“How do you know?”
“Admit it, it was you. No guy wants to be friend-zoned by a woman like you.”
Woman.“Fine, technically it was me, but the feeling was mutual.”
Wyatt chuckled. “Sure it was.”
She poked him in the side. “It was.”
He didn’t even flinch. Although, small wonder, since his obliques were a cement wall.
“If you say so. And you still haven’t told me about him, for the record.”
She was happy to accommodate since her turn was coming next, and she wanted a nice, detailed answer.
“He works at the marina.” She left off that he managed the office, preferring that he seemed more... physical than he actually was. “We’ve known each other for years, but we hadn’t really had a conversation until I was over there seeing if we could work together on boat rentals for my business. In the end we decided it wouldn’t work, but he asked me out, and I said yes.”
“Where’d you go on your first date?”
“I’d like it to go on record that I’m allowing some flexibility in this line of questioning.”
“Duly noted, Judge Bennett. Please proceed.”
She almost wished she’d denied his request because her answer seemed juvenile. “He took me putt-putting.”
“Putt-putting?”
“Hey, I won.”
“He took you putt-putting.”
“It was fun. And he was a gracious loser. Why, where do you take your women on first dates—Paris?”
“We’re still on my question. Is that all? Did he at least take you out to eat afterward?”
He hadn’t. And he’d presented a putt-putt coupon to the cashier, but there was nothing wrong with being frugal. “We had a Coke and sat and talked afterward.”
“Guess that’s one way to keep expectations low.”
She poked him again. Maybe just because she wanted to feel those iron abs again. “It was nice. He was very nice to talk to. He was a good listener and ended up being super dependable.”
“I’m starting to see why he got friend-zoned.”
She gave him a mock glare. “My turn. Your question, right back atcha.”
“Should’ve known that was coming.” He shifted, his hand coming within a hair’s breadth of her arm. “Currently single. Not really looking. Same as you, focused on my career.”
She waited, but he didn’t continue. “Because...”
“I travel a lot. Women tend not to like that so much.”
“You still haven’t told me about your most recent girlfriend.”
He glanced at her. “Lauren. Met her at a friend’s birthday party. Dated for almost a year.”
“And...”
“And... she got tired of me not being around. Missing special occasions. It’s hard to communicate while I’m on assignment—plus it’s shift work. She finally had enough, like others before her.”
