready to run by the superintendent and then I can distribute it.”

Her response includes too many I-statements. We had done the team thing pretty damn well all day, but now she’s backing away.

She nudges the keys toward me. “You go have a drink though. I suggest Albero’s. They have a nice bar and a great staff. It’s the fanciest you’ll get in Maplehaven.”

Robin opens her door and slides out of the SUV before I can say anything. She jogs up the porch steps and disappears into the cabin without looking back.

I feel a little like the Big Bad Wolf who scared away Little Red Riding Hood. So much for my plan to have Robin spend the night with me. I can’t even get her to have a goddamn drink.

I snatch up the keys, releasing a frustrated growl, and get out of the passenger side of the SUV. I walk around the back of the cabin and let myself into the basement. Remus is right there, ready to take a promenade around the yard, so we do that, but it does little to console my epic fail to get Robin to go out with me.

Back inside, I take off my suit jacket and tie. I freshen up in the bathroom, but leave on my navy suit pants and white button-down dress shirt. I unbutton the top button and roll up the sleeves at my forearms though. The look should be good enough for whatever Maplehaven considers a fancy restaurant. It’s a little pathetic to go out for drinks by myself—at only 3:30 in the afternoon—but if I stay here, my mood is going to get foul pretty fast. Especially as I hear Robin’s footsteps above me.

“I’ll be back, Remus.” I give my dog a vigorous ear scratching then head outside to the SUV. The sun is still out and it’s rather warm today, so I’m comfortable in my dress shirt with a T-shirt under it. Probably should take a coat for after sundown, but I don’t want to head back toward the cabin. The temptation to bust into the upstairs, throw Robin over my shoulder, and carry her off for a drink is too much.

She wants to just work. Fine. We can just work. Or she can work and I can work. Separately.

Only... I really liked the working jointly thing. I liked having her beside me on the couch when we were prepping, and I certainly liked being with her at the school today. It was nice to be on a team with someone who shares similar objectives. The win also felt bigger because it affected us both.

But I don’t feel like a winner now as I back out of the driveway alone.

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