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“Go for it,” he teased, but Maverick was well aware that they weren’t joking around. Things were serious.
She flicked the edge of her fingernail against her can. “Does anyone else call you Rick?”
Okay. That wasn’t what he’d been expecting, but Maverick preferred to ease into the details of his life.
“Everyone calls me Maverick most of the time except for you and one other person.”
“Who’s that?”
“Donovan James. She’s always called me Rick.”
Charlie whistled. “Wow. Donovan James. She’s like big time country star. So you and she were… were you guys…”
Maverick shook his head with a chuckle. “No. We’ve never been more than friends. Though there was a time when I wanted more.” He wasn’t going to lie to Charlie. “But she’s always been Jack’s girl, and even though at first I pushed her away, I learned that her friendship meant more to me than getting into her pants. Of course, she’s the one who had to drill that into my head.”
“She sounds like someone I’d like.”
“You would.”
“She’s married to your cousin. Teague’s brother?”
His girl had done her homework. Shit. He wondered what else she’d uncovered online.
“Yep. She and Jack are expecting their first kid any day now.” He paused. “My turn.”
She reached for more popcorn. “Go for it.”
Maverick studied her for a few seconds. He drank in those blue eyes and the pale, almost translucent skin. He thought of her little brother.
“You and Connor look so much alike, I can’t help but wonder where the hair and eyes come from.”
“My mother,” she replied, not missing a beat. “My dad was tall and skinny, with a full head of coal black hair and eyes as dark as yours.” She picked at a thread in the comforter. “I loved his eyes. I could always tell what he was thinking. They were so expressive.”
She glanced back at him. “Have you ever been engaged or married?”
“Nope.”
She almost looked disappointed.
“Oh. What about Elle Mason? I thought I read something online.” She blushed. “I’m not going to lie. I Googled you.”
“That’s two questions, but I’ll let it slide.”
“That’s kind of you,” she retorted.
He hoped like hell she could see the naked truth in his eyes. “One hundred and fifty percent, no to Elle. We had some fun for a while and then it went south pretty quick. Her publicity machine made a lot more out of our brief time together—and trust me, it was brief. We didn’t live together. There was never a secret pregnancy and there was never going to be a ring.”
He grabbed some more popcorn. “What about you? Ever get close to heading down the aisle?”
She didn’t answer at first and Maverick watched her closely. Was there someone in her past that he needed to worry about?
“No. I dated a guy from town on and off, but we definitely didn’t have what it would take to make a marriage work. Though without a whole lot of prospects in Fisherman’s Landing and no time to meet new people, I suppose we would have ended up married eventually. If not for a couple of deal breakers.”
“Deal breakers?”
“Jeremy wasn’t into a moody, quiet little kid and Connor was a deal breaker for him.”
Douche bag.
