His combative expression went slack, his lips parting. “Long Acre. Like the Long Acre?”
“Yes. I’m assuming you didn’t know,” she said quickly. “That’s why I limp sometimes. I was shot in the leg. And I’m only telling you now because visiting your class was the first time I’ve willingly been around teenagers or an active school setting since then. It brings up too much stuff.”
A pained look crossed his face. “God, Rebecca, I would’ve never asked you—”
She lifted a hand to cut him off, needing to get the words out. “But I’m glad I got to see you teach that day because watching you with the kids… It was something special. Something good. It gave me ideas. I saw kids that I could’ve gone to high school with, ones who maybe have gotten off track but just need someone in their life to say, ‘Hey, you’ve got potential,’ or ‘It gets better,’ or ‘You have a safe place or person to come to if you need it.’ That program is a safe place, and you are that safe person.” She held his gaze. “That is something worth fighting for. That is something worth investing in.”
He laced his fingers behind his head, clearly anguished on her behalf. “Rebecca…”
“And you were right. I’m good at my job and it’s a necessary profession, but I know I’m not doing anything that’s going to change the world. But you…you are. Even if you don’t think of it that way. And if this money can help you do that while you’re there, then maybe I can go to bed at night knowing I helped a little bit, too. That I didn’t escape all those years ago for no reason.”
His brows knitted. “For no reason? You don’t owe some debt to the world because you survived.”
The back of her nose burned, but there was no way she was going to let herself cry. “I do.” More than he or anyone else realized. “So maybe this is more self-serving than you realize. Maybe I’m doing it for me, too.”
His hands dropped to his sides and he stepped closer, concern on his face. “Rebecca, I don’t know what to say to all this.”
She gripped her elbows and shrugged. “Maybe just say yes.”
He cupped her shoulders, his eyes searching hers. “Promise me you’re not trying to pay me back for something. I don’t deserve that.”
She shook her head. “I need to do something good. I want to help your kids. And I can’t do that without you being on board with this. Tell me you’ll do this.”
He pushed her hair away from her face, his lips quirking into a small smile. “So this wasn’t a date after all, huh? It was just some master plan to get me to agree to this project?”
A glimmer of pleasure went through her, cutting a path through her somber mood. “Well, getting kissed senseless wasn’t part of the original agenda.”
“Senseless, huh?”
She sniffed. “Don’t look so pleased with yourself.”
“Oh no, I’m going to look pleased. Knowing I kissed Rebecca Lindt senseless may need to go on my résumé. Right at the top.”
She shoved him in the chest. “Shut up.”
He gripped her wrist and pulled her close, touching his forehead to hers. She thought he was going to kiss her, but after a moment, he let out a long sigh. “What are we doing here, lawyer girl?”
“What?” she asked, a little breathless.
“I want to kiss you again. I’d like to keep doing that, actually, preferably not in a used car lot and without interruption. But it feels damn selfish.”
Her heartbeat thumped in her ears. “S
elfish?”
“Because that’s all I’ve got to offer. I’m just barely getting my shit together and have steered clear of dating or anything resembling a relationship since my divorce for good reason. You’ve got to realize I’m a bad investment.”
She lifted her head and met his tense gaze. “Are you worried I’m going to expect your class ring so we can go steady if I let you kiss me again?”
His expression turned chagrined. “Maybe? This isn’t meant as an insult, but you strike me as the type of woman who’d want the traditional steps into a relationship.”
She stared at him, not insulted, not even surprised. She held everything so tight and close—her feelings, her desires, her fears—that she was used to people layering their ideas about who she was on her like a costume. At work, she was the aggressive, confident lawyer. To her father’s friends, she was the studious, obedient daughter. To her friends, she was the practical, unemotional one. She was all those things and none of them, but those masks gave her a comfortable place to settle, a role she knew how to play. With Wes, she couldn’t find her footing or her lines, so blatant honesty slipped out instead. “I’ll admit I’m not someone who does the hookup scene. But I’m also not looking for something serious from anyone. Ever, really.”
He lifted a brow. “Ever?”
“I don’t see the point. I witness what happens to marriages every day at work. If you want to talk about bad investments, there’s a verifiable one. I have no desire to subject myself to that kind of ugliness and heartache. Things don’t have to be that complicated. Me kissing you back doesn’t mean anything more than it felt good and I like you.”
He stared at her for a long moment as if trying to puzzle her out, but then he smiled, some of the light coming back into his eyes. “You like me, huh? Like, like me, like me?”