Page 17 of Falling for You

When I lift my head to look at Rex again, he’s still smiling.

“I know a guy who can stop over and look at your water heater, if you want. I could fix it myself, but something tells me you’d be more comfortable with a professional.”

“Why? You’re not competent? Not a handy man? You need to hire someone to help you with all your home repairs? Screw in light bulbs? Your skills only lie on your keyboard and behind a bar?”

He glares at me. “No, smart ass. I’m just saying that I’m not a professional.”

I shrug as if it’s no big deal. I think what he’s really saying is that he doesn’t want to make me uneasy by offering to come to my house. We’re still strangers, after all.

“I can give you one of my cards. Would that be okay?”

He smiles as if he just won. I realize giving him my card means that he now will know where I work, but that’s not exactly anything he’d have to work too hard to figure out, if he really wanted to.

I dig in my wallet and hand over one of my cards I keep on hand. His fingers brush against mine when he reaches for it, pulls it out of my grasp slowly, then pushes aside his vest and slides it into the front pocket of his button-down shirt. He pats his chest and winks slowly.

“You look like you were pulling some crazy mafia move just now.”

“Maybe Iamin the mafia, ever think about that?”

“Ooh and my bad day all happened for a reason and you’d set it all up so I could come to The Flying Goat tonight and you poisoned the desserts and now I’m going to die.”

“Right. Because you were my hit.”

I snap my fingers. “It all makes sense now!”

“Any last words? Dying wish before I feed you to the fishes?”

Tapping my chin, I pretend to think on it. “World peace seems like too big of a request. I don’t really care about getting my car or hot water heater fixed since I’ll be dead soon. So, nope. Just let me go. None of it matters once I’m in the afterlife and can haunt you.”

“Oh, so you’re going to haunt me?”

“Of course. You killed me. Don’t all victims haunt their murderers?”

“I would certainly hope so.”

We’re both grinning like idiots when our server places the leather book on the table. Before I can react and pay for my half like I had planned to do, Rex already has a stack of cash stuffed inside and is standing from his chair, hand outstretched to help me up.

“Rex, I can…”

“No. I invited you. I pay.”

For a brief second, I consider not allowing him to help me stand. I’m obviously able to do it myself. But then I change my mind. It’s been far too long since anyone has done something for me and sometimes it’s nice to be catered to.

Everything in my life I do on my own. There’s no one to help with things around the house or to grab dinner on the way home when I’ve had a long day. No family to step in and offer support or a shoulder to cry on, and I don’t like burdening my friends with any of those things. So I hold it all in, take care of life on my own.

“Thank you,” I tell him.

“You’re welcome, Chloe.”

“Not just for offering your hand or for paying for the dessert, which I would have done had you not had lightning fast reflexes and taken care of it yourself, but for tonight.”

“I told you it would cure your bad day.”

“Well, I don’t know if it’s cured, but it definitely turned it around.”

“That’s a start,” he says, placing his hand on the small of my back to lead me out of the restaurant.

I can’t help but think he’s right.

---