There were three and four guys to a car. They were all in their twenties, most wore glasses. They looked smart and geeky and the first words out of their mouth were, “Where’s the beer?”
“What company is this?” she asked Aaron as he walked by looking nervous.
“One who won’t be using these facilities again. They’re already annoying me. Did you see how much beer there is? They’ll be drunk by noon. I can only hope they all fall off the rope ladder.” He waved toward the building. “Go be flirty. Keep them busy and away from me.”
Izzy turned back, only to feel a prickling along the back of her neck. She searched until she found Nick by the back of the building. He was walking toward her, looking far too handsome and sexy in the sunlight.
She knew there were other guys around and under other circumstances she would be cruising the group to pick out any who interested her. But not right now. Maybe not for a long time. There was only one man who occupied her thoughts these days. Unfortunately, he was the most annoying person on the planet.
He walked up to her.
“You were a serious jackass yesterday,” she said by way of a greeting. “We were only trying to help. I’ll accept that everyone has issues, but we shouldn’t have to pay for yours. And it’s fine if you want to keep on punishing yourself for what happened in the past, but not having kids here more is punishing them and they don’t deserve that.”
He stared at her for a long time. His eyes were an impossible shade of green. Dark and rich and more appealing than she could have imagined. His mouth was even more tempting. Looking at it made her want to kiss him, which she couldn’t. Not until he was done being a jerk. It violated her principles. Oh, but she was tempted.
“You about done?” he asked.
“Maybe. Are you willing to admit you were wrong?”
“Maybe.”
She smiled. “Someone needs to beat you with a stick.”
“It would take several someones.”
“You think you’re so tough?”
“I know I’m tough.”
“Want to prove it?”
Fire flared in his eyes. “When and where?”
Here and now seemed like a good answer. Except…“You haven’t said you were sorry or that Aaron and I were right.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes. Admit it. My point’s a good one. It’s one thing to beat up yourself, but keeping kids from getting better is not the road to recovery.”
He didn’t say anything, but then he didn’t have to. She knew what he was thinking—that there was no road to recovery. But she didn’t deal with that. Instead, she waited, hoping, believing he would see that she was right. That helping other kids, more kids, was the best thing to do.
“I’m sorry,” he said slowly. “And having more kids here makes sense.”
She grinned. “See? That wasn’t hard. Just accept that you can’t resist me and your life will be much easier.”
“Thanks for the update.”
His mouth twitched as he spoke. She had a feeling that he was doing his best not to smile.
“About that when and where,” she said. “Tonight?”
“Your room or mine?”
“I’ll come down to your room.” She turned to leave, then glanced back at him. “Don’t piss me off between now and then.”
“I’ll try not to.”
“As you’re a man, I guess that’s the best I can hope for.”
IZZY LOVED EVERYTHING about the rope ladder, except the harness Ethan, Nick’s mountain-climbing friend, had insisted she wear.
“But I’m not blind anymore,” she whined.Ethan, a fortysomething tanned hunk, shook his head. “Until you can prove you bounce when you fall, you’re wearing a harness.”
“But it takes away from the experience.”
“What my seventeen-year-old son says about condoms. Do I look like I care?”
“Fine,” she muttered and started to climb.
The afternoon was warm, there was a slight breeze and if she ignored the very drunk finance guys and their tacky comments, she was fine.
“Baby, I’ll catch you if you fall,” was acceptable, but “Nice ass” made her want to practice a nice knee-to-the-groin move.
She reached the ladder. Ethan was already on the other side, waiting for her.
“I can do this,” she called, walking across without slowing. It was a whole lot easier with actual vision. She loved being level with the leaves on the trees and watching birds fly by.
“Can I go again?” she asked when she reached Ethan.
“I doubt it’s going to be a problem. They’re all too drunk to climb.”