Page 39 of Suddenly Single
Lorenzo nudged Jenny and winked at her.“Me? I am a fisherman, Eddy, not a teacher of children.”
“Oh,that’snice,” Jenny said as Lorenzo gave her a solid push toward Edan.Lorenzo dipped down to pick up a fishing rod, gave her a conspiratorial wink, then walked down the bank, away from them.
Jenny glanced at Edan. His expression was not what she would call warm and welcoming.He looked annoyed.“If you’re to learn, you’ll need to come here, to the water.You canna fish from the road.”
“That’s a slight exaggeration,” she said.“I’m nowhere near the road.”
“Aye, and you’re nowhere near the lake.”
“Fine,” Jenny said.She picked her way over rocks and brush to the lake’s edge.
“Well,” Edan said.
“Well,” Jenny repeated.
“Have youeverfished?”
“For a few compliments here and there, but never for an actual fish.” She laughed at her jest.
“Mmm,” he said.“Come on, then,” he said, gesturing to the bank.
Jenny gingerly made her way closer.
“See the grasses there?” he asked, pointing with his tanned arm.“The larger fish will feed there.They are close to the shore here, aye? Fish are skittish, they are—donna talk and scare them off, aye?”
“Got it,” she said.She wouldn’t speak.She wouldn’t move.She would catch her stupid fish and get out and let the poor man have his privacy.
His expression softened.“Aye, come on, then,” he said, and held out his hand to her.Jenny slipped her hand into his.It felt warm and strong, and her heart fluttered a tiny bit.She allowed him to maneuver her to stand in front of him, which entailed some wobbling over rocks and brushing against the full length of him to avoid going into the lake before finding her footing.She was standing so close that she could feel his warmth at her back, the firm breadth of his chest.He put the rod in her hand, showed her how to work the reel, and then, holding her hand in his, showed her how to take the rod back and release the line.
“You want a bit of a rhythm before you cast, aye?” he said softly, and helped her draw her arm back and forth a few times before releasing the line.It sailed through the air and landed silently in the water.
“Nothing is happening,” she whispered.
“Give it a wee bit,” he said low into her ear, his breath warm on her cheek.
They stood, waiting.
“Maybe they know it’s fake,” she murmured.“I mean think about it—they’ve probably seen that same green and yellow thing a dozen times and they know that it always—”
Jenny was silenced when Edan put his hand over her mouth and whispered,“Wheesht.”
She didn’t know what that word meant, but it swept through her on a delightful little shiver.She decided he could say it to her whenever he liked.
Unfortunately, her silence did not result in a nibble.Edan helped her reel the line in, his body hard against her back, his arms strong around her.He helped her to cast again.And again.
The silence was killing her.Thoughts were churning in her head—more apologies for kissing him.Empathy for the way his engagement had ended. Questions about his life, his likes, his dislikes, his favorite TV show.Of her general tendency to rush in to things, like people’s lives, like a bull in the proverbial china shop, and how she didn’t want to do that and make everything worse.
“Remember the rhythm,” he said, helping her to move her arm again.
Oh, she remembered it, all right.She remembered all sorts of rhythms and doubted she would ever forget this silent lesson.They threw the line and waited, one of his hands on her hip, the other covering her hand on the pole.“Quite a good cast, that was,” he said.
“Really?”
“Aye.You could be a bloody good fisherman.”
“I think I could learn to like it,” she said. “I never really gave it a shot.I’m actually pretty bad about that, you know? Sometimes I don’t give things—like jobs, for example—a real shot.And you know what else I do?” she said, a little frantically, all at once desperate to apologize for being so insensitive. “I assume things.I assumed that—”
“You’re talking,” he softly reminded her.“Donna scare them off.”
