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.And while that might be okay for her, it wasn’t all right for Leah.Her daughter’s needs always had to come first.“No hard feelings.But we have to talk about something else.Have you heard back from your mechanic?”“I have.”“And? What’s the bad news?”He frowned.“Your car might live.”“That’s not bad news! That’s great.”She flipped the omelet over and lifted it with a spatula then grabbed Nick’s plate from the table.“I was hoping it wasn’t totaled.” She loaded the omelet onto the dish and set it in front of him.He took his fork and began eating.“How do you do it? This is better than the last one and that one was pretty damn good.”“I’m amazing.I can make an omelet.”Nick scoffed.“You’re a good cook, Brooke.Admit it.”“I do okay.So how much is it gonna cost for the repairs?”“It’s taken care of.”She blinked and stood completely still.“No, Nick.It’s not.Both of our cars were damaged.I owe somebody, something.I plan to pay.Do you have an estimate?”“I do.”“Well, where is it? Show it to me,” she ordered.Nick scratched his head and stared at her.She glared back and held her ground.He reached into his pocket and pulled out two pieces of paper from Napa Auto Body Works.Unfolding the papers, he laid them onto the counter and turned them her way.“Thirteen thousand dollars for your car! You can practically buy a new car for that!” Of course she’d had to collide into Nick and the most expensive car on the planet.“My insurance will cover most of it.”Relieved about that, Brooke peered at her estimate.“Forty-eight hundred dollars.” She breathed a heavy sigh.That would cut heavily into the money she had saved to start her business, not to mention fixing up the place.The broken interior door would have to wait, and so would the painters and new linens she’d need for the beds.And fixing the bathrooms.Still, she couldn’t make any repairs without her car.She needed wheels.“When can I have my car back?”“Maybe you should get another car.Randy said it was borderline.He could fix your car but it’s almost not worth it.”“I can’t do that.I can’t afford a newer car.”Annoyed that Nick would think it just that easy for her to buy a car, she turned away, working out her frustration by scrubbing the frying pan in the sink.A long minute stretched out in silence.“Brooke, turn around.” Nick was sure bossy this morning.She turned.“Listen, I have a proposition for you.I’ve got a 2006 Lexus just sitting in the garage waiting to be driven.The insurance is paid up on it for the rest of the year.It’s yours if you want it.”She laughed at the thought, shaking her head.“Yeah, you’ll just give me a car.”“Not give.You’ll work it off.”“Work it off?” Her smile faded instantly.She closed her eyes to small slits.“I feel the need to slap you coming on.”“Cooking,” he explained.“Cooking?”“You need a car.I need a cook.Correct that, I desperately need a cook.Carlotta’s been a pain about who she’ll let into the house.The last cook I tried to hire had Carlotta threatening to quit, but she’ll jump for joy at having you here.”She immediately began shaking her head.“No, it wouldn’t work.I’ve got a job.I’m going to be spending all my time at my aunt’s place.My place now.”“You said yourself, it’s in bad shape.You can stay here while you work on your place.” The idea seemed to take hold, snowballing as Nick became more adamant.“I’d only need you for breakfast and dinner.You’d have all day to work at the house.”“I’m not staying here.”“You shouldn’t have made me that omelet, Brooke.My stomach’s involved now.You need the car.I’m tired of eating restaurant food.It’ll work out for both of us.Think about it.”She didn’t’ want to think about it.She didn’t, but his offer was too good not to at least give it some thought.“How long before I earned the car?”“For as long as you need to get your place up and running.A couple of months?”“That’s very generous of you, but I can’t—”“Your car doesn’t have air bags,” he pointed out none too gently.“You’d be foolish to fix that car.”She squeezed her eyes shut, reminded of what might have happened.The accident could have been far worse.“Think of Leah,” he added without missing a beat [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]