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She kept her gaze on the printout for a while, pretending to be reading while she thought about the contents. Now she knew what Jordan had wanted to discuss with her and it was almost anticlimactic. There were no decisions to make or awkward conversations. This was a proper lead-up to a dignified goodbye. Tears threatened and she blinked them back before they fell. Not for nothing had she been a professional model.
“Finished?” Jordan asked finally. “Tell me what I got wrong.”
“Nothing that I can see,” Nicole assured. She grinned as if there was little else on her mind except teasing him. “It’s possible that you aren’t a born reporter after all. Imagine getting the facts straight.”
“I’m not sure everything is accurate. In fact, I told Syd that there might be a few corrections or additions.”
“Really? It looks complete to me. What part bothers you?”
“The section on being objective.”
Thumbing back to that part, she skimmed through it again and shook her head. “You’re vague about Chelsea’s role, but I assumed it’s to protect her privacy and rightfully so.”
“No, that isn’t the part that’s bothering me.”
“You don’t want to be more explicit about our parents, I hope.”
He shuddered visibly. “Not on your life.”
“So what’s the missing part?”
“The part that hasn’t happened yet. It’s the moment I suggest we get married and raise peas and cucumbers and kids together.”
Blood rushed to Nicole’s head while the air grew hard to drag into her lungs.
Finally she forced a smile. “I didn’t know you had such a peculiar sense of humor.”
“I’m not joking.” His face appeared utterly serious.
“That’s difficult to believe. An old dog doesn’t learn new tricks and a leopard can’t change its spots…or something of the sort. You’re a confirmed bachelor who loves a carefree life as a columnist. It lets you fly off for as long and as far as you fancy. I’m committed to my home, dog and business in Seattle. We’re basically on separate freeways that cross but don’t go to the same place.”
“That’s direct.”
“There’s no point in being anything else. Look, Jordan, you’ve got great accomplishments in front of you. I’m sure there’s a Pulitzer in your future or something equally splendid. You need to be happy and fulfilled, not tied down and constricted.”
* * *
JORDAN WATCHED AS Nicole dissected the situation as calmly and rationally as she might evaluate a recipe. There was a time he would have believed she was indifferent to what she was saying, but he saw a hint of emotion in her eyes that suggested something deeper.
Then another realization struck home. She hadn’t said she loved him, but all her arguments against marriage had to do with what she believed was best for him. Was she being the talent agent now, working to help someone else succeed? Or was she trying to give up something she wanted for someone she loved?
Then it struck Jordan…he’d failed to say the most important part.
“By the way, there are a few words I left out of my earlier pitch. I love you, Nicole.”
The emotion in her eyes was now unmistakable, yet she still shrugged casually.
“Most guys lead with that,” she agreed.
“So I’m an original. How about you? Do you have any crazy warm feelings going in my direction?”
She moved restlessly. “What I feel isn’t important.”
“It’s important to me.”
Jumping up, she went to lean against the mast and gaze across the water. Her face wasn’t serene any longer. He stood and slipped his arm around her waist…and felt the trembling in her slender figure.
“I didn’t expect to fall in love with you,” he said with quiet intensity. “I can’t even pretend it’s what I wanted. If someone had asked me a month ago if it was possible or desirable, I would have said they were crazy. You’re right that I had my life mapped out as a bachelor, free to stay or go as I wish. But then I fell in love and now that seems less and less meaningful.”
“That’s an odd way of phrasing it.”
