Had he been anyone else, she thought with a ripple of doubt, she might have
read too much into those questions. “Well, yeah.”
“Then it shouldn’t surprise you,” he said, reaching toward her, “if I do this.”
He was wrong, she thought even as his mouth covered hers. She was more than surprised by this totally unexpected kiss. She was flabbergasted.
It seemed like a long time before Joel lifted his head, though the kiss probably lasted only a few moments. His mouth only an inch or so above hers, he searched her face in the very little light that was available to him.
She was glad it was dark. She didn’t want him seeing her expression too clearly at that moment, since she wasn’t at all sure what it would reveal to him.
“Well?” he asked after a moment. “Are you still so sure you always know when a man wants you?”
“But you…we…we’re not…” Annoyed with herself for stammering, she stopped and drew a deep breath before trying again. “You and I are just friends.”
“I know. At least that’s what I’ve tried to be to you,” he added. “But lately…I don’t know. Something’s changed.”
This was absolutely the very last thing she had expected this evening. Especially now, after that big tribute to Heather.
He drew back a little farther, not quite releasing her but giving her more space. “Look, if you’re not interested, it’s okay. I don’t regret giving it a shot, but I can go back to the way things were before if that’s what you want. We’ll never mention any of this again.”
Her head spinning a little, Nic tried to decide exactly how she felt. “It isn’t that I’m not interested,” she said finally. “I just—Well, I’m not so sure it’s a good idea. I mean, you’re one of my best friends, you know? I wouldn’t want to do anything to mess that up.”
“Neither would I.”
Nodding, she added, “Besides, I’m a little concerned about the timing of this thing. You know, here in your hometown during your reunion, when your emotions are all stirred up and confused. It would probably be best if we didn’t start anything here that we might both regret later.”
He took his hands away from her then, settling back into his own seat. “You’re suggesting that I don’t know what I’m doing?”
Oops. Definitely a hint of wounded male ego there. Funny. She’d never seen evidence of it in Joel before—but then, he’d never made a pass at her before, either. As badly as she was handling this, he probably never would again.
That realization left her feeling oddly depressed—and wondering what she could say to keep from closing that door altogether. “I didn’t say you don’t know what you’re doing. I just wonder if you would have ever said these things to me if we hadn’t come to your reunion.”
“I think I would have…eventually. Even though I’ve been trying to deny it, the attraction has been there for a long time. I guess I was just waiting for the right time.”
“And you thought that was tonight?” She knew she sounded skeptical, but it was hard to completely hide her doubts that he’d been able to conceal so completely the attraction he claimed to have felt. She didn’t know what exactly had triggered his kissing her, but she found it hard to believe he’d been suffering from unrequited lust for her.
More likely he was just feeling a bit lost and lonely after the evening with his old friends, most of whom appeared to be happily paired off. He had needed to reach out, and she was the closest woman available.
It occurred to her that her conclusion wasn’t particularly flattering to either of them, but that didn’t change the possibility that she was right.
He reached for the car key. “I guess you’ve made it clear enough that I was wrong.”
She reached out quickly and laid her hand on his arm before he could start the engine. “You’ve really been attracted to me?”
He went still for a moment, then replied in a wry voice, “Let’s just say I had a hard time hiding how pleased I was when Cowboy Brad rode off into the sunset.”
She swallowed hard. Was Joel actually implying that he had been jealous of Brad? “You hid it very well.”
“Now you know.”
Her hand still rested on his arm. She could feel the muscles bunched beneath her fingertips, an indication of the tension that gripped him. She was suddenly reminded of that moment outside the guest bedroom the night before, when their eyes had locked and something powerful had passed between them.
She’d convinced herself then that her imagination had gotten away from her. Now she was rethinking that assumption.
“Maybe…” She moistened her lips and tried again. “Maybe we could talk about this again. When we get back home. If you still want to, I mean.”
He surprised her yet again by chuckling, though it was just a weary murmur of a sound. “Am I to take that to mean that you might be interested after all?”