The Trouble With Tomboys(56)

murmured, “If you say so.”

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Chapter Thirteen


“Sympathy sex?”

B.J.’s mouth fell open. She hadn’t been home from Jo Ellen’s but an hour before Grady came knocking. She’d had time to shower and shave her legs and feel refreshed for an evening of lazing around the house and eating a frozen dinner. But Mr. Rawlings had other ideas.

As soon as she opened the door to him, those two dreaded, accusing words came out. They didn’t exactly register in her brain though. She was too busy staring at him and thinking how absolutely beautiful he was. His father’s visit and sister’s phone call immediately forgotten, all she saw was a man who made her heart pound hard and her breathing turn choppy.

“You’re into sympathy sex?” he repeated.

Groaning out a curse, B.J. gritted her teeth. “I’m going to kill Cooper for opening his pie hole.” Then, frowning as Grady pushed past her to enter the living room, she muttered, “Sure. Come on in.”

“Why Cooper?” he asked, turning to send her a questioning look. “Cooper’s not the one who told me.

Jo Ellen is.”

B.J. gasped. “Oh, my God! Jo Ellen heard us

talking?” She lifted her hand to her suddenly aching temple. Damn. There went the only female friend she’d ever had. And she’d been anxious to ask Jo Ellen more pregnancy questions.

Wincing, she asked, “Is she totally pissed at me?” He frowned in confusion. “Why would she be 156



The Trouble with Tomboys



pissed?”

“Because of what Cooper and I did—” she

started to blurt out before she realized Grady obviously hadn’t heard the whole story. “Wait a second,” she said, setting her hands on her hips.

“What exactly did she say to you?”

“She said you only slept with men you felt sorry for. Cooper was not mentioned in that list.” But from the way he closed his eyes and shook his head sadly, he’d already added Gerhardt to the register. “Please, God,” he muttered. “Don’t tell me you slept with my brother-in-law.”

“No!” she said. “Definitely not.” When he gave her a probing stare, she shifted uncomfortably, crossed her arms over her chest and scowled.

“Besides, he wasn’t your brother-in-law at the time.”

“Oh, my God. You slept with Cooper?”

“No,” she yelled back. “He stopped before it went too far.”

Grady paused. “He stopped?” When she gave a miserable nod, he pierced her with a look and set his hands on his hips. “And just how far did you two go before he stopped?”

B.J. let out a dramatically long sigh and tried to stop blushing. “Not that it’s any of your business because it happened way back when you were still married to Amy, but we barely got our shirts off,”

she admitted on a mumble.

Grady didn’t look happy about thinking of her with a shirtless Cooper. “That’s it?”

She nodded. “This was right before he and Jo Ellen hooked up. And he was all bummed out

because he thought he was never going to see her again. So, he couldn’t go through with it...with me.”

“Ah. So, it was sympathy sex with him too,

huh?”

She glared. “I do not do sympathy sex! I mean, come on. Have you ever seen Cooper Gerhardt

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shirtless? Pity was the last thing on my mind, I assure you.”

“Uh huh,” he said, not believing her. “And I’m sure Junkyard Smardo is simply irresistible with his shirt off, isn’t he?”

B.J. couldn’t help it. She winced. Ick. Ralphie had just been plain scary without his clothes on. She had to be thankful it’d been fairly dark, or his pasty white skin and beer belly would’ve chased her away long before they’d started.

Clamping her mouth shut, she refused to

incriminate herself any further.

“And what about me?” he asked in a low voice, stepping ominously closer. “What was it about me you were so unable to resist? The way I brooded into my beer throughout supper? Or maybe it was how I ignored you and tried to avoid all conversation.”

B.J.’s lips parted in surprise.

He was hurt. She blinked, unable to believe it.

He honestly thought she’d only slept with him to ease his miserable life. And, clearly, that didn’t sit well with him. He hadn’t wanted any kind of pity or sympathy. He’d wanted honest-to-goodness lust.

Not sure how to tell him her pity had gone out the window the second her mouth had touched his, she sighed.

“You seen a mirror recently, Slim?” she asked.

“Because you’re not exactly hurtin’ in the looks department either.”