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Obviously he’d surprised her with the revelation. Her mouth opened to a perfect O. “I thought...” She let her words trail.
“You guessed I strayed?” Duke asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Well, uh,” she stammered, her light eyes averted toward the condensation sweating from the glass of tea. “You do have that bad-boy quality about you. And when the news of the two of you breaking up hit, you were seen with a bunch of different women.”
He’d been told that before. He knew. His history as a baseball player allowed him to behave in what would be considered a bad-boy way. But he was in his twenties then.
He’d grown. Just because there was a woman in every zip code waiting to give herself to him didn’t mean he had to act upon it.
“I can admit that the way I handled myself wasn’t the right way, but I quickly was reminded that my bad-boy streak in life was over.”
“May I ask who reminded you?”
“My sister Ana.” Duke cleared his throat, not proud of himself, but he had this feeling that Macy wasn’t going to judge him. “I was in a hotel when she called me on my cell phone and asked if I knew the name of the woman lying next to me. And when I didn’t, she asked how I would feel if some guy didn’t remember her name.”
Macy covered her mouth and sat back. Her eyes narrowed on him. He winced inwardly, praying that she wasn’t judging him. “So then you left?”
“More or less. Pablo called me soon after I talked to my sister. He reminded me also about how I said I wanted a relationship. I actually always saw myself settling down with just one woman, kind of like my folks. And I envy Pablo’s married life with Mo.”
Macy nodded her head in agreement. “They are a great couple.”
“I think so. I mean, I knew them both in college, and I can’t say I’ve ever seen two people so perfectly suited for each other.” He shrugged at his own honesty. “I always wanted a good woman on my arm, someone who made me realize my priorities but still loved me for my imperfections. You know, the kind of woman you would do anything for.”
“That sounds very romantic, Duke.”
“I’m a very romantic guy. Just give me a chance,” he countered.
Picking up her glass, she visibly hid her smile. “After you just told me you went through a slew of women after you got your heart broken?”
“That’s cold, Macy.” Duke blew out a low whistle and shook his head. “She didn’t break my heart.”
“But you guys were engaged.”
“Yeah, but...”
“Didn’t you want to marry her?”
Maybe she should have been the reporter with her rapid, on-point questions. He liked that Macy didn’t candy-coat things. She challenged him. “No, I didn’t. But it didn’t mean I appreciated being deceived, either.”
Her eyes diverted to the ground and then moved back at up to him. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” He shrugged. “In a way, it was a blessing in disguise.”
“How do you figure?”
“Because it led me here.”
He liked it when she blushed again. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with her fingers.
“So, are you going to give me a chance?”
Blushing, she rolled her eyes skyward. “What is it you want from me?”
“It depends on your definition of want,” he began as she raised her eyebrows in question. So he followed up with a reply. “In DC, I didn’t really have time to date around.”
“Sounds like you got around enough,” she interjected quickly before clamping her hand over her mouth. “Sorry!” she added with a playful giggle.
“Anyway, being a journalist, I never had time to do the typical dating thing. I would have to cover one event or another. Kristina, I guess, was convenient to date and understanding, since she was a reporter, as well. Our schedules matched.”
