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She wondered if she was going to be judged guilty through association, even though the question sounded innocent enough.
“They’re two characters…” She stopped. She was about to say in her novel,but thankfully realized how insane that would sound.
“Yes, they certainly are a couple of characters, I agree. I think Blake—is that his name?” She nodded. “I believe he will be a very active and vocal student.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me in the least,” she said softly. Even though she wanted to avoid the question, she knew she had to explain the relationship somehow. So, she resorted to the cousins-from-Kansas cover.
“That’s not the real reason I stopped by, though. I’d like to, uhm, well…” Kenn uncrossed his legs and put his elbows on his knees.
She was surprised at his apparent loss for words. In her few encounters with him he always seemed to be at ease making conversation, and certainly not shy about speaking his mind. He squirmed in the chair like a schoolboy waiting to see the principal.
“Oh, darn it. There’s no other way to say it.” He looked her in the eyes. “I’m sorry.”
He paused, leaving her to wonder momentarily what he was sorry for.
“When I first met you, I really did judge you by your appearance and your profession. I didn’t think a woman as good looking as you who wrote romance novels would be interested in history, let alone be a professor.”
She felt her cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. She wasn’t sure how to answer him. She just heard him say she was good looking. Imagine that. And he admitted she was bright.
It had been a long time since any man had given her a compliment, especially someone as engaging as he. Did she just call him engaging? She gave herself a mental slap.No,Ican’t think of him like that.
He leaned back in his chair as if he were relieved he had actually said what was on his mind. Without waiting for her to accept the apology, he changed the subject.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what the next session brings to our class,” he said. She got the feeling he was stalling, that he had something else on his mind other than the class. She could tell by the way he continued to look into her eyes. No one had looked at her like that since her husband died. There was a lot for her to handle in this seemingly unassuming meeting. While she realized she couldn’t compare Kenn to Geoff, this man had a boyish charisma all his own she had to work hard to ignore.
“I was wondering if—” he continued.
Just then, his cell phone rang. He quickly looked at it and groaned.
“Obviously someone you’d prefer not to talk to.”
“My mother,” he said, wincing.
“You know you can’t ignore Mom.”
He sighed deeply and answered the call. She noticed he quickly sat up straighter in his chair, using perfect posture when talking with his mother.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Kenn, I have bad news. Sofie Addelmyer just got engaged.”
The volume on his phone was loud enough JJ could hear what his mother said.
“To some accountant from Wilmington, Delaware. I know you’re heartbroken dear, but—”
“Mom, I’m kind of busy here.”
“—but there’s hope, sweetheart. I just ran into little Mary Margaret O’Mally’s mom at a fund raiser. And she isn’t dating.”
“Mom. No. Please. I can’t talk right now. I’m having a conversation with my new teaching partner. Her name is JJ Spritely.”
Mrs. Cooper fell silent. “Mom, are you there?”
“She’s never speechless,” he whispered to JJ.
“I heard that.”
“I thought you left me.”
