Page 62 of The Rescuer

She kept her side to him and her head down, so he couldn’t read her expression when she said, “Not even in … sex?”

A smirk lifted a corner of his mouth. “I’m always interested in sex. Just not the drama that goes with it. Didn’t seem worth the price when I could take care of my needs by myself.”

“Right. You’re the independent type. So you didn’t …”

“That’s not what I’m saying. Look, without getting into the details, let’s just say there have been times when opportunities presented themselves, and I took advantage. I don’t say that with any pride, but it is what it is. Or was.”

“Opportunities,” she repeated. “Like with Chelsea.”

He puffed out a breath. “Yeah, like that. With the benefit of hindsight, that’s an opportunity I would take a pass on today. Ahardpass. Which leads me back to my point about drama.”

“What drew you to her in the first place?”

“I think it was that we shared the same world. We understood what it felt like to have that adrenaline high and what it felt like when you came down from it. What it felt like to finally find someone only to discover you were too late. For a long time, I thought that if I wanted to get serious with someone, the only candidates had to be part of that world too, so that shrank the dating pool quite a bit.”

“Did you date anyone else who also worked in search and rescue?”

“Other than an occasional beer or catching a band, no. Chemistry just wasn’t there.”

Neve scraped her diced herbs into a bowl. “But Chelsea was different.”

“She wasn’t so much different as it just seemed to click for a while. We were into the same things, we were both available—or so I thought—and she made it abundantly clear she wasn’t looking for long-term. Seemed like a fit for a time. But everything went to hell in a handbasket when I found out she was married. Plus, she had lied about keeping it casual. Turns out she wanted long-term or, more importantly, an excuse to dump her husband. Poor schmuck,” he muttered. “Enough about me. How comeyou’venever been in a committed relationship, Doc?”

Her eyes traveled to the ceiling and stayed there. “Well, school took up all my time for a while. Then it was getting my practice off the ground. My schedule didn’t leave a whole lot of time for starting up a relationship.”

For reasons he didn’t understand, he resisted asking the next question, he really did. But curiosity won out. “What about short-term? You know, ‘opportunities.’” Breath caught in his chest as he waited for the answer he didn’t want to hear.

Her eyes darted back to him, and her cheeks took on a telltale pink. “I guess you could say I’ve taken advantage too.”

“Nothing stuck, even after your practice got going?”

“Nope. Well, and there’s another reason. This is Fall River. I think I dated all fifteen single men in this town.”

“What about Cantrell? He’s not in this town.”

“No, but there weren’t any sparks. I wanted them to catch, but they didn’t.”

“Why do you think that is?”

Long beats of silence charged the air. He waited. And waited. Because he really wanted to understand what made her tick. Neve was so beautiful it was hard to look away. She had a warmth about her that pulled people in like a magnetic rope, and he wasn’t immune. She was wicked smart. Funny. Fiery. Challenging. An aura of playfulness surrounded her. And just below the surface, a sex kitten lay in wait, ready to pounce. All the personality traits that turned a woman into a man’s obsession.

“Not going to give me an answer?” he prodded.

“No. Not yet.”

Another stroke of silence ticked by, and he spouted, “I told Chelsea I got married last night.” Neve wheeled, eyes wide, mouth open, and knife in hand. “Ah. I guess you didn’toverhearthat part.” He flicked his forefinger toward the knife. “And watch where you point that thing.”

Neve lowered the blade. “Youtoldher that?” A glow of incredulity danced in her eyes. “That seems like a very un-Reece-like thing to do. In fact, you’ve been downright un-Reece-like ever since we landed in Vegas. Are you sure you didn’t wind up in some kind ofFreaky Fridaymoment?”

“That’s called cutting loose.”

“Which is something you don’t do very often.”

The fact that Neve knew him so well filled him with a warm buzz. “As for Chelsea,” he sighed with regret, “I could have handled that better. It was a knee-jerk reaction to her not getting the message and me being overly tired. That’s not an excuse, just reality. I was an asshole. I admit it.”

“What did she say?”

“Oh, she agreed I was an asshole.”

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