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“Goodnight, Natalia.”
I’d given up on correcting him and telling him I preferred to be called Nat. But why did the way he said my name have to sound so damn decadent?
I cleared my throat. “Goodnight, Hunter.”
He gripped my hip and leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. His head lingered close to my ear. “Don’t sleep with your date to try to get me out of your head. It won’t work anyway.”
Chapter 13
Natalia
“I’m sorry. What did you say?” God, I wanted to punch Hunter. This was completely his fault.
Marcus furrowed his brow. It was just the two of us at a quiet table in the back of a nice restaurant, an expensive restaurant at that. Yet I still wasn’t able to maintain my focus.
“I asked if you wanted to go to an art gallery opening on Sunday afternoon.”
“Oh. Sorry. It was a long day at work today, and I have a patient on my mind,” I lied. “Umm…sure. That sounds nice.”
Sadly, I really didn’t want to go to an art gallery opening on Sunday. I said yes because I needed to have something blocking the path for Hunter. Marcus was that obstacle.
No matter how nice a guy he was and how much I wanted to be attracted to Marcus, it wasn’t there. Being with Hunter an hour ago was a not-so-subtle reminder of what attraction felt like. You can’t force chemistry to exist any more than you can deny that it’s present. Then again, chemistry wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Chemistry is what brings people together. It isn’t what keeps them together. Trust, respect, and compatibility are the glue that keeps a couple together. I had all the chemistry in the world with my ex-husband, but none of the glue that mattered most in the end.
Marcus reached across the table and took my hand. “Don’t sound so excited about it,” he joked.
“I’m sorry. I’m just having an off day. It’s not you. Really. It’s not.”
He laced our fingers together. “How was your stepdaughter’s game?”
“They won in overtime.”
“It was nice of the coach to give her feedback after. He must be dedicated.” I’d mentioned that I was going to be late because Izzy was getting some coaching tips.
“Oh, it wasn’t her coach. It was Hunter—he’s a friend of a friend.”
“The guy from California?”
My brows drew down. “Yes. He’s here for a while on business. How did you know he was from California?”
“You mentioned him on our first date.”
“I did?”
He nodded. “A few times. When you were talking about your trip.”
“Oh.” I felt the need to explain now. “He played college basketball, so he came to the game to observe and give her some tips.”
For the rest of the date, I worked at being present. Marcus didn’t deserve my half-assed attention.
At the end of the night, outside of my apartment building, he took my hands. He’d insisted on seeing me home. “I know you have to get home to Izzy, but maybe Sunday after the art gallery, I can make you some dinner at my place?”
Third date. Even though I was sexually deprived and had started to date to remedy that situation, I wasn’t ready for sex with Marcus.
“I go to my mom’s on Sunday evenings for dinner. All my sisters go.”
His smile wilted. “Another time, maybe.”
“Sure.”
