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‘You can ask me anything,’ Beth replied, wiping her hands on the napkin. ‘I can’t promise to answer you.’
When he smiled, she felt a tingling in her toes. He had a great smile, damn him, his eyes crinkled and his cheeks plumped up like a couple of juicy plums. ‘When I met your mum the other day, she made a comment about it being time you got back out there and had some fun.’
Something Beth recalled only too well. ‘That’s not a question, that’s a statement.’
‘Okay, what did she mean by that?’
Beth let out an exasperated sigh. ‘I would have thought it was self-explanatory.’
‘Bad break-up?’
Beth shrugged. ‘Nothing that caused any permanent damage.’
‘But enough to put you off relationships?’
The waitress returned and removed their empty plates. ‘I hope everything was okay with your food?’
‘The food was delicious, thanks.’ Matt smiled at the girl, waiting until she was out of earshot before resuming his questioning. ‘So, what happened?’
It was too much to hope he’d drop the subject.
Beth took another swig of wine. ‘Like I said, nothing overly dramatic. I’ve had two long-term relationships. One was ended by him, and the other was ended by me. No regrets. No hang-ups. No residual emotions or feelings for either man, just a desire not to…’
‘Not to…?’ Matt leant closer.
She met his gaze. ‘Not to not repeat the same mistakes again.’
‘Which were?’
‘Settling for a man who I know isn’t right, but is a supposedly safe bet. And steering well clear of cheating charmers.’
‘Sounds fair enough.’ Matt topped up her wine glass. ‘So why the reluctance to try again?’
‘Who said I was reluctant?’
He raised an eyebrow.
Beth sighed. ‘Because in both cases I failed to notice what was happening. Everyone else could see that neither man was right for me, but I didn’t. No one was even surprised when the relationships ended, they knew it was inevitable. But dummy here couldn’t see what was right under her nose.’
Whatever he was about to say was interrupted by their main courses arriving. The waitress served Matt his sticky grilled chicken and Beth her red wine risotto.
‘And that bothers you?’ Matt asked when the waitress had disappeared. ‘That you didn’t see what was happening?’
‘Damn right it bothers me,’ she said, placing a fresh napkin over her knees. ‘I see broken relationships all the time. I can spot a pending divorce a mile off, but when it came to my own relationships, I was clueless.’
‘So you’re never going to try again?’
She picked up her fork. ‘Not until I can be trusted to make a sensible choice.’
‘Define sensible?’
She sighed. ‘Trustworthy, safe, reliable.’
‘Sounds like you’re picking out a used car.’ He tucked into his food, his expression indicating it tasted good.
She took a mouthful of risotto and felt sure her expression matched his. The taste was heavenly.
For the next few minutes, they concentrated on enjoying their meal, content to remain silent, until Matt said, ‘What about attraction?’
