“How about a refill for my friend?” he prompted.
The server offered an embarrassed smile, mumbled an apology, and topped off Nicki’s cup as well. He probably shouldn’t have taken as much satisfaction as he did in the way Nicki’s eyes glared at the waitress. If he didn’t know better, he might think Nicki was actually jealous.
“Boy or girl?” she asked finally when the waitress moved to the next table.
“Boy,” Sean answered, grinning. “Big guy, too.” He told her a little about the baby and Maggie and Michael. She listened, brows perpetually knitted, but refrained from any further comment. They sat in silence for a few minutes, a silence that should have been more awkward than it was, until his sandwich came. This time, Nicki didn’t acknowledge the server’s presence at all. It was rather disappointing.
“That them?” she asked, her eyes following the group passing through the lobby. Sean followed her gaze. Sure enough, he saw his father, brothers, and sisters-in-law moving en masse toward the exit.
“Yeah.”
“Shouldn’t you be with them?”
“I’ll catch up with them later.”
If he hadn’t been studying her so closely, he might have missed it. It was quite subtle, really, but for those few brief seconds while she was watching his family, something very raw and painful flickered over her features. It was gone before he had a chance to fully process it.
“Hey, you okay?” Sean’s voice pulled her back.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” she snapped. That quickly, the implacable mask was back in place, decorated with that scowl with which he was becoming so familiar.
That’s what he wanted to know. But he wouldn’t press her now. “You look tired.”
Nicki shrugged noncommittally.
“Are you working tonight?” (Of course he knew she wasn’t.)
“No,” she answered without further explanation.
“Well,” he said easily, polishing off his sandwich. “Maybe it’s for the best.”
Her eyes narrowed, and he could see her trying to connect the dots. It didn’t take long.
“You.” That weariness in her features changed almost instantly into something far darker. He held her gaze, neither confirming nor denying her suspicions. He didn’t even attempt to fake innocence. The sooner she understood, the better.
“You tried to get me fired. Why?” she asked, her voice low but decidedly venomous.
“I didn’t try to get you fired.” Technically it was true. He’d just had a little chat with his buddy Jason and reminded him of some owed favors. He might have suggested that Jason take her out of the spotlight, or that it might be prudent to keep her off the floor and away from the throngs. He might have hinted at the possible problems that might occur if anyone laid their hands on her. But that was entirely different than trying to get her fired.
Nicki, however, didn’t seem convinced. “I need that fucking job, cowboy.”
No, he wanted to argue, she really didn’t. What she needed was a job that required a decent amount of clothing and no physical contact with other men, preferably under his watchful eye. However, given the way her eyes were shooting daggers his way, perhaps now was not the time to share his opinion with her.
Instead, he shrugged slightly. “Everything happens for a reason. Maybe this is an opportunity. A chance for something even better.”
She snorted derisively. “Yeah. Because I have such marketable skills.”
“Nick tells me you know your way around an engine. Ever consider doing something with that?”
“You’re not really that stupid, are you? Because I have to tell you, you seemed smarter than the average caveman.”
“Was there a compliment in there somewhere?”
She made the cutest sound of feminine indignation, then clenched her jaw and bit out the single word denial. “No.”
Undeterred, he bit back a grin. “Seriously. If you’re half as good as Nick says you are, I could use your skills in the bays. What do you think?”
“Use my skills in the bays?” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Well there’s a euphemism I haven’t heard before. At least it’s a tad more original than the usual dipstick and rod references.”
“You think this is a come on?”
“I think you’re delusional if you think for one minute I’d believe you were serious about offering me a job as a mechanic.”
Sean glared at her, frustrated by her apparent inability to take him seriously about this. Granted, there was a very strong sexual attraction between them, but the offer was a bona fide one.