Cobb by Maryann Jordan
9
Josie’s face burned with blush and she wished she could turn back the clock to where they were just talking about Cobb and not her mixed-up thoughts. Jesus, I just admitted I think he’s gorgeous, and I’m a loser. But his words made no sense. He can work with that? He can work with what? Licking her lips slowly, her gaze stayed riveted on his face, uncertain of his meaning.
She uncrossed her legs, ready to stand.
“What are you doing?”
“I…” she croaked, then cleared her throat. “I think at this point perhaps I should head to bed. Let’s pretend that we stopped the conversation earlier. Tomorrow we can focus on what you want to do with my house security.”
His hand jerked out and landed on her arm, gently holding her in place. “No… no pretending, Josie. We’re a classic example of two people not understanding the other and making assumptions.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I thought you were… well… a racist… that the type you referred to was my heritage.”
Gasping, her eyes shot open wide. “Oh, my God! No! I… I would never… that’s not… oh, my God!” She bolted to her feet, jerking her arm from his hand as her mouth opened and closed rapidly. He reached out again, but she skirted around the coffee table, not having a particular destination but needing to move. She stalked to the window, her gaze staring out into the deep blue night sky. Her chest tightened. “I can’t believe you thought that,” she whispered, shaking her head slowly. Turning, she forced her gaze to his, surprised to see him smiling. “I’m so sorry, Jorge. So sorry that’s what you thought. I can only imagine how difficult this job must have been for you, considering that you… well, you know.”
He stood and with two steps made it to her, taking her hands in his and holding tight. “Shhh, Josie. Stop apologizing for something you didn’t do. This was on me as much as you. It’s my fault for making assumptions when you’ve been nothing but kind and honest.”
She swallowed deeply, still feeling her face heat with blush but unable to take her eyes off him. Everything about him called to her. Broad, muscular shoulders and chest. Hair as inky as the darkest night. Deep brown eyes so dark it was hard to distinguish the pupil from the iris. Tanned skin with a dark beard shadow. Full lips that she was sure would offer a taste as addictive as any drug. You’re so beautiful to look at it almost hurts.
“Funny, but I was just thinking the same thing about you.”
She gasped, realizing she’d spoken out loud. “Uh…”
“Oh, no. No backing away. No more excuses or either of us making assumptions.” He squeezed her hands still held by his. “But what I really want to talk about is your previous experience. I want to know who made you feel like you aren’t gorgeous.”
She tried to tug her hands back but he held tight, leading her back to the sofa. He sat first, and when she would have moved to the other side of the sofa, he pulled her gently down next to him. “It’s not interesting—”
“It is to me. And anyway, I confessed my adolescent tribulations. Come on, Josie. Share.”
She sucked in her lips as she thought for a moment. Share? What have I got to lose? What could be worse than him thinking I was bothered by his heritage?
“You talked about not fitting in while in high school. I felt that way long before. I was shy. Quiet. I was always the smallest in my class. I preferred reading instead of running around. I mean, I love being outdoors, but I wasn’t athletic. Even in elementary school, I was the last one to get picked for a team. It always felt so horrible to be the last person standing on the side of the field, watching the team captains decide who was going to have to take me.
“I was called Skinny Minnie. My hair was a bit redder, and my front teeth were too big so I was called Snaggletooth. You know, by the time we get out of elementary school and into middle school, cliques have already been formed, and I definitely wasn’t one of the popular ones. And starting high school was even worse. By then, I was used to the taunts. Geek. Nerd. Bookworm. Loser.”
His hand flexed, squeezing hers, and she once again looked down at their connection. Large against small. Tanned against pale. Strong against… strong. If there was one thing she’d learned over the years, she was not weak.
“You know teenagers can be assholes, right?”
She laughed and nodded. “Yes, they can be. I suppose you know that better than anyone.”
“It was easier when I was in school overseas. So many different nationalities of students were in the schools that I didn’t stand out. But yeah, it was different in high school. You know what’s weird? My paternal grandmother was born in Italy and immigrated as a small child. But both my maternal grandparents were born and raised in this country. So were their parents, and their parents before them. And yet it was the Native American and Hispanic part of my heritage that caused the most insults toward me.”
Now, it was her turn to squeeze his hands, her heart aching for the young man who’d felt the sting of word darts flung toward him. “I am so sorry, Cobb. My petty high school drama pales in comparison.”
He dipped his head to stare into her eyes, and she couldn’t have looked away even if she’d wanted to. “Nobody’s feelings are petty, Josie. And your pain is every bit as valid as mine was. Tell me more. I want to know when the Josie that was made fun of became the strong Josie that is sitting in front of me now.”
She sighed and relaxed into the cushions next to him. “You don’t look like the kind of man who watches chick flicks, but the Cinderella theme is pretty heavy in those movies. The geeky girl gets asked out by the gorgeous guy, usually because it was a bet that he wanted to win. But in the movies, they become friends, and by the end, she’s had a makeover and is gorgeous. Very cliché and not a particularly good message for young women. But I can tell you, that didn’t happen to me.
“The only time guys wanted to be around me was when they needed a study partner that would give them the answers. I was asked to the prom when I was a junior by a popular guy. I thought it was special. I was finally starting to get a few curves. My hair was thick and wavy, and my mom showed me how to wear light makeup. I went to the prom feeling good about myself, then found out it was because of a dare to ask the geeky girl to prom, and that was me. I was pissed, refused to kiss him, and called my cousin to come to take me home early. I’m afraid that pretty much summed up my high school experience.”
“Is that why you went far away for college?”
Her brow scrunched, and she nodded. “Looking back, yes. At the time, I just felt the desire to see new things. I’d been on a few trips and knew there was a world outside of New Mexico that I was longing to see. I got a scholarship to a college in Boston and loved it. In college, there were lots of geeks. Bookworms. I didn’t feel like the shy girl that nobody wanted to talk to. I had friends, studied hard, and came out of my shell. I suppose I finally gained confidence.”
His top teeth landed on his bottom lip, snagging and holding her attention. Her fingers itched to reach up and trace the flesh, but the evening had brought up a lot of emotions, and she didn’t want to make a move that could be misinterpreted.
“Did you ever think about staying on the East Coast?” he asked, jerking her attention away from his lips back to his words.
“Absolutely. I looked at a lot of graduate programs, but I think I felt a pull to come back home. My dad’s brother and his wife were killed in a plane crash, and my cousin moved in with my parents as he finished college in Albuquerque. He’d always been good to me, and I wanted to be available to him. So, I came back to the university in Albuquerque for my graduate program. I could have looked elsewhere for a job but pretty much took the first one that came along.”
They sat in silence for a moment, hands still clasped, his thumb gently rubbing over her knuckles. The motion was soothing, and she reveled in the ease she found in talking with him. A comfort that she didn’t find with most people.
“Tell me about the night we met.”
Her chin jerked back before her head tilted to the side. “The night we met? The gala?”
“Yeah. I want to hear from your perspective.”
“I don’t understand what you’re asking, Cobb.”
“I know what I thought when I saw you. I want to know what you thought.”
“Um…”
He shifted slightly on the sofa, maintaining their distance while facing her more fully. She chuckled and shook her head slightly. “You know, if you want me to talk to you… about you… you probably should be on the other side of the room. This close, you’re a distraction.”
“Good.” He grinned. “I like knowing I’m a distraction.”
Rolling her eyes, she said, “Are you sure you don’t want me to just stroke your ego some more?”
His smile dropped slowly as he held her gaze, pulling her in. “No. No ego-stroking. Just honesty.”
She bit the corner of her lip, knowing that she was exposing more of herself. The same thing I ask of clients all the time. Talk to me. Tell me about your life. Let me in. Swallowing deeply, she lifted her shoulders in a shrug.
“I really hate events where I don’t know anyone. I knew my parents, of course, but that was all. Sometimes Bert comes with us, and at least then I have someone to talk to. But he was busy, and my parents were making the rounds, and I felt like a bump on a log. At least at that venue filled with dark corners and dinosaurs, I could find a place to feel less conspicuous. And you were right about the champagne. I wasn’t in the mood to drink but having something in my hand felt better than twiddling my thumbs.”
“When I saw you standing there, it was your dress that first caught my attention because you weren’t facing me. But as you moved slightly, the material changed from silver to blue. I was mesmerized.”
She laughed and said, “I love that dress. It reminds me of a mermaid.”
“Yes! I’m afraid I didn’t think of mermaid, but I was thinking of fish scales in the way they can shimmer in different light.”
She snorted, then slapped her hand over her face. “I’m not sure most women would be flattered knowing they look like a fish.”
Now he was the one who blushed, and she couldn’t take her eyes off the way his tanned cheeks turned rosy.
“God, you’re right. But I’ve spent a lot of time in the water, so trust me when I say it’s a beautiful compliment.”
“I’ll have to take your word for that. I just wanted to get to the end of the night where I could thank people for their donations before going home. And then you showed up. At first, I wondered if you were simply a figment of my imagination. You were bigger, broader, more handsome than any man in that room.” She dropped her chin and moaned, “I can’t believe I asked if you were a bodyguard, but you looked just like the ones in movies.”
“Don’t apologize for that.”
Her head jerked up.
“Seriously. I’ve never been a bodyguard like that, although protection details have been part of our missions.”
“You just didn’t look like the typical man there, flaunting wealth, wanting everyone to see you. Then you recognized that I didn’t want the champagne. Taking it from me seemed presumptuous at first, but you were right.”
“And dancing?” he prompted.
His dark eyes held hers, and desire pooled through her. Dragging her focus onto his question, she admitted, “I liked that you didn’t pull me out where everyone could see us. Being in your arms in our own little corner was nice. But I couldn’t figure out why. I’m no longer the confidence-lacking young girl but neither am I hogging for public attention. When you suggested we leave, I wondered if I was just a convenient, easy girl to proposition.”
“Shit,” he breathed, shaking his head. “I was an ass. Honest to God, I never thought that. You intrigued me… the most beautiful woman in the room, off by herself. Dancing, you seemed confident, and all I could think about was how much I wanted to get away from the party.”
“And the dinosaurs?” she asked, trying to keep from giggling.
“Yeah, especially the dinosaurs.” His smile widened, showing white teeth. “I wanted to be away from all the people so I could spend more time getting to know you.”
As a memory slammed into her, she gasped. “That’s when I said you weren’t my type. I meant that I wasn’t the socialite you probably thought I was. I never meant it to be negative about you.”
“And to think that if this mission hadn’t come along, we’d have never had a chance to correct our misconceptions.”
Her lips curved at the same time his did, and she knew their smiles were mirrored. “Then I’m glad. Well, not glad someone is using the clinic to misuse a charity for their own gain—”
“Hell, Josie, I’m not glad someone is threatening you!”
Sucking in her lips, her chest depressed in a huge sigh. “Yeah, that too.” With him so close, it was a struggle to keep her mind from becoming foggy with the thought of leaning closer to see if his lips were as soft and strong as she imagined. Clearing her throat, she asked, “So, tomorrow? Cameras?”
As though his thoughts had to be brought back to the mission, he gave his head a little shake. “Yes. I’ll get something on your windows and doors. It’ll be able to be monitored by LSI in Maine as well as from my phone. Then, on Sunday, we’ll do the same with the clinic.”
Suddenly, every limb felt weighed down. She lifted her hand and rubbed her temple, a headache blooming.
“You’re exhausted, Josie. Go on to bed, and I’ll lock up the house.”
She couldn’t think of a reason to not do as he suggested, so she nodded. Standing, she walked to the entrance of the hall and stopped to look over her shoulder. “You’ll be here in the morning?”
“Right here.”
“Okay.” With nothing else to say, she headed to bed, the changes in her life over the past few weeks, much less the last twenty-four hours, filling her mind. But as she fell asleep, it was with the calm peace of knowing she felt safe with him.
