"After he—Kurt—was arrested, when it was obvious he'd really done the things they said..." She paused to look up and blink fast. A deep breath later, she met him eye-to-eye again, rock steady. "I told him I wouldn't start divorce proceedings until after the trial, out of respect for the fact we had a child together. But only if he hired another attorney, one with no connections to..." She faltered. "He agreed, even told me to pick."
"And somehow that made things tougher for you."
She nodded, falling back to sit on her legs. "A part of me wonders if a slicker lawyer could have made sure he had better protection inside. I know it's wrong to think that way, but I can't help it."
"He alone is to blame for anything that came his way. He put himself, you, your child in danger."
Even if she couldn't totally absolve herself, it sure felt nice to have a champion. "I don't love him anymore."
She wasn't sure why the words slipped out, but there they were and she wouldn't call them back. He knelt beside her, staring right back with one of those lightning crackle moments. No smiles or laughs, just two people on a blanket with an undeniable tug between them.
He kept his hands on his knee and off her. "I didn't ask."
A dangerously exciting notion niggled at her. "You didn't ask, but you were wondering."
He didn't deny it. He just looked her dead in the eye, jaw tight, expression inscrutable and said, "Nudge."
"What?"
He shook his head slowly without taking his gaze off her. "Damned if I haven't been nudged."
"I'm still not following what you're saying."
She thought he was going to...kiss her again?
His pupils dilated in an unmistakable message of arousal— and hunger. Without laying one finger on her, he stroked those smoky blues eyes over her face, her mouth with leisurely precision until her lips parted in anticipation.
Then he blinked, slowly easing back. "I think you should be the one to check out that safety deposit box."
She struggled to keep up with his conversational shift and whatever he had in mind, still stuck back there in the tingly notion that he cared if she'd loved Kurt. She grabbed the blanket and followed. "Oh, uh, I could, I guess, maybe I even should, but—"
"I'll go with you. I have a wedding to attend in Charleston this weekend, and I was going to have to fly there anyway since the C-17's not fixed yet. We can head out late Friday.
You could meet up with the lawyer Saturday morning, wedding's not until late afternoon."
A whole weekend alone together? Was this guy crazy? Or brilliant? Paige kept pace alongside, double steps. "I can't just pick up and go. I have a job to consider and a child."
"So bring her with us. She'll only have to miss a day or two of school. She'll probably get a kick out of going to my friend's wedding. It's even on the beach."
And, oh, God, didn't that start to sound like the date scenario he'd spun for her during their late-night porch discussion. "Uh, it sounds nice, but—"
"Great." He slung the Strawberry Shortcake backpack over his shoulder, and why he managed to make that look sexy, she would never know. "It's cheaper for me to fly you than for you to buy a plane ticket."
She strode alongside him in double-time steps, her life rolling out of control faster than the ripple of grain in the fields. "You've got this all planned in seconds."
And what was that about his plane not being fixed so he wasn't leaving Minot yet? Her tummy flipped. His foot thudded on the bottom porch step.
"Bo? Bo, stop damn it." She grabbed his arm, lowering her voice and trying not to pant over the hard play of muscles under her fingers. "We're going to be alone at your place for the weekend? Are you a glutton for punishment or what?"
A hint of his old smile ticced the corner of his mouth. "Apparently so." He sprinted up the steps. "I'll start working on the flight plan and airport clearances."
She grabbed the rail for support as the screen door banged shut after him, his plans rocking her foundation in too many ways. She couldn't handle this. The sexual attraction between them was one thing.
Getting closer to any man—this man—was another matter altogether. Two weeks of intimacy, puppy dog names and shared memories whittled away at her resolve. Who knew what might happen to her heart if they moved onto that date-two scenario?
Kirstie would not be going to Charleston. The visit to her old hometown would upset her daughter, anyway.
Nudge.