Page 31 of Captivating Anika
“For the purposes of her insurance, I’ve done up a quote for what I think it will take,” he continues. “And if the insurance people want to come and have a look—or rather, have a sniff—they’re welcome to.”
“You think it’s gonna end up a write-off?”
He nods. “Yeah. They’ll probably pay out.” He gestures at the car. “If she decides she wants to keep it, I suggest she hold off on the new tires and roof until we know we can get the interior taken care of. Either way, this isn’t a project of a few days.”
Which means she’ll need something to drive. Sharing the truck is fine for a couple of days, but she’s going to want her own wheels.
Unless…
“Sorry about that,” Anika mutters, buckling up.
She’s referring to her staff giving me a hard time when I walked in. They can yap all they want, I don’t give a rat’s ass, but that doesn’t mean I won’t shut it down in a heartbeat if it makes her uncomfortable.
“It doesn’t faze me. Wait until the guys at Station 3 get wind of it. They can be brutal, but even for them, it’s not fun for long if I ignore them.”
She looks surprised.
“They don’t know?”
I shake my head. “Nope. I’m sure it’ll come up sooner than later.”
Mostly because Bodhi is still pissed and refuses to speak to me, but I don’t want to bring that up and make her feel in any way responsible. His silence did not go unnoticed in the firehouse, and Cap called me aside at the end of the shift to ask me what was up. I told him it would sort itself out and he warned me it better or he’d step in.
Whenever there’s an issue that might impact the safe and effective functioning of the crew, our captain forces a group talk. Akin to a family meeting, and they’re about as annoying now as they used to be at home. I get the purpose though; we need to be a cohesive unit at all times. The work is dangerous and all it takes is one of us with a bug up their ass to put the entire crew at risk.
I’m hoping Bodhi will get his head straight before it gets that far.
Looking over, I catch her staring outside.
“I thought I’d give your brother a chance to get used to the idea first.”
She slowly turns her head, and one look in those dark eyes tells me I jumped to the wrong conclusion. She’s not pissed, she’s in pain.
“Okay, I was going to suggest going out for dinner, but how about I run into the May Palace for takeout?”
She nods and flashes me a hint of a smile.
The restaurant is right down the block and as I drive up, an SUV is just pulling away from the curb. I ease into the spot and turn off the engine.
“Anything in particular?”
“Chow mein with tofu for me, please. And extra vegetables.”
“That’s it? Tofu? That’s your protein of choice?”
She snickers. “Judging by that expression, I’m guessing you’re not a fan?”
I feign a shudder and am rewarded with the melodic sound of her laughter. Then she digs through her purse and comes up with a credit card she hands to me.
“Please? You took care of breakfast…and everything else. The least I can do is buy dinner.”
“Fine.”
I take her card with no intention whatsoever to use, but she won’t know until her statement comes in and, by then, she’ll probably have forgotten.
“Hang tight. I’ll be right back,” I tell her, leaning over for a quick kiss.
It’s Wednesday, the restaurant isn’t crazy busy despite the dinner hour. I put in my order and double Anika’s order for chow mein, figuring she have some leftovers for tomorrow night.