Page 70 of Racing Heat

He sighs and takes a long sip of his wine.

“Easy there. You trying to drain the glass?” I tease him. “Is it that bad?”

“No, I just don’t like talking about it.” He shrugs and looks out at our view of the ocean. “But if you really want to know, I’ll tell you.”

“Well, now I feel bad for making you.”

“No, you wanna know and I want you to know.”

Erin comes back and places our plates in front of us. We thank her and she makes herself scarce. I appreciate that.

I inhale the scent. “This smells amazing.”

He nods in agreement. “It really does.”

“But don’t think the food is going to make you get out of telling me.”

“Let me get a bite or two in, okay? Then you can know the whole sordid story.”

“Oh, so there’s dirt?” I ask, wiggling my eyebrows at him.

“Not nearly as juicy as I’m sure you’re thinking it is.”

“We’ll see about that.”

I’m happily twirling my pasta and digging into the seafood pieces that are on my dish, when he extends his fork to me.

“You have to try this. I know you don’t like mushrooms, but I promise you it’s worth it.”

I study him. “It’s really that good?”

“Oh yeah, it’s really that good.”

“Fine,” I relent. I take a sip of my water to cleanse my palate. He feeds me a bit, and I hate that I like it. Its garlic and butter flavors fill my senses with the richness of scallop. I barely notice the mushroom. “Okay, not saying I want a whole dish of that, but it is really good.”

“Told ya,” he teases.

“Yeah, yeah, you told me so. Now spill it.”

He chuckles. “Okay, fine. I left because of her. I just couldn’t handle being in the same town as her.”

I feel like an ass for making him tell me. “I’m sorry I made you talk. I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

He chuckles, grinning from ear to ear. “Yeah, you got my secret pain.”

“Wait a minute. That’s not why, is it? You’re playing me.”

“Am I that transparent?”

“No, you’re just grinning like an idiot. Come on, was your divorce so bad that you needed a continent between you two?”

“You make it sound so dramatic.” He shakes his head. “I feel bad that I built it up so much for you, because it’s not really like that.”

“You made me think I had you talking about something seriously awful for you. You’re going to pay for that later,” I tell him.

“Can you be naked when you cash that check?”

“Yeah, but you can’t touch me.”