Page 89 of Courting Gossip (Courting)
The unexpected imagery made Genieve laugh, and it startled her out of her defensiveness.
‘That’s not what I meant,’ she said. She folded her hands together and pressed them against her stomach. ‘I’m dyslexic.’ The word felt foreign on her tongue. She rarely said it out loud any more. ‘How…how did you know?’
‘I didn’t – until you got frustrated playing darts. The nineteens and the sixteens…Then I remembered you wanting to use the voice recognition software and the way you flipped through our contract like you didn’t care about the details.’
‘I cared,’ she said softly. She wrapped her arms around her waist. This was what it felt like to be naked. ‘The letters and numbers get jumbled or flipped when I look at them. I have techniques I use to try to work through it, but when I’m tired or stressed, it gets worse.’ She’d gone through all kinds of testing and training when she’d been young, but as an adult, it was much more difficult to admit. The stigma was hard to overcome. ‘It’s not an excuse, but choosing an occupation where I’d have to fight it every day would have been stupid. And I’m smarter than that.’
‘All right.’
‘I chose to be an escort, because I’m good with people. Evenyou. I’ve just learned to hide my weakness.’
‘I won’t tell anyone,’ he promised. ‘I almost didn’t see it, and we’ve been living together.’
Living together…
‘Does it make you—’ She stopped. She didn’t want to know that.
He caught her arms and stepped up close. ‘No, I don’t think less of you. I think you’re brilliant. Brilliant, beautiful and ballsy.’
Her lips trembled. ‘Kiss up.’
‘If you’ll let me.’
She laughed even as she felt tears thickening her throat. ‘Brody…’
He dipped his head so he could look into her eyes. ‘I screwed up, babe, but I was upset with myself for missing it. Maggie was right there under my nose, and she was the one making your life hell. I wasn’t going to let her continue to do that – but I should have talked with you first.’
‘You have to keep me in the loop. You like to control all the moves, but I have to know what they are. Things won’t work between us if you don’t.’
‘And you have to trust me,’ he returned. ‘After everything I’ve done, I deserve that much.’
‘You’re right. I’m sorry.’ She cupped his face. ‘I just didn’t want to be hurt by you. It hurt too much.’
She ran her thumb over her bottom lip. ‘If you still want me, I can contact Nina.’
‘No,’ he said flatly.
Her chin wobbled.
‘I want you, but I don’t want that damned contract between us.’ He touched his forehead to hers. ‘When I said you were a game-changer, I meant it. You changed everything for me. I’m having to account for somebody else now. When I plan, I have to plan for the two of us.’
He locked his hands at the small of her back and drew her closer. ‘We’re a matched set, Jenny. We’re not damaged, but we’re not perfect either. We just come out of a different mould.’
‘Please don’t compare me to that breadmaker.’
He laughed and the tension melted from his body. ‘Can I kiss up now?’
She sighed. ‘You’d better.’
He pressed his mouth gently against hers, and she tilted her head back to let him deepen the kiss. His tongue tangled with hers. It was so sexy and tender, her fingers clenched into his T-shirt. She’d been heartbroken when she’d thought he didn’t care, but she could feel his heart pounding underneath her touch.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and stretched against him. His hands grazed down to her bottom and held her possessively.
He was right; they might not be lily white, but they were pretty fantastic together.
She arched her neck as he kissed down the side of it. ‘I can’t believe you chased me all the way out here.’
‘You scared me to death when I got home and you weren’t there.’ He ran kisses over to her ear. ‘I’ve gotten used to having you there, livening up the place.’
