Page 80 of Don't Bet On It
“Do you think you can have sex without feelings?”
“I can try. Maybe that should be a consideration too. If somebody thinks they’re catching feelings, we’ll end things immediately. That way, nobody will be hurt.”
“Catching feelings?” I was amused despite myself. “That is a hilarious way to put it.”
“I thought you might like it.” His smile was warm and friendly, and it did funny things to my insides.
I pursed my lips, considering. “You do realize that fraternization in the same department is a no-no, right? Kyla has brought that up more than once.”
“Kyla.” He made a growling sound deep in his throat. “I’m not too worried about her. She’s proven to be problematic on more than one front. All we have to do to keep her out of our business is not let her know what we’re doing. It’s not as if we flirt at work.”
We bantered. Occasionally, we insulted one another. That wasn’t flirting, though. Well, mostly. “I don’t dislike the idea. We both need to be careful at work. When we’re on shift, we’re just two people who used to go to high school together.”
“I agree.” He forked up some of his omelet. “We should also keep this arrangement to ourselves because … well, you know why.”
“You’re worried that I’ll tell Livvie,” I guessed.
“I like Olivia,” he said hurriedly. “I like Zach and Rex too. If they find out, though, it could backfire on us.”
“It shouldn’t be hard to keep it from Livvie. Her entire life is her pregnancy right now. Plus, she thinks I hate you because of the whole standing me up for prom thing.”
Ronan’s expression went stony. “I don’t like you reminding me of that. It makes me feel guilty.”
“Why should you feel guilty? It was stupid Becky Carpenter. She’s the one who did it. She’s the one who should feel guilty.”
“Yes, well, I still don’t like it.” He used his napkin to wipe the corners of his mouth. “Do you know what happened to her?”
I was suddenly suspicious. “No. You’re not going to track her down and give her a piece of your mind, are you?”
“That wasn’t the plan. I was hoping karma got her.”
“Oh, it did.” I didn’t have to see my reflection to know that my smile was evil. “Last I heard, she married Rodney Buchanan.”
Ronan looked genuinely confused. “Why is that funny?”
“Because Rodney hits on every showgirl he crosses paths with. He takes a blanket approach. For every hundred showgirls he approaches, he’s turned down by ninety-nine of them.”
“What does he do with the one he actually catches?”
“I believe he gives her a raging case of crabs. That’s the rumor I heard anyway.”
“Well, I don’t condone cheating,” Ronan sniffed. “Since it’s happening to Becky, though, it’s okay with me.”
“That’s my philosophy.”
He sipped his juice. “So, we’re agreed? About the arrangement between the two of us, I mean.”
“I agree to your terms.” I jutted out my hand for him to shake.
Amusement lit his eyes as he took it.
“Friends with benefits until whatever this thing is burns out,” I said. “I can’t imagine it will last for long. Then, when it’s over, we’ll go back to being loose friends.”
“We were never really friends,” he reminded me.
“Maybe not, but that was because I thought you stood me up at prom. Now that I know you didn’t purposely do that, I’m okay being your friend.”
“Yeah?” He smiled. “Well, then to our new friendship.” He gripped my hand tightly. “I think it’s going to be a bumpy but fun ride.”
