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Scooping up a spoonful of risotto, he reaches for my plate.
“Oh, no, I’m good, thanks.” I move the plate out of his reach. “It’s all yours.”
“You don’t want to try even a little?”
“I’m really full, thanks.” It’s a lie; my mouth is watering at the succulent-looking seafood in the risotto, but I don’t want to muddy the waters when it comes time to pay the check. “It’s all yours.”
After a moment of hesitation, he puts the risotto on his plate and digs into it with evident enjoyment. “Not a seafood fan?” he asks after the first bite, and I shrug in response. I love seafood, but if I admit that, my refusal to try Marcus’s dish will confuse him even more.
“I think it’s okay,” I say when he lifts his eyebrows, silently urging me to elaborate. “I’m pretty open to all foods, actually.”
“Ah, an omnivore. I like it.” He grins, showing those sexy cheek grooves, and I feel the magnetic pull again. It’s unfair that the best-looking guys are often the ones who are off limits, either because they’re assholes or because they’re gay. Marcus is definitely not the second, but the jury is still out on the first.
“So,” I say, leaning back in my chair to put a little distance between us. “What is your criteria? Do you have a list with all the qualities you want your future wife to possess?”
He raises his eyebrows. “Doesn’t everyone? Isn’t there something you’d want your future spouse to be? Some qualities you’d want him to have?”
“I guess,” I say after considering it for a moment. “I’d definitely want him to be nice and kind to animals… especially cats. I’d want him to love cats.”
“That’s it? Just nice and an animal lover?”
“Well, it would be good if he shared some of my interests, too. The more we have in common, the greater the odds that it’ll work out longer term.”
Marcus regards me with a curious smile. “You don’t believe in opposites attracting?”
“No—not in any sustainable way, at least,” I say as he reaches for more risotto. “I think two incompatible people can be physically attracted to each other, but for an enduring relationship to form, you need a stronger foundation. There must be shared values and beliefs, goals and interests… If you don’t have that, the relationship will be like a match: fragile and quick to burn out.”
His smile fades, his expression turning unusually serious. “You’re right. I couldn’t agree more.” He takes a sip of water before digging into his food again, and I watch in amazement as he polishes off a sizable portion of the risotto in record time.
“So you never told me what your criteria is,” I say when Marcus’s plate is almost clean. “Is it height, weight, eye color… education level?”
He puts down his fork, his gaze locking on my face. “Education is definitely important to me. So is intelligence, upbringing, and a certain amount of ambition. Obviously, I want to be attracted to her, but I’m also looking for a woman who’d be an asset at social functions, someone who’d be comfortable interacting with my existing and potential investors and wouldn’t mind doing so. And above all else, I want a wife who’d understand that a successful career requires sacrifices, that you have to work hard to get somewhere in life.”
I stare at him in fascination. His bluntness is both refreshing and off-putting. What he’s describing sounds more like a business partner than a love interest. For some reason, I picture the wife from House of Cards—the cool, elegant Claire who’s the female half of the scheming political power couple in that Netflix show. Marcus isn’t a politician, but his requirements seem similar. I don’t know what kinds of events he attends, but the fact that he refers to them as “social functions” implies they’re not backyard barbecues in Brooklyn.
“What about her personality and interests?” I ask, pushing away my dismay. I don’t know why I feel disappointed at Marcus’s revelations; it’s not as if I didn’t know we were utterly different. When he asked me out, I knew the dinner would be a one-off affair, and it shouldn’t upset me to learn that he wants a woman who’s my polar opposite. I’m no longer as socially awkward as I was in my teens, but I’m enough of an introvert that a casual gathering with friends can tire me out. Just the thought of some big formal event makes me want to break out in hives, and I wouldn’t know how to begin making small talk with those investors of his.
I can talk to strangers about books, but that’s about it.
“Personality and interests?” Marcus appears to give it some thought as the waiter clears off the dishes and sets a dessert menu in front of each of us. “Yes, obviously, those are important too. I’d want her to be level-headed and reasonable, not a hothead. Also honest. Honesty and loyalty are very important to me.”
