His grin called me on it. “Yeah. Sure, I don’t. You’re so terrified you won’t even tell me anything about yourself.”
“That’s not out of fear. It’s out of… self-preservation. I have Trent to think about, and he’s lost enough people in his life. I don’t want to confuse him or anything with a fling.”
“A fling?” Wasp asked, sounding a little hurt and offended. “You think that’s what I’m after? And that I’d want to hurt Trent?”
“Honestly, I have no idea what you want from me, Wasp.”
“Definitely not a fling, babe. Let’s start with answers. Where are you from? What are you hiding from? Why wouldn’t you give me your number? I have it now, by the way. Pro-tip, you should have blocked your number before you called me.”
“I probably wouldn’t think you were only after a fling if you weren’t handing out pro-tips,” I countered.
He chuckled. “Point.”
“I’m not answering your first two questions, and as for the third… I’m a single mom doing this on my own. I don’t have the time or the desire to date. I don’t do casual hookups, or hookups at all for that matter, and I don’t even know how long we’ll be in Seattle.”
“Do you assume every man who shows interest in you just wants sex?” he asked.
“Mostly. With good cause, though. I’ve heard girls at the bar talk about you like you’re some kind of carnival ride that everyone should try. That almost everyone has tried. The carnival’s not my thing. It’s expensive, the food is shit, and the games are rigged. I don’t have the time or money for that sort of nonsense.”
“Fair enough.”
I wasn’t done. “You said you don’t lie, Wasp, so don’t. Everybody has motives. What’s yours?”
Chuckling, he shook his head. “You don’t fuck around, do you?”
I shrugged. “What would be the point? If you’re looking to score, I’m not that girl. It’s best if I lay that out right now, before anyone gets hurt.” I glanced at Trent for emphasis.
“Damn. Straight to the fuckin’ jugular. You’re right. I usually just want sex, but so do the women I get with. I don’t lie to them or trick them, or whatever it is you think I’m trying to do to you.”
“Then what do you want from me?”
He scrubbed a hand through his hair as his calm, cool façade dropped. He looked frustrated, confused. “Honestly, I don’t know. But if I was just looking for sex, there are a lot of easier targets out there, babe. Targets that don’t come with kids.”
He had a point. “Maybe you like the challenge.”
He chuckled. “No. When I said I was in the Navy, you must have heard Seal. Those crazy motherfuckers like to be challenged. I was a ship mechanic because it was easy, and I didn’t have to worry about getting my ass blown off. I like the easy road, with as few mountains as possible.”
“Well, you don’t want me then, because my life is nothing but mountains.”
He laid his paddle across his lap and cocked his head to the side. “Tell me about it.”
He was willing to listen, and I wanted to talk, but could I trust him? Could I really trust anyone? I missed having friends… people I could share my life with without fear of judgment or disbelief. But Wasp? I barely knew him. Still, something about him was just so damn trustworthy I wanted to spill it all. First, I needed to ask a few questions of my own.
“How do you know the guy who rented us this boat?” I asked.
His brow furrowed. “He’s a customer. Why?”
“A customer? He didn’t ask you for a deposit or take your driver’s license like it said on the sign.” He’d been happy to see Wasp, and he clearly trusted him.
“Yeah, Ian’s good people. He won’t charge me. I met him at the gym, and we spotted for each other a few times and got to talking about our jobs. I told him I customize and repair bikes, and he said he always wanted a Harley. That’s what most guys say. Then they come up with some bullshit excuse about how their wife carries their balls in her purse and won’t let them buy one. But Ian was different. He wasn’t trying to prove anything, he was legitimately interested. He just didn’t know enough about them to buy one on his own, so we started looking and I found him a smokin’ deal on a twenty-fourteen Fat Boy that only needed a little work. Then we spent the next few weeks customizing it to Ian’s specifications. I like him, so I discounted the fuck out of the work I did for him.”
I didn’t know any ship mechanics, but Wasp certainly cursed like a sailor. Yet he hadn’t said one bad word in front of Trent while the little man had been awake. Robbie used to swear in front of our kid all the time, no matter how many times I begged him not to, yet Wasp watched his mouth without one prompt from me. He was so different, so unexpected.
“What happened to your parents?” he asked.
I didn’t want to tell him, but he’d answered my question. He’d taken my phone call. He’d saved the day. “I don’t know.”
“Babe.” He looked pointedly at me. “I’m trying to get to know you, but you’re locked up like Fort fuckin’ Knox. You gotta give me something.”
