AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You don’t have to be embarrassed to admit that you’re going through a bit of a dry period. It happens. I mean, Spencer and I have been officially divorced for almost six months and I’ve only gone out on two dates in that time.”
His head turned in her direction. “You’re dating already?”
“I don’t see why not. I’m a free woman. But I have to admit they were both complete duds.”
Duds was an understatement really.
After having her New Year’s Eve epiphany, she’d decided she would not be sidelined because of how she looked ever again. She’d stopped settling for ill-fitting clothes and put together a wardrobe she could feel proud of. Then she’d gotten that haircut she was desperately in need of, updated her makeup palate, and taken a few selfies to add to her personal profile on three different dating sites.
The first date had seemed nice enough, but that opinion quickly dissolved after seeing the creepy fascination he had with watching her eat. She hadn’t even made it to dessert when she called that one.
The next guy, a purported animal activist, wasn’t much better. She hadn’t even made it to their table when the overwhelming aroma that only a person who could own and live with eleven cats, four mice, two turtles, and a one-eyed parrot could emit in a ten-foot radius.
She’d deactivated all of her dating accounts after that.
But that didn’t mean she was giving up. Now Reynolds, on the other hand, no dates in five years? That was giving up.
“You must have had a pretty bad breakup to never have gone on another date for five years.”
“I told you,” he said, his voice strained, “I date. But you and my sister are illustrating exactly why I’ve chosen to only date women outside of Blue Haven. No one needs to know my business but me.”
“For argument’s sake, let’s pretend I believe you when you say you date,” she teased. “It must be hard having a relationship with a woman when you live in different towns.”
“Who said anything about having a relationship? If I’ve learned anything in this business, it’s that relationships bring a lot of unnecessary trouble.”
“So why date at all?”
“I’m pragmatic, but I’m not a monk.”
She wasn’t going to go into that one. “You couldn’t have always felt that way. Poppy mentioned you were pretty serious about someone when you lived in Denver.”
“Remind me to have a little talk with my bigmouthed sister when I get home,” he said, sounding disgruntled.
“She just cares about you and wants to see you happy. So. Who was this woman? What happened?”
He sighed. “It’s nearly one in the morning, Waverley. Go to sleep.”
“I can’t. I’m not tired. Come on. It’s only fair that you share some details with me.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because you have the advantage of knowing the most humiliating and painful details of my life and of my marriage.”
He didn’t say anything immediately.
“Even the playing field for me,” she pushed. “There’s no way it can be as bad as my marriage. Here. I’ll help you get started. What was her name?” she asked, even though she knew very well what it was.
He sighed again. “Fine. Rachel. Her name was Rachel.”
“See, that wasn’t so hard, was it? And how did you two meet?”
“She was a witness to an armed robbery I was investigating.”
Oh. That was interesting. “Poppy mentioned you dated for two years. That sounds pretty serious. Why did you break up?”
“We wanted different things. I wanted to quit the force to open up a PI firm in a small, inconsequential town in Colorado. She wanted a boyfriend with a high-powered career, like a lawyer or a politician, perhaps. I wasn’t going to be able to give her what she wanted to make her happy. We said goodbye. The end.”
It was pretty much what Poppy had explained. But it didn’t make it any easier to hear. Even if Reynolds tried to sound matter-of-fact as he told her, she could hear the pain in his voice. It had clearly taken a toll on him.
