Stacey Joy Netzel Boxed Set by Stacey Joy Netzel

Author:Stacey Joy Netzel
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: romance, wisconsin, paranormal romance, paranormal, christmas, colorado, contemporary romance, titanic, bundle, boxed set, stacey joy netzel
Publisher: Stacey Joy Netzel

Chapter Three

From the corner of his eye, Jake saw Loral staring at his hands—or was it the speedometer? The only sound was the Christmas music and the rhythmic swipe of the wiper blades doing their best to keep up with the snow storm. While stewing over her phone call for the past fifteen minutes, and the “love you” at the end, Jake hadn’t accelerated over forty miles per hour on the slick roads. Now he wondered if she was frightened and eased up a bit on the gas pedal.

Not that he’d ask her to admit to fear. The way things were going, he was sure she’d bristle faster than a cornered porcupine. He settled for the cliché approach with a tilt of his head and an encouraging smile.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

Her attention jerked up before her gaze bounced away from his, and she stared out the window. Had she just blushed, or was it the light from the dash reflecting on her pale face?

“They’re not even worth that much,” she mumbled.

Besides his precarious financial situation, he also hadn’t asked her out before now because he didn’t want to complicate their business relationship and risk her not coming back to his shop. With that response, though, he wasn’t sure if he’d taken a step in the right direction, or two leaps backward.

He pushed aside the question of who she’d called and tried again. “I don’t think you’ve ever mentioned where you work.”

“I’m currently unemployed.”

Crap. “Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“So…what do you do when you are employed?”

“I’m a landscape architect.”

She didn’t volunteer more and Manheim Steamroller’s classic Christmas compositions filled the conversation void. Desperate for something to say, Jake said, “You know, a friend of mine owns a landscaping business—”

“I freelance, Jake. So, thanks, but no.”

He frowned at her abrupt dismissal. “All I was going to say was—”

“I don’t need your charity.”

That stupid pride of hers again. “Damn it, Loral, it’s not charity,” he ground out. “You didn’t even let me finish. It’s obvious you need money, so what’s so bad—”

“I am not discussing this with you,” she insisted in a frigid tone. “We don’t even really know each other.”

Not true. Over the past year he learned she was honest, determined, smart, witty, and sexy. Then again, he realized, she’d never revealed anything too personal. Like who had she called? He shoved that nagging question aside. Fine, then, she had a point that they didn’t know each other that well, but that didn’t mean he had to accept that excuse as the final answer.

“Then let’s change that. What would you like to talk about?”

Silence was her only reply.

“Loral?” He glanced at her stony profile and wondered if she was still holding a grudge over his earlier offer of a loan. He’d really put his foot in his mouth on that one, hadn’t he? And again with the job issue. Damn.

“Can you give me a break, here? I feel like I’m tip-toeing through a mine field trying to find a safe subject—and I refuse to discuss the weather,” he warned.

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