“Part of the reason you care deeply about BHI.”
“Roots,” she agreed.“Connection.It matters.”
“I couldn’t have said it better.”
She ordered the Gulf shrimp platter, and he had a medium-rare steak.Once she’d consumed half a glass of wine, her posture became a little more relaxed and she became more animated than usual.
“I understand why you like living downtown.Everything’s close, and it’s got a certain energy, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.It’s become part of me.”
She swirled her finger around the rim of her glass.“What do you do to relax?”
“I exercise,” he said.“Swim.Use the rowing machine you saw in my workout room.On rare occasions, I walk to work.”
“That’s it?The pictures in your home office… There was one with you and Erin in Cozumel.But that was a few years ago.”
She was treading in territory he’d rather keep private, but if she was going to spend the next few years with him, she had that right.“I haven’t taken a vacation recently.”
“Not even a getaway, like to New Orleans?Galveston?South Padre Island?”
“No.You?”
Lara sat back and crossed her legs.“We were talking about you.”
“Which I’m not accustomed to doing.”Business, yes.But with the exceptions of Nathan and a few close friends, Connor kept conversation general, sports, business, weather.
“Even when we’re intimate, you seem to be somewhat distant.Like you’re holding yourself back.”
Perceptive.
She tipped her head to one side.“It makes me wonder if you’ve always been like that.Or if it’s because we don’t have a…” She paused.
Since he had never supplied information that he didn’t need to, he waited while she searched for the right words.
Finally, she settled for, “This relationship hasn’t progressed like normal ones.”
He noticed, appreciated, that she hadn’t called it a sham again.
“Most times you get to know someone, and all along the way you’re trying to decide whether things will work, whether or not there’s chemistry, whether values align, whether you want the same things out of the future.If that all works out, you may decide to live together or get married.”
“You forgot the part about whether the sub is gorgeous and well-behaved.”
She took a long drink of her water then scowled at him.“My point is that most relationships don’t start with a marriage proposal.”
“Especially from the bride.”When she pursed her lips, he relented.“In modern times in this part of the world, you’re right.Through history, plenty of marriages have been arranged, either for political or financial gain.There’s not much different about us.”
“I’m not wrong, am I?”she asked.“About you holding yourself back?”
“It’s nothing personal,” he assured her.In fact, he’d already let her in closer than any other person.
“Where does love fit into for you?”
“It doesn’t.”
“You’ve never been in love?”
“No.”
