Page 70 of Not That Ridiculous

“How much is the door?”

“Free,” he said. “It’s free. Ordered one too many on the last job. Been sitting around gathering dust.”

I glared at him. “How much is it?”

I’d let him steamroll me this far. Quite frankly, I’d enjoyed it. Now wasn’t the time to investigate quite how much I’d enjoyed him making his statements about what he wanted, what he was going to do to me, and how all I had to do was go along with it, but it had been great.

Up to now.

“Told you,” he said. “It’s free. It’s a gift.”

“Fine, I’ll look it up.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and leaned around Kevin to read the signage on Ali’s van. I opened a browser window and started typing the business name in the search bar.

Kevin snatched my phone off me, bopped the power button, and slipped it into one of his cargo pockets.

“May I have that back, please?” I said stiffly.

“Fuck, no. You’ll get even more stroppy about it if you find the price.”

“That isn’t the only portal to the internet at my disposal, Kevin,” I said. “I have a laptop and an iPad in the house. Even if you beat me to them, I’ll find out eventually.”

“Yeah, but by then the door will be installed, you’ll love it, and I’ll have shagged the fight right out of you.”

“That’s looking more unlikely than it was a minute ago.”

“No, it’s not,” he said.

I put my hands on my hips. “Yes, it is. What?What? Why are you smiling at me?”

“You’re doing the sassy barista thing and I love it.”

“What does that even mean, ‘sassy barista thing’?” I growled.

“Trying to scold me and all, with that snooty look on your pretty face. It’s adorable.”

“I am nottryingto scold you. Iamscolding you.”

Pretty face?

“Uh-huh.” His eyes gleamed.

“Kevin. You can’t buy me a door! And then install it for free! It’s your weekend, Craig already has you running around on-call, you’re doing something for one of your mates this afternoon, and at some point on your day off you should get to do things you want to do.”

He hooked a hand around the back of my neck and tugged me in for a quick kiss. “I am.”

“I refuse to take advantage of you.”

He kissed me again. “You’re not.”

“I can’t afford a door like this.” My face burned when I said it.

“I can.”

“I don’t?—”

“This is so much easier with girls,” he said with a sigh.

It hit me like a shock of cold water right in the face.

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