She nodded. “Then ask away.”
Dani knew she could have easily said that her relationship with Steve was off-limits. She had just met Wade a few days ago, so why was he curious about her ex? Probably the same reason that she was curious about his ex-girlfriend. Something was happening between them, she could feel it. There was sexual attraction in the air, but there was something else, too. She just didn’t know what.
She had to admit that everything about Wade mesmerized her. She couldn’t take her eyes off his chocolate-colored eyes and cleft chin. And his scent—a mixture of soap, shampoo, and man—stole her breath.
“How did the two of you meet?”
She leaned back in her chair. “I was hired to replace him at his job.” When Wade lifted his brow, she elaborated. “Steve had resigned to work for another marketing company, and I was his replacement. We ran into each other three months later at a nightclub. We shared drinks, and soon after that, we began dating.”
“Couldn’t it have been considered a conflict of interest?” Wade asked.
“Maybe, but Steve signed a restrictive covenant to protect his former employer’s interest.”
“What does he do now?”
“He’s VP of marketing at a non-profit organization.”
“So what happened?”
Dani didn’t say anything at first. Finally, she sighed. “We dated for two years, and then he convinced me to move in with him. I did and discovered that he wasn’t the man I thought he was.” She laughed. “And I’m not talking about forgetting to put the toilet seat down after using it.”
She paused and then added. “We’d agreed to split our financial obligations, but I got stuck with almost eighty percent of them, even though his salary was significantly higher than mine. He spent his time and money on things he wanted--like gaming. I could tell he was on his way to becoming a compulsive gamer. He was going through thousands of dollars, often raiding our savings account to fund his habit. I suggested he seek professional help, but he refused.”
She then shared with him something she hadn’t yet told her mother and sisters. At least some of it. “One night during one of our heated arguments, he raised his hand to hit me, but caught himself. He apologized, but it was too late. I wasn’t about to risk becoming a statistic.”
He nodded. “So, you left. The two of you were together three years then, before you broke up?”
“Yes. Okay, now that I’ve depressed the life out of you, tell me about you and your ex-girlfriend.”
He leaned back in his chair. “Gail and I dated eight months beforewe ended things.”
“What happened?” she asked, picking up a cinnamon roll.
And so, he told her. From her expression, he knew she was mad as hell on Elena’s behalf. “Elena is a sweetheart. How dare that woman talk down to her like that. You did the right thing by putting her on a plane with a one-way ticket. But I guess that since the two of you are on the same rodeo circuit, you can’t help but run into her at times.”
“She’s no longer with the rodeo. She left not long after that. I heard she’s now engaged to marry a much older man.”
“Oh.” Dani glanced out the window. “My goodness. I hadn’t realized it had gotten so late. It’s dark outside.”
Wade smiled. “It’s not late. With the time change, it gets dark earlier.”
“Well, regardless, I need to be leaving,” she said, standing. “I can barely find my way around these parts in the daytime, let alone at night.”
“I’ll take you home,” he offered.
“My car is here, Wade.”
“Leave it.”
She tilted her head to stare at him. “And how am I supposed to get here in the morning?”
“I’ll come pick you up.”
She shook her head. “That’s way too much trouble, and I refuse to let you go out of your way for me. Besides, Elena arrives here before I do. I would hate for her to see my car parked out front and assume I stayed the night.”
He could tell her that Elena wouldn’t be returning until Monday, but decided to withhold that information for now. “Does it matter to you what people think?”
“It depends on who those people are. In this case, it’s people you consider family, and people who are my sister and brother-in-law’s neighbors.”
