Huh, well, that wasn’t going to do. She was going to have to threaten to break more of his electronics later. Lydia noticed the small pile of clothes she’d been given was almost depleted. Lydia patted the bed next to her and took a sip of her coffee “I’m glad you woke me. I need to get up and get ready to go into town.” She glanced to what he held in his hand. “So what’s in the bag?”
Rick rounded her bed and climbed up on it next to her, setting his own coffee on the nightstand next to him. He pulled cartons of food from the bag. The smell of bacon wafted to her nose. He pulled out plastic silverware and napkins and handed them to her. “A little bit of everything. Eat up. If you’re like any of the other girls I know, we’re going to need the energy for our little excursion.”
Lydia paused, lifting the forkful of scrambled eggs to her lips. “Our?”
Rick winked. “I’m your escort and your bodyguard. Of course I’m going to take you.”
Lydia felt her brows pull together. She couldn’t imagine that he wanted to go with her. She hadn’t been nice to him yesterday. Lydia assumed that he’d be gone already, away from her on the first plane out of this crazy place.
“Of course, escort, bodyguard. I haven’t forgotten.”
Rick took a sip of his coffee and continued eating. “Besides, I’ve got my credit cards. All women loving spending money, right?”
Lydia shook her head. The man thought she was like all women. She did love her shopping therapy, but not with the man who threatened her sanity. Lydia glanced over at the clutch she’d brought with her and said a silent thanks that she at least had some of the credit cards and cash with her. She wasn’t stranded without a means to get back to Southall. “I’ve got my own money. I wouldn’t expect you to buy me anything.”
Rick shrugged. “Penance for being such a shmuck yesterday. Take it as a part of my apology and let me do this for you.” He grinned. “It will make me feel better.”
Lydia wasn’t going to argue with the man. She’d let him buy her a pair of jeans, but nothing else. If it would ease his conscience, she wouldn’t take that away from him. It was just a matter of time before she’d make her own mistake, and she’d give him back the same reasoning he’d given her.
Lydia slid from the bed and threw her empty containers in the trash. She grabbed the last pair of jeans, shirt, and matching bra and panties that still had the tags on them and made her way to the bathroom. Rick looked comfortable sitting on her bed, seeming to have no intention of leaving her in peace to change. “Give me five minutes, and I’ll be ready.” She closed the door behind her and clutched the last stitches of clean clothes to her chest.
Sitting that close to Rick had her heart racing and naughty thoughts running through her head. It didn’t help that she’d just had a dream about having sex with him. She needed to get control when she was in his presence, but it seemed to be a lost cause. An unexplainable reaction she wasn’t used to having. She glanced in the mirror and grimaced. She looked like a clown. Her red hair was knotted in clumps. She had bedhead. Crap. She mumbled to herself and hurried to change and fix her hair and put on her make-up in the five minutes she’d told him. Rick hadn’t said a word about how scary she looked. He’d brought her coffee and food. He deserved a medal in her book.
Lydia brushed her teeth and took one more glance in the mirror. She was decent. Her clothes were a bit snug, but she looked normal again, not like a clown from a bad horror flick. Lydia pulled the door open and glanced around her room. Rick was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she’d scared him away after all.
She grabbed her clutch and phone. She stuffed her little flip phone into her bra and walked out into the living room. Her muscles still ached from yesterday, and she knew it was going to get worse before it got better. A bit of normal shopping was what she needed. She imagined having lunch in a mall and calling her family to check in with them. She’d only been gone a day, but she missed them just the same.
Rick stood in front of her coffee pot with a phone pressed to his ear. He sipped his coffee. “Yes, sir. I understand.” Rick stiffened “I’ve got to go.” He hit the off button.
She took in the picture he made. His jeans were similar to the ones he’d worn the day before. A blue T-shirt stretched across his back. His brown hair had been combed and was still wet. She let her gaze lower to his butt. Her hands begged to squeeze it. The man was every bit as mouth-watering as he’d been in her dream.
Lydia felt her cheeks redden. Rick had turned with two cups in his hands. “Like what you see, Red?”
****
Rick turned with two Styrofoam coffee cups in his hands. He’d caught her red-handed. She’d been ogling his butt while he was on the phone. The sweet scent of strawberries had drifted to his nose while he was on the phone. He’d let his guard down and wasn’t sure how much of the conversation she’d heard. He let out a sigh. It couldn’t have been much since she was still standing in front of him. He handed her one of the cups. “I thought you might like some more coffee. “Was I wrong?”