“Uh-huh,” he replied, sounding almost cocky about it.
All I could get myself to do in response was grin at him, and for another five seconds, his dimple—and his smile—responded to me.
“Big plans for the rest of the weekend?”
He gave me that smug face. “No” was his short answer, which could have meant a thousand different things. “You think of a new favor yet?”
We were back to this.
Well, if he wanted to play this game, we could play it. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
The smug face turned into my favorite smart-ass one. “Luna.”
I smiled. “Ripley.”
“You think of one or not?” he grumbled but not in a mean way.
I scrunched up my nose at him and leaned forward a little as I lowered my voice and said, “For the thousandth time, boss, you really don’t owe me anything.”
“I really do,” he quipped back immediately, lowering his voice too.
“No, you don’t. We’re even.”
That dimple popped up and disappeared again so fast I thought it might have just been wishful thinking that I’d seen it again. “We’re not even until I do another favor for you,” he tried to claim.
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. You don’t have to do another favor for me. You didn’t have to in the first place.”
He blinked. “Think of a favor, Luna.”
I blinked back. “You think of a favor.”
He stared, and I definitely wasn’t imagining that his voice dropped into this thing that was too low to be called a whisper. “You want me to think of one?”
I ignored the way that went straight to my chest and lifted a shoulder, keeping it calm, keeping it cool. “Sure. Why not?”
That got me no response. Just like I thought. It’s not that easy, is it, Rip? I thought to myself before giving him a break.
“Do you know how to do tile work?”
“Tile work?” he asked slowly.
I nodded. “Yeah. How about you help me tile my bathroom?”
“Tile your bathroom?” he echoed, fueling up my inner pest.
“I’m just throwing out ideas since you’re being all desperate and needy about wanting to get this favor over with.”
If Rip could have sputtered, I was pretty sure he would have right then, because his expression…. “You say I’m being desperate and needy?”
Okay, so maybe I just wanted to screw with him a little. So I kept my mouth shut and took a small sip of my Sprite before adding, “It’s okay if you don’t know how to do
tile. Not many people can tear a car apart and build it back together like you can.”
The silence yawned between us for a moment and then three before… “How much have you had to drink?”
I burst out laughing. “It’s Sprite, boss. I don’t drink that much, and especially not in front of most people.”
Those eyebrows went up. “You don’t?”
He was still asking me questions. Okay. “Drink?”
Rip dipped his chin.
“One or two is okay, but even that’s rare. But get drunk? No. I’ve done it… twice, and it was for special occasions,” I informed him.
His finger drew a circle around the rim of his glass as he asked, “What were they?”
Was Rip trying to get to know me? I wanted to be excited about it, but… well… I wasn’t sure why he was doing it. But it was fine, I wouldn’t overthink it. “My twenty-first birthday and my best friend’s grandpa’s seventieth birthday.”
Rip looked at me. “Huh.”
Plastering a smile on my face, I went with changing the subject again. “But seriously, Rip, everything else aside, I want you to know I’m being serious about this favor thing. You don’t owe me anything. You don’t have to do anything. Going with me to the funeral was more than enough.”
“I don’t care what you think. I still owe you.”
I crossed my eyes and didn’t bother holding back a sigh. I didn’t even know why I was bothering insisting. Like he was going to change his mind. I could only wish.
And really, why was he being so freaking talkative? I liked it. I liked it a lot, but it didn’t make any sense.
Just as I was opening my mouth to tell him fine, someone called out “Luna!” right behind me.
I barely managed to glance over my shoulder when a male body stopped directly beside me. Tipping my head back, I found a familiar face grinning down at me.
“How’s it going?” the late twenty-something-year-old asked.
“Hey, I’m good. How are you?” I asked the guy back.
“Good, good. Owen invited us to come by.”
I smiled at him.
“I wanted to tell you. I did that rice thing you said to do with my phone last time I saw you, and it worked like a charm. Let me know if you want a drink. I got you,” he offered, sliding Rip a quick glance before dropping his hand off me. “Least I can do.”
“I’ll let you know, but I’m glad it worked.”
“See ya,” he said with a grin before turning around and heading back toward the bar, disappearing into a small group of people.
Turning back to Rip, I raised my eyebrows. “He works at one of the parts stores we order a lot of things from,” I explained when I noticed his gaze was in the direction the guy had gone.
That had my boss glancing back at me with that remote face.
“He’s nice,” I added for some reason I wasn’t totally certain of.
His fingers brushed over the stubble covering his chin, eyes zeroed in on me almost thoughtfully.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“What?” I insisted.
“Nothing, Luna.”
Okay then. If he didn’t want to tell me, I was fine with that.
“Luna!” another familiar voice shouted in the bar.
Glancing over my shoulder, the group of coworkers I had greeted when I’d first walked in—who were behind me—waved me toward them. “You can have my seat!” one of them offered.
“I’m okay!” I yelled back. “I’m all right over here.”
“You sure?”
I gave them a thumbs-up.
When I glanced forward again, Rip was taking another drink, and he was watching me.
“What?” I asked.
“Do you know everybody here?”
I rolled my eyes, hoping he’d know I was just playing with him. “Not everyone. Just like half of them,” I joked.
Honestly, it looked like he believed me, but what I didn’t like was the way his jaw kind of ticked to the side and how his voice went from tight to honestly a little sharp as he said, clearly, “I don’t need a babysitter.”
I couldn’t help it. I frowned.
“I’m not being a babysitter.”
“You don’t have to sit with me,” he said coolly out of nowhere.
What the hell had crawled up his butt? “I know that. I came over here and sat with you. If I had wanted to sit somewhere else, I would have,” I told him, trying to process his words and tone. “But if you don’t want me to sit here, I can get up and go. It won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t want me around. I don’t want to wear out my welcome.”
Damn it, why hadn’t I just said that he wouldn’t hurt my feelings if he wanted to sit by himself instead? I didn’t mean to make it… about me. But regardless, I didn’t shove my stool back and get up. I wasn’t going to show him his words and his tone bothered me.
Because they didn’t.
Much.
Before I got a chance to say anything else, my phone started to ring from inside my purse. Rip didn’t say a word to confirm or deny that he wanted or didn’t want me to sit with him. He didn’t tell me to leave either, but that didn’t make me feel much better. Phone out, I saw THEA flashing across the screen, and I answered it, cupping my hand around my mouth so she could hear me.
“Hello?” I pretty much yelled anyway.
“Luna,” her watery voice came over the line. “I got broken into.”
I froze. “What?”
“My place. It got broken into,” she explained with a sniffle that was so loud I managed to hear it despite the loud background. “What do I do?”
Shit. “Call the cops but not the emergency line,” I rattled off, trying to think. “You’re sure no one’s still in the apartment?”