She felt her jaw drop a little. So that explained why he was in such good shape! “I thought you weren’t into sports.”
He spread his hands. “Not football or basketball or other organized team sports, particularly, though I’ve been known to attend a game occasionally with friends. I look at karate more as a way to stay in shape than as a sport. After all, I sit at a computer all day.”
She wondered if his father knew about Cole’s accomplishment. Jim had been so dismissive of Cole’s job and interests, implying that they weren’t “manly” enough—but surely a second degree black belt in karate was macho enough to satisfy even Jim McKellar’s old-fashioned gender expectations. More than likely Cole hadn’t mentioned it. He didn’t seem to need to prove anything to his hard-to-please dad, nor need to defend his masculinity. He’d never even mentioned his accomplishments to her.
“Can you break a stack of boards with your fist?”
He smiled. “I’ve been known to split a few.”
She cocked her head and pictured him barefoot in the traditional white wrap jacket and loose pants, a black belt wrapped around his taut waist, his hair and face damp with sweat as he squared off against an opponent. A jolt of sexual attraction shot through her in response to the image. Interesting. And unexpected, considering what she’d once considered her “type.” She’d certainly never before envisioned her quiet, cat-owning, math-whiz neighbor as a tough, sweaty warrior.
He frowned. “Why are you staring at me as if you’ve never seen me before?”
“Sorry, was I? You’re just turning out to be full of surprises, Cole Douglas McKellar.”
His lips quirked into a half smile. “Just trying to stay healthy.”
“Do you still train?”
“Other than the casual sparring, no. I wasn’t interested in competing in tournaments and that would be the next step.”
“I’ll have to work off the baby weight after Peanut arrives. Maybe I should take up karate.”
His grin made her wonder just what amused him so much. Couldn’t short, busty women wear white pajamas and kick things?
But he changed the subject before she could challenge him. “By the way, I finally connected with my mom this afternoon. Told her we were married and expecting a kid.”
The latter fact was one he’d neglected to mention to his father, she remembered. “How did your mom react?”
“She’s pleased with the prospect of being a grandmother. She said she and Ned would head this way in a few months to visit, once the weather gets warmer.”
“She didn’t mind that she wasn’t invited to the wedding?”
“No. Not when I told her no one else was there, either.”
“Good.” She’d have hated to get off on the wrong foot with her mother-in-law.
He rubbed his chin. “Your friend Tess is planning a big wedding, isn’t she?”
“They’re trying to keep it contained, but Scott has a big family and a ton of business associates. Tess’s family is smaller, but her friends and relatives want to be there, too.”
After a moment, he asked, “Are you sorry you didn’t have a more traditional wedding so your friends could stand up with you?”
“No,” she said and hoped he believed her. “I much prefer our sweet little ceremony. I wouldn’t have minded having Tess and Jenny there, but if we’d invited them, others might have been hurt, so it’s best we kept it just the two of us.”
“I just don’t want you to feel that I prevented you from having the wedding you wanted.”
“You didn’t talk me into anything I didn’t want to do,” she said, meeting his eyes. “I’d think you should know by now that I make my own choices.”
He conceded with a nod, though he didn’t look particularly gratified.
An uncomfortable stillness fell over the room. Stevie felt as if there were more things he wanted to say. More things she perhaps needed to say. She just couldn’t think of them at the moment.
She pushed herself to her feet. “I have a meeting with a client tomorrow afternoon. I think I’ll go over my notes for a while. Unless you need something?”
“You don’t have to entertain me, Stevie. I live here now, remember? I have some reading to do. Might watch some TV for a while. We’re good.”
We’re good.