A moment later, Mandy calls out, “Are you guys decent?”
I roll my eyes at her and shoot Kellan an exasperated look. I find him gazing at me, but his expression isn’t quite as irritated as mine.
Because he doesn’t want to be decent with me. He’s made that part pretty clear. And because he’s not a guy who beats around the bush; he seems to like to keep all women informed about his intentions.
“I can’t believe you just said that,” I say to Mandy as we head back inside.
She shrugs and squeezes out of her jacket, tossing it at the foot of the couch the same way she does back home. Kellan glares at the jacket like it’s the poor fabric’s fault, but doesn’t comment.
So, he’s the tidy kind. I add that to my mental drawer of information I’ve gathered about him.
“Did you find the town?” Kellan retrieves the jacket and drapes it over the back of a chair.
Mandy freezes as she hears insistent barking, ignoring Kellan’s question. “Wow. Is there a dog in there?”
“It’s Sniper,” I say.
Mandy watches us with a knowing smirk on her face. “Look at you, guys. You already look like an old married couple.”
“Not a fan of marriage?” Kellan remarks, brows raised.
“Actually, quite the contrary,” I say, amused. “She finds old, married people cute.” I grimace at him. “Don’t get her started, unless you want a rendition of The Notebook with all its literary merits and its relevance to today’s society.”
A blank question mark flickers on his face, and I smile.
He has no idea what The Notebook is.
If he continues to be a big jerk, I’ll let Mandy unpack her all-time favorite movie, which I’m sure is safely stashed in her suitcase because she never travels without it, and dare him to watch it from the beginning until the very sappy ending.
“Did you know there’s a freaking western movie out there?” Mandy ask and plops down on the sofa.
“She’s probably talking about the landscape,” I say and look at Kellan, barely able to hide my smile. Something—is that amusement?—flickers in his eyes.
He’s looking at me intently as he asks Mandy, “How far did you get?”
Holy shit.
Is there something growing on my nose, or why the fuck won’t he look away? If he continues to be so weird, Mandy will get all suspicious and then will start drilling me for details, her dirty imagination making up things that will never happen.
“I got as far as the next town,” Mandy says slowly.
“You drove all the way?” I ask incredulously.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Mandy retorts, slightly annoyed. “I wish I hadn’t bothered though. All I found was a string of taverns glued together. And get this. There are no shops. Not even a Starbucks. I don’t know how those people survive. It was literally impossible to find a working phone. Or an Internet café. Even the post office and the police station were closed.” She raises her brows the way she always does when something strikes her as unbelievable.
“That’s probably the storm’s fault,” Kellan says patiently. “Phone lines are often down during and shortly after bad weather. The main roads are also blocked by uprooted trees. It takes a while to clean it all up, which takes all the manpower the sheriff can get.”
“Yes.” Mandy draws out the word. “But that usually only happens in movies. I need to get a manicure and make a very important phone call. Not to mention the fact that I really need to check my emails. Maybe you could point me to the nearest hotel, preferably one that has a spa and deluxe rooms. And I wouldn’t mind a well-stocked mini bar. Anything to help me sleep through the days I’m stuck in the middle of nowhere.”
“Of course.” Kellan winks at me. “The hotel’s down that way.” He points out the window, in the direction of the barn, and I can barely stifle a snort.
Now that Mandy thinks I’m interested in Kellan, she no longer sees the need to pretend, so she’s basically returned to her true NYC persona. Gone is the pretend off-the-grid nature fan she was about to morph into last night when she thought Kellan and she might turn into an item…if only for a night.
“I didn’t see it,” Mandy says.
“That’s because there’s nothing there,” I say.
Her eyes narrow on Kellan and me. I can see her little head working. “Did you guys have fun?”
“She sprained her ankle.” Kellan points to my bandaged leg, ignoring her question.
“Oh.” Mandy looks at me, disappointed. “In that case, we can’t leave just yet.”
“I can walk around, though it still hurts a little,” I say. “But my ankle’s not the reason why we need to stay. It’s the car. The mechanic’s not been here yet, so I don’t know how long it’ll take to get it repaired.”
“Damn. And there’s no way we can borrow his?” She gestures at Kellan like he’s not standing there listening.
“Mandy!” I give her my usual ‘don’t you dare’ glare. “We’re already imposing.”