Worth It (8 page)

I look back over at Anna working around the kitchen. I catch her attention and try the smile again. A blush creeps up her neck, and she shyly smiles back. That makes me relax more because it seems like I am affecting her.
Good.

“Oh shit. Okay, I’ll be right there, honey. Just keep pressure on it. I’m on my way.”

My uncle’s anxious voice pulls me back to him.

“What happened?” I ask, concerned.

“Your aunt cut her finger while making a salad to go with the subs. It’s not too bad, but she thinks she’ll need stitches. I gotta…oh shit, I need my car, and I told…shit.” He brings his fist to his mouth, the wheels in his head turning fast and furiously.

Perfect.
“I’ll drive her.” I’ll get a chance to talk to her while doing her a favor at the same time. It’s win-win.

His eyebrows shoot up, and his lips twist to the side as he thinks it over. He looks over at Anna as she’s bustling around the kitchen, making orders, and then he sighs warily. “Let me go talk to her first.”

Donnie motions Anna over, and she walks to meet him.

I didn’t realize it before, but offering to drive a chick I don’t know was a little forward.
Too much?
I’m out of my element here. I’m not used to shy girls.

I watch her facial expression as he explains the situation, and I’m struck again my how cute she is when her face gives away what she’s thinking. At first, she shows concern, and I assume he’s telling her about Aunt Rose, but then her eyes shoot to mine. With a surprised look, her face turns scarlet as he continues talking, and she looks down at her twisting hands. I grin when she peeks up at me through her lashes, and her lips curl.

Ah, there’s the coy smile I’ve been waiting for.

She nods, and then she heads for the kitchen as Donnie returns to me.

“All right, she said she doesn’t mind if you give her a ride.”

I’d rather her ride me.
Clenching my jaw, I tell myself to calm the hell down.

Uncle Donnie continues, “I told her you’re a good guy and not a serial killer.”

My jaw drops.

“I think you guys will work out, but you need to rein it in a little.”

“What? I said four words to the girl.”

“Fine, whatever. I need to go. Just tone down the leering,” he says before rushing out the door, not waiting for my response.

Well, fuck me.

I walk over and lean against the counter. I tap my fingers on its smooth surface, thinking about what my uncle said.
I wasn’t fucking leering. I was using the smile.
It works every time, but now that I think about it, I use it
while
I’m talking to a chick. Maybe it did look like I was leering, but she’s fucking hot. I sigh. I’m gonna have some time to chat her up when I’m driving her home, so there’s no point in overthinking shit.

Finally, I notice her walking in my direction, holding what I assume is my sub, and I can’t help myself when my lips tip up. The redness that spreads across her cheeks is cute, and I smile wider.

“How do keep track of everything when you’re running around like that?” I ask as she hands me my sub.

She gives me a half smile and shrugs as she says, “Practice.”

I nod as I reach into my back pocket for my wallet. “How much do I owe ya?”

She dismisses my question with a wave of her hand. “Don’t worry about it.”

My eyebrows pull together.

“It’s the least I can do for you giving me a ride.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. It’ll give us a chance to talk.”

Her eyes widen slightly. “Talk?”

I chuckle. “Yeah, you’re cute, and my uncle thinks we’d be good together. I figured we could talk and see if we hit it off.”

I can’t say that I expected the deer-caught-in-the-headlights reaction, but I think it’s a good thing. She already seems different than the women I’ve met.

“Hit it off?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Uh, yeah.”

“God, sorry.” She shakes her head and looks down. “I’m acting like an idiot.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I grin. “Let me pay for my sub.”

“All right,” she mumbles. “Seven dollars, please?”

I pull out a ten, and when she doesn’t look up as she grabs the bill, I frown.

Damn, she’s hot and cold.
Ducking my head, so I can meet her eyes, I say, “Hey.”

When she still doesn’t look up, without thinking, I reach out to tip up her chin. Just before I make contact with her smooth skin, she jerks back.

Shit.
Maybe it was too forward of me to touch her. But most women melt into my touch, not away from it. Maybe I was reading her wrong, and she’s not interested at all.
Well, that’s a fucking punch to the face.
I finally meet a girl who catches my attention, and she doesn’t want me touching her. I need to retreat, regroup, and up my game. Honestly, normally, I’d laugh and say,
your loss
, but something about her makes me want to try harder instead of walk away.
Or is this part of the cat-and-mouse game?
I don’t know because I’ve never played it.

She hands me my change without a word or a glance.

“What time do you get off work?” I ask, trying to get her to say something.

She wrings her fingers nervously. “Um, I’m out at nine tonight, but I was hoping you could maybe drop me off at my friend’s house? We kind of have this weekly Friday night thing. We play Rock Band and just laugh and stuff. I don’t want to miss it. I can totally get a ride home from there, so if you don’t mind, I would be really grateful if—”

“Anna,” I interrupt her rambling with a slight chuckle, “really, I don’t mind dropping you off wherever you need to go.” I hesitate before I mentally say,
fuck it
. “I’m looking forward to it,” I add.

Her eyes meet mine, and her face lights up. She seems happy, flattered even, and my shoulders relax, but then her smile slips.

She finally nods, reserved. “Okay, thank you, Jed. I really appreciate this. I’ll see you a little later?”

Jesus Christ, I can’t figure this woman out.
I flash her a grin and say, “Okay, I’ll see you then.”

As I leave the pizza place and walk back to the shop for my truck, I’m so fucking confused. I don’t know what it is about this chick that makes me want her so bad. I get that she’s hot, really hot, but there’s something else.
Maybe her shyness is a challenge for me to get her to open up?
I don’t know what the fuck is going on in her head. She’s hot and then cold. She’s shy, I get that, but I don’t think that’s it. There’s something about her that makes me want to find out what
it
is.

Watching the model of male perfection walk out the door, my stomach twists in knots. He’s undeniably gorgeous. He’s about six-three with a broad chest and shoulders, muscular build, and raven hair. The slope of his straight nose, high cheekbones, and angular jaw showcase his flawless, rugged Italian features. His eyebrows are as dark as his hair, and his long eyelashes surround his second-best feature—his chocolate colored eyes. I
love
chocolate. His smile is just…
gawd.
No words.

Sighing, I return to work. Like any other Friday night, we’re busy, and I’m sure I’ve already irritated my boss, Christos, by speaking with Donnie and Jed. I sure as shit don’t need to give Alex, the boss’s asshole brother, any more ammunition to be a sexist dickhead. I rush back to the monotony of making pizzas, and then I pretend to be a perky little pizza girl while interacting with customers. The happier I pretend to be, the better the tips, so I keep my plastic smile cemented to my face throughout the night.

As the hours pass, my hands stay busy, but my head is a spinning mess. I just
officially ended things with Sam once and for all, and that took a lot out of me. I feel fragile. I’m not ready to see if I can hit it off with anyone. I don’t think I can handle the stress. But
shit
, that man is sexy. I honestly have no clue how I caught his attention. I’ll probably send him running anyway. I get so nervous talking to new people that I start spewing stupid shit, which makes me more nervous. It’s a snowball effect. My stomach sinks when I realize that even if I thought I was strong enough to get to know Jed, it wouldn’t work. I’ll say or do something stupid, and he’ll run screaming.

Stop the dramatics!
I smirk. My inner voice can be a blessing and a curse, a voice of reason or a demeaning perfectionist that says I can’t do anything right. This time, she’s right. I need to relax.

The ringing phone snaps me out of my rambling thoughts, and I answer, “Village Pizza, what can I get for you?”

“Anna?” a deep, sexy voice asks.

“Yes, this is she.”
Who the heck is this?

“Hi, Anna. It’s Jed.”

Just like earlier, my heart skips a beat, and butterflies battle around my insides. I close my eyes, and I smile as I lean against the wall. Just because I don’t think it would be a good idea to get to know him, that doesn’t mean I can’t daydream about his hotness.

“I just wanted to call and make sure you were still getting out at nine tonight.”

“Um…yeah, nine. I can meet you out front if you want,” I say, picturing his smile.

“No need.”

I can hear his suppressed laughter through the phone.

“What?” I ask, confused.
Is he unable to give me a ride now? Shit, I’ll have to—

“I’m already here.”

My eyes snap open, and my heart stops completely before decompressing so hard that I feel dizzy. His magnificent body is leaning casually against the counter, and his dancing eyes are zeroed in on me. His sensual lips tip up into a knowing smile.

Oh, son of a bitch!
My face heats, and my shoulders tense as I realize that he must have seen me get all hot over his voice.
Kill me now!

I slam the phone on the wall base so hard that the receiver decides to tumble from its cradle onto the floor with an exaggerated clatter.
Fuck you, phone!
My cheeks flame even more as I snatch the phone off the floor and return it
carefully
to its rightful place.

Without glancing up, I rush around the corner and begin scrubbing dishes like my life depends on it. Mortified, I focus carefully on each speck and spot, hoping they will help me forget the last thirty seconds. Instead, those stubborn specks laugh at me.
Assholes.

“You go now, Anna,” Christos’s Greek accent interrupts my weak attempt at distraction. “Shop slow down. We no need you anymore.”

“Um…”
This has got to be some sort of joke, and my ass is not laughing.
“I still have ten minutes left.”

“Is okay. You go now,” he says as if he’s doing me a favor.

Fucker.
“Okay. Thank you.”

“No problem. See you morning,” he chirps brightly, oblivious to my flaming face.

I nod with a weak smile and dry my soapy, wet hands on a towel. When I’m done, I toss the towel with the dirty ones. I close my eyes and breathe in deeply in preparation to face the beautiful man who makes me a jittery mess. I count to ten slowly to calm my nerves before I round the corner to face the impending embarrassment.

Without meeting his penetrating gaze, I grab my coat and purse from where I tucked them underneath the counter. I walk around the counter and peek up briefly to see where he’s standing. I wish I hadn’t chanced a glance. His smile makes my breathing shallow and my heart race, and I nearly trip as I approach him. I feel the flush starting again, so I redirect my attention to my worn sneakers.

“Um, hi,” I mumble to my shoes.

When he reaches out to tilt my chin up, I flinch, and he drops his hand. Part of me wants to be touched by him, but that gesture sends ice down my spine and threatens to open my locked-up memories.

“Sorry.”

My head snaps up at his sad, frustrated tone, and my eyes meet his.

He continues, “I just wanted you to look at me. I know we don’t know each other, but just relax. Okay?”

My heart stutters and then warms at his soft tone, but I simply nod to show my understanding. I give him a shy smile, and he returns it. I follow him out the door to his truck, which is a big blue F-150 that can’t be more than a few years old.

I can almost hear Donnie’s voice when he asked if I minded if Jed gave me a ride and encouraged me to get to know him—
Jed is a really good guy. You should try to get to know him. He’d be a great fit for you.

I still can’t believe Donnie was so forward, but I appreciate the approval and nod of encouragement. My mind and body are frazzled at what’s happening. My body responds instantly with butterflies and buzzing and all the cliché bullshit that I’ve read in my books. I’ve felt attraction before, obviously, but never like this.

The timing is awful though. I can’t explore where this attraction might take us. I just can’t. I need to get my shit together. Just this morning, I was tempted to cut. Relationships are always so much stress, and although I want to be happy with someone else one day, I can’t risk breaking down when things turn south. I’m too weak right now. I know I’m getting ahead of myself, thinking about being in a relationship when he only said he wanted to get to know me, but that’s usually where these things lead.