Resisting Sin (Gold Diggers #1)

Episode 8 : Lies on Toast

The silence was unnerving.

Gabriel let it stretch between him and Hayley for a few minutes. And then ten minutes. Fifteen.

Finally, he said, "I understand if you want to change your mind."

He waited for her reply. She just kept driving, not saying anything.

"We can still go back," he said, "and see if you can still get that apartment. Or you can call Mrs. Anderson now."

If the apartment had already been leased to someone else, it would be his fault. He should have told her that living with him was one of the conditions of the job. Maybe deep down he suspected that if he did, she wouldn't have agreed to do it.

He could set things right. If he gave her enough money, she would be able to get a decent enough place. One that didn't make her want to cry just thinking about living there.

But if he did, he'd be giving her a reason to turn down the job.

He took a deep breath. "If the apartment is no longer available," he said. "I'll give you the money for another one. You don't have to take the job."

"No, it's fine," she said. "We had a deal. I'm not changing my mind."

"I should have told you exactly what the job required."

"Yes, you should have."

"I'm sorry. Like I said, if you don't want to do it, I'll still I give you money for a new place."

"That's very generous. But I don't take charity."

"It's not charity."

"Maybe not to you, but it is to me."

Somehow he knew it would be futile arguing with her. "I understand."

There was another awkward stretch of silence until Hayley broke it. "You never told me why you needed a fake girlfriend," she said.

"I'm trying to keep my mother from setting me up."

Her eyebrows rose. "That's it? That's what you're paying a million dollars for, so you don't have to go on a few dates?"

He smiled. "I'm paying a million dollars so I don't have to say no to my mother several times a week."

"I guess it sounds better when you put it that way. It's just... That's a lot of money."

"You haven't met my mother."

"Are you trying not to upset her?"

"I'm trying not to disappoint her."

She nodded, her eyes still fixed on the road.

"Tell me about your parents," he said, leaning back in his seat.

"They're up north in Redding. My mom's a doctor and my dad is a county engineer." She smiled. "He does a lot of gardening these days."

"And what do you do?"

"Retail. I work at a small shop in Melrose." She shot him a curious glance. "Shouldn't you have first done a background check on me before giving me this job?"

"I'm pretty good at sizing up people."

"Really. You just knew I wasn't doing anything even slightly shady?"

"Yes."

She shot him another curious look before turning her focus once again on the road. They drove in silence for about a minute before she said, "Where do I drop you off?"