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“I wasn’t,” he admitted. “The only reason I agreed was because Syd asked. I had no interest in a supermodel’s decision to change careers and I didn’t want to interview you because I knew I wasn’t objective, not with our history and, er, other things.”
She cocked her head. “I keep getting the impression there’s something you aren’t telling me.”
“It isn’t relevant,” he said. What good would it do at this late date for Nicole to learn his mother had tried to seduce her father and how it had poisoned the relationship between the two families? Or that he’d witnessed the hideous event.
“I’d like to know,” Nicole said firmly.
“Later, maybe. For now, I’d like to hear about when you first considered leaving modeling.”
As they talked, he could see she was making a genuine effort to answer his questions. It was probably better than he deserved. At the same time he kept wondering why he’d been determined to speak with her. Less than twelve hours earlier they’d been entwined in her bed. Under ordinary circumstances, he would have avoided seeing her in the immediate future. Of course, he’d never been in this kind of situation, either.
If he was any judge, spending the night with a man wasn’t something Nicole did often. He’d found it thoroughly pleasurable, but something in her responses had made him think she wasn’t highly experienced.
According to the research notes, at one point she’d been engaged to a man she’d met in Italy. Her engagement had ended without an explanation to the press and Jordan couldn’t help questioning whether her ex-fiancé, Paulo Gianetti, was the man who’d compared kissing her to dessert. If the breakup had been painful, that might explain her reaction to someone else saying it.
He made notes as Nicole talked, yet his brain kept circling the subject of their intimacy.
She’d worked with men considered to be among the most handsome in the world. Adam Wilding was just one example, a guy his sister had described as dreamy. While there had been endless speculation, Nicole had been adamant there was only friendship between her and her business partners. So why had she chosen to become intimate with him last night?
All too soon the ninety minutes she’d agreed to were over and he was no closer to understanding.
“That’s great,” Jordan said, closing his notebook without any prompting. “I want to respect your time limitations.”
“Thanks. When do I get to hear the great mystery you keep avoiding?”
“It isn’t something I want to discuss here.” He sighed. “How about getting together for dinner tonight?”
Nicole’s eyes narrowed and she studied him carefully. “That’s hardly a promise to give over with the facts.”
He was highly uncomfortable at the thought of telling the whole story. Years ago he’d decided it was something no one else needed to hear about, at least from him. The problem was that things had changed with Nicole. How could two people really know each other if one of them was keeping a secret? And he couldn’t even explain to himself the desire to know her on a deeper level.
Jordan shrugged. “At the very least I’ll tell you some of the story. I’ll get food and come to your place so we can talk in private. Do you like chicken pad Thai?”
“Yes, but don’t plan on spending the night.”
“I would never assume that.”
Deep down he expected Nicole to kick him out once she heard the story he had to tell, so he definitely didn’t think he’d be sharing her bed again.
* * *
SCHOOL WASN’T IN session that Friday, so Barton was spending most of the day with Girard and Sylvia, helping his old college friend with the addition they were putting on their house. With a second baby on the way, the two-bedroom starter home they’d picked up wasn’t enough. Sylvia wasn’t due for almost six weeks, so they were trying to add on a nursery before she delivered.
As much as he loved teaching, Barton looked forward to summer break and couldn’t help considering the other things he’d like to do…such as taking Chelsea camping or riding the ferry over to Bainbridge Island for lunch.
