Page 35 of Positively Pricked

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My gaze narrowed. "You were in the hot tub, weren't you?"

I should've known. It was the only thing that made sense. Probably, the tub's temperature was set so high that this whole standing-around-in-the-cold thing was some sort of cool-down. Probably to him, the air felt brisk and refreshing.

Thathadto be it. And stubbornly, I wanted him to admit it. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"No."

Damn it."Are you sure?"

He gave me a look. "I was swimming."

"Oh." I paused. "So the pool's heated?"

"No."

I couldn’t help but stare. "Seriously? Aren't you cold?"

"What doyouthink?"

"I think you're crazy."

"Trust me." His voice grew deadpan. "You have no idea."

He was right. I didn't. And I never would, because if I had my way, I'd never be seeing him again. With that in mind, I said, "Good. Because I don't want to."

Huh?

EvenIwasn't sure what that meant. Regardless, it was definitely an exit line. So with my head held high, I marched past him, heading toward my car, only to feel my steps falter halfway as a terrible realization hit home.

I whirled around and said, "Wait!"

To my surprise, he'd barely moved. But it was easy to guess why. He wanted to make sure I was long gone before ducking into the warmth of his mansion.

I gave him a hard look.Not yet, buddy.

I stalked forward until we were standing within arm's reach. I said, "You're notreallygoing to fire that guy, are you?"

"The guard? Hell yeah."

My stomach sank. "But you can't."

"I can," he said. "And I will."

Damn it.This was all because of me and my stupid car. I couldn't let that happen. "But…" Desperately, I looked around. "It can't be justyourdecision. I mean, the neighbors get a say-so too, right?"

"Wrong."

"But—"

"The guy's gone. Forget it."

Crap.I tried again. "But he was really nice."

Zane's jaw tightened. "Was he?"

"Definitely. So you should keep him." I shoved aside my loathing, and summoned up a hopeful smile. "I mean, nice is good, right?"

"For a guard?" Zane eyed me with cool contempt. "No."

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