Page 39 of Necessary Roughness

“Pretty much.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You get back home, he doesn’t call, and it begins again.”

“It’s more like getting back home and feeling relieved.”

They stared out at the lake in the gathering darkness. If she’d been worried about sharing her thoughts with him before, she was about to have a panic attack. She should have gone to bed. She could tackle this with a girlfriend or a counselor. He wasn’t going to have any cutting-edge insights into the train wreck of her social life. Plus, he was one of those guys who probably wasn’t looking for anything deep or meaningful. The woman he formerly dated was probably allergic to polysyllabic words.

“The guys who are approaching you aren’t high on the intelligence scale.”

“Excuse me?”

He waved one hand in the air. “I know that sounds like an insult. It isn’t. You are beautiful. The guys you want to approach you might be a bit intimidated, especially if you’re with a bunch of your girlfriends. The guy that does approach has probably had a few drinks and will act like an ass to impress you.”

She heard him talking, but she was stuck on the “you are beautiful.” He continued, gesturing to make his points, and she looked on in fascination. It wasn’t the first time in her life someone had told her she was beautiful, but it was the first time that a guy who claimed he didn’t like her had said so.

***

TANNER COULD SEE the exact second he’d lost Jordan’s attention. He’d told her she was beautiful.

He always seemed to go for the women who needed compliments around the clock. He knew they were insecure (especially Star, his ex) and wanted the reassurance, but it got old after a while. He wasn’t sure how to fill that endless need for approval. He’d known other guys who used the insecurities of the women they were with to manipulate them to get what they wanted—sex, money, a trophy wife. He wasn’t into it. He hoped to meet a woman who was secure enough to know that his compliments were not a way of getting what he wanted, but letting her know the depth of his affection for her.

He finished his sentence and glanced over at Jordan. He’d noticed the slight flush on her cheeks seconds after he’d spoken and the smile that curved her lips. She’d stopped fidgeting.

“Thanks for the compliment,” she said.

“It’s the truth.”

“I thought you detested me.”

“Most of the time, I do.”

She let out a laugh. He wasn’t telling the truth about disliking her. The more time he spent with her, the more she grew on him. It obviously said something unflattering about him that he was surprised to learn that Jordan had depth, much more than he had imagined when they’d first met. He wasn’t sure why he’d made his initial judgement about her, but he was obviously wrong. He’d always hoped to attract a woman who challenged him. She was currently sitting three feet away from him. There were no other guys competing for her attention in the relatively exclusive confines of his deck. Time to make his move.

Tabitha was right. He’d asked out the wrong woman. He needed to fix that.

He kept his voice casual. “I was wondering if you have a night free later this week.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“My doctor said I’ve made enough progress that it’s time to start getting out of the house.” He’d been told that over a month ago, but he didn’t have a burning reason to leave the house at that time. The doctor had told him three days ago that he’d healed enough from his spill in the shower he could start getting out a little. “Maybe I should bring you along in case I have a rehab emergency.”

“That depends,” she said. “Where are we going?”

“Maybe we should try going out for dinner.”

“We’re not going to the rock climbing wall at REI?”

“Next week. I need to rest up.”

No matter how luxurious, several months of nothing but his own house and occasional visits to the doctor had left him a bit stir-crazy. He needed to see some people. He also wanted to spend a little time with her and find out if the attraction that had smacked him in the face a few hours ago was the real thing or just because he’d had zero conversation with an available female in several months.

“I accept,” she said. “On one condition.”

“What’s that?”

“I’m not cooking dinner,” she joked.

“You’re on.”

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