Page 45 of 7 Days and 7 Nights

Dr. Moore might not be eating out of her roommate’s hand, but she was eating at the same table and seemed to be enjoying it. It was their body language and the way they kept studying each other while pretending not to that had finally sent Charles to Human Resources for a peek at Matt’s and Olivia’s resumes. There he had discovered an interesting tidbit that didn’t appear on either of the talk show hosts’ publicity bios: Olivia Moore had done an internship at the same station in Chicago where Matt Ransom did afternoon drive. And despite all the recent on-air bickering and one-upmanship, neither of them had ever mentioned it.

Charles wasn’t certain yet just how to use this information to his or the station’s advantage, but he recognized the significance of the omission. If their time together in Chicago hadn’t meant anything to either of them, the whole world would already have known about it.

He’d caught their kiss on the couch and the way they kept rubbing up against each other in the kitchen. As he settled in to watch the evening unfold, Charles tried to imagine what, other than sex, two such opposite personalities might have shared. He crossed his long legs in an effort to get comfortable in the too-small chair and reminded himself that good things were supposed to come to those who waited.

???

Matt leaned way back in his chair and cleared a spot for his feet on the edge of the audio console. He missed his basketball net back at the studio and the freedom to move around without an audience studying his every move. And though he didn’t plan to come out and say so anytime soon, he’d give huge sums of money for five minutes outside the too-tiny apartment.

His dinner with Olivia lingered in his mind, as did the unprecedented conversation about Adam’s death.

It wasn’t a topic he shared, and he wasn't thrilled at how easily she’d pried the details out of him. Or how much better he’d felt immediately afterward. She had a way of slipping past his defenses that was nothing short of alarming.

Dawg Rollins hung on the line wanting to talk, yet again, about his failed relationship and his inability to move on. Matt shook his head in disgust. Moving on was his specialty. In fact, he could pack up and hit the emotional road faster than most men could finish a burger and fries. As in most endeavors, practice made perfect.

“Hey, Matt.”

“Hey, Dawg. How’s it going?”

“Okay, I guess. Except I have a question for you.”

“Then I probably have an answer. But remember, I am not your high school guidance counselor or Dear Abby. I’m only prepared to talk about guy stuff.”

Dawg’s voice, already gruff, took on a puzzled tone. “Okay, then. What doyoudo when a woman comes on to you and you’re not interested, Ransom?”

“Gee.” Matt scratched his head and forced himself to think. “I can’t remember that ever happening. Is she unattractive?”

“Nope.”

“A ball buster?”

“No.”

“Have bad breath?”

“Uh-uh.”

“Rude to your friends?”

“ ’Fraid not.”

“Wanting to change you?”

“Hell, no. She looks at me like I’m God’s gift to the universe."

Matt blinked. “And the problem is...”

“I don’t know. She just doesn’t do anything for me, ya know?”

“Not really.” The memory of the first six months after he drove Olivia away rapped at the back of Matt’s brain, but he refused to let it in. “Are you still mooning after the one who wants to get married?”

“I’m notmooningafter JoBeth. I just miss her, that’s all.”

“Well, I’ll tell you what, Dawg. You’re just going to have to get over it. There’s an old song that kind of covers this topic, called ‘Love the One You’re With.’ Ever heard of it?”

“Not really.”

“Well, that’s my philosophy. If you can’t be with the one you love—and you apparently can’t unless you’re willing to get married—then love the one you’re with.”

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