What She Wants

Adam groaned. “I didn’t sleep at all last night.”

Right. He’d just been faking. “You snore.”

Adam frowned and rubbed his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Quarter after seven.”

“I have to get going. Man, I’m shot.” He eyed Jonathan’s mug. “Is that coffee?”

Jonathan nodded at his coffeemaker. “You can make yourself some.”

“Don’t mind if I do,” Adam said, and unzipped his sleeping bag. “But first things first.”

Jonathan watched him wander off down the hall to the bathroom, wearing boxers and a T-shirt. Lucky for Adam he had a suitcase of clothes. It was a cinch he wouldn’t be getting into his house for more anytime soon. Poor guy.

From what Adam had said the night before, Jonathan suspected he’d had it coming. Still, he couldn’t help feeling sorry for his poker pal. Locked out of your own house. That had to be humiliating.

He heard the toilet flush and suddenly realized that potential humiliation was lying out in plain sight on the toilet tank. Oh, no.

Maybe Adam hadn’t seen it....

“What the hell?”

Adam had seen.

Jonathan rushed down the hall and arrived at the bathroom to find Adam holding The Undercover Tycoon and staring at it in horror. He looked at Jonathan as if he’d just discovered Jonathan was an ax murderer.

“Give me that.” Jonathan strode over and grabbed the book to snatch it away.

Adam wasn’t ready to let go. “What the hell is this?”

“Never mind.” Jonathan yanked again.

Adam yanked back and Jonathan pulled harder.

“Give me the damned book,” Jonathan growled.

Adam let go at the same time Jonathan gave up the struggle. The book did a swan dive, putting the tycoon in the toilet.

They both stood for a moment, watching the paperback floating in the toilet bowl. Who knew what was going through Adam’s mind, but Jonathan had only one thought. “My sister’s gonna be pissed.”

“That’s your sister’s book?”

“Yes,” Jonathan said grumpily, fishing it out. “Well, it was.” Maybe he could dry it off, set it out in the sun. Once it was dry she’d never know the difference.

“What are you doing reading your sister’s romance novel?”

This wasn’t exactly something he wanted to share. He wished he’d remembered the dumb thing and ditched it while Adam was snoring. “Never mind,” he said, and took the soggy tycoon out to the front porch.

Adam was right behind him. “That’s a chick book.”

“I know,” Jonathan said as he laid it out on the porch railing. Chica, who’d come over to see what was going on, sniffed it. “Oh, no, you don’t,” he said, picking it up again. Maybe if he put it in the dryer.

“So, why are you reading a chick book?”

Jonathan hadn’t wanted to tell anyone, but looking at Adam regarding him with disgust was enough to make him reconsider. What the heck. “I’m doing research.”

“Research? What, are you going to write one of those?”

This was awkward. “No. I just...” Don’t want to be a loser. He couldn’t bring himself to say that, so instead he clamped his lips shut and went back inside, Adam and Chica following him.

“What? I mean, dude, that’s weird.”

“No, it’s not. I figure I can learn something from these books.” If he could keep them from getting destroyed.

Adam gave a disdainful snort. “Like what, how to get the prince to take you to the ball?”

“No. How to figure out what’s important to a woman.” Jonathan set the tycoon on top of the fridge where Chica couldn’t reach him. Then he took his Vanessa Valentine novel out from its hiding place under his magazine. “They’re written by women, and the women who read them like what the heroes do. I’m thinkin’ reading some of these is a good way to get a handle on what makes a woman tick and what she wants in a man.”

Adam took it from him. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

Adam turned it over and read the back cover. “Sounds dumb.”

Jonathan could feel his cheeks heating. Yeah, what did he know? He was just the dork who’d given Adam a place to sleep after his wife kicked him out.

“So who’s the woman you want?”

“Never mind.” He went to the kitchen and pulled a box of cereal from the cupboard, keeping his back to Adam, willing the flush of embarrassment from his face.

“No, seriously. Who is she?”

“No one you know.” Adam was a relative newcomer to Icicle Falls. He hadn’t known Lissa.

“So she doesn’t live around here?”

“Not anymore.”

“She used to?”

Jonathan got busy pouring milk on his cereal. “Yeah. We went to school together.”

Understanding dawned and Adam nodded sagely. “Your high school sweetheart. That’s right. You and Kyle have a reunion this summer. I remember you guys talking about it the other night. So, is your old girlfriend coming back for the reunion?”

“We never went out. We were just friends.” Jonathan shrugged like it was no big deal.

“And you want to see if you can start something with her.”