Page 16 of So That Happened
‘You, I see, have a more cautious nature.’
She shrugged. ‘I don’t like making mistakes.’
Connor laughed. ‘Some of my worst mistakes have led to the most interesting times I’ve ever had.’
‘I’ll take your word for it.’
‘You’ve never been tempted by extreme sports?’ He looked up at her before glancing down to move his next piece.
‘Not unless you count falling out of a tree.’
He smiled. ‘Ah, so there is an adventurous spirit in there somewhere, then?’
‘No, not really, but a friend dared me.’
Connor smiled again. ‘And you never back down, right?’
Josie looked at him steadily. ‘Something like that,’ she said, moving another piece.
* * *
Twenty minutes later Connor was scratching his head in bewilderment. ‘You’re good.’
‘What’s with the surprise?’
He barked out a laugh. ‘I don’t get beaten very often.’
He held her gaze for a moment; he was looking for something, but she wasn’t sure what. His pupils dilated as he gazed at her and once again a strange swooping feeling hit her deep inside. Her skin tingled and the breath hitched in her throat. They were two feet apart, but she felt the connection as if she was caught in a tractor beam.
How did he do that?
Not sure how to handle the feeling, she broke her gaze and sat back in the chair, trying to get some distance between them, her fingers dancing at her sides.
Connor was disappointed when Josie looked away. He was trying to figure out if she was for real. He’d been burned before by women trying to worm their way into his affections and he was suspicious about the apparent softening in her attitude. Perhaps this was another ruse to try and get rid of him somehow. He needed to be careful.
On the outside she seemed genuine enough. Despite her spikiness, or maybe because of it, he wanted her, and now she was showing a softer side he wanted her even more. This was driving him crazy. But he’d be a fool to get involved with her right now. He should do himself a favour and put some distance between them before it was too late.
Picking up the puzzle book he’d bought on a whim at the airport whilst waiting for a delayed flight, he looked at the crossword on the first page that he’d been struggling with, to find Josie had completed it.
‘What the…? When did you do this?’ He smacked his hand against the paper.
Josie looked across at him. ‘Hmm? When you were cooking dinner. Sorry, did you want to finish it? I thought maybe you were stuck.’ There was a glimmer of mischief in her eyes.
He scowled. ‘I was, but I’d just had a brainwave.’ He peered at the crossword. ‘Although apparently I hadn’t.’ He shook his head, perplexed. He flicked to the next page only to find she’d finished the crossword on that one too. These were tough cryptic puzzles that he’d struggled with for hours.
‘Did you do these in that fifteen minutes before dinner?’
‘Yeah.’ She flushed under his scrutiny.
‘Do you have some crazily high IQ or something?’
She shuffled in her seat, drawing her knees up onto the sofa, her body forming a foetal position. ‘I don’t know. I’ve never been tested.’
‘Really?’
She shrugged. ‘I’m good at remembering things. I don’t always understand them – not like…’ She paused, looking down at her hands. An evasive manoeuvre.
‘Not like…?’ He wanted to push this; there was obviously more to it than she was letting on.
