Shaking his head, Connor stared at the back of her head.Whywould she want to see this guy again, this guy who wasbotheredby her being ambitious? How could she believe there was even a spark of hope for them as a couple if he didn’t like what made her special?
The man cleared his throat. “Look. I think you’re really nice. This was fun, but… I’m sorry, but you’re a little intimidating.”
What. The. Fuck.
“I’m what?” Rachel asked, perplexed.
“Well, you’re smart, confident, and loud, and also relatively tall. I think I’m more comfortable with women who are a little more like me. Do you understand?”
“Um, okay,” Rachel replied slowly…but Connor did not understand. She’d had no problem callinghiman idiot! And he wasn’t the one saying he’d rather date someone quite as strong. What was wrong with him? And what the hell was wrong withher?
“Yeah, thanks anyway. See you later.” The man raised his hand and disappeared down the promenade.
Rachel paused for a few seconds, and Connor hoped she’d run after the guy and slap him. But she did nothing of the sort. She tucked her dark brown hair behind her ears, sighed heavily, and turned back down the sidewalk.
Connor almost hoped she wouldn’t notice him, but that would mean he believed in the impossible; he was standingdirectly in her line of sight…and she abruptly saw him and dropped her hands.
“What are you doing out here?”
“Eavesdropping,” he said calmly, pushing off the wall.
“I can see that,” she replied angrily.
“It was accidental.”
“Sure,” she replied coolly, approaching him.
“Ah, you’d better not come any closer. You’re so intimidating, I might start shaking.”
He could swear she wanted to smile, but it was dark and the thought absurd.
“But you were right,” he continued. “Match Me! obviously finds just the right guys…to make me laugh. Is that your goal? Then I misjudged you.”
She rolled her eyes and turned her face away. “You’re just in a bad mood because you lost. And your date is just as hopeless as mine was!”
“Excuse me?” he asked, perplexed.
"I’ve been watching you. The jogger is too jumpy for you. She’s super nice and probably pretty smart; I’d have to actually have a conversation with her for a more detailed evaluation, but she flinched several times tonight when you were getting a little heated. You’d never get into a relationship with her because the chance of hurting her is too high.”
The muscles in his neck tensed. Yes, Rachel was definitely too intelligent. “Ah, and I thought, because of my profession, I'm supposed to enjoy hurting others.”
She tilted her head as if seriously considering his words before concluding, “No. I think I’ve got you figured out now.”
He laughed. “Really?”
“Yes. It took me a while because your initial outburst was ambivalent, but I think I’ve got it now.”
He took a step toward her because he knew she wouldn’t back down. “Enlighten me.”
“You’re the oldest of…um…four kids?”
His jaw tensed, but he said nothing.
“There must be at least two because you say youalwayswin, but you’re not a sore loser. That means you have younger siblings who you probably let win half your life so they wouldn’t be sad.”
Fuck. His stomach clenched. Because, yes. Always. Mallory hadn’t cared when Connor won, but Alec and Allie always started crying when they lost at Sorry. They hadn’t taken the game’s title seriously enough.
“You’re principled. You look for structure and create it with plans. Maybe because you didn’t have any growing up?” She raised her eyebrows, but didn’t wait for an answer. “Your siblings don’t live nearby. You get along well, but you had to do your own thing because you couldn’t…you just couldn't be your own boss for so long. Your own freedom is important to you. More important than any woman you’ve ever been with.”
