Hold Me (Fool's Gold #16)(56)

“I like calm. The highs and lows never end well. Better to stay emotionally steady. It’s easier.”

“So you’re not upset?”

“No. It’s odd, I’ll admit. I’m kind of embarrassed. You saw me naked.”

“You look good naked.”

The unexpected compliment made her blush and feel a little proud at the same time.

“Thank you. Um, you do, too.”

“About what we did last night.”

She held up her hand to stop him. “I’m okay, Kipling. But I don’t want to talk about it anymore. It happened. Now we move on.”

“Because you’re still looking for Mr. Sensible? So you can have a nonphysical connection and raise a family?”

When he put it like that, she felt ridiculous, but she nodded, anyway. Because she’d put a lot of thought into her plan, and she knew she was right.

He reached for her free hand. “Destiny, last night didn’t go the way I’d planned. I don’t want you thinking that’s all there is. Sexually.”

She pulled her hand free and stood. “I know. It’s fine. Thank you for worrying. It’s no big deal. I promise. We’ll go on as if this never happened. You’ll see. Just put it out of your mind.”

* * *

KIPLING LET DESTINY walk away because he honest to God didn’t know what to say to her. She defined unruffled. He would guess that most women in her situation would be shrieking or crying or threatening him with a knife. She was acting like it was no big deal.

But it was. It had to be. These days, very few women got to be her age without having had at least one serious boyfriend. And with that kind of relationship came intimacy. But she hadn’t done that. Twenty-four hours ago she’d been a virgin. Now she wasn’t, and it was his fault.

Talk about a problem that needed fixing, he thought. How was he supposed to make things right?

He shifted so he could rest his elbows on his thighs and dropped his head to his hands. Maybe it would be better if she was threatening him with a knife. At least he could understand that. But her total acceptance had him baffled.

Unless it was a facade. But she seemed so sure. Was she fooling herself? If he kept thinking in circles and worrying, was he going to turn into a woman?

Nearly as horrifying, he’d left her unsatisfied. Now he was the kind of jerk guy he’d been so smug about. And while that problem could be fixed, he wasn’t sure where to start. Or what to say.

He stood and looked at his watch. He had a meeting with Mayor Marsha in a few minutes to interview another candidate for his second-in-command. Work now, Destiny later, he told himself. Because while she might have accepted what had happened, he was still trying to take it all in. And once he had it figured out, he was going to fix it. All of it.

He walked to City Hall and took the stairs up to the mayor’s office. Her assistant waved him in.

“Right on time,” the mayor said, greeting him with a warm smile then gesturing to the chair by her desk. She was dressed in a purple suit and pearls. “Our candidate is filling out some paperwork as we speak. I have a good feeling about her.”

“The résumé is impressive,” he said, thinking about the file he’d reviewed over the weekend. Cassidy Modene, age thirty-nine. She’d grown up in Wyoming, had worked for the Wyoming State Parks. She trained horses for search and rescue missions, and worked with search and rescue dogs. “She brings more to the table than we’re looking for.”

Mayor Marsha nodded. “You’re thinking of the horses and the dogs.”

“I am.”

“There seems to be some extra grant money, so I thought we might expand our mission statement.”

He wasn’t sure which comment to address first. The steady influx of money or the dogs and horses. In an era of decreasing funds for local governments, Mayor Marsha had started a new and expensive program. Was there a secret money stash somewhere? Did she have rich benefactors? Or was it best that he not ask?

As for the dogs and horses, he was interested. “We’ll have more resources,” he said. “I’m not sure how they’ll fit in with the software we have.”

“I’m sure you can speak to Destiny about it,” the mayor said confidently. “Her company seems to pride itself on providing custom solutions.”

He chuckled. “Special tracking collars on the dogs?”

“Something like that.” Her gaze turned speculative. “I assume you wouldn’t have a problem working with a woman.”

Kipling started to laugh. This time yesterday he would have assured the mayor that he was very good with women. Now he was a whole lot less sure of that. But the older woman wouldn’t want to hear about his personal issues.

“None at all,” he promised, thinking that as long as he kept things professional, he was fine with women.

“I thought not.”

Her assistant knocked once then opened the office door. “Cassidy’s ready if you are.”

Mayor Marsha stood. “Send her in.”

Kipling rose and followed the mayor toward the latest potential candidate for his second-in-command job. While he’d studied her résumé, meeting her in person would tell him a lot more about whether or not she would be a good fit.

Cassidy Modene was about five six with short, spiky blond hair and hazel eyes. She wore a dark blue suit and plain navy pumps. Used to sizing up opponents at a glance, he saw that she was strong and athletic. Not surprising, considering her occupation. She looked capable.