“Besides me?”
“Indirectly. Tell me about your mom.”
That teasing sense of fun left her face. “Why?”
“Because I want to know more about you. This is a date where we talk. Have fun. No sex.”
She frowned. “Sex is fun. My mother is not fun. She’s dead.”
“Right. And she died…what? Twenty-some years ago? Tell me about her.”
“Nothing to tell.” She tried to tug her hand from his and scowled when he refused to let go. “She had me. She left. She died. Happy now?”
She left? “How did she die?” he asked.
“Car accident. I barely remember her. It’s just been dad and me for years. I doubt Bev will last longer than six or seven months. That’s his M.O.”
“Yeah? What’s yours?”
She squeezed his hand. “If I’m not bored out of my mind by date two, I try on the guy for size. If he’s not bad at sex, I can usually go a few months before losing my patience. Then we split.”
“And you’re happy with that?”
“Don’t judge. What about you?”
“I’m not judging. I’m asking a question.”
She shrugged. “I’m not upset about it. It is what it is. I’m not a long-term-relationship girl. If that’s what you’re angling for, go somewhere else.”
“Now why would I do that when I have the sexy Maya Werner by my side?”
She blew out a loud breath. “You’re cute but annoying.”
“So it will say on my tombstone one day.”
She chuckled.
“Anyway, to answer your question in a non-defensive manner—unlike some people—I’ve had a few long-standing relationships. But my career came first for me when I was in the service. Then my trips abroad made it difficult to be in a steady relationship.”
“But now you’re home. Looking for a wife and two-point-five kids?”
“You forgot the white picket fence.”
She snorted. “Figures.”
“As usual, you made a wrong assumption. I’m not looking for a wife, kids and home. I’m setting up for a new phase in my life. I’m back with family and friends, have a steady job, and eventually I’ll find Mrs. Black.”
“No rush?”
He glanced down at her, intrigued by her deliberate casual air. “No rush.”Not when I’m already holding her hand.
“That’s good.” She cleared her throat, her hand feeling warm in his. “I mean, it’s like people turn thirty and feel the need to race to the altar. Hell. I don’t ever plan to get married. I’m good with how things are now.
“And how are they?”
She shot him a sly glance. “I get sex whenever I want. I don’t answer to anybody and do what I want. I’m still in my ‘all about me’ years.”
“Which implies someday you’ll be out of those years.”
