Page 19 of Unwrapping Love

She heard pinging sounds and looked past Rowan to the glass doors. Ice was not only forming on the deck, but it was dropping from the sky at an accelerated pace.

“Since we’ve got so much time on our hands, I’ll fill you in.”

6

FAMILY SECRETS

Rowan didn’t know the last time he volunteered to talk about his family.

Maybe it had more to do with the fact that Saylor wouldn’t have cared if it never came up.

“We can if you want,” she said. “But don’t feel as if I’m being nosy. I think my job has taught me to do what I need to, keep neutral conversations, and move on.”

“Hmm. So no attachments for you?”

She laughed. “How did you go from what I’m used to doing with strangers and my job to having no attachments in life?”

“The fact you are a traveling nurse tells me you’re probably single. It’s got to be hard to build any kind of relationship with men or women if you’re moving every six to twelve months.”

Her lips twisted to the side adorably. “Caught.”

“You’re admitting it?” That shocked him, his lower lip dropping some.

“Why lie when it’s so obvious?” she asked. “Like you, I wanted to be away from my family. Not because of the size, but the drama.”

“Ohhhhh, I love drama. If I share mine, you’ve got to share yours.”

“You know, you’re kind of cute with your facial expressions. Your tongue just stuck out of your mouth to the side.”

He laughed. “I always do that shit without thinking. Some of the drama as a kid. My siblings busted my ass over it.”

“I highly doubt you’re going to give me anything crazy dramatic about your family. You don’t know me well enough.”

Fuck. What was wrong with him? She was right. He’d never tell family secrets.

“You’re right. Just going to give you the players involved. Are you going to share?”

“I can share the players.” She winked at him. He had to admit after his initial meeting with her in the airport, he didn’t expect her to have this great of a personality.

She was calm, funny, and fast on her feet.

Flirting with him at the same level also. He knew, it wasn’t just wishful thinking on his part.

“I expect you to,” he said. “You need the strainer, huh?”

She had already put the pasta into the boiling water, and he was sure it would be ready soon.

“I need one,” she said. She opened the jar of sauce and poured it over the cooked meat. It smelled fabulous.

He grabbed the strainer out of the pantry and put it in the sink, then opened the cabinet for plates and set everything up for them.

Once dinner was complete and they were sitting to eat, he said, “So, my father was in the service and died when West was eighteen. He was a senior in high school and stepped up to be the father to us all, while going to college, then building his empire. When I say we had little more than family love, I mean it. Eight kids, and an army pension, plus some other help my mothergot. We lived in a three-bedroom ranch that had one and a half baths.”

“Damn,” she said. “I didn’t know that. Not that I would, but you always think that people with a lot of money were just born with it.”

“Nope. I’ll admit the last of us got a much more spoiled life than the first few. I won’t bore you with West’s accomplishments. It’s all online if you’re interested.”

“Not really,” she said, twirling pasta on a fork.