Page 41 of The Love Duet
Deciding to bypass the awkwardness that was sure to come, I said, “I’ve decided to take you up on your offer of a job.That is, if it’s still available.”
She shot me a look that I imagined was reserved for her daughter.“I told you that the offer would always be available.”
“Then I appreciate the opportunity, though I cannot make you any promises, Pepper,” I told her.“I want to be absolutely clear about that.I can look for other online support groups to...to try to help me out, but I cannot make any promises.”
“I don’t recall asking you for any,” she retorted sassily, making me smile.
“Well, come on in, and you can join me for breakfast,” she offered, as if we’d been friends for years.“I’m a breakfast person, usually skipping lunch because we’re often busy, so I’m warning you now to bring your appetite to the table in the mornings.”
Not wanting to read too much into her ramblings, I ignored her comments, asking, “I know that this might be a lot to ask, but I can’t show up to work like this, Pepper.”
She scowled as she stepped back to let me inside her home again.“I imagine not,” she agreed.“That’s why I assumed that you’d be using my bathroom to ready yourself once you started working.”
“Jesus Christ, woman,” I swore as I shook my head.“You’re killing me.”
“What?”she asked as she shut the door.
“For someone who was attacked in her home, I’d think that you’d be more careful about just opening the door to strangers,” I drawled out.
“Well, I’m having cameras installed tomorrow morning or whenever, and so if you kill me, you’ll get caught,” she replied with another touch of sass.
“Some advice?In the future, don’t tip off potential criminals about the cameras.”
Instead of addressing my very valid point, she said, “The downstairs bathroom is all yours.”
Pride almost choked me as I said, “Uhm...while you have no idea how much I appreciate that, if I could get a small advance for deodor-”
“No need,” she announced, grinning at me again, her Cookie Monster slippers mocking me.“In the hopes that you might change your mind, I went to the store yesterday and got you everything that I thought you might need.”
I could feel my heart freeze in my chest.“You did what?’
Still beaming at me, she said, “I got you some deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, men’s bodywash, a toothbrush, a comb, some aftershave if you need it, and I made sure to stock the bathroom with toilet paper, toothpaste, towels, Q-tips, and hand soap.”
“You’re crazy.”
“You’re welcome,” she replied, arching a brow and putting me in my place.
“Thank you, Pepper,” I said, meaning every word.“For everything.”
Her face softened, and she looked wrecked when she said, “Even if you didn’t save my life from death, you saved it from something that could have ruined me fundamentally, and while you might see some deodorant and shampoo as a big deal, to me, none of it comes even close to what I owe you, Josiah.You stepped up in a world where most people would have gotten their phones out to record my attack rather than help me, andthat’sthe big deal.Not a toothbrush and some aftershave.”
“Be that as it may, you still deserve a thank you, Pepper,” I told her, my mouth practically salivating at the thought of a real shower.“And you’re still taking a very big chance on me.”
Her brows knitted over those bright blue eyes of hers.“Like the one that you took the other night?For all that you’d known, that man could have had a gun or knife, but that unknown still didn’t stop you from doing the right thing and helping me.So, if you were willing to take that chance on me, then I’m more than willing to return the favor, Josiah.”
She was going to kill me.
Absolutely kill me.
Pepper Milo was turning out to be everything that I didn’t dare hope for, and if I had any sense in my head, I’d race right back out her front door, never seeing her again.She was looking at me and treating me like a real person, and that was dangerous for a man like me.Hope was a cruel mistress, and she was standing before me in the form of Pepper Milo.Nevertheless, I couldn’t find it in me to walk away from her.At least, not yet.
“I’ll do my best not to let you down, Pepper,” I told her, not really knowing what else to say.
She cocked her head, her face as serious as I’d ever seen it.“How can you let me down when I already know what to expect?”
“You’re already expecting me to let you down?”
Pepper immediately shook her head.“No, I’m already expecting you to struggle, so I’m already prepared to be there for you when you do.”
