He pulled her to her feet, worried that maybe he’d gone too far. “Was that okay? Tell me that was okay. Or tell me it wasn’t.”
“Jason.” She turned to face him, and all his fears evaporated. The satisfaction written in the relaxed lines of her face and the softness in her eyes told him she’d had just as much fun as he had. “Do I ever hold back if I need to say something?”
“Not that I know of.” She’d flat-ironed her hair, which she did occasionally for a change, and styled it in pretty waves that framed her face. He tucked a strand behind her ears, but she shook him off.
“Please no messing with my hair when I have to get to work.”
He dropped his hand. “Sorry.”
“See? Didn’t I just prove my point? If I don’t like something, you will know about it.” She scanned him with a sassy up-and-down. “Are you telling me you never even took your pants off?”
“More efficient.” He peeled off the condom and hauled his pants up with his other hand. “It’s sexy, right?” He pumped his hips in a strip-tease kind of grind, waving the condom in the air. Dancing like a cross between a cowboy and Magic Mike, he made his way to the nearest waste basket to toss the condom.
His act had her laughing so hard she had to rest her hands on her knees. She waved air toward her face to catch her breath. “Don’t…don’t make me get a stitch in my side. I still have to work tonight.”
He grinned at her as he fastened his pants back up. “And I need to get to that meeting.”
That sobered her up. A shadow crossed her face and she knelt down to gather up her clothes. Her body radiated a bronze glow in the lamplight of his bedroom. She was so beautifully formed, then wrapped in that gorgeous skin. How had he gotten so lucky to end up as her rebound?
But he shouldn’t have mentioned that meeting. By rights, she should be there too, delivering a report on the town manager’s activities. The position had finally been filled by someone from out of town, a highly experienced woman whose name Jason kept forgetting out of sheer peevishness.
“Before you go, remember how I said I wanted to ask you something?” She fastened the button of her pants. “It’s been on my mind for a while.”
He groaned silently. Kendra was impossible to fool because she remembered everything. That business brain of hers never turned off all the way.
“You sound serious. I thought we weren’t doing serious.”
“Of course we aren’t. This isn’t that kind of serious.”
He turned away to hide his disappointment. Absurd to feel disappointed when he knew perfectly well they weren’t serious. It was a mutual choice and it made complete sense. Neither of them were ready for a new relationship. He was still recovering from…for a moment he blanked on her name.
Gretchen.
Good God. Had he just forgotten Gretchen’s name? Maybe rebounds really did work.
The next thing she said had him spinning around in shock.
“Back in high school, why didn’t you tell me you had a learning disability?”
Sixteen
When she saw Jason’s expression, Kendra wished she could take back the question. He looked stricken, embarrassed, even ashamed.
He turned away to finish buttoning the crisp cotton shirt she’d recommended he wear to his first big town meeting. “How do you know? Did something give it away?”
“No. Jason, you don’t have to hide it. It’s nothing to be ashamed about.”
“Easy for you to say,” he murmured.
“Okay, that’s fair. But I was your tutor. It might have helped if I’d known.”
He buttoned his cuffs. Tucked the shirt into his pants. Fastened his dark leather belt. He looked hot in a suit—except for that somber expression on his face.
“Why does it matter now if I told you or not?”
“Because…” The truth was, she didn’t entirely know. It had been nagging at her ever since Holly had told her. But why? This was just a rebound. They didn’t have to get that deep.
Jason shot her a teasing look from those deep blue eyes. “I see what’s going on here. You’re curious because you care.”
“Of course I care.”
“I mean, it’s more than sex. You’re falling for me. You want to know all about me. My hopes and dreams. My issues. My feelings.”
“I’m going to hit you with a damn pool cue if you don’t stop.”
He burst out laughing, and after a wary moment, she joined in. “Had you going, didn’t I?”
“You’re a freaking idiot.”
Now they were both laughing…back to normal, in other words. As if they’d danced close to the edge of intimacy, then waltzed away. She realized her pulse was fluttering.
When their amusement died down, he said, “When I was growing up, I didn’t know I had an actual problem. All I knew was that some things were more difficult for me. I assumed I was…not smart.”
“That’s bullshit. You knew you were smart.”
“No. I knew I wasn’t stupid. I knew I was smart about some things. I could read people, I was good with my hands, I was good at math. I was good in a crisis. I had a good memory because it took me so long to read things. But when it came to school, well, you know how it was. I never got diagnosed, but I dated an occupational therapist who confirmed it, unofficially.”
“Are you dyslexic?”
“Something like that.”
“You don’t want to find out for sure?”
“Hardly matters now. I’m a freaking fire chief!” He crossed to his closet and grabbed a blazer. Shrugging it on, he posed for her. “How’s this?”
She had to hand it to him, he looked fantastic. That summer weight, light gray, well cut jacket set off his dark hair and the deep blue of his eyes. He ran a hand through his thick dark waves and tried to bring some order to them. It didn’t quite work, but then again, it never did. Jason would never be a “paint within the lines” kind of guy.
“Good,” she told him. “That blazer sets off your ‘just had hot sex on a couch’ look.”
He winked at her. “Just what I was going for.”
She followed him toward the bedroom door. “Even if you didn’t have a diagnosis, you could have told me you had trouble with reading. I wouldn’t have judged you, you know.”
He looked down at her as he opened the door. “Yes, you would.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do. You’re judging me now.” Always the gentleman, he gestured for her to precede him out the door. “You’re judging me for not telling you.”
“Damn it. You’re right.” How did Jason always do that? He was perceptive in a way that always caught her by surprise. “But I could have been a better tutor if I’d known.”
They started down the staircase, lost in their conversation. “You were a great tutor. But mostly you were a hot girl helping me out of the kindness of her heart. I probably would have stuck needles under my fingernails rather than tell you I had a problem.”
“Well, you’re talking about it now. Sounds like emotional growth.”