Page 15 of Never In My Wildest Dreams

She’d gotten lost in her fantasies. “No, I have.” Something about this man awakened a part of her she’d long neglected. It was good. Really good. “I’ve worked too much, and it cost me important relationships, so I’m leaving behind the pressure I put on myself to succeed, and I’m taking with me the ability to pay more attention to the details of my life.”

“I like that.”

“What about you?” she asked.

“I’d have to give it some thought.”

“That’s fair. What about your power word? Do you have that?”

“No,” he said. “How about you start? It’ll get me thinking.”

The first word that sprang to mind, she crushed, but only because it would make her look bad. Then again, she could say whatever she wanted. She’d never see this guy again. “Revenge.”

“Uh, you know, maybe I will sleep on the couch. Take my chances with hypothermia.”

She laughed. “No, don’t worry. You’re not the target.” Did she really want her life to hinge on what three shitty people had done to her though? “I don’t want to take negativity into the new year, so I’m going to change it to Reinvention. Your turn.”

“I have no idea.”

“Well, you should think about it. Did you know people with goals are ten times more likely to succeed?”

“Not that exact statistic, but sure. It’s something I talk about to the people I work with. Not sure I’ve done it for myself in a long time.”

People he works with?Was he a therapist? “Well, there you go. Now’s your chance.”

“If I answer your question, will you trust me enough to fall asleep?”

She smiled. “You know, I just might.”

“Fine. My power word is…Shift. No. Advance. No, wait.”

Maybe she could help him. “What’re you trying to get at?”

“I want to advance my business, but in a way I can live with.”

“What about Boundaries?”

“That’s good.” He sounded genuinely pleased. “I like that.”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t get into the part about growing your business. Hm. Let me think.”

“No, it’s fine. Boundaries is good.”

“Yeah, I don’t really go for half-assed. We have to nail it. What about Balance instead? Balance making a profit and staying true to your values.”

He didn’t respond.

Ugh. Why was she pushing this total stranger? He wanted to sleep, not play word games.

But then, he said, “Yes. That’s exactly it.”

Despite being in a freezing cabin with a total stranger, pleasure spread through her. She’d helped him in some way, and that felt good. “Okay, now, what’re you leaving behind?”

“The weak security of my cabin.”

She laughed. “I mean, I did have to smash a window.”

“That aside, I’ll leave behind my gullibility and take with me a total focus on growing my business my own way.”

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