Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 29542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29542 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 148(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
“Fine.” I primly patted the corners of my mouth with my napkin and set it on my empty plate. “I’d hoped we’d spend the week fucking like bunnies.”
Silence.
“You did?”
“Hell, yes. I had it all figured out,” I replied matter-of-factly. “We’d start with a romantic candlelit dinner making goo-goo eyes at each other and spend hours filling in all the blanks. That’s probably where you’d share that you had a pet frog named Willie when you were a kid, collected rocks, and fess up about the starfish-shaped birthmark on your left ass cheek. Oh…and you’d probably share that you were bi and divorced. Previously married to a woman. Afterward, we’d—”
“Hang on.” He crossed his arms and narrowed his gaze. “Let’s get a couple of things straight here. I never make goo-goo eyes at anyone. Ever. I had dogs and cats like normal people when I was growing up…and a hermit crab named Hermie. My only collections are albums and books. And those are accidental collections because I’m not the kind of monster who’d willingly part with the Mötley Crüe records I’ve owned for half my life. I have a heart-shaped birthmark on my right thigh, not my ass…thank you very much. And yes, I’m bi and I was married.”
“Why aren’t you still married?”
“Not your business. But I’ll tell you this…I was a fucking idiot ’cause I really thought she was the one.”
I hadn’t expected that truth grenade. It left no room for humorous anecdotes or polite segues, which irked me a little ’cause who admits to Hermie the hermit crab, Mötley Crüe, and a heart-shaped birthmark all at once?
“I’m sorry,” I said gently.
“Don’t be. It’s better to find out your marriage isn’t destined for a long run in the early stages. But…it wasn’t fun.”
“I bet. I’ve never been married, but I’ve done the breakup thing. It sucks. You sure you don’t want to tell me what happened? You’ll never see me again anyway.”
“She cheated on me with her trainer.”
“Oh.” I swallowed hard. “That’s…terrible.”
“Yeah. It’s been a few years now. I’ve moved on. But I admit, I was angry for a while. I uprooted my life to be with her. I left my home, my family, my friends, and followed her to London when she got transferred for work. We bought this flat and agreed this would be our base. We’d travel Europe and Asia, then move home when we were ready to start a family. I couldn’t drop my clients in Canada to concentrate on starting over here, so…”
“You did the long-distance thing.”
He made a goofy pointing gesture and winked. “Bingo. I thought we were good at it, but I was a fool. One day, I noticed a charge from a spa in the Lake District on her credit card statement for a weekend she was supposed to be here in London entertaining her sister. I called the hotel and…the truth came out.”
“Fuck. That’s…terrible.” It was a lame observation, but I wasn’t sure what else to say.
“It sucked,” he agreed, raking his fingers through his hair as he leaned forward. “I didn’t intend to tell you any of that, but you asked. Maybe it’s better to be completely honest, though. The truth is…I wouldn’t attempt a long-distance relationship again.”
“Oh. Right. I mean, who would?” I hedged with an awkward half chuckle.
“Some people are good at it. Not me.” Roman winced slightly. “Look…I should have ended our dating-app liaison well before it got to this point, but I really liked talking to you. You’re the first real ray of sunshine I’ve had in my life in years, and I didn’t want to lose it. But when you said you were coming here, I was torn between what I wanted and what I knew would never work. Like a coward, I didn’t say a thing.”
I squinted. “So if I’m hearing correctly, last night was all your fault?”
He chuckled as I hoped he might. “Possibly. I probably wasn’t myself at dinner, and I’ve been told I can be a little intense when I’m uncomfortable. I’m sorry dinner turned out to be anticlimactic. That’s on me.”
“Meh. It takes two to tango and all that.” I waved dismissively, suddenly anxious to skip over the “let’s be honest” portion of the program I’d set into action.
“True. But you should know that I think you’re a very sexy man, and you’re funny too. Maybe long-distance isn’t for me, but I would have been open to…”
“To what?” I prodded.
Roman shook his head wryly. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, anyway.”
“Sure, it does. For the sake of honesty and all that jazz.”
I waggled my brows as I cradled my mug. He didn’t take the bait, which meant he’d most likely maxed out his honesty quotient. I understood, but as my mind cleared, my synapses started firing double time. Yeah, I was a ridiculous romantic who’d secretly hoped Roman might be someone special. That obviously wasn’t the case, but this whole situation didn’t have to be a total bust.