Driving Her Crazy by Kira Archer Page B

girl on her way to a picnic. Only he knew she was anything but regular.
    “What’s with the getup?”
    “It’s pouring again. Can’t you hear it?”
    He frowned, listening for a moment. Then he realized that dull roar he hadn’t really acknowledged was the sound of rain hitting the roof of the giant store.
    She held out her foot and shook it around a bit. “No more wet feet.”
    “I see that.” He grinned and gestured at her outfit. “Very nice.”
    She took the compliment, even if his tone was a bit grudging, and graced him with another one of those smiles that made the sun come out and warm him through and through.
    “Thank you.”
    He nodded, a bit knocked off guard, and glanced around, expecting his pile of stuff to be waiting on a conveyor belt somewhere.
    “Where’s all my…”
    The guilty look on her face immediately gave her away and his momentary lapse of judgment induced by her “girl next door” outfit evaporated under the anger that licked its way through him. He took a deep breath, his hands clenching at his sides. She wouldn’t have…would she? Who the hell did she think she was?
    “Cherice…”
    Her eyes widened at his use of her full name. She should have been worried. He hadn’t been this pissed in a very long time.
    “You had no right—”
    “Just hang on. Before you go getting your chauvinistic knickers in a twist, let me just explain.”
    He stopped at that. Okay, he could be an ass when he wanted to be, he’d give her that, but he didn’t think he was chauvinistic. But hell, she could think whatever she wanted. She had no right to go throwing her money around whenever she felt like it. He wasn’t some charity case.
    “I know I’m not quite as well off as you are, Ms. Debusshere, but I’m perfectly capable of purchasing my own clothing.”
    She stiffened, the warmth fading from her eyes, her smile disappearing. “I never meant to imply anything differently. I just wanted to do something nice for you, that’s all.”
    “How is buying my clothes nice? I’m not some charity project. I don’t have any need or desire to be your good deed for the week.”
    Her eyes narrowed and she drew in a deep breath through her nose. He’d hit a nerve with that one. Good. How dare she treat him like some poor country bumpkin who couldn’t even clothe himself without her help!
    “You are such an insufferable ass!” she shouted at him, startling the cashiers and customers closest to them.
    Oz blinked at her, momentarily surprised speechless. She shoved the bags containing his items into his arms.
    “I was just trying to doing something nice—to say thank you for driving me. You paid for the car and you paid for lunch and the snacks and you didn’t have to drive me in the first place. You could have just left me stranded there, but you didn’t, so I just wanted to do something nice, so I thought maybe I could get your new interview clothes for you. That’s all! I wasn’t implying you couldn’t afford to get your own clothes. And besides, it was easier to just toss your stuff in with mine. I didn’t think it would be such a big deal.”
    Oz flinched. Even when apologizing she managed to show just how far apart they really were. She’d probably spent less on her entire haul than she did on a pair of socks at one of her usual stores. It didn’t help that he had been a bit worried over the new outfit. He had the money to cover it, yes. But it really wasn’t money he should be spending. The fact that it was about as momentous to her as buying a pack of gum dug at his pride.
    However, there wasn’t much he could do about it now unless he wanted to make her return the items so he could rebuy them. However, as good as that sounded, it would be a huge waste of everyone’s time and a major slap in her face. Whether she understood what a slap in the face she’d just dealt him or not, at least he was pretty sure she hadn’t done it intentionally. Besides, the customer service department