Saving This (The McCallans #5) by Hadley Quinn Page A

drying herself off. She pulled on a pair of sweats and said, “Stop talking to me.”
    Amused, he watched as she walked around the SUV, climbed behind the wheel, and pulled the door shut.
    He knew he could get under anyone’s skin if he wanted to. She played it pretty cool, he had to give her credit for that, but he knew he’d provoked her. Now he didn’t have to worry about being friends with her while he was up here. He just needed to get his script done and get back to L.A. He didn’t need a beautiful, charming woman to distract him.
    Feeling smug, he secured both boards on the rack, threw on his sweats, and slid into the passenger seat shirtless. He expected that she’d be sitting there pouting like an insolent child, but instead, she was laughing with someone on speakerphone.
    And it was a dude.
    “I gotta go,” Anna said as she returned Max’s wary eye contact.
    “Alright,” the guy replied. “Talk to you later, hon. Take care.”
    They hung up. Anna tucked her phone under her leg and turned the ignition. Without a word, she backed out of the parking space and said, “Thanks for hooking the boards down.”
    “Did I have a choice?”
    She snickered. “Sure you did. You could have been an ass and left them untied so I’d drive away with them falling off.”
    “Not worth the hassle.”
    “Hmm, then why is it worth the hassle to try and piss me off?” she questioned.
    He could feel her gaze on him as he stared out the windshield. “I’m not trying to piss you off.”
    “Liar.”
    He turned to look at her. “That’s pretty brazen.”
    “Oh? So is flirting with me and then saying shit to piss me off.”
    He didn’t respond that time because she was right on the nose. The worst part was that she’d called him out on it.
    “I get it,” she said after he refused to answer. “I get it because I’m the same way. But you don’t fool me, Max. I mean you confuse me, but don’t think I’m not up for a challenge to get through your bullshit.”
    He looked at her again but still couldn’t respond. She was beating him at his own fucking game. He turned away and asked, “What do you feel like eating? I need something, like, now . I’d say we could clean up and go somewhere nicer later, but I need a burger or something.”
    He could hear her soft laughter as she pulled onto the highway. “Hey, I say yes to both. Thanks for the offer to take me on a date later.”
    Max had to force himself to not smile. She was not only witty, but she was bold. She also didn’t bat her eyelashes and giggle like a bimbo no matter what stupid thing he said. But he had a feeling she had part of his personality pegged just right and that made him uncomfortable.
    “Whatever works for you,” he mumbled in agreement.
    The rest of the ride was silent except for music. Oh yeah, and Anna singing along to the Beastie Boys. He approved of her choice of music, but when she’d turn to him and rap with one hand in the air, it was comical. The girl had no reservations whatsoever. It was refreshing for a change. And when he dug his wallet out to pay for drive-thru, she already had it done and paid for. He also skipped out on having to decide on a place to stop because she hadn’t even asked.
    This was undefined territory he was in.
    After pulling into Quentin’s driveway, she paused to write something on a napkin. “Here are my digits. Call me when you’re hungry later and we can go on that date.” She stuffed it into his bag of food and handed it over. “I can’t promise I won’t sell your number if you text me, though.”
    She winked at him as she hopped out of the Tahoe, and before he could unload his own things from the back, she was already doing it for him. Max stepped out of the vehicle and was standing there with a bag of takeout food, watching her do all the work, and after five seconds, he realized why he hardly felt guilty for it.
    She was standing on the tailgate in her sweats and bikini top. With skin and breasts