Seriously.
I turn my head to look back out the passenger window, not because I’m mad, but because of the smile that is involuntarily creeping onto my face.
Damn that Flynn Caldwell and his devious charm.
Nix’s fiancée greets us at the door, telling us that Nix is doing some welding in his shop and that she’ll be teaching me the ropes. Emily Burnham is a pretty cool chick. She clearly comes from money, and I make that snap judgment based on the designer clothes she’s wearing and the expensive salon cut of her hair. I had those same things once upon a time, and I can honestly say I don’t miss it. The price that came with having those luxuries just wasn’t worth it to me.
Still, the one thing Emily Burnham is not, is snobbish. She immediately hugs me when Flynn introduces us, then coos over me like a mother hen for the ordeal I’d been through recently. Once that is out of the way, she eagerly takes me out back to show me Nix’s shop, and I throw a casual wave to Flynn as he gets back in his car to go visit his mom and dad.
I follow Emily to a workshop in the backyard. We enter and I immediately take in the surroundings. It’s lit with bright overhead, fluorescent bulbs and it’s neatly organized. The walls sport shelving stacked with various tools and implements that I have no idea what they do. In the corner, there is a tattered recliner and a mini-fridge. In another corner, there is a desk with a laptop, and I’m guessing it’s Emily’s workspace because it’s adorned with framed photos of her and Nix, as well as a vase of flowers. She girled the space up a bit.
“So, this is where you’ll work,” she says as she walks to the desk. “Flynn said you’re pretty computer savvy.”
I nod. “Yeah. I don’t own one but I use the one at the public library a lot.”
“Well, it’s mostly bookkeeping and tracking supply orders. Pretty basic software like QuickBooks and Excel. I’ll be able to teach you everything today, so consider this just an orientation.”
Emily boots the laptop up and drags a short stool from the large workbench that takes up the middle of the room. “Sit here and just watch. I’ll go through everything and then let you try some invoices. The password to log on is badthings.”
“Bad things?” I ask.
Emily gives a very un-lady-like snicker. “Yeah... I was singing the song Bad Things by Jace Everett when Nix and I had our first kiss. It seemed appropriate.”
I take the seat and peer over her shoulder as she explains how to keep Nix organized and his business running smoothly. It only takes her about an hour to show me the basics and, admittedly, it doesn’t look too hard. I’m pretty good with numbers and I expect after I do a few invoices myself, I’ll be working with no problems.
A door that sits on the far side of the room opens, and I get my first look at who I assume is Nix Caldwell. He gives me a quick glance and takes off his work gloves, throwing them on a nearby shelf. Without a word of greeting, he heads to the sink and washes his hands. Emily is engrossed on the computer and doesn’t seem to notice he’s entered.
Had I not known that Flynn and Nix were cousins, I would have pegged them as brothers. They have the same dark brown hair and hazel eyes, although his have a bit more green in them, but they also have the same nose and lips. Nix’s attitude seems a bit surly from the start, so I’ll have to wonder if he has dimples when he smiles.
If he smiles.
“Hey, babe... remind me what account I put this invoice under from Shogran Motors.”
Apparently, Emily did notice he walked into the room because she never even pulls her nose away from the computer to ask that question.
Nix turns away from the sink and he now has a smile on his face that is so warm and tender, I actually swallow a tiny lump in my throat. The smile isn’t for me though... it’s directed straight at Emily and he walks toward her without ever taking his eyes from her back.
I watch as Nix walks up behind Emily, bends over, and wraps his arms around her shoulders, crossing them over her chest. He leans his chin on top of her head and looks at the computer screen. “Put it under the account labeled ‘Kit Vendor’.”
Emily taps a few strokes on the keyboard and I follow her progress on the screen, making a mental note to myself to do the same the next time I get that invoice to enter.
“Thanks,” Emily says as she tilts her head back so she can see Nix. “You are an amazing man.”
Nix leans over and gives her a swift kiss on her lips. “I know. You lucked out with me.”
I’m almost embarrassed that I’m watching this interplay between them. I’ve never been an openly affectionate person and this display makes me a little uncomfortable, and just a little bit envious. I try to imagine Flynn wrapping his arms around me like that... leaning his body into mine... giving me a tender kiss. Just the thought causes a longing to rise up in me, but I quickly push it back down. I’ve struggled with my feelings for Flynn and it helped having him gone the last three days. The alone time helped me to refocus and I kept repeating the mantra, “Flynn and I are better off as friends” as much as possible. I hoped that by repeating it, it would sink in and I would accept it.
Emily stands up from the chair, dislodging herself from Nix’s embrace. “Nix... meet Rowan. Rowan... meet Nix.”
Nix straightens and leans a hip on the edge of the desk. He doesn’t reach out to shake my hand and he certainly doesn’t offer me a hug the way Emily did, which is just fine by me. Her hug weirded me out just a bit. Rather, Nix crosses his arms over his chest and gives me a quick once-over. I see distrust in his eyes and I have to wonder what I’ve done this early on in our relationship to earn that look.
“So... what’s your story, Rowan?”
His words seem pleasant enough but his body language doesn’t compute. Shrugging my shoulders, I tell him, “Not much of a story. Just an out-of-work girl looking for a job.”
My answer is evasive and Nix knows it is. The look of distrust in his eyes magnifies more. “Where are you from?”
“Brooklyn,” I tell him.
“And before that?”
“Texas... Lewisville to be exact.”
“Why did you come to New York?”
“Just wanted to see the world... got sidetracked by the glitz of The Big Apple.”
“Family still there?”
“To my knowledge,” I answer, starting to get irritated by his questions.
“To your knowledge? You don’t know?”
Okay... I’ve had it with his nosiness. “Is this a job interview because I was under the impression I already had the job?”
Glancing at Emily, I can see she’s worried by the way I snapped at Nix. By all appearances, he was making casual conversation, but I know he’s rooting around because he’s skeptical of me.
Nix just casually shrugs his shoulders, completely at ease with my bitchy attitude. “You have the job. I was just curious, is all. You start tomorrow... eight to five with an hour for lunch. You’re more than welcome to eat with me in the house if I’m here. If I’m gone, you’re on your own but there’s sodas in that fridge. And don’t be late.”
I’m not sure I like Nix very much... or at all. But he is now my employer, and he’s my new bud and roommate’s cousin, so I try to play nice. “Got it. Anything else you need to show me, Emily? Because if not, I think I got it.”
Emily pulls her puzzled gaze from Nix and looks at me. “That’s it. I’ll show you Nix’s stockroom and then we can go in the house and have a drink while we wait for Flynn to come back.”
Nix doesn’t say another word, just turns around and heads back through the door from which he had just exited a few moments ago.