Page 74 of Strike It Witch

“Obviously.” He leaned against the trailer wall and hiked his legs onto the bench seat, feet dangling off the edge. I felt his gaze on me as I moved around my kitchen. “I can’t get over how soft you look today. Feels like I’m seeing you naked.”

“Trust me, you aren’t.” I grinned. “It gets even better.”

“Godsdamn, Betty.” His wolf flashed in his eyes. “You really do check all the boxes.”

I set his sandwich in front of him, added some pita chips, a banana, and a plate of Mexican sweet bread I’d picked up at the panaderia in La Paloma. Cecil had requested conchas yesterday, and since he was taking on the brunt of the weeding in the garden room, I’d obliged him. “Boxes?”

He picked up his sandwich, took a bite, chewed. “Don’t act like you don’t know what I mean.”

He was right. I was being purposefully obtuse, and it was beneath me. “Thanks for the compliment.”

“You’re welcome.” He took another bite, chewed, swallowed, and squinted up at me. “How many times have I asked?”

“Five times,” I said, this time not even playing at misunderstanding. “You’ve asked me out five times.”

“You counted?”

“Yes.”

A slow grin spread across his mouth, curling up one corner and sending a shine into his eyes. “I don’t mind a little punishment in the right situation, but I’m not a masochist.”

“Good to know.” I popped a pita chip into my mouth. “So, you’re saying you want to befriends?” I slapped emphasis on the last word, reminding him of how we’d left things last time.

“The thing is, I don’t like it when someone tells me they want to be my friend then make a move on me. Because they never wanted to be friends, it was only a steppingstone to getting into my pants.” Ronan gave me a cheeky smile. “It’s that ‘friendzone’ bullshit. No one gets ‘friendzoned.’ People pretend to want to be friends then they ‘sex-zone’ you.”

“On this we agree,” I said.

“So, I’m going to tell you right now that I consider you a friend. However, I want to be clear about my intentions. I like you and want more, but I want friendship, too. If we aren’t on the same wavelength, it’s cool. I just want to know, is all.”

I stared hard at him. “I don’t know what to say, and this isn’t me being coy. It would be stupid to pretend there isn’t an attraction between us, but it would be equally stupid to pursue it considering my antagonistic relationship with your father, who’s also the alpha leader you serve.”

There. That was honest. And I got the whole thing out without my voice trembling. Because the truth was, I wanted Ronan. In fact, I would’ve liked nothing more than to push him onto my bed and give my trailer’s stability jacks a run for their money.

But it wasn’t a good idea for us to get involved, and I didn’t think it ever would be, even without the wolf-shaped obstacle between us. I was leaving Smokethorn as soon as I could. And something told me Ronan wasn’t the sort of guy you walked away from without a second glance. Everything about him screamed “forever.”

His smile faded, and he nodded grimly. “I get it. I’m not going to ask you out again.”

It was for the best. Damn me for being disappointed.

“Buuuutif you were to ask me out, I’d say yes. I’d expect a nice dinner and no funny stuff on the first date. I’m a respectable man.”

I couldn’t fight the smile that curved my mouth. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You do that, Betty.”

Chapter

Nineteen

We ate lunch then Ronan offered to clean up, but there was barely enough room for me to move around in the trailer, so I let him give me a rain check.

“Want to tell me why you stopped by today?” I ran soapy water in the sink and dunked our dishes into the suds. “Or was it just to nail down the friends-vs-more thing?”

“That was a bonus.” His gaze followed me as I worked. “I’m actually here about the cursed book. Alpha wants to attend the official handoff of theWeret-hekau Maleficium. Assuming you haven’t yet acquired it?”

I shook my head. “Not yet. Soon.”

“When?”

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