"You'll be a hundred times better off for your honesty, especially with me." I stood. A brilliant potential solution to her problem had occurred to me. I needed a moment to pace and sort it out. "Gotta use the can. Be right back."
My palms were actually sweating when I returned to the living room.
I was afraid she'd instinctively bat away the helping hand I offered. Rowan Michaels had more pride-and the stubborn streak to go with it-than anyone I'd ever met. I wasn't sure I could fake an air of nonchalance if she shot my idea down without really listening to it.
She eyed me as I sat down. "Everything okay?"
Guess I'd taken longer in the bathroom than I'd thought. I glanced at the coffee table and noticed she'd discreetly placed a roll of antacids next to the glass of ice water she'd gotten for me. That was Rowan in a nutshell: seeing to the needs of the people around her. My normal reaction-I didn't need her mothering me-was replaced by a warm feeling in my chest that wasn't from indigestion.
"Jensen?" she prompted.
"I'm fine. But I do want to talk to you about something that occurred to me. And I need your word that you'll listen without judgment or a knee-jerk reaction until I've finished."
Rowan cocked her head. "You have my attention."
"Have you heard of LCCO? Lund Cares Community Outreach?"
"Only because Dallas talked about it. Sounds like the organization does great things in the Twin Cities."
"We do. Every member of the Lund family is involved in some way. Each year we choose a project. It can be anything from organizing a coat drive like my sister, Annika, does, to building sets for a community theater like my brother Walker, to working with at-risk youth like my brother Brady." It sucked admitting this next part. "As the youngest in my family, I've let my mom and my aunts decide what charitable needs I should meet, and I go where they tell me. So I've never been a self-starter when it comes to my yearly LCCO project."
Rowan frowned. "I'd think your project would be a no-brainer, Jens. You're a sports celebrity. You could host youth football clinics and get thousands of kids to apply."
"But that's not really doing something worthwhile to anyone outside the sports community. Besides, I have team obligations for kids' football clinics. Just last week my mom harassed me about getting my shit together and committing to a project or she'd find one for me." I couldn't repress a shudder at the very idea of baring myself for a bachelor auction. "So tonight, after hearing about the loss of Calder's favorite summer camp, and knowing he isn't the only kid who'll be affected by the loss, I'll make creating a new camp my LCCO project."
She didn't say anything; she just gaped at me in disbelief.
I found myself trying to sell her on it. I'll admit a lot of it was me talking out of my ass because I hadn't paid attention to the particulars when I'd been involved in other LCCO projects. I'd never started one at ground zero.
When I paused to take a drink, Rowan seized the chance to speak. "Okay, I'm throwing this out there and please don't bite my head off. But you can't take an arts camp-which I assume you know nothing about-and turn it into a sports camp, and expect the parents who had committed to the arts camp to be happy about the change because any camp is better than no camp."
And I thought I'd been making progress with her. That she'd finally seen me beyond being a meathead football player with a one-track mind on sports. It was tempting to say, Screw it, and good luck; sorry you can't see that I have a functioning brain outside my helmet and I'm only trying to help you.
I started to do just that: get up, toss off a terse "Whatever" and let her figure out a better way. But then I realized that was exactly what she expected I'd do-maybe even what she wanted me to do. Take offense, storm off and prove I have a football player's temper by throwing a tantrum. Then she could keep her pride by not admitting that I could help her.
Screw that.
Raising my head, I met her defiant gaze with one of my own. "At what point during my explanation of how LCCO could possibly help fix this situation did I specifically say that I planned to turn the dance and art camp into a football camp?"
Rowan stared at me. Scowled at me. Scowled at her empty mug.
"You can't answer that because I never indicated that in order for LCCO to become interested, I'd pitch it as a sports camp."
"Isn't that expected? Given who you are?"
I leaned forward. "I get off on defying people's expectations, Rowan."
"So you seriously expect me to believe that all you have to do is tell LCCO about the situation, and they'll ride in like a bunch of white knights and save the summer camp?"