Read Online Key Of Knowledge by Nora Roberts - Free Book Online

hell am I going to do with it?”
    â€œFlynn’s got plenty of room at his place.”
    â€œYeah.” She sighed. “Yeah, he does. I guess that’s the way it’ll have to be. He can’t get pissed, because Malory will just bat her eyelashes and turn him into putty.”
    They divvied up, loaded up. The drive back to Flynn’s gave her time to wonder how they’d managed to be in each other’s company for the best part of an hour without a fight.
    He hadn’t been a jerk, which, she decided, was a rare thing.
    And, she was forced to admit, she hadn’t been one either. Equally rare when Jordan was involved.
    Maybe, just maybe, they could manage to coexist, even cooperate, for the short term. If, as everyone else insisted, he was part of the quest, she needed him around.
    Added to that, he had a good brain and a fluid imagination. He could be more than an annoyance through this. He could be an actual asset.
    When they arrived at Flynn’s, she had to concede that ithelped to have a man around who was willing to play pack mule with a dozen gallons of paint and the supplies that went with it.
    â€œDining room,” she said, straining a little under the load she carried. “He never uses it.”
    â€œHe’s going to.” Jordan wound his way through the house, veered off into the dining room. “Malory has major plans.”
    â€œShe always does. She makes him happy.”
    â€œNo question about that.” He headed back out for the next load. “Lily put some serious holes in his ego,” he added, referring to Flynn’s ex-fiancée.
    â€œIt wasn’t just his ego.” She pulled out a bag loaded with extra paint rollers, brushes, shiny metal pans. “She hurt him. When somebody dumps you and runs off, it hurts.”
    â€œBest thing that could’ve happened to him.”
    â€œThat isn’t the issue.” She could feel the resentment, the hurt, the anger starting to brew in her belly. Struggling to ignore it, she hauled out more cans. “The issue is pain, betrayal, and loss.”
    He said nothing as they carried the rest of the supplies to the dining room. Nothing until they set them down, and he turned to face her. “I didn’t dump you.”
    She could actually feel the hair on the back of her neck rise. “Not every statement I make involves you.”
    â€œI had to go,” he continued. “You had to stay. You were still in college, for Christ’s sake.”
    â€œThat didn’t stop you from getting me into bed.”
    â€œNo, it didn’t. Nothing could have. I had a hunger for you, Dana. There were times I felt like I’d starve to death if I couldn’t get a bite of you.”
    She stepped back, gave him an up-and-down study. “Looks like you’ve been eating well enough the last few years.”
    â€œDoesn’t mean I stopped thinking about you. You meant something to me.”
    â€œOh, go to hell.” It didn’t explode out of her, but was said flatly, which gave it more power. “ Meant something to you? A goddamn pair of shoes can mean something to you. I loved you.”
    If she’d delivered a bare-knuckled punch to his face, he’d have been no less shocked. “You . . . you never said that. You never once said the L word to me.”
    â€œBecause you were supposed to say it first. The guy’s supposed to say it first.”
    â€œHold on just a minute. Is that a rule?” Panic was trickling down the back of his throat like acid. “Where’s it written down?”
    â€œIt just is , you stupid jerk. I loved you, and I’d have waited, or I’d’ve gone with you. But you just said, Listen, Stretch, I’m pulling up stakes and going to New York. It’s been fun, see you around.”
    â€œThat’s not true, Dana. It wasn’t like that.”
    â€œClose enough. Nobody’s ever hurt me like that.