Page 34 of At the Heart of It
“Wow.” Kate did her own eyebrow raise, though it wasn’t nearly as impressive as the cat’s. “You really are kind of a geek.”
Jonah grinned. For some reason it felt like the best compliment anyone had paid him in a long time. “Thanks.”
“Have you always been such a nerd?”
“Pretty much.”
Kate laughed and took a bite of pizza. She seemed ravenous all of a sudden, and he watched her wolf down the rest of the slice in just a couple of bites. Then she wiped her hands on her napkin and stood up.
“Look, I know it’s important to you to get out of the shadow of the Average Joe thing.” She carried her plate to the trash can and dropped it in, then smoothed down the front of her dress. “To have the opportunity to be known more for your brains than your favorite sports team.”
Jonah started to nod, then stopped. That wasn’t it exactly. “It’s not as much that I care how other people see me. It’s more about how I see myself.”
“How do you mean?”
“I know I’m a smart guy,” he said. “Intellectually, I know that. But I haven’t always felt smart.”
“How do you mean?”
“I grew up with dyslexia,” he said. “I’m still dyslexic, of course, but I’ve learned ways to manage it.”
“Wow,” Kate said. “And you co-wrote a bestselling book and own a bookstore?”
Jonah nodded and watched Kate’s face. He waited for the barrage of questions. The gentle probing he’d always get from Viv about how he felt about his disability or what motivated him to overcome it.
Instead, she smiled. “That’s impressive. I worked on a documentary about dyslexia a while back. The people we interviewed talked about being made to feel stupid or lazy.” She smiled and Jonah felt his heart twist. “I think it’s pretty obvious to anyone who spends more than five minutes with you that you’re neither of those things.”
Jonah swallowed hard and wondered if she knew she was saying exactly what he needed to hear. He wasn’t sure why he’d volunteered that information in the first place, considering he didn’t know Kate all that well.
But there was something empowering about being the one to share it. About telling the story on his own terms, in his own way.
Or maybe it was just Kate. There was something about her that made him want to open up his chest and his brain and the whole big mess of himself and let her have a look at whatever might be in there.
“Right,” he said, feeling a little sheepish. “Opening a bookstore had been my goal for a long time. I didn’t have the balls to do it until things started winding down in my marriage.”
“It’s pretty admirable,” she said. “Talk about confronting your fears.”
Jonah smiled. “Yeah. Anyway, besides the dyslexia, I’m forgetful as hell. It’s partly an ADD thing, partly just me being—well, me.”
The way she looked at him with eyes flooded by admiration made Jonah’s chest ache.
“That’s the you people fell in love with in the books, Jonah,” she said. “The guy who’s self-aware and eager to fight his own demons.”
“Thanks,” he said, his heart snagging a little on the word love.
Kate looked at him for a while, leaning back against the counter. Then she nodded. “I hear where you’re coming from,” she said. “For what it’s worth, if you agree to do the show, I’ll do my best to make sure you’re portrayed in the best light.”
He stood up, feeling dumb for sitting on his ass while she was on her feet. She was probably itching to go. Waiting for him to ask more questions about the TV show or to give her an answer or something. She hadn’t come here to make idle chit-chat.
He stepped into the space next to her and rested a hand on the counter, making a gray-and-white cat growl from the center of a round pet bed he’d set there. “Thank you for coming here tonight,” he said. “For sharing everything you’ve shared this evening. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
Kate looked at him, her gaze holding steady. “Do you have any more questions about the show?”
He shook his head, captivated by her eyes. Had he noticed before how many colors they held? Copper, cinnamon, something that almost looked like amber.
“Are you—leaning one way or another?” Kate asked. “About the show?”
“I think so.” Jonah didn’t say anything else. He knew what he wanted to do. What he needed to do. He’d take a night or two to think about it, maybe look at some contracts or something. But the money alone was enough to consider it. And even without the money, getting to work with Kate?—
