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“It sounds as if you handled him efficiently.”
Jordan felt like scum. Chelsea hadn’t even told him that Ron was still bothering her.
“I guess so,” she agreed. “Oooh, that’s Barton at the door. Gotta run.” Now she sounded happy and excited.
“Have a good hike.”
“We will. Bye.”
Jordan stared at the phone in bemusement. How had so many things changed in the past few weeks? Maybe it was just a season for change. If so, he was ready for it.
He glanced at the clock. It was ten, still six hours before he was supposed to arrive at Nicole’s house. That felt like a lifetime…to find out if he had a real life ahead of him.
* * *
CHELSEA’S HEART WAS light as she opened the door for Barton, so light that she gave in to impulse and threw her arms around him.
“Whoa,” he gasped.
She laughed.
“Not that I object,” he added with a grin. “Is there a particular reason for so much exuberance?”
“I think I gave the final push to Ron today. If I’d thought of it earlier, you and I wouldn’t have had that argument.”
“But since that got us really talking, maybe it turned out better this way.”
“Possibly.” She snuggled against him. “I like the way this feels.”
“Me, too.”
His lips came closer. Barton’s kisses were sweet and Chelsea felt a wild flutter inside. His hands were pretty good, too, as he explored her body. It felt wholesome and sexy and completely exciting.
After a few minutes, he drew back and his blue eyes shone warmly into hers. “In the interests of pacing ourselves, I’m going to suggest we get going on that hike.”
“That’s a good idea,” she agreed. “But someday soon…?”
“That works just fine for me.”
She sighed happily as she grabbed the new hiking pack she’d purchased that week. The direction she and Barton were headed was pretty terrific.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
NICOLE DRESSED FOR the afternoon in white shorts and a blue T-shirt, but assembled a tote bag with warmer clothes since she already knew evenings could be chilly in the Seattle area, no matter how warm the day had been.
Of course, she could just text Jordan to forget it. Or ask him to say straight out what he wanted without needing to eat dinner and take an evening sail. Logic suggested that he couldn’t be expecting his “talk” to be upsetting or he wouldn’t have proposed going for a sail after. Then again, some men didn’t have a clue what could upset a woman. Not that she had to show it, no matter what he said. There had been plenty of times when she’d acted one way but had felt something completely different.
Through the curtains, she saw his car pull up the driveway. He was also dressed in shorts, his rugged vitality stirring the desire that simmered so close to the surface.
She brought her bag when she answered the door.
“Looks like you’re all set.”
“Offer me a sail on Lake Washington and I’m good to go.”
The traffic cooperated and they got to the marina quickly. Not wanting to accidentally kick her purse overboard, Nicole took it down to the cabin. Her gaze lingered on the bunk. It was wide enough for two, if the two in question didn’t mind being friendly with each other. Jordan had said he’d spent a few months living on The Spirit and she couldn’t imagine anything more symbolic. That was the life he wanted, to sail free on the wings of the wind.
After dropping her purse and tote bag in a corner, Nicole climbed back up to the deck. A familiar figure was approaching along the dock, delivering a large bag and beaming as he saw the size of his tip.
The food was excellent, though she had little appetite. She ate enough to be sociable before sitting back to focus on where the city hugged the lakeshore. Sunlight poured across her legs and the water was an amazing blue.
The conversation remained casual, and after he’d eaten, Jordan tossed a large manila envelope in her direction.
“I wondered if you’d like to read my initial draft of the articles. There’s a printout inside.”
Slowly she pulled out the neat, double-spaced pages and began reading. The articles had Jordan’s quick wit and sometimes sardonic point of view, but they also included a thoughtful examination of the differences between her two careers, the choice to become a talent agent, and the challenges that were part of it. He wrote honestly about his own difficulties in being objective, giving a sanitized version of their history and a brief mention of having a relative employed by Moonlight Ventures.
