Page 7 of At the Heart of It (The Can’t Have Hearts Club #4)

God, he sounded like a bitter ex-husband. He wasn’t really. The divorce had been friendly enough, and they’d parted on decent terms. What was it about sitting here with her that made him turn into a goddamn cretin?

“Jonah,” Viv tried again. “Just hear us out.”

“I don’t think so. Have you forgotten the fact that I hate TV appearances? Remember how many we did during the push for On the Other Hand ?”

“Zero.” Viv pressed her lips together. “We did zero. You also wouldn’t pose for a book jacket photo. Not even the hands on the cover are ours.”

A flash of hurt shot through Viv’s eyes, but she looked away before he could even think about apologizing.

“Exactly,” Jonah said, trying to soften his voice but not succeeding. “I hate having my picture taken. So what makes you think I’d agree to do a fucking TV show?”

Viv sighed. “We’ve been apart for almost two years, Jonah. I’ve certainly changed in that time. I was hoping maybe you had, too.”

She was baiting him, he knew. Trying to gain the upper hand in the game of who’s-the-most-mature-and-enlightened-party-in-this-divorce.

It was a game he’d never won, never tried to win.

He glanced at Kate and the woman sitting next to her, though it was Kate who held his attention.

Kate, whose copper-colored eyes made him think that even though he damn sure wasn’t doing any television show, sitting here in her company for a few more minutes wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

She held his gaze a few more beats, then folded her hands in her lap. “Would you like to at least hear the proposal?”

Jonah hesitated. Recalled how willingly she’d gone along with his harebrained acting scheme in Ashland. Recalled the feel of her lips brushing his, the softness of her hip as he’d skimmed his hand up her body as they kissed.

Not the most helpful memories, under the circumstances. Jonah sighed.

“Not really,” he said. “I’m sorry to waste your time.”

The blonde winced as Jonah started to stand, but Kate’s expression didn’t falter. To his left Jonah heard Viv’s voice again.

“Jonah, please give this a chance,” she pleaded. “The network executives will be here in less than two hours.”

He frowned. “And that’s my problem?”

Viv folded her hands in her lap. “I thought you’d be open to hearing about this,” she said. “Keeping an open mind.”

“Huh,” Jonah said. “I guess you thought wrong.”

The afternoon light was waning and so was Kate’s energy by the time she caught up with Jonah walking a red and brown fox-sized dog along the waterfront pathway in Alki Park.

At least, she assumed it was Jonah. She’d never seen him with his shirt off, so she hung back a good twenty paces behind to make sure it really was him.

Okay, maybe she was checking him out. Good Lord, the man was chiseled.

He had muscles in his back that Kate hadn’t known existed, and a tattoo of a sword on one shoulder blade.

The contrast of that tattoo against his tanned flesh and against Kate’s own memories of the cultured bookstore owner she’d met a month ago made her palms clammy and her pulse drum in her head.

How had she not noticed before how ripped he was?

Kate wasn’t the only one noticing.

“Oooh, can I pet your dog?” A buxom brunette approached from Jonah’s left and didn’t wait for an answer. Just stooped down to pet the cinnamon-colored mutt wearing an orange vest that read Adopt Me!

Jonah stopped walking and shifted the leash to his other hand, preventing his canine charge from clotheslining his new admirer. “That’s Buster,” Jonah said, reaching up to adjust his glasses. “He’s up for adoption at Clearwater Animal Shelter.”

Kate moved closer and watched the brunette make an extra effort to provide a glimpse down the front of her top. “I just love little doggies,” she said. “You want to come home with me?”

Her gaze lifted to Jonah when she said it, and Kate watched his face to see if he’d taken it as an invitation. He still hadn’t noticed Kate, and studying him now gave her a voyeuristic thrill.

But Jonah seemed unaffected by both the cleavage and the flirtation, which only seemed to pique the brunette’s interest. Her eyes widened as he fished into the pocket of his navy athletic shorts and pulled out a card.

“Here’s the info for Clearwater Animal Shelter,” he said. “They’re just three blocks that way and they have a lot of other great animals up for adoption.”

“You work there?” The brunette straightened up, glancing once at Kate as though assessing the competition. Finding it lacking, she returned her gaze to Jonah.

That’s when he seemed to notice her. Jonah turned to look her direction, holding her gaze as Kate took a few steps closer. He didn’t smile, but she could have sworn she saw a warmth that hadn’t been there two seconds before.

“I’m a volunteer,” Jonah said, sliding his gaze back to the brunette. “Will you excuse me? I need to make sure Buster gets his exercise.”

“Absolutely.” The brunette gave a chipper little wave, then turned on her heel and flounced away.

Jonah didn’t watch her go. Instead, he turned his gaze back to Kate and watched as she covered the few steps that still separated them. Something about the way his eyes swept her body made Kate feel as topless as he was.

He was first to speak. “Either Viv told you where to find me, or the level of coincidence here has just gone from ‘crazy’ to ‘I need a restraining order.’”

Kate shook her head and offered a nervous smile.

“Nope, it’s still just crazy.” She wiped her palms down her gray pencil skirt and wished she’d stopped at the hotel to change.

She felt stiff and overdressed standing in heels and a navy silk cowl-neck top beside a shirtless man with pecs she really should stop ogling.

His chest had a faint dusting of hair that left Kate wondering if it would feel as soft as it looked.

She cleared her throat. “Viv told me you’d be here,” she continued. “I felt bad about the contentious turn things took back at her place.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said. “I apologize. Sometimes I can be a little hotheaded when I’m caught off guard.”

Kate nodded, remembering one of the chapters in On the Other Hand where Viv and Jonah bantered about each other’s most unfavorable traits. Temper and forgetfulness had topped Jonah’s list.

Bossiness and self-righteousness had topped Viv’s.

“It’s okay, I understand,” Kate said.

“No, it’s not okay. I’m sorry. I don’t always react well to surprises.”

“Understandable,” Kate said. “Those were two pretty big ones.”

“Thanks!”

Kate turned with a start as a busty blonde jogged past with a wave for Jonah. With a grimace, Kate ordered herself to keep her voice down. She turned her attention back to Jonah, who seemed oblivious to the awkward exchange.

“Mind if I walk with you for a bit?” Kate asked him.

Jonah shrugged. “Suit yourself. It’s a free country.” He turned on his heel and started walking again. Kate fell into step beside him, hustling to keep up with those impossibly long legs.

“It is a free country,” she repeated, glancing up to watch his expression. “Interesting choice of words. One might say your military service played a role in the whole ‘free country’ thing. You might have mentioned that when we first met.”

“Why?” He looked at her. “It was a long time ago, and not what I’m doing for a living now.”

“It might have given me a clue who you were,” she said, though the odds seemed slim she would have put the pieces together even then. “Anyway, I was hoping we could talk alone for a minute.”

Jonah raised an eyebrow at her. “Yes. I seem to recall the conversation flowed a little more smoothly when my ex-wife wasn’t there.”

The comment sent a flush of heat through her face and throat, which was dumb. He was talking about conversation in general, not where the conversation had led that evening on the porch swing.

“Right. There’s that.” Kate took a deep breath as she hurried to keep up with him. “Look, I had no idea who you were when we met in Ashland.”

“The comic relief guy from a shitty relationship guide?” His tone was dry, and Kate felt an unexpected surge of defensiveness.

“You know, that book has changed a lot of people’s lives,” she snapped. “The advice about communication and honesty and?—”

“Hi, can I pet your doggie?”

Kate turned to see a woman with a blue-blond pixie cut approaching from the right. Jonah stopped so fast that Kate nearly ran into him. She put a hand out to catch herself, grazing a shoulder blade that felt like flesh-covered steel.

“Sure,” Jonah said to the blonde, fishing another business card out of his pocket. “Buster is a terrier/heeler mix, and he’s available for adoption at the Clearwater Animal Shelter.”

“So sweet!” The blonde glanced at the card, then knelt down and stroked the dog’s ears, earning herself a lick on the cheek.

She smiled up at Jonah, and Kate caught a smolder of suggestion in the woman’s eyes.

“I’ve been thinking of getting a dog. Which days are you there if I wanted to come by and check out what you have? ”

“My schedule varies, but the shelter is open nine to five on weekdays and ten to four on weekends.”

“What a sweet, sweet puppy.” The woman accepted a few more sloppy kisses while the dog wagged and wriggled and seemed genuinely thrilled at the attention.

“So I’ll see you around,” she said to Jonah as she stood, beaming as she stole a quick glance at the broad expanse of his chest. She ignored Kate completely, probably assuming based on their mismatched attire that she was his boss or sister or parole officer.

Kate straightened her skirt and watched the woman sashay away.

When the blonde was out of earshot, Kate looked up at Jonah. “This must happen to you a lot?”

He grunted and gave a curt nod. “That’s the idea.”

“The idea?”

He stooped down to adjust the dog’s Adopt Me! vest, then gave the little guy a quick booty scratch before straightening up.