Waiting for You (RightMatch.com Trilogy) by Kathryn Shay Read Free Book Online

Cole again.
    “Turns out she was keeping something of epic proportions from me.” He still couldn’t believe what she’d been hiding. She’d left him two hours ago, and he’d gone immediately online to research her condition. Then he’d been restless from what he’d discovered, from the kiss that had knocked his socks off, and also from being pissed off at her circumstances, so he’d come here. He needed to talk.
    “What is it?” Spence asked gently.
    “She’s… She was a famous dancer in New York. She got hurt on a tour right here in Rockland.”
    “How hurt?” Spence asked.
    “A girder fell on her backstage, crushing her legs.”
    “Oh, my God.” Cole set down his beer squeezed Joe’s arm. “I’m so sorry.”
    “How bad is her injury?” The question came from Spence.
    “She has a crush injury from the knees down. She’s in a wheelchair.” He swallowed the lump in his throat. “She’ll never walk again.”
    Spence swore. And his brow furrowed. “I don’t get it, though. You said she owned a dance studio. That she was into all the athletic stuff you are.”
    Joe explained how Dana had orchestrated her life so she could live a fairly normal existence and run a business. It was incredibly complicated. And brave.
    “Well, good for her,” Cole commented. “She didn’t let a tragedy destroy her. And she’s still connected with dance. She must be a very special woman.”
    “She said the accident did destroy her, for a while. Like with me and football. But she got beyond letting it ruin her life.”
    Standing, Spence crossed to a plant hanging from the gazebo and pinched off a few dead blossoms. Then he leaned against the railing, facing them. “How disabled is she?”
    “She told me specifically that she doesn’t have spinal cord injury. She can feel from the knees up.”
    “Not to be indelicate here, but can she have sex, enjoy it?”
    “Well, I didn’t ask her point blank, but from what I learned in my EMT classes, and just now online, the answer to that is yes.”
    Cole let the knowledge simmer for a bit then asked, “Where are you with all this, Joe?”
    “I’m fucking stunned.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “I liked her before we met. She was fun and interesting online. And she got me to talk about myself. But being with her, seeing her in that chair and knowing how tough she had to be to build a new life has made me admire her, too.” Hell, it made him even hotter for her.
    “What does she want from you ?” Spence asked.
    “I guess she wanted to come clean about her disability and to see if I still wanted to date her.”
    “She should’ve told you before you got involved online.” Spence’s tone was harsh. “And she misled you with her profile.”
    Giving Spence an incredulous look, Joe waited for him to make the connection to his own actions with Annie online.
    He did. “I know that sounds hypocritical, but because I lied to Annie online doesn’t make what Dana did any more acceptable.” Spence ran a hand through his hair, leaving a few specks of paint in it. “The fact that I tricked Annie almost destroyed our chance together. I was completely wrong.”
    “Why didn’t Dana tell you outright about her condition?” Cole asked.
    “She said she’d decided only to tell her matches about her situation if she wanted to date them. And she thought she should do it in person.”
    “She was dishonest and it affected your actions. You like athletic women. That’s on your list of requirements. You belong to that group that gets together all year long to do sports. You play basketball, volleyball, go skiing, and you’re probably into sexual gymnastics we don’t even know about.”
    That brought a smile to Joe’s lips, albeit a grim one.
    “Be honest,” Spence continued. “If she hadn’t said she was interested in the same sports as you are, liked working out as you do, would you have given her a wink?”
    “Probably not.” Verbalizing the answer made him