Page 36 of The One Who Saw Her: Boone

"Boredom. I can't stand being bored."

"Boredom?" Rea playfully clucked her tongue. "Your life isn't exactly dull. Perhaps you mean a woman who doesn't appreciate your dazzling presence. And no, that doesn't count as modesty."

Vivi laughed, enjoying the commentary. "Okay, next. If someone asked your friends what you're really like behind closed doors, what would they say?"

"Depends. Female friend or male?"

"Ow!" Colter hollered, rubbing his head.

"Watch your tongue," Rea said.

"Probably that I'm loyal. When it counts." He trailed off, glancing at Rea like he was checking for incoming fire. "I mean, I date a lot, but⁠—"

Rea's scowl softened just a fraction. "Finally, a shred of honesty. Don't ruin it with smarmy charm."

Vivi's fingers flew over the keyboard, biting back a smile at his flustered expression. Every answer, however begrudging, made him seem more human. "What do you want someone to know about you that they'd never guess from the surface?"

Colter's eyes darted to Rea, then back to Vivi, cheeks tinted with color. "That I'm not as careless as people think. I might act like a playboy but I care. Really. Just in my own way."

Rea gave him a sharp nod, almost approving. "Finally, some substance. About time someone showed a spark of intelligence.”

Vivi smiled, working with flourish. "Perfect. That's the heart of the profile right there. Now let's make sure people see that side of you, not just the skydiving or charming rogue bit."

Colter gripped the back of his neck. "You two are brutal."

"It's called preparation. You're welcome."

Vivi looked up from her laptop. "Okay, last one, I promise. If you could describe yourself in one word, no charm, no smarmy deflection, just the truth, what would it be?"

“Dependable. "And, bingo, the guy actually blushed. The cheeks-pink, eyes-sheepish, goofy-smile kind of blush.

At that moment, Boone's laugh boomed from the doorway. "Dependable? The playboy being dependable? Isn’t that like an oxymoron?"

Colter spun around. "Fuck off, Boone."

Vivi wanted to smack him for his timing. She'd finally gotten somewhere with Colter—gotten him to a place of honesty and actual vulnerability—and now he'd snapped shut like a clam. There was Boone, leaning against the doorway as if he was holding up the entire ranch, smirk tugging at his lips like this was the best moment of his week.

"Is that an offer or are you going to take me skydiving first?"

"At least I can get a date to go skydiving with me. When was the last time you went out? Six months? More? You're practically a reincarnated virgin at this point."

Six months?

Vivi was shocked because nothing about that fact computed. He was Boone, after all. Tall, rugged, built like a damn action figure, and somehow magnetic in every room he walked into. There was also the grump-factor. But once one got past that it added to his charm. She'd assumed there had been women here and there since his breakup, nothing serious, just casual.

The idea that there hadn't been anyone, though? That made her heart do this irritating around-the-world-in-eighty-days thing.

Suddenly she wondered if he'd been more tangled up in the aftermath of his ex than she'd ever realized—and if that meant the piece of the Boone she thought she knew had been off-limits all along.

"At least I don't need a matchmaker to find a date," Boone said.

"I'm not a matchmaker. I'm a dating profile consultant."

"What the hell is that?"

Vivi stood, squaring her shoulders, a mix of pride and defensiveness rising in her chest. "I help people put their best foot forward online."

Boone raised an amused eyebrow. "A professional dating profile consultant? You're telling me that polishing a bio somehow makes a guy like him more dateable?"