Almost Like Love(57)
He couldn’t let her do anything more for him.
“No, that’s okay. In fact . . .” He hesitated. “I don’t want this to come out the wrong way, but if I know you’re here, I won’t be able to relax. I’ll feel like I should be entertaining you, you know?”
She nodded her comprehension, and her complete lack of injured pique made him feel even lousier. She was so kind and sweet and trusting, and he . . . wasn’t.
“I understand. I’ll dish up some food for Jacob, put the rest in the fridge, and then head out. Okay?”
He could hardly look at her. “Okay.”
She rose up on her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek. “Go lie down,” she told him. “Try to get some sleep. I’ll be out of here in a few minutes.”
“All right. Thanks, Kate.”
“Anytime. If I don’t see you before then, I’ll see you on Friday. If you still want me to pick up Jacob that day?”
He managed a smile. “Sure, that would be great.”
“I hope you feel better soon. And if you need anything before Friday, promise you’ll give me a call.”
“I will.”
He went to his room and lay down on his bed. After about ten minutes, he heard the front door open and close, and then he went back out to the kitchen, where Jacob was plowing through the most delicious-looking meal he’d seen in a long time.
“Hey!” his nephew said with his mouth full. “Kate said you weren’t feeling good and to let you rest. Are you okay?”
He nodded. “I will be. Are you all set? Do you need anything?”
“I’m great. I told Kate I’d wash the dishes after I eat, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
Just when he thought he couldn’t feel any worse.
“That’s nice of you, Jacob. Thanks.”
“No problem. Do you want me to bring a tray to your room or anything? This casserole is amazing.”
His mouth was watering at the smells that rose from the table, but he shook his head. He couldn’t eat the food Kate had cooked after he’d lied to her.
“I’ll just make myself a bagel.”
“Okay.”
As he ate his solitary and unsatisfying meal in his bedroom, Ian acknowledged to himself that he couldn’t put off The Talk much longer. Now that he knew it needed to happen, he’d have to make the situation clear to Kate on Friday.
He only hoped he could find a way to do it without hurting her.
Or himself.
CHAPTER TEN
Kate wasn’t too surprised that she didn’t hear from Ian before Friday, although she was disappointed. But he was sick, after all. And she knew that whatever was happening between them would have to go at Ian’s pace.
He was a well-known commitment-phobe—according to the intelligence-gathering operation at the network, anyway—and even if he weren’t, he was still a guy. Kate might not be the most man-savvy woman in the world, but she knew enough not to scare Ian off by calling and texting him ten times a day. Not if she wanted a relationship with him.
And she was starting to think she did.
On Saturday night, all she’d thought about was quenching her desire for him. But things between them had been . . .
She didn’t have words. And for a writer, that was saying something.
It wasn’t just the sex. That had been amazing, but there had been something else between them—something deeper. She hadn’t imagined the passion and tenderness and emotion in Ian’s eyes, and she knew he’d seen the same thing in hers. Even if he was skittish about relationships, he wouldn’t turn his back on that.
But they’d take it slow, for her sake as well as his. It had been only three weeks since Chris had ended their engagement. She wasn’t looking to rush things any more than Ian was.
So she didn’t worry when she didn’t hear from him that week. Besides which, she had other things going on that were just as exciting.
The development executive she’d pitched Jacob’s project to had been impressed, and in a follow-up meeting he’d told her that other people at the network were excited as well. They loved the marketing possibilities of a show that had its origins in the imagination of an eleven-year-old boy, and it was starting to look like Powers might actually be green-lighted. If so, it would air as an animated series with twelve episodes in the first season and an option for a second season.
When she met Jacob after school on Friday, she could hardly wait to tell him. They went out for ice cream to celebrate, the two of them bubbling over with excitement as if they were both eleven.
“There are still a few hurdles to cross before anything is official, but we might be ready to start negotiating as soon as next week. We can talk to Ian tonight about how he wants to—”