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She sipped her tea. “So, I was wondering, was that really your sister and cousin on the front page this morning?”
“Yep. My sister came in from out of town. She’s a marine biologist and spends her time studying pond-life. She’d probably be interested in meeting Matthew.”
Eleanor laughed. Joseph was charming and handsome, and she wanted to go over and lie in his arms – to find out what that sculpted body tasted like… To find out whether his reputation as a lover was true…
He slung his arm over the back of the couch and grinned. He was so fit. She could see his toned arms under his T-shirt, and she wanted to squeeze his muscles like a goofy horny teenage girl.
He smiled sincerely. “I love our daily banter, Ellie – it’s the highlight of my day.”
“Really! I mean, oh… good.”
“But I’ve gotta know, why are you so uptight?”
She suppressed the grin that tried to burst out onto her lips. “What! I’m not. You just don’t know how to be serious.”
He shrugged. “You only live once.”
“I bet you don’t know the meaning of the word commitment. Everything’s a joke to you.”
“Nah, I know how to be serious. Especially now I feel like a prisoner in my own life.”
Compassion replaced her lust. “Oh… Well, if it’s any consolation, I feel like a prisoner in my life, too.”
His handsome brow furrowed. “You do?”
Eleanor didn’t know why she felt compelled to open up to him, but he seemed genuinely interested. “You asked why I’m so uptight?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, I don’t want to blame my parents exactly, but they’ve always had very high expectations of me. I went to all the best schools – I had a great education and they wanted me to be a lawyer or a doctor. And I thought I would. But then one day when I was twelve I saw this homeless guy uptown. We didn’t go to the city often, so it was all a bit overwhelming. But this guy… I looked into his eyes and I saw…” She shook her head and looked away.
“Saw what?”
“Well, I saw that he was just a guy. Just like me.”
Joseph chuckled. “You’re a guy? I had no idea. Is it too late to change my mind about this?”
She laughed. “No… I mean… it was when I realised life was unfair. That’s all.”
“So you decided to become a journalist?”
“I wanted to help. I guess things don’t always work out how you hope, huh?”
He held her eye contact, remaining serious. “We have a lot in common, you know.”
“Do we?”
He smirked. “Well… not really. But they say opposites attract.” He leaned forward and grinned. “Maybe you and I can rub off on each other.”
She laughed wearily. “Everything’s a joke for Joseph Quinlan, isn’t it?”
“Nah, sometimes I can be serious.”
“Like when?”
He sipped his coffee and raised a playful eyebrow. “Is this part of my official interview?”
She put down her tea and held up an imaginary pen and notepad. Laughing, she said, “Sure. I’ll ask you some questions.”
