Page 109 of The Nanny and the Hothead
“Why not?” the man stammered.
Had he always been this thick?
Mitch waved the guy to come closer. “Because Charlotte’s already got plans with me.”
Sweet tingle-mania! This man laying claim to her sent the dirtiest vibration thrumming between her legs. It would be a miracle if she didn’t evaporate into the air thanks to the frenzied vibration going on inside of her.
“What about tomorrow?” the idiot Cliff continued.
Mitch glanced at her with the cheekiest of expressions. He liked tormenting her tormentors. And she didn’t mind it one bit either.
She sighed dramatically. Two could play at this. “Sorry, Cliff, I’m busy. So very, very busy.”
“Oh,” the douchebag replied, standing there like his scoop of ice cream had fallen off the cone and onto the hot pavement.
“You heard her,” Mitch warned. “Hit the road, Cliff. Charlotte’s busy. So very, very busy.”
She bit back a grin. While his voice remained low and deadly, she could hear the tinge of amusement.
“What about my fancy grilled cheese? I’m hungry,” Cliff mumbled like a distraught toddler.
Mitch slid the plate with the sandwich in front of him. “What about it?” he said, then took a bite.
A BITE!
Cliff finally seemed to be catching on that he wasn’t welcome here, nor would he be eating a delicious artisan sandwich. “I better head out,” he said as Mitch took another monster-sized bite of the grilled cheese.
It took everything she had not to dissolve into a fit of giggles.
Cliff shifted his stance. “I don’t have to run, do I, like that other guy with two names? You won’t chase after me with this truck, will you?”
Mitch polished off the sandwich, then pulled the keys from his pocket. “Start her up, Charlotte!” he called as Cliff shrieked, turned on a dime, then hoofed it down the block.
She stared at the goofy man, arms flailing as he hightailed it out of there.
“He’s faster than the last guy,” Mitch remarked as they observed Cliff catch his toe on a crack in the sidewalk and eat some serious pavement before scrambling to his feet and disappearing into the city. Mitch sighed. “Nope, I take that back. The guy with two names was faster.”
She shook her head, pressing her hands to her mouth as she giggled. “I can’t lie. It’s not so terrible watching you use your hotheaded powers on the bad guys. But aren’t you worried? You were pretty rough on them.”
“They were pretty rough on you, Charlotte,” he answered, his features hardening.
“I get the whole laying it on thick with Sutton Bryan, but how did you know about Cliff?” she asked, watching him closely.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “This isn’t the first time I’ve seen Cliff.”
She put the pieces together.
“The speed date! That’s right, you were there! You heard me speaking with Cliff, didn’t you?”
“And I heard what he said to you. The guy doesn’t deserve you. He doesn’t deserve your kindness.”
“And my old boss? You’re not worried about him going off and telling the world the owner of Say Cheese, Louise threatened him?”
Mitch leaned against the counter. “He had it coming. Both of those tools had it coming. And it was my pleasure to dish it out.”
She held his gaze. The man’s self-assurance was intoxicating. “I suppose they did,” she replied, as that glimmer of mischief returned in his eyes.
“And just as a side note,” he began.
