"You don't know?"
Ididknow, in the sense that I knew that he liked me. But that hardly seemed a plausible reason to take such an interest in my problems. Struggling to find the right words, I said, "I know that we've really hit it off." I gave him a shy smile. "And I know that I like you. A lot. And Ithinkyou like me…"
His gaze warmed. "You might say that."
Something about that look made me feel wonderful all over. Still, I felt compelled to finish. "But you hardly know me."
He shook his head. "I know you better than you think."
Feeling almost flirtatious now, I gazed up at him through my lashes. "So, what do you think you know?"
His lips curved into the hint of a smile, and he leaned a fraction closer. For a moment, I thought he might kiss me.
But he didn't.
Instead, he said something that drenched my warm, gooey glow with a cold, hard splash. "I think you're a nice person."
Chapter 49
I froze.I was a nice person?His words echoed in my brain.Nice? Person?Okay, it wasn't an insult or anything. But it was nothing like what I'd been hoping to hear.
Still, I tried to smile. "Thanks. I, uh, think you're a nice person, too."
He frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
And it was true. Absolutely nothing was wrong. It was fine. I was just a little disappointed, that's all.
I mean, whenIfantasized about someone, I never found myself thinking,"Oh, take me to heaven, you nice person, you."
I lifted my wine glass and took a long, steady drink before returning it to the flat surface of the railing. Already, the glass was half-empty. Or was it half-full?
In my current state-of-mind, I didn't want to speculate.
I cleared my throat. "So, I guess I'd better get talking, huh?"
Joel studied my face. "YouknowI meant that as a compliment, right?"
"Sure. I know." I ran a nervous hand through my hair. "AndImeant it as a compliment, too." Pushing aside my disappointment, I said, "Seriously, you've been really great." I thought of my car, now sitting miraculously in my driveway. "And your brothers, too. They're, uh, also nice. For helping, I mean."
What the hell was I even saying? Only one brother had helped, and Joel hadn't been happy about it. But my mind was so jumbled, I could hardly think.I was nice. Joel was nice. His brothers were nice. Cripes, who'd be nice next? Attila the Hun?
Joel said, "Except they'renotnice. You need to remember that."
Distracted by my own stupidity, I murmured, "Uh, right. What are they again?"
He frowned. "The opposite of nice."
Still preoccupied, I murmured, "Nasty?"
He stared at me for a long moment, looking almost disturbed.
Damn it.Now, too late, he had my full attention, and I was wishing that I could take back that last comment. That particular word,nasty, after all, did have certain sexual connotations. But at least it was more interesting than "nice."
The waysomepeople looked at it, nasty was exciting. It was bold and daring. It broke taboos and shattered conventions. As for me, I'd never gone the nasty route, and probably wouldn’t succeed at it, even if I tried.
And I knew why.
