“Even better,” he went on, “maybe you can spend the week I’m skiing looking for a job in Salt Lake. Maybe something that pays better. Maybe a roommate. They have to have a community college there and you could sign up for classes.”
A strand of her pale hair fell in front of her eyes, breaking up the suspicion on her face. “How do you know I’m not crazy?”
“How do you know I’m not crazy?” he countered, putting his chopsticks down.
“That was going to be my next question.”
He laughed. “That’s part of the adventure.”
Her head shook quickly, her hair bouncing about her chin. “No. Crazy men in my life are no adventure. One’s enough, thank you.”
“Do you really wonder if I’m crazy?” he asked, crossing his arms and leaning on the table, leaning in toward her.
“I guess not.”
“You guess not?” He chuckled, but her words sliced through him. For all that he sympathized with her distrust, being lumped in with any group that included her stepfather felt like being shoved into a tiny closet filled with people who smell like cat piss.
“Who but a crazy person asks a complete stranger to come with them on a road trip?” she asked.
True, but . . .
“Driving around the country on my own isn’t as fun as I hoped it would be.”
She blinked. God, when she decided to take a man’s measure, that man—at least Marc—felt the need to put his shoulders back and stand as tall as possible. He never wanted Selina to look at him and find him wanting.
“I’ll believe that, especially for you. But what if I’m crazy?” She raised an eyebrow. “You haven’t answered that yet.”
“If you were crazy, I think you would’ve jumped at the chance.”
She actually harrumphed. “What about money? I just said that I don’t have any.”
“I’m twenty-five and just sold an app for millions of dollars. I’m not asking you for money. I’ll already be paying for gas and hotels. You’ll be an extra mouth to feed. If you want to pay for your own dinners, you can. But I’m happy to pay for those, too.” Her company would be worth the minor additional cost.
“Because you’re lonely?” With her brow furrowed, she was the cutest mystified person he’d ever seen.
But lonely sounded scarier when she said it. “Well, yes. I’m lonely and need the company. You’re trapped and need the escape. We’re both getting something from the other.”
She narrowed her eyes at him again. “What’s the catch?”
“Does there have to be a catch?”
“You just sold your app for millions of dollars and are now wandering around the mountains alone. Sounds to me like there’s a catch to everything, even winning the lottery.”
Her words felt like someone swatting his nose with a small switch. Sure, it hurt, but more than the pain, what she’d said made his eyes water and he had to refocus on the world around him. “I guess that’s true. So then the catch is that you don’t know me and I don’t know you. If you say yes and we make horrible traveling companions, then we’ve both learned a lesson. If that happens, I’ll probably be willing to pay to get you away from me. And you’ll have to go. That seems like catch enough.”
“What about the last of my classes?” She was still protesting, but he could hear how halfhearted they were.
The great idea rushed out of him like a balloon releasing air. “Right. Tests.” He’d forgotten about those terrible things, blocked them out of his mind, really, because he’d never been good at taking tests.
“No tests this semester. Just a final paper.”
“You can e-mail that, then. I’m sure the professor will take it.”
Her mouth twitched. “You seem mighty sure for never having met this professor.”
“Do you have good grades already? I mean, if he’s pissed that you didn’t go to the last couple classes and e-mailed in the final paper, how bad off will you be?”
“Not too bad, I guess. I’m getting an A in the class right now. I probably couldn’t get the job, though,” she said, more to herself than to Marc.
“What job?” he asked, genuinely curious. It was a good sign for him if she already had a job in mind in Salt Lake.
All the stagnation she felt in her life seemed to come out with her sigh. “My professor has a friend who owns an art gallery. It’s silly, but it seems like the coolest job in the world. Not practical and I’d probably starve and be homeless on the salary, but I’ve always wanted to know what it would be like to work among pretty things.”
“You don’t know if you don’t ask.”
“Well, yes, but . . .” In the space between her words, he could hear her deciding to say yes to his plan.
“I’ll up the ante.” He pushed his hands across the table, palms up, maybe offering her the trip of a lifetime, maybe trying to get her to place her hands in his. He wasn’t sure. “If the guy punishes your grade for skipping out at the very end, I’ll pay for one of your classes. In Salt Lake City. Here. Wherever you want. That will give you some safety net, at least.”