Luck on the Line by Zoraida Cordova Page A

will go wrong.
    “Lucky?” James says my name carefully, like I’m made of glass and might shatter.
    But I’m not. I don’t know what I’m made of, but it isn’t glass. I don’t know what else we can do, except get the water out of the kitchen.
    I grab a mop and start ushering the water out the door. When James, Nunzio, and Felicity just stand at the door I snap. “Are you guys just going to stand there, or are you going to make yourselves useful?”

Chapter 15
    It takes an hour to get rid of all the water and clean the kitchen.
    “Do we have petty cash here yet?” I whisper to Felicity.
    Both of us are drenched from our toes to our calves. The worst thing we got on us was some seaweed. If this was New York, the pollution from the Hudson would have melted my jeans off.
    Felicity nods.
    “Can you give them a bonus? This isn’t part of their job.”
    Felicity runs off to the office, leaving the wet imprint of her shoes all the way. Nunzio is out back smoking.
    Which leaves James and me in the kitchen by ourselves. Why does realizing that make every muscle in my body tighten?
    He drops the mop into the yellow plastic bucket. “I’m really impressed with the way you handled this.”
    I give him my resting bitch face. “Because why?”
    He leans back on the line casually. “Stop, it has nothing to do with you being a girl. It’s just that everything has been going wrong lately. Stella handles it by turning into this screaming monster. Don’t tell her I said that. You’re exactly the opposite.”
    “I’ll take that as a compliment.” I head over to the slop sink and wash my hands.
    “Aren’t you glad you came home for this?” I can still feel his eyes on me.
    I take a relatively clean rag and dry my hands. “This isn’t my home.”
    James makes a face. “If you say so.”
    “How did you guys manage to make all that food while getting flooded? That’s got to be a health hazard.”
    He flashes that radiant smile. He scratches the scruff on his neck and I wonder if it would tickle my lips to kiss him there.
    “The water didn’t start coming in ‘til we were plating.”
    “No wonder you guys are wearing flip-flops. What, do you guys go tanning on some cold New England beach in the morning?”
    “Yeah, I’ll get a nice crispy tan with all the overcast.” He nudges my shoulder. “Nah, we go to the gym before work. You have to wear sandals in those showers. God knows what kind of shit is growing on those tiles.”
    “Wow, my appetite just returned.” I rub my stomach, and eye the kitchen for more food. I open the lid to a covered plate and find more lamb pops. “Why are you making that face?”
    “Lucky,” he says.
    “James?” My insides get all knotted up in apprehension of his sigh.
    “About last night…”
    I want to put my fingers in my ears and go la-la-la-la . “Stop. I don’t know what you’re going to say, but—”
    “Then let me talk.” He takes my hand by my wrist gently, sliding up my arm along the goosebumps on my skin. “I was totally over the line. We went from truce to drunk to my place.”
    “Because you drink like a girl.”
    I don’t know when he got so close to me, but he lowers himself to my ear and groans. It’s pretty hot actually. “I had a bottle of wine on an empty stomach.”
    I shrug. “Me too.”
    “Fine,” he says, turning away. The absence of him leaves a layer of cold where his body just was. “I drink wine like a girl. Does that make you happy?”
    I nod rapidly.
    “What I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry if I came off too strongly last night. I woke up and I was naked and you were gone. I was afraid I scared you. I can’t remember what was real or just my dream—”
    I throw the clean bone into the trashcan. “I wasn’t scared.”
    LIES LIES LIES. I wasn’t scared of him. I’m not . I’m scared of this feeling in my gut that won’t go away. I don’t even know him, not the way you’re supposed to know someone before they make you