Page 366 of Summer Heat
The time remaining in their friend truce.
She held strong, refusing to let her imagination run with what exactly the man could do in fifteen minutes otherwise.
But then he had to go and tuck a throw pillow behind her as she sat down, fluff it for her to make sure she was comfortable.
Not to win points.
Rather, just because he was that guy.
The unconsciously sweet bad boy.
Now why’d she insist on this truce again?
CHAPTER SIX
CONNOR COULDN’T BELIEVE he was sitting on a living room floor eating dinner with Abby. He hadn’t done something like this since college.
It was…nice.
“So besides hiding from me, what were you doing in the library today?”
She gave him a shy smile. “One of my dissertation research questions focuses on the swinging pendulum of business and technical writing instruction throughout history. My research has unearthed some pre-college cases after the technology boom—a few pivotal high school cases as early as the 1900s. To contrast these findings with the present, I’ve been collecting data from school resources all across Arizona.”
She was speaking so fast now, it was kind of adorable.
“You know, I’ve even found old teaching materials that are strikingly similar to current trends, though they’re rarely linked in scholarly articles. And amazingly, each instance that’s impacted the pedagogical foundation of today’s technical writing landscape correlates directly to societal goings-on at the time. It’s fascinating.”
Oh yeah, she was an academic alright, through and through. He grinned at the pink in her cheeks. Not quite the type of passion he’d been hoping to inspire in her, but moving just the same.
“What’s wrong?” he asked when she didn’t continue; she’d been on such a roll.
She gnawed on her lip. “Sorry, I know this all sounds boring and nerdy to…well, any normal person. You’ve actually lasted longer than most of my friends and family. Their eyes would’ve been glazed over by my second sentence.”
The way she smiled at him—like he was a foot taller than he’d been a minute ago—filled him with an inordinate amount of pleasure.
“On the contrary, a lot of what you said was pretty thought-provoking.” He gave her a reassuring grin. “Don’t get me wrong, some of your explanations did bear an uncanny resemblance to the college lectures I used to somehow take notes in without any conscious brain involvement,” he teased, “but your passion kept me engaged in everything you were saying. It’s obvious you’re a good teacher.”
There was that smile again. If she kept it up, he’d be growing in other ways too.
She shook her head and focused on assembling another fajita. “You know, you’re nothing like I expected.”
“I’m glad you gave me a chance to redeem myself.”
Her brows rose at the reminder. “Yeah, what was with that freak-out at your house yesterday? It seemed a little…excessive.”
He took his time chewing his food, trying to phrase his answer in the least offensive way. “Let’s just say women showing up at my home half-dressed isn’t exactly an unusual occurrence for me.”
“Right, of course. That happens a lot on this street too.” She chortled. Mostly at his expense.
Of all the different facets to Abby’s personality, Connor decided he liked the feisty one the best. “Don’t laugh. You’d be surprised what lengths some women will go to seduce a man they’ve built up in their heads.”
She leaned over and butted his shoulder with her own. “Oh, don’t get all modest on me now. We both know you probably live up to every expectation these women have of you.”
His smiled faded and he turned to face her fully. “Don’t.”
Startled, she looked up at him. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t go thinking I’m someone I’m not.”
