His brows flicked, impressed. “Can I come with you tonight to check the engine? I know, a bold and presumptuous question, but it’s one you have to answer. Yes or no?”
She just looked at him, holding in the real answer, which wasn’t yes or no. It was, “I don’t know because I like you so much it’s starting to hurt, and you don’t want what I want.”
“Only if there’s no therapy,” she finally said.
“Oh, you can’t stop me,” he teased. “Every conversation I have is therapy.”
“That’s terrifying,” she muttered, looking back at the phone. “This house does look nice. Super updated, three beds, two baths, and a pool that’s situated ‘on the water,’ whatever that means.”
“If there’s a sliver of blue beyond that backyard fence, I will throw down an offer before you can spell your last name.”
“Just know I will fight you,” she countered. “Bare-knuckle. Realtor gets to pick the winner.”
“The Realtor,” he said, “is counting on it. You know that’s why she’s doing this, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do. Full disclosure, she prattled on about you before you showed up the other evening.”
“Oh, no.” He pretended to touch something over his head. “Is my halo on straight?”
She laughed. “It’s glowing.”
He grinned and glanced sideways at her, a longer look than was strictly safe while navigating the turn. “You’re good at this, you know. The banter. The vibe.”
“Well, Ihavebeen dating since Blockbuster still charged late fees. Got a little practice.”
He laughed again, but it faded into something quieter. “I know you said you never married, but you never said why.”
“Andthe therapy starts.”
“Tessa.” He gave her hand a squeeze. “I want to know you.”
Her heart shifted. Didn’t he see where that would lead? Maybe that didn’t scare him, but it freaked her out. She’d just like himmore.
“I don’t let men…into my heart,” she said, surprising herself at the candor.
“Why not?”
“Hey, you’re the therapist. You tell me.”
He smiled and turned, following the GPS on his dashboard. “That’s not actually how therapy works. I guide you to figure it out yourself.”
“I thought you had the answers.”
He shook his head. “No, you have the answers. I just help you find them. Let me ask it this way—when someone asks you why you never married, what do you tell them?”
She exhaled and looked out the window, even though she knew the answer.
“Please don’t evade, answer with a question, or otherwise sidestep.”
She smiled at that. “I tell them that my dad was picture-perfect—the greatest guy I ever knew and truly my hero, role model, and favorite person. No man has ever measured up.”
He thought about that for a moment, quiet, like he was filing it away. “Is that true?” he finally asked.
She searched her heart for the absolute truth, but his GPS chimed in first.
“Your destination is on the right,” the mechanical voice chirped.
“Saved by the robot,” she joked.
