“Um, no, we really do have pizza night on Thursdays,” he says. “It’s our one unhealthy night, but it’s voluntary, so if you hate it or, uh, miss the broccoli and salad?—”
“No.” She points at me. “Him. What the fuck is he doing here?”
“Who? Reid?”
“Yes!”
Luke glances between us, confusion flickering across his face. “Well, it’s kind of hard to get rid of him, considering he co-owns the place.”
“What?”
“Yeah. Co-owner. Three of us. Me, him, and Talon, though you’ll probably never meet Talon,” he adds, obviously struggling to get a grip on what’s going on.
She stares at him, stunned, then swings her gaze back to me, her nostrils flaring, her whole face flushing red with fury.
If only she didn’t look so damn beautiful when she’s furious.
“I can explain everything,” I say, my hands held wide, and that finally breaks her frozen stare.
“No.” She shakes her head violently. “Abso-fucking-lutely not.” She storms back to Luke’s truck, yanks the passenger door open and gets in, slams it shut, then screams out the window, “Get me off this mountain right… fucking…now!”
Luke’s confusion sharpens into alarm as he looks at me, the unspoken question plain in his eyes: “What the hell did you do to her to make her this mad at you?”
I sigh and step towards the truck, my hands still apart. “Sierra…”
“No. I’m not doing this, Reid. I’m not fucking doing this.”
“Just come inside. Let’s talk.”
“Why am I even here?”
“You said you wanted to check out the place.”
“Did you know who I was when you replied to that email? Did you lure me here?”
“No. Our social media guy booked you in, and then afterwards he forwarded your booking to me.”
“And it never occurred to you to pick up the phone, or write and tell me who you were?” Her eyes flash with pure rage. “And I suppose this must be where you’ve been hiding all this time?”
“No. Not all of the time. Just come in first, and I’ll tell you everything.”
“No way. Forget it. I want to leave.”
“Please… just give us a chance—give me a chance.”
She shakes her head, breathing hard.
“What happened to liberating the crazies?” Luke cuts in as he wanders closer. “I thought that was your whole mission up here.”
That stops her cold. She bites her lip, her brows knitting, then shoots him a glare too.
“Look, I’m not sure what the hell is going on,” Luke says, “or how you two know each other. But the fact is you can’t go anywhere tonight, even if you want to. Your car won’t be drivable for a few hours, and by then it’ll be dark. At minimum you’ll have to stay for tonight at least. Then tomorrow, if you want, I’ll take you back to your car, we’ll top up the coolant and water, and you can go.”
I open my mouth to argue—I don’t want her going anywhere—but Luke shoots me a sharp warning look, and a moment later I understand why. The offer calms her. Not much, but enough.
She rolls her eyes, opens the truck door, and steps out.
“Okay, if I have to. But just for tonight. Is that clear?”